Purina Indoor Formula made my cats sick!

I've been feeding my cat (he's 7) the indoor formula from Purina for years now and I occasionally switch it up with another formula but almost always stick to Purina.  Anyways, last week he started throwing up a few hours after he ate.  I've been using the same bag of food for awhile so I didn't think it was the food at first, maybe an allergy or something that developed.  I switched to wet food and he was perfectly fine.  I thought maybe it was just a stomach problem so again I tried incorporating a little of dry into his wet food and hours later he threw up.  After that I still thought the problem was my cat.

A few days later I dumped a bunch of the food outside for the apartment cats that wander around since I didn't want it to go to waste.  This afternoon when I came home there was a huge pile of throw up on the breezeway.  I immediately contacted Purina and asked if they'd had any other complaints with the batch and they evaded my answer and just said they were sorry and would send me a coupon for a free bag. They also said that my bag (with the brown haired lady petting a grey and white cat) was from the April batch and they changed the formula in May.

Has anyone else had this problem?  Please let me know!

I am so sorry you went through this problem..... There were some threads here about Purina, as there were some reports of cats and dogs getting sick.... The problem was earlier in the year it seems....

There are quite a few complaints in here: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/ralston.html

No, you are not the only one to experience these symptoms, I am afraid

Those stories are awful!  It makes me scared to try Purina again even though this is the first problem I've had with them.

There are sooooo many complaints on Purina it is not funny. Nestlé Purina should NOT be getting away with this!!!!!

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/ralston.html
http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/purina---friskies-adverse-event-reports.html
http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/purina-pro-plan-cat-food-adverse-event-reports.html
http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/purina-pro-plan-dog-food-adverse-event-reports.html

That's why I switched to Whiskas wet from Fancy Feast. I know Whiskas isn't quality but it is one food my cat will eat while I try to switch him onto quality wet (slowwwww process). Good luck finding a food for your kitty!

bluebo said:

That's why I switched to Whiskas wet from Fancy Feast. I know Whiskas isn't quality but it is one food my cat will eat while I try to switch him onto quality wet (slowwwww process). Good luck finding a food for your kitty!

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FF Classics isn't as bad as say, the FF Shredded or etc. because those varieties contain wheat gluten (ingredient that was tainted with melamine in the big recall of '07). Whiskas isn't too bad, but avoid the shredded and sliced stuff too. Pate is normally okay, even if it is a lower quality wet food, at least he is not eating kibbles!

I switched to Purina One Indoor Formula dry cat food about a year ago and had never experienced any problems with it. However,  in the last week, my cat started acting unusual, lethargic, wanting to be alone.  Within a few days, she was hissing and growling at family members which was very strange for her usual very loving personality. Her appetite and toilet habits stayed the same but I knew something was wrong and grew suspicious of the new bag of food I had recently bought and started using. So, I went to the grocery and bought a bag of Meow Mix and started feeding it.  Within 24 hours my cat had returned to her usual friendly, loving self.  No more Purina ANYTHING bought here. 

Avoiding dry food is generally good for every cat, especially foods like purina cat chow that are packed with grains and filler foods. For one it's very high in carbohydrates(even high end brands like Wellness and TOTW).  Cats are strict carnivores and have no dietary need for carbs in their diet. A Wild cat's diet is around 3% carbohydrate but most dry foods have at least 30% carbohydrate(40's and 50's in many cases).

Second, dry food is completely devoid of moisture. Cats have a very low thirst drive, and have evolved to get the majority of their water from the food they eat. Since cat's don't drink much, cats fed a kibble-based diet are in a chronic state of mild dehydration, which invites issues like urinary infections, kidney disease, digestion problems, etc. 

Canned is definitely the way to go. Try to avoid the gravy/chunky flavors(they usually high carb and contain gluten). Pate form is best and usually has the least fillers. 

I feed wet and dry, but I have had issues with Purina for my cat and dog.  Too much CORN and other preservatives i think.  My dog's coat became dull.  I switched both dogs and cats to a high quality, high protein (they need more meat) formula with no corn wheat soy or by product meal.

My cats do not throw up much at all, I give them laxatone too for hairballs.  I also give them wellness canned chicken and Sheba turkey canned food.

Mona

Our cats used to eat Purina One and did so for many years without any real issues.  The only problem was that our oldest cat, who is now 10, would throw up...A LOT.  It was mostly undigested food.  We ended up switching to 4Health, which we found at Tractor Supply.  It has no corn, wheat, or soy (all the bad fillers).  It also has lots of fruits and vegetables in it.  We use both the indoor dry formula as well as a variety of flavors of the wet food and the results have been amazing.  We have 4 indoor cats and their coats have totally transformed and look AMAZING on this food and they don't shed nearly as much.  Our oldest cat has completely stopped throwing up.  Another huge bonus with this food is that the litter box is a lot cleaner now since they actually digest the ingredients and don't need to eliminate as much.  We even ended up switching our 2 golden retrievers and our black lab to 4Health as well (they had been eating Pro Plan previously).  They're also doing really well on it.  No more Purina foods in our house!