Purina Pet Foods Reviews

I contacted Purina who asked for the invoices. They just cut me a $20 check for the bag of food. But I got nothing for the $700 in vet bills. I feel like nothing was done to resolve the issue even though my vet concluded that it was the food that made them sick. I don't want coupons for more food. I'm not buying Purina anymore. I've switched to Redford and my cats have been fine on that for the past month. Luckily it was the kitten who had a seizure and not the other cat because he likely wouldn't have survived it and then $20 definitely wouldn't have cut it. I don't believe all Purina food is bad but watching my kitten have a seizure was the most terrifying thing and I'm not willing to risk her health again.

Now I'm stuck with two cases of tuna Primavera that my two cat's put their nose up to at $23 a case. I'm afraid to donate it out just in case there's something wrong with it. I don't want the responsibility of having an animal get sick. Now on to the pate, the Cod, sole, and shrimp and the ocean whitefish, I noticed some cans have a lot of water in it and some cans are just very dry. In any event, my one cat that ate that since she was born puts her nose up to it. What's going on with the Fancy Feast line. If these are new recipes please go back to the original formula.

I don't mind paying the higher price for the medleys at $26 a case because my cats did like it prior to some changes that have been made. I'm sure I'm not the only person that is complaining about this issue. There's an old saying that says if it's not broke don't fix it please go back to your original formula, if it's a cost issue like everybody's looking at cost today with inflation I get that, but if you're not going to get any business and sell the product because your cost is lower what's the point. It's a no win situation for all parties.

When I opened the cans I purchased locally, I found (after scooping the food out and putting it on a plate) what I first thought was the lining of the can peeling off, but later I discovered this was actually black mold because it wiped off onto the paper towel when I cleaned the can to take a photo to show Purina the damaged lining. I fortunately discovered this before my cats ingested any of the food. I reported this to Purina and sent photos. They said they would look into it and sent me coupons, but I never heard anything further. I also contacted the fda about this, but they couldn't even be bothered to take 5 minutes of their time to reply or follow-up at all, so I have 0 faith in them. One thing I have learned from this is that if your animals get sick these companies and the fda really do not care at all.

Some of the cans in the cases from Chewy also made my cats ill - the grilled canned food with cheese - there was no black mold in the cans of this variety, but it made one of my cats vomit and he was very sick the entire morning. I thought I was going to have to take him to the vet, but fortunately his condition improved later in the day. I attributed this as being a negative reaction to the cheese. Then two other cats ate the beef pate some time afterwards and vomited; one was hiding under the bedcovers crying pitifully because he was so sick. Fortunately, both recovered; other cats I have read about on this website and elsewhere sadly have not been so lucky.

I have seen so many negative reviews regarding Purina foods and also spoiled products from online vendors. People say they bought a certain food from an online vendor and their cat or dog wouldn't eat the food they always loved but they ate the same food from their grocery store or they became ill from the food purchased online but were ok if the food was purchased locally. I know there are definitely issues with Purina (on Chewy other people left reviews stating they too found the same black mold I saw in Fancy Feast Gourmet Naturals cans).

I am also wondering in addition to Purina, if some of these problems could also be due to issues with either warehouse storage or unsafe imitation copycat products offered by third party sellers via online vendors. I have seen multiple complaints in reviews about foods from several big name online retailers making animals ill. If people leaving reviews on this website could tell us if the products were purchased from a local store or online (or both as in my case) that would be incredibly helpful. Since I purchased mine locally and online I know the problem is with Purina and even quite possibly the online vendor based on other reviews I have seen of animals rejecting or becoming ill from eating foods from this same vendor.

The most concerning (and revealing) thing I saw when doing research (and this just might be the answer to all of these illnesses and deaths) was the following one star review on Purina's own website from 7 years ago regarding Friskies Shreds Turkey & Cheese Dinner in Gravy which I have copied and pasted (this is also viewable on Purina's website when you search this product on their website as of 12/31/23:

7 years ago

I've fed my cat various Purina products and she likes most of them. However, Something strange is going on with the current box I have. I open a can and everything is normal. When the can sits for a couple of hours, part of it turns a weird bright red. I throw it out and open a new can. Same thing--4 cans the same. I'll send pictures. Is there a recall on skew 5000041220? I'm afraid to give it to my fur baby."

"office of consumer affairs

Thanks for reaching out to us. It is a common species of bacteria that occurs naturally throughout the environment, and can be found in soil, water, on plants, animals and in the intestines. This bacterium also is found traveling freely throughout the air in some homes. If you'd like to learn more about this, don't hesitate to call us at 800-877-7551."

