r/cats • u/Dramatic-Bit-7586 • 14h ago

Advice Friskies cat food

Hi, I was wondering if you guys know if Friskies cat food is bad or not? I'm not American and where I'm from we don't get the recommended brands I see people talk about online (tiki, fancy feast, ..etc). We have royal canin and the more "mainstream" brands if that makes sense. I feed my cat a mix of Friskies dry and wet food but I'm worried that it's gonna cause him issues in the future

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u/ubelieveurguiltless 14h ago

Friskies gave my cat diarrhea off and on. I have been using iams which the vet recommended as a moderately good food. I don't give my cat wet food. He won't touch it anyway. Even as a kitten, he preferred to cover it up to eating it.

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u/Cautious-Tear 14h ago

Your local pet shop can reccomend you a quality brand that doesn't have to be too expensive. Friskies, Kitkat, Whiskas and the supermarket cat food isn't very recommended for kitties health in the long run.

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u/SquanderedOpportunit 14h ago

The main things I look for to avoid in canned cat food is wheat, wheat gluten, or just gluten, or any of the grain cereals including rice. I also avoid starches, commonly you'll see potato, sweet potato, cassava, or tapioca, I have also see corn starch . I'm not entirely sold on pea protein either.

This stems from an experience long ago with my mother's Akita. She had horrible sebaceous adenitis, looked like she had mange all over her back legs and waistline, terribly arthritic, diabetic. She could barely climb into the car for car rides. We decided we were going to put her down at the end of the week so I started spoiling her with steak and hamburger patties and bacon. After a week she was more playful, energetic, stopped piddling around the house, was going down the 5 steps to the yard with very little complaints. After a month of bacon and hamburger her skin was pink and smooth and hair was growing back. Her arthritis came back in spades when my mom started giving her the old food again. She passed away of old age 7 years later (at 15 years of age) eating nothing but fried up hamburger patties and bacon. Unlike humans and dogs though; cats cannot subsist on cooked meat, it is biologically impossible, so don't attempt this with your cat.

Generally you'll find that recipes marketed as "chunks" "fillets" and "grillers",  or "gravy lovers" will have these ingredients. So don't even bother looking at the ingredients if that's the case.

Pates are where you'll see much less of these offensive ingredients.