Calling all Canucks! re. Fancy Feast Classics

Hello all,

Since hearing about the Classic version of Fancy Feast and how it doesn't contain grains OR carageenan (still can't believe how FF can do this and not other companies), I have been trying to locate this in my area but am not having any luck. After calling a few stores, as well as checking a few forums online from Canada, I am getting the impression that the FF Classic might not be available here?

My female Maggie does not particularly like the more expensive meat diets (Wellness and others) that I serve, but will eat it reluctantly. I rotate with FF now and then to give her a break from the Wellness Grain-free chicken. I would prefer to stick to grain-free diets, and was delighted to hear about the FF Classic.

If anyone out there has some information about FF in Canada, or has been able to purchase FF Classic here, I would love to hear from you. Thanks very much!

Maybe they don't understand when you ask for Fancy Feast Classic? It's just the pate formulas of FF, so if the label doesn't say Classic, just make sure it's a pate and not shreds or chunks. You should be able to find the Classic formulas wherever you're buying FF now.

Willowy said:

Maybe they don't understand when you ask for Fancy Feast Classic? It's just the pate formulas of FF, so if the label doesn't say Classic, just make sure it's a pate and not shreds or chunks. You should be able to find the Classic formulas wherever you're buying FF now.

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I have looked in a few places, placed a few calls and have been very specific in saying that the can clearly indicates 'Classic'. It is rather strange that even the larger pet food chains like PetSmart are not carrying this. I may have to contact Purina at some point and see if I can connect with a 'human' to find out what the deal is in Canada.

The can may not say classic in Canada. Or the employees might not be looking in the right place. But I can pretty much guarantee that if they sell Fancy Feast at all, they have the pate varieties too.

Our cans don't say "Classic" here, they just say "pate".

l guess there's too much room taken up on the can to include both English and French to include the extra word

We do have the pates here for sure. But I have been getting the grilled chunky stuff as Maggie prefers this to the Pate. I just got off the phone with someone at Pet Smart and they confirmed that the 'pate' variety does not list either Carageenan or Wheat Gluten which is great. Thank you both for pointing out the difference.

Just for further confirmation and to be sure, I put a call in to Purina and left a message for them to get back to me.

I am thinking that the shredded and chunky varieties contain carageenan and wheat gluten as they are looser diets than a pate. When I hear from Purina, I will ask them to clarify.

So what is French for pate that it takes up so much room?  

Glad you have found a souce for it though. 

LOL, therein lies its beauty, there is no need to add the word "Classique"

This can doesn't even have room to say pate:  http://asset5.wellmedia.ca/i/910f082c0e28dbacb55cbbe6b049c11c_ra,w403,h403_pa,w403,h403.jpeg

Andrya said:

 
LOL, therein lies its beauty, there is no need to add the word "Classique"

This can doesn't even have room to say pate:  http://asset5.wellmedia.ca/i/910f082c0e28dbacb55cbbe6b049c11c_ra,w403,h403_pa,w403,h403.jpeg

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Gotta love our language laws here eh? Always have room for translations, but not important things to help consumers make sense of products. They seriously need to do something about the tiny ingredients list!

Yeah, FF classics here don't actually say "Classic" on the cans. You just need to look for FF pate versions, in the flavours you already know are "classics" (Chicken Feast, Beef Feast, etc).  I see them in every pet store (from local to chains), and every grocery/drug store (Safeway, Shopper's Drug Mart, etc). I don't buy them, as Jackie does not like pates period and seems to prefer the brands that are much harder on my wallet (Weruva and Merrick mostly!), but I do always see them anyway.

That is odd how different the label is.  Ours doesn't have "Purina" prominently and has a little circle that says it's 100% Complete & Balanced and it also fits "Gourmet" on the bottom where there's a yellow strip that cuts off the cat and that's where Classic appears - or Grilled or whatever.  That "Gourmet" probably influences the cat because I've begun to think that she checks prices otherwise.

I think the lack of carrageenan is the tipoff though.  Petco here has a dizzying array, plus half of it is above my head. So what is holding FF together if they don't use carrageenan?

I was wrong.  The grilled does not list carrageenan but it's easy enough to see that it has wheat gluten and cornstarch and soy protein concentrate so you know you're on the wrong track.  That is what gave Dandy loose stools (Chicken Feast in Gravy, Grilled).

