Hello and important information on a cat food

Hello ;

I am new to this site and would like to introduce myself and share some important information on my recent experience with a cat food in hopes to prevent other cats from getting sick.

I have 4 rescued cats and am very involved in cat rescue. I have focused mostly on Persian cats as they do not survive the shelters very well due to their increased susceptibility to respiratory problems. I rescue as much as I can on my own as well as help support rescue organizations. I learned a great deal regarding cat health from all my rescues over the years working closely with vets, both conventional and holistic. My background as a cancer researcher also allows me to work with my vets to come up with the best treatment regimens for pets with cancer. Having said this, however, I have come to realize that when a pet's time has come, even the best medicine is not sufficient and it is best to end the suffering. I have had to do just this with 4 of my rescued Persians last year who were 17 years old. I still have one sibling who is 18.

Having introduced myself, I now would like to share with everyone my recent experience with the Merrick brand of canned cat food, specifically, Before Grain quail formula and possibly other formulas. Two of my cats who ate this food became violently ill with vomiting and diarrhea. My 18 year old became ill hours after eating this food and my 1 year old took a few days as she only had a taste. Both cats had the same symptoms and my other 2 cats who did not eat this food were fine. After several days of not eating the Merrick food, both cats recovered with a lot of care and antibiotics. I have contacted the company and filed a report with the FDA as well as warned the store which sold the food. Merrick denied any responsibility for the food despite my vet's reports. During this time, I found other complaints about the same food on the internet. Clearly, there is a serious problem with this brand of food and everyone needs to become aware of it and protect their pets. I imagine, when enough animals have become sick, the company will not be able to deny their problem any longer and the FDA may finally act. Please beware of the Merrick brand of pet food and check for recalls for any brand to keep your pets safe. If possible, prepare your own food keeping in mind to prepare a balanced diet with all required supplements. 

I hope that everyone's pets will be safe.

Hi Simbacat and WELCOME to TCS!

I am so sorry your cats were ill! I did not see any specifics posted in regards to your vet's reports. Can you give more specifics and did the company offer any explanation as to why they did not acknowledge any culpability in your cat's illness?

I would guess it was a bad batch. Which may happen with everything, even human food can get contaminated.  You were maximal unlucky.

the peculiar is the company wont cooperate with these helping them with warning as they should.

I hope they "just" want to avoid payments on millions dollar each, but themselves are correcting the faults in production in their intern work...

Deep sorry for your experience, and tx for the warning!

Welcome to our Forums!

Good luck!

ps.  Stopping and destroying that bad batch already outside is of course also necessary. it is not just a production problem for next batch...   Which stopping they neglect if they neglect the alarms...   

I just recently bought 3 cans of BG Quail formula, I have fed one of those cans, and my kitties were fine eating it.

My vet noted the GI issues observed and prescribed antibiotics and fluids. When I informed my vet that the symptoms occurred after eating the Merrick food and that I suspected the batch of food, my vet concurred that there must have been an issue with the food. I am not the only one to complain about this very same food. The Merrick vet insisted that there were underlying health issues with my cats. While one can say that one of my cats is old (18 years) and may have a weakened immune system, my other cat is a healthy 1 year old with no underlying health issues and developed violent vommitting and diarrhea. I find it difficult to say that she had an underlying health issue that suddenly resulted in her violent GI symptons.

I hope this answers your questions.

I think you got lucky with the batch you bought as myself and others have had our cats become ill after eating this food. I would not risk my pet's health with Merrick foods after my experience. It was very scary and as I said to another member, I find it difficult to think that there was another reason, other than the batch of food, to explain my cat's illness. Just too many coincidences and typical food poisoning symptoms.

You may have gotten a bad batch. I've been feeding BG Turkey canned for nearly 2 years (case per month) and never had any issues. I believe, per Merrick's Facebook page and some googling, they are coming out with a new line of food called Purrfect Bistro, which looks to take the place of the BG line. Best of luck!

