Felidae Canned

[garypen]

One of my cats threw up right after eating the Felidae Cat & Kitten canned food. He wouldn't try it a second time. Plus, it has an extremely slushy and soupy consistency. And, the can isn't even full! (It's maybe 2/3 full.)

Overall, we hated it, and will be returning the remaining cans. I wouldn't recommend this brand of canned food to anybody.

Oh yeah. They couldn't even glue the labels on straight! If that simple part of the canning process can't be done properly, how can I assume the more complex parts, such as mixing the ingredients, killing bacteria, sealing the cans airtight, etc are done properly. (I've read many user reviews of Felidae complaining of inconsistencies from batch to batch.)

[reddancer]

My cats love the Felidae. I've never gotten a soupy can. It's always in loaf form. I feel comfortable using this brand because they say right on their website that all their ingredients are 100% grown in the USA.

[garypen]

It sounds like their manufacturing quality is inconsistent. But, I am glad your cats like it. It's so hard to find foods that are both safe and enjoyable to our cats.

[jenny]

We've been trying the Felidae canned just since Sunday.  Have only been feeding it for dinner to my three cats - one can split between the three of them.   One of my cats would barely touch the first three cans I purchased.  I went back and purchased three more just because the label analysis on this one is so good - I didn't want to give up too early.  Well, the next few cans are completly different - more broth, darker in color.  The cats gobble it up.  I mentioned to someone else on itchmo and they noticed the same thing.  The other odd thing - the first cans sell by date was August 2007, the second set is 2009!!  So, makes you wonder how old the other cans were! 

I'm still not 100 % sure on this one.  I noticed one of the cats having problems chewing some of it tonight .  I picked up the bit he was chewing on.  Could tell it was meat but it was like the tough part of chicken if you know what I mean.  I didn't let him eat it.  In one of the other cats bowls was a small bit of bone.

So, plan on continuing a bit longer - but if quality isn't good will stop.  I don't find the consistency a problem  - the later cans were a bit softer, but not that bad. 

I got to wonder - someplace someone said they think the canned is done by Evanger's.  And I think I read about inconsistency with their product too.

[jenny]

Well, the cats have been eating this one for diiner since April 15.  They are gobbling it up.  It is a bit dark and although I wouldn't call it gloppy, there is a fair amount of broth on the newer cans.  However, the cats are eating it and seem to like it.  Also the label analysis is good - 50 % protein on a dry matter basis.   This is a keeper for now (I would like to rotate every 3 months or so.)

[jenny]

Well - I just sent this email to Felidae today:
On Sunday, April 15, I began to try different food options for my three cats to move them off their current diet.  As part of this effort, I purchased three cans of your Felidae cat & kitten canned formula.  All three cans had a 2007 sell by date - one of my three cats seemed very tentative about eating it.  But I tried again and purchased 3 more cans and then more after that.  The second and third purchase all have Sept or Oct 2009 sell by dates.  The newer cans have more liquid and are darker brown than the older cans - the difference is obvious.

But what is concerning me - is the quality of the product.  I really want to like your product - on a dry matter basis with protein at 50%, and so many good sources of animal protein!!
However, in the short time I've been trying the product - I've already had three cans that were of suspect quality (all the 2009 dates):
1)  One can had rubbery meat (looked like chicken) that my cat could not chew - the same can also had a shart bit of bone in it.  After opening this can I make a point to always mush the food before giving it to my cats.
2)  A can I opened today had a large (one inch), hard, brown object in it - I was trying to cut through the can to divide it between the cats and could not cut through it with a knife. I threw the can away.
3)  The second can I opened today had a smaller piece of brown 'stuff' in it.  I did feed the cats this can after fishing out the foreign object.

I wanted to pass this information on as quality for my cats is very important - and I expect quality to be the same from can to can.  If I continue to see the poor quality, than I would not continue to feed this food to my cats.  I also think that quality is important to you as well. 

Thanks for your attention to this matter!

[garypen]

I was wary of it's consistency, as well, as I mentioned above. I was not impressed with it, regardless of ingredient list or reputation. (I felt the same about Evangers. I think I may have read  that Evangers manufactures for Felidae, but I could be mistaken. It wouldn't surprise me, though.)

[jenny]

I had read about the Evanger's link as well - and have heard the same complaints about their product.

[cw]

I had the same experience with Felidae. My cat ate it without hesitation, but threw it up within an hour.  I poked around the can with a fork, and it was a soupy mess with a few unidentifiable bits floating around.

I too had heard that it is made by Evangers, and when you compare cans in the store, they are very similar in color and shape, and are quite different from the cans from Menu. The manager of one of the two stores I’ve been frequenting thought it was made by Evangers as well.

It looked good on paper, but I won’t be buying any more Felidae.

The other pet food store I shop at is discontinuing Felidae/Canidae due to what they perceived as a lack of consistency. They even went so far as to say that they had lost trust in the company.

[kaffe]

I just fed my cats the very first Felidae canned they have ever had.  After the intial sniff-sniff suspicion, both lapped up their bowls.  The older cat (9 yrs old) wanted more.  The can I gave is the senior formula "Platinum," really meant for my senior slightly over-weight kitty.   The consistency and color is very similar to the paste Organic Turkey and Squash of Evangers.  Well, Evangers makes the canned formulas of Felidae.  So far, of the one 13 oz can I have opened, I find nothing to complain about.  The "Use By" date is 2012, so it seems to have been newly manufactured. 

[KimS]

My cats threw up Felidae Wet both times I fed it to them. No more for them. I use Wellness now and no more puking.
A side note: Just because the ingredients sound good on paper doesn't mean the quality is good. Not poisonous, just bad. Conversely, just because something is manufactured by Menu foods doesn't mean it's poisonous either.

[DebJ]

Re Jenny's post.  I recently started feeding Evanger's (who reportedly make Felidae) and I also found a piece of rubber-y looking chicken in a couple of the cans and also a small piece of bone.  I'm still using it but  mash it before I give it to them.  I wish there were more choices.

[Mary K]

Hi, everyone,
Not too many choices left, that's for sure. But if you have something that your pets like and they seem to thrive, hang-in-there! This whole mess will some day be sorted out, and I am hoping all pet foods will then be very good quality -from the cheapest to the most expensive. As long as we keep calling the companies, asking questions, demanding quality, and telling them what we want...and as long as they know we are checking on them and will catch any false statements...This is a real turning point and some day there will hopefully be no more jokes about what is in pet foods. Those ingredients will be what we have demanded. We all are making that change happen right now! Networking like this keeps us abreast of what others are using successfully and we all appreciate your input!

[cw]

My cats threw up Felidae Wet both times I fed it to them. No more for them. I use Wellness now and no more puking.
A side note: Just because the ingredients sound good on paper doesn't mean the quality is good. Not poisonous, just bad. Conversely, just because something is manufactured by Menu foods doesn't mean it's poisonous either.

Yeah, I know, but without the benefit of a laboratory in our kitchens...  the label, the sharing of experiences on the 'net, and some educated guesses are what we have to go on. Well, that and the all-important barf-test.

Still, the reason I won't be buying any more is the same as yours - my cat can't keep it down. It's not really a judgement or indictment.

[garypen]

A side note: Just because the ingredients sound good on paper doesn't mean the quality is good. Not poisonous, just bad. Conversely, just because something is manufactured by Menu foods doesn't mean it's poisonous either.

But, a lot of people don't want their money to go to Menu. It's perfectly understandable.

Of course, some people take it way too far, and won't buy dry food from a company that has their canned food made by Menu. Now, that is ridiculous.