Metallic smell in canned cat food?

[Dodahm]

Hi,

I just recently bought a 24-pack hills z/d can, which is what my cat has been eating for the past 6 months. Suddenly she wasn't too excited about it so I smelled it and it smelled different than usual with some metallic smell.

I got worried that the can might have been spoiled so went out and bought the same cans from a different vet's office and it still smells the same and my kitty is not enthusiastic about it either.

Is this a sign of spoilage? The expiration date is by Feb 2025 and there is no visual damage to the cans I fed her. Can I continue to safely feed her these cans? She is a super picky eater and won't eat any other wet foods (or eat a tiny bit) and doesn't drink water at all..

I have been heavily relying on this can (one large can per day, plus some dry food) and am worried that even if I get the same can from a different vendor it will smell the same and she won't eat it.

 

[cmshap]

I don't know anything about this particular food, but I Googled it, and there seems to be a bunch of recent negative reviews in which people are talking about a "formula change."

There are prominent reviews on Chewy and on the Hills website itself.

https://www.chewy.com/dp/54733
Hill's Prescription Diet z/d Wet Cat Food

I don't know if this is what you are experiencing, or if these reviews have any merit. I am just linking what I found after a cursory search.

 

[Dodahm]

Thank you for the links! I am not entirely sure if these cans I got were after formula change as I don't live in the US and am not sure how long the importing process takes. However, I did notice not only the smell but also the texture of the food seem different. I will contact the manufacturer and ask. Thank you a lot for taking time to find out about this!

I don't know anything about this particular food, but I Googled it, and there seems to be a bunch of recent negative reviews in which people are talking about a "formula change."

There are prominent reviews on Chewy and on the Hills website itself.

https://www.chewy.com/dp/54733
Hill's Prescription Diet z/d Wet Cat Food

I don't know if this is what you are experiencing, or if these reviews have any merit. I am just linking what I found after a cursory search.

 

[cmshap]

I will contact the manufacturer and ask. Thank you a lot for taking time to find out about this!

You're welcome, but please note I have no actual knowledge about if a formula change is real or not. I just noticed some people complaining about it in reviews, which should only be taken for what that's worth.

Contacting the manufacturer is an excellent idea. Hopefully they will be helpful to you.

You might also want to start a new thread asking for alternative food suggestions that are comparable to this Hills z/d food. Regardless of whether or not there was a formula change, your cat isn't eating it. So now is a good time to start trying to find alternatives. There are many TCS members with a lot of cat food knowledge.

Many cats are picky eaters (including mine) and sometimes they decide that the food they eagerly ate for a while is no longer appealing. That's happened with my cat several times, and he has particular dietary needs, so I have struggled to find the right foods before. A mantra I often repeat on this forum is "feeding a cat is hard."

 

[IndyJones]

The ones i find smell metalic are the grogery store brands like fancy feast and whiskers. I have not noticed it with wuvra and preformatrin ultra.

 

[Dodahm]

Feeding a cat is hard indeed. I always had dogs since I was young and this is my first time having a cat (it has been seven very wonderful months). I absolutely adore everything about my kitty and she is perfect in almost every way, except for when it comes to food haha.

She is such a picky eater! I even got her an allergy test to safely get her off of hills z/d can, which doesn't have the best ingredients and has too much carb, but I haven't found the food she likes even after trying 20+ different cans. Even the food she liked for one meal, she doesn't eat it the second time, possibly because she realized that it's not the food that she is used to???

I won't give up though! I am quite determined to make a switch. I will gradually introduce a new, healthier food by mixing it with her current food. I read a post on this website on how slow you should be when it comes to changing cats' diet and it was very helpful.

Anyway, thank you for your kind reply!

You're welcome, but please note I have no actual knowledge about if a formula change is real or not. I just noticed some people complaining about it in reviews, which should only be taken for what that's worth.

Contacting the manufacturer is an excellent idea. Hopefully they will be helpful to you.

You might also want to start a new thread asking for alternative food suggestions that are comparable to this Hills z/d food. Regardless of whether or not there was a formula change, your cat isn't eating it. So now is a good time to start trying to find alternatives. There are many TCS members with a lot of cat food knowledge.

Many cats are picky eaters (including mine) and sometimes they decide that the food they eagerly ate for a while is no longer appealing. That's happened with my cat several times, and he has particular dietary needs, so I have struggled to find the right foods before. A mantra I often repeat on this forum is "feeding a cat is hard."

 

[Dodahm]

Hmmm... It's a prescription can and I bought them from legitimate sellers, including ones directly bought from a vet's office. I am a bit puzzled as to why these cans smell like this.

The ones i find smell metalic are the grogery store brands like fancy feast and whiskers. I have not noticed it with wuvra and preformatrin ultra.

 

[Dodahm]

Feeding a cat is hard indeed. I always had dogs since I was young and this is my first time having a cat (it has been seven very wonderful months). I absolutely adore everything about my kitty and she is perfect in almost every way, except for when it comes to food haha.

She is such a picky eater! I even got her an allergy test to safely get her off of hills z/d can, which doesn't have the best ingredients and has too much carb, but I haven't found the food she likes even after trying 20+ different cans. Even the food she liked for one meal, she doesn't eat it the second time, possibly because she realized that it's not the food that she is used to???

I won't give up though! I am quite determined to make a switch. I will gradually introduce a new, healthier food by mixing it with her current food. I read a post on this website on how slow you should be when it comes to changing cats' diet and it was very helpful.

Anyway, thank you for your kind reply!

Oh! Another thing that was very difficult to get my head around was how little water she drinks... I tried a bunch of methods -- different water (tap, purified, bottled, brita filtered), 3 different fountains, powders that are supposed to make her drink more, different sizes of water bowls, having 5 water bowls at one point... Nothing worked.. I sort of gave up and decided to give her enough wet food with some added water. Since she was on this diet, I see her drinking water once every week or so... Hahaha my picky little princess is such high maintenance but I kind of love it... Cats are great

 

[Docs Mom]

Try a glass or cup. Sometimes its more tempting if its out of mommy's cup !
Of course you have to figure out how to keep her from spilling it . I used a thermo mug with a handle that I secured to something. Then just slid another cup inside it.
The lengths we go to to keep the kitties happy......