I obviously did and I am not alone. You are lucky not to have seen what I had to. I am looking to switch to a raw food that is from a very reputable company. Hope your cats continue to do well.

I'm so sorry your kitties had to experience that. Did you keep any of the cans purchased with the apparently bad batch, so they can be tested?

Earlier this year, a consumer reported to TruthAboutPetFood that there was mold in some cans of her Merrick food purchased. The problem was post-packaging though, not at the company.

I think it should be borne in mind that even reputable companies can have problems from time-to-time.

What raw food are you going to be feeding? If you need transition tips, or want input from others that use commercial raw foods, please join us in the TCS raw feeding forum. http://www.thecatsite.com/f/65/raw-feeding-for-cats My only thoughts on commercial raw are... the same as any food, really. Variety is best. :rub:

No, I do not have any cans for testing as I had only bought 2 cans to try which were mostly eaten and the remainder thrown away before any problems were obvious. I did see the report you mentioned and that only confirmed my suspicions. However, I also ran across a forum warning people on the exact formulation (quail). As far as the canning problems, this is still a facility that the company uses and I hold the company responsible. I, especially, blame the company for not admitting to the problem and denying all responsibility using the craziest excuses. There is no doubt that there was a problem with the food. I wonder how many pets will become ill before they admit there is a problem. A reputable company would have had a voluntary recall and not risk the health of pets. Merrick is not a reputable company in my opinion. There are others that agree with me on this one.  There are better companies that have good control of all the processes that go into supplying pet food. You can find these by researching on the internet. Generally, they are not owned by large corporations.

Hope all your  pets stay safe.

We too, suspect our cats got worms via Canned Catfood!!! The can we suspect, had been tossed out, when we discovered the live grub- like woms in their litter box. I thought  maybe the food was just spoiled...when we bought it. We use mostly Friskies and 9Lives. Neither of us know what store that can came from. It caused  a Dear old cat, a great deal of sickness;and us a very Big Vetrinairy Bill. Mad??? You bet!! VERY Angry.

I hear you cat mom 99. I share your sentiments. Unfortunately, this is all too common and the pet recalls are forever expanding. I have learned that several companies that were once reputable have been bought by large corporations ( such as Diamond pet foods and the likes) and then the quality is just not maintained. Thus, everyone must do their research and always check to not only find out the latest recalls but to also check on what companies are bought by large corporations. This news can often be found on the internet from pet health and nutrition websites. I will post this information once I find which site it was on when I read it several weeks ago. By the way, Friskies and 9Lives are not known to be the most high quality foods for pets. You can tell this from the ingredients as they  use a lot of fillers and byproducts. There are many good books on pet nutrition that will guide you to the right kind of pet food. I recommend the ones by Marty Goldstein and Shawn Messonier but there are many more. These books are really enlightening.

Welcome to TCS! 

Sorry about your Kitties - glad they are doing better!

What a shame that you didn't have the lot number or expiration date.

A situation such as yours (if actually related to the food) is typically only associated with a limited number of lots.

I just bought a case of BG Quail a week or 2 ago - they have eaten 3 or 4 cans with no problems.

Glad to know that your cats are fine and that not all the quail formula has issues. In my case, there is no doubt on my mind or on my vet's mind that the food was the issue in my cats' illness. Apparently, I was not alone in having a problem with the quail formula as there was a warning posted by someone else on Ichmo (sp?) Forum. In any case, glad to know that the issue with the Merrick BG quail formula is not a widespread problem and that your cats are well. Do keep in mind, however, that Merrick has had recalls in the past for salmonella contamination in their dog treats among other problems. This fact makes me very apprehensive about feeding my pets Merrick food. I would prefer a company that has never had any issues in the past. Still no guarantee, but I like the chances better.

Bought a can of Merrick Perfect Bistro Surf & Turf.  5 Minutes after eating a small amount of it my cat became violently ill.   There is obviously something wrong with this company and it's products!!!!!

Merrick certainly has problems. Avoid feeding your pets this company's products. Why take the chance?