It might be one of the oldest pet food brands out there, so is Friskies a good cat food? The company was founded in 1934, which was only a few decades after the pet food industry began to take off. Initially, it focused mainly on dog food.
Beginning in the 1950s, the company started making specialty dog food entirely designed for puppies. This was a new and revolutionary idea at the time. The food was also appropriate for house cats. However, most cats didn’t like the taste of the puppy food and wouldn’t eat it.
Shortly afterward, Friskies began producing cat-only food. The start was very slow, though. At first, the company only sold the food on the West Coast of the United States. The brand was one of the first to start producing cat food.
Friskies is a subset of the Purina brand, which Nestlé owns. Many of the Friskies recipes are made in Purina facilities with all other Purina foods. Most ingredients are sourced from the United States, according to the company’s website. Some hard-to-find ingredients, including rabbit and duck, are sourced from other companies.
What Recipes Does Friskies Cat Food Have?
This brand has quite a few recipes and product lines. Some are designed to be used as treats, such as the Lil’ Soups broth line. Their widest variety is in its wet food. It has chunky wet food, pate shredded wet food, pate and gravy wet foods, and tons of others. There is just about every kind of wet food imaginable in this company’s arsenal.
It also offers seven varieties of kibble, which are all quite similar. This company has come far since the 1950s and now provides just about every sort of food you may want to provide your feline.
Does Friskies Use Quality Ingredients?
In most cases, Friskies does not use quality ingredients. It’s often considered a “budget” brand, though you can usually find better cat foods for a similar price. This seems to allow it to get away with using low-quality ingredients.
While meat is typically the first ingredient, it is typically of inferior quality and called “meat by-products.” This is mystery meat because if the company wanted you to know what the meat was, it would have listed it.
Most recipes also include plenty of fillers, including rice and corn. Even the wet foods contain quite a lot of carbohydrates, which are not a healthy choice for most cats.
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A Quick Look at Friskies Cat Food
Pros
Inexpensive
Variety of recipes available
Very few recalls
Made in the USA
Cons
Uses low-quality ingredients
Has Friskies Ever Been Recalled?
Friskies is a subset of Purina, one of the biggest cat food companies in the world. It makes tons of food, so you can expect it to have higher recall rates than other companies. The key is that the recalls should be low when compared to the amount of food that is produced. A company that produces a small amount of food but has frequent recalls should be checked carefully. Larger companies have a bit more leeway, as they produce more food.
Purina has had plenty of recalls. However, it has not had more than what you would expect from a large company. Many of its recalls are also minor, which is something to keep in mind when checking recall information.
Friskies, in particular, has had very few recalls. The brand did a voluntary recall in 2011 because of potential Salmonella contamination. However, there were no reports of any illnesses that were attached to that recall. This shows us that the company is watching its food and isn’t afraid to act in the best interest of its customers.
The pate-style of wet food seems to be one of the most popular that Friskies makes. The Friskies Classic Pate Turkey & Giblets Dinner Canned Cat Food is one such recipe. While it states that it has a turkey flavor, there isn’t much turkey. The first ingredient is “meat by-products,” which translates into “mystery meat.” By-products aren’t necessarily harmful, but the source of the by-products should be listed. Otherwise, there is no telling what the meat is.
Turkey is included as the third ingredient, though the second ingredient is only water. Poultry by-product is the fourth ingredient. This is an example of a good by-product ingredient, as the source of the by-products is listed. Poultry giblets are then included as the fifth ingredient. This food is relatively high in protein, which is especially appealing because of its inexpensive cost.
This recipe does include everything your cat needs to thrive. It is a 100% balanced meal. Because it is wet food, it can also help keep your feline hydrated. While this is true for all wet foods, some cats particularly benefit from this feature. It also includes all the added vitamins and nutrients your cat needs, including taurine for heart health.
Friskies isn’t as well-known for its dry food, but it is gaining in popularity. Friskies Indoor Delights Dry Cat Food is one of its better-known recipes. While it states that it contains chicken, salmon, and cheese, it doesn’t contain many of these ingredients. Firstly, ground yellow corn is the first ingredient, which is an obvious filler. Corn gluten meal is the second, which isn’t much better. This is a high-protein food, but it isn’t from meat, making it lower-quality than other options.
Chicken by-product meal finally shows up as the third ingredient. Salmon meal is exceptionally far down on the ingredient list, along with cheese powder. In other words, the ingredients of this cat food are incredibly low quality.
The macronutrient analysis shows this low-quality ingredient selection as well. It is extremely low in protein and fat, which are the two things cats need to thrive. Instead, it is pretty high in carbohydrates.
However, this food is very inexpensive. It is nutritionally complete, even if it is low in protein and fat. If you need to keep your costs low, this may be a solid option—even if it isn’t the best. It does include things like omega-fatty acids and can help promote a healthy weight for indoor felines.
Friskies Tender & Crunchy Combo Dry Cat Food is another popular dry food by this company. Many people state that their cats love this cat food, which is why it is so popular. It does appear to be quite tasty for felines at the very least. However, the ingredients are pretty sub-par.
The first ingredient is ground yellow corn, while the second ingredient is corn gluten meal. Neither of these ingredients is a high-quality option. They are some of the lowest-quality ingredients manufacturers can use. Chicken by-product meal is the third ingredient and is decently high quality. However, we would have liked to see it as the first ingredient. There aren’t any more instances of meat in the first five ingredients.
Meat and bone meal occurs as the seventh ingredient, but this is considered low-quality meat. This formula is also relatively low in protein and fat. These are the two main macronutrients felines need, so it is a bit strange that this recipe is low in those two nutrients.
Still, this is a 100% complete diet for adult cats. It contains antioxidants to support your cat’s immune system, omega fatty acids for an enhanced coat and plenty of vitamin A for vision health.
Calorie Breakdown:
What Other Users Are Saying
Many people said that their felines loved the flavor of this food. For whatever reason, this brand seems to make delicious cat food. Perhaps it’s because that’s what they were mainly concentrating on when they began making cat food to begin with. Cats of all sorts seem to like it, including those that were described as picky.
Those owners who left negative reviews were primarily concerned about the ingredients. As we’ve stated, they’re all pretty low quality. Most of this brand’s food contains artificial ingredients, low-quality filler, and poor meat choices. Many people were disappointed by the quality.
Some were also upset that the price fluctuated so much. It made it difficult for them to budget their cat food, as there was no telling what the price would end up being at any particular month. There were also reports of cats becoming sick after eating this recipe. However, we cannot figure out if that is because of the recipe itself or because the owners incorrectly switched the cat over to the new diet. Even very high-quality cat foods can cause problems if the cat’s diet is suddenly switched.
Conclusion
Friskies isn’t one of the best cat food brands out there. It’s known for using low-quality ingredients, like corn and rice. The first ingredient in its food usually isn’t meat, and when it is, it is a low-quality meat cut, like meat by-products. However, its food is widely reported to be very tasty and accepted by picky felines. Plus, it is incredibly cheap when compared to other foods.
For its price point, you may be unable to find better food that your feline will happily accept. In these circumstances, Friskies may be your best option. For most cat owners, though, you may want to look elsewhere for cat food.
Christian started writing for a local newspaper as a teenager, and he's been involved in the publishing industry for most of his adult life. Combining his love of writing with a passion for animals, he is currently the Director of Editorial at Pangolia and the Editor-in-Chief at Catster.
Christian lives in the Philippines with his wife, son, and four rescue cats: Trixie, Chloe, Sparky, and Chopper.