If you search what the Purina representative wrote: "a common species of bacteria that occurs naturally throughout the environment, and can be found in soil, water, on plants, animals and in the intestines" the result (according to Google) is coliforms/coliform bacteria. When I asked Google "What bacteria is found in soil and water?" I found this:

"Coliform bacteria include a large group of many types of bacteria that occur throughout the environment. They are common in soil and surface water and may even occur on your skin. Large numbers of certain kinds of coliform bacteria can also be found in waste from humans and animals. Escherichia coli, known more simply as E. coli, is one type of fecal coliform bacteria." When you consider all this, no wonder so many animals are getting so sick and dying from Friskies and Fancy Feast. If this bacteria is indeed E. coli (based on Purina's own description) this would make animals very, very sick and could cause death.

I also searched bacteria in indoor environments and saw this: "Studies have shown that of the bacteria found in indoor air, the most common four are: Micrococcus, Staphylococcus, Bacillus, and Pseudomonas. Staphylococcus is another sphere-shaped bacterium. It is much more well-known than Micrococcus, especially in the context of hospitals. When the medical profession refers to MRSA, they mean a particularly drug-resistant strain of this bacterium. However, Staphylococcus is found virtually everywhere, and usually does not result in infection. It is very common on skin, and can also be found in the nasal passages, throats, and hair of 50% of healthy individuals. Food poisoning and skin infections, as well as toxic shock syndrome, are among the illnesses caused by Staphylococcus. Unlike Micrococcus, Staphylococcus is able to grow both with and without oxygen."

I also emailed Purina about their use of ethoxyquin (banned for use in humans due to cancer concerns) and they said they have used it for years and it is perfectly safe. They said they use it in all their products, dry and wet, except for Purina Pro Plan (which it is not added to) but they said traces of it may be found if fish meal is present in the food. Purina said it is harmless, but now I know they use this (even though it is not listed anywhere on any of their ingredient lists) when I think of how many animals I have lost to various cancers through the years while they were eating dry Purina food compared to how many I have lost to cancer after switching to another dry food the last couple of years, it is quite shocking. (At least 10 animals to cancers while on Purina, I lost only 1 to cancer after switching foods, and I believe his cancer developed due to allergy injections as the cancer formed at the site of his injections.)

I am using Hill's Science Diet dry food at the moment for my cats and dog which also has its share of problems, such as causing excessive water drinking and also not the best ingredients, but at least they do not use ethoxyquin and my cats do not vomit/regurgitate every time after eating their dry food like they did with Purina. I am not thrilled about either brand really and I am strongly considering making my own vet approved food based on Dr. Lisa ** DVM's website so I will have some control over what actually goes into their food.

If reviewers will list what they are using now to replace Purina I think that would be helpful to many folks in case someone is in urgent need of a replacement food. I had hoped to use Fancy Feast or Friskies products as part of my cats' wet food diet as they were recommended and mentioned as being affordable options, but after reading so many horror stories and experiencing my cats' illnesses myself I do not trust Purina at all.

We tried a prescription shampoo and hydrocortisone cream, which would give them relief for about three days, if that, and then we'd have to repeat the process. We even ripped 2 rooms of old carpet in our house in case they were harboring something (although no humans or other animals in the house had symptoms of anything- no bites, rashes, nothing). Nothing helped. I get online and look up Purina and it turns out lots of people starting experiencing issues this year, including with Purina One specifically.

I don't know what changed, but we are discontinuing use of this product. We've switched brands, and in the meantime we're only feeding them homemade food for a month to see if their skin clears up. If it does, I'll be so grossly disappointed with Purina. We've spent hundreds of dollars searching for relief, and our dogs have been consistently miserable for months now. People trust you, you know. Our pets are family, and would you sit and watch a family member scratch open wounds in their skin for weeks and be ok with it? Very disappointing.

I called Fancy Feast, they refused to admit there was any formulation change or that there could possibly be anything wrong with their food since they've never had a recall. Completely unhelpful. Then, it happened again. My cat started eating the salmon pate and she became violently ill again! Same weird little white bits in the food. WILL NEVER FEED CATS FANCY FEAST AGAIN. This is too bad, because I've relied on their brand for two decades.

Cat #3- 2 year old female. Vomiting after EVERY single meal containing Friskies products. This has been occurring for more than 3 months. Now I know why. Friskies cat food is poison!!! Avoid this product at all cost!!! If this is all you can afford, I'm sorry. Please reconsider owning a pet.