Comments on: Whiskas Dry Cat Food

By: Bianca

Bianca — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 09:24:57 +0000

I have two cats. One is 9 years old and the other one is 6 months old. I must admit that I haven’t paid that close attention to what effect Whiskas may have on my cats. The 9 year old one has been on Whiskas all her life and she seems just fine, although not very active. I syringe fed the younger one for the first 2 months on Royal Canin milk, and afterward I kept with the pellets. She is now on Whiskas as well but after reading some of these comments I would rather go on a more expensive but healthier cat food.

By: Manasa

Manasa — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:28:40 +0000

Shifa,
I also live in India and Whiskas is the most widely available cat food brand I can find, though some others are available. But, I can’t seem to find any of the ones people tell me are the “best.” My cat has eaten mainly Iams and Whiskas and has had no major health problems (at least because of her diet), and her bowel movements are wonderfully healthy. She is active (a little too much sometimes) and has a healthy appetite. I would love suggestions for good cat food marketed in India. I give her a mix of Whiskas wet and dry food regularly, and she seems fine with it.

By: marilyn

marilyn — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 01:20:49 +0000

I am now raising my thrid cat. All my babies lived on Wiskers Dry & Friskies wet. Both lived to 14 years of age, and this girl is doing just fine. I like to give them wet food too as it helps keep everything moving Even my Vet agreed with me(just my opinion).Take care & give them lots of love.

By: amesy

amesy — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 00:41:05 +0000

I used to run a pet food store and when I brought the expensive canned stuff home, my cat wouldn’t touch it. Nutro, wellness, merrick, etc. This is a guy who was eating leftover mighty dog canned food that I used to put outside for the outdoor cats, along with anything else I had to give them.

As far as dry food; I had to deal with a diabetic dog for 7 years and when she didn’t like her food I had to run to give her something else because with a diabetic they have to have food in their stomach before you can give them a shot of insulin (Hence the leftover mighty dog canned food). I have always mixed at least 3 types of dry food together in one canister, usually 4 kinds, so he doesn”t get used to just one brand. After having to be on my hands and knees begging a sick dog to eat is the first and last time I will be begging an animal to eat its food. There is food in their cat bowls even if they don’t especially like it. I know their favorite canned flavors and their least favorites and every other day, they get a non fave. I do animal rescue and every rescuer buys mostly fancy feast if they can afford it or friskies and they cats are hanging in there for years.

By: Miss Char

Miss Char — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 13:26:47 +0000

Look through the reviews and you will see similar claims made against different brands of cat food. You will also see a common link to the problem: “After I changed my cats food”, “I tried X Brand because we were out of Regular Brand”, etc. People, cats have sensitive systems. Cats know what “works” for them. A sudden change from one food to another can bring about all sorts of problems. Food must be introduced slowly when changing to a different brand. Please stop saying “Had it not been for the negligence of Brand X, my kitten would still purr here, and the like.” Acknowledge the sensitive nature of our animal friends’ digestion. Don’t run out of X Brand or suddenly change your little ones food for whatever reason. If you do, put the blame where it belongs. Ninety percent of it, at least.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 23:36:58 +0000

Don’t buy Whiskas dry cat food! My husband picked it up because he didn’t see the cats normal food (Meow Mix). When we first gave it our cat he acted strange and kept trying to use the litter box. He also began sneezing a lot, so we thought he had a virus. We continued with the Whiskas along with wet food. Two weeks later, my cat has been at the emergency vet for 3 days with a blocked bladder. The vet said certain cat foods contain too much fiber and magnesium. This caused crystals to form in the bladder which block it. Unless you are trying to kill your cat, do not give them Whiskas cat food!

By: Liz

Liz — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 15:05:17 +0000

I bought a large bag of Whiskers because the brand I usually buy was unavailable. After feeding my cat Whiskers for about 2 months, I noticed that he was having issues peeing. I took him to the vet, and he had developed a urinary tract infection. While this can be common in male cats, it was most likely caused by this poor quality food. Pay a little more for high quality cat food (I get mine at my vet). Your pet will eat less, and hopefully you can avoid the costly vet bill.

By: Kaitlyn

Kaitlyn — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 18:57:46 +0000

Darlene, I would take him completely off the Whiskas food and onto premium canned food, if he will eat other brands of cat food.

It’s almost certainly the rancid fats and artificial flavors in the Whiskas that he likes.
Mixing premium dry food in the same bag or container with the Whiskas may transfer some of the tastes and smells of this “goodness” from the Whiskas to the premium food and make it more appetizing.

Also, if you haven’t already, try a grain-free cat food. Cats seem to like the flavor better.

By: Katie

Katie — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 00:43:40 +0000

Deanna-I have been feeding my 5 yo cat dry Science Diet since I adopted him as a kitten. I was recently researching something and discovered I really needed to be feeding him something completely different. I am probably giving him diabetes. Cats are obligate carnivores, and also need water in their food as well as to drink. Most if not all experts will agree they need to be fed canned food most if not all of the time. They cannot drink the amount of water that they need. Most dry food is loaded with carbs, when cats need meat. This is what they eat in the wild-they do not eat dry kibbles. One myth is that dry food cleans the teeth. This has never been proven-do pretzels clean your teeth? I’ve had 2 Petco employees tell me that cats need to be on 100% dry food for their teeth. I asked one about it, and she had no studies or anything to back it up. If there is a benefit in decreasing plaque, it is very minimal, and the extra hydration is far more important (this comes from vets, which look at the teeth of hundreds of cats). Nutrition-wise, look for a meat (chicken, turkey, fish, tuna, etc.) as the leading ingredient. Ingredients should not list any by-products, bone meal, corn sources or wheat gluten (the last 2 are especially important). Corn can cause allergic reactions. Wellness, grain free (and Wellness Core), Natural Balance, and Blue Buffalo are highly rated. After I learned about reading the ingredients, I looked at the ingredients in Science Diet Dry (Indoor)-chicken by-product meal, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, and ground whole grain corn were the first 4 listed. Horrible! Not even real chicken, it’s by-product-gross!…and a bunch of corn. It’s then sprayed with nasty stuff so that the cats will eat it. Needless to say, he is off the Science Diet now, and on canned Wellness. Luckily, he loves canned food. I recommend the website http://www.littlebigcat.com. I would start with “Selecting a Good Commercial Pet Food” and “Why Cats Need Canned Food.” “Does Dry Food Clean The Teeth” talks about that myth and cites several sources. These and several other articles are under “Free Article Library” on the left of the page. The site is by a veterinarian. I’ve discovered most vets are not trained in giving pet food recommendations, which is sad. I believe they get incentives from companies like Hills (Science Diet). Hope this helps some. Your cat is lucky that you can afford the best!!

By: Julie Wilson

Julie Wilson — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:11:00 +0000

We have 5 cats who until now will not look at anything other than the blue packets of Purina with the odd packet of kitten formula thrown in. We got a sample, given to us my the neighbours, and boy our 5 cats are happy. I’m really amazed. I wonder if they changed the formula recently, because we tried it about 4 years ago and it was given the thumbs down by our fur babes, but now they love it! They also eat your Whiskas canned cat food. Cheers!