Diana in PA

Thanks Diane. That is unfortunate re. the grilled and loose stools! This is what I have been feeding to Maggie. No problems with loose stools yet. You are right that it does not have the carageenan but does have wheat gluten and corn starch.

I just got off the phone with Purina, and they confirmed that the Pate does not contain Carageenan or Wheat Gluten.

I asked about the Grilled, Shredded diets and why some contain both, and as I suspected, it is because these are looser diets and the Carageenan helps to bind the food together. The Pate is a denser food and so does not require binding agents as much but may have something like corn starch. I don't have any pate on hand to confirm what's in it.

I have had the conversation with my holistic vet regarding Carageenan and the concern that it has been found to cause tumors. Her response was that Carageenan is an organic material derived from kelp. I asked Purina about the source of Carageenan that they use - where it comes from and if the type is a gum or gluten. The agent couldn't say for sure, but is going to get back to me with some information in the next couple of days. Will share with everyone what I find out.

One&AHalf - I went through the same investigation There is no 'Classic' label on FF in Canada but the ingredients are identical. 

Here's the scoop - I have 2 cases [24 each] from PetSmart 

-Chicken Feast Pate

-Liver & Chicken Pate 

They also have Turkey&Giblet Pate (I just returned 20 cans - I've had my cat between 3-4 weeks and I swear he's already allergic to Turkey - puke city)

Take a look for Beef Pate while you're there, I couldn't find it. 

Also, don't discount Grreat Choice (PetSmart house brand) - they have some equivalent 3 oz. Pates. 

Loblaws also has an 85 gram (3 oz) equivalent to Fancy Feast called 'PC extra meaty - Turkey&Giblet pate.'   There is no carrageenan in that 85g can (same as FF). And most of the time, it will be cheaper.  There's nothing wrong with it as far as I can tell.   

Good luck.  

My Canuck cats thank you for all your research. They eat the pate. When I've accidentally bought the wrong type of FF, they're only interested in the "gravy" and leave the rest.

Marc999 said:

 
One&AHalf - I went through the same investigation  

Here's the scoop - I have 2 cases [24 each] from PetSmart

-Chicken Feast Pate

-Liver & Chicken Pate 

They also have Turkey&Giblet Pate (I just returned 20 cans - I've had my cat between 3-4 weeks and I swear he's already allergic to Turkey - puke city)

Take a look for Beef Pate while you're there, I couldn't find it. 

Also, don't discount Grreat Choice (PetSmart house brand) - they have some equivalent 3 oz. Pates. 

Loblaws also has an 85 gram (3 oz) equivalent to Fancy Feast called 'PC extra meaty - Turkey&Giblet.'   There is no carrageenan in that 85g can (same as FF). And most of the time, it will be cheaper.  There's nothing wrong with it as far as I can tell.   

Good luck.  

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Yes, I seem to remember seeing something from you about the Turkey - That's really unfortunate. It could be that the Turkey might just be too rich (probably the giblets), in comparison to the others. Maggie has been known to vomit her feeding not too long afterwards. Either eating too fast or the food is too rich for her. It would be nice if she could be as interested in the Pate - more variety, but I think she finds this a little too gummy which is probably why she is not so fond of the Wellness which is fairly thick and gummy in consistency. It has carageenan.

I have tried the PC stuff - Yes, I would agree it is not too bad - Currently have a couple of cans of the duck/wild rice and chicken with liver. It was on sale recently so I bought a few tins for Maggie. I like that it doesn't contain the carageenan.

cocheezie said:

My Canuck cats thank you for all your research. They eat the pate. When I've accidentally bought the wrong type of FF, they're only interested in the "gravy" and leave the rest.

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Glad to share. Anything for the kitties

Sometimes Maggie will lick through the grilled chicken and when I come for her dish, I see the rim of it lined with the chicken bits I just place this in the fridge and try again later. She usually finishes it up.

We've had quite a few "Classics" here and I've never seen corn starch on the ingredient list.  I suspect it's just in the gravy ones.  The Classics have guar gum though. Dandy doesn't get sick from Turkey & Giblets but she doesn't seem to act too lively after it. She's a weird cat.

I just got a message back from Purina re. the carageenan in some of the chunky and shredded diets .. The source of this is red sea algae which is processed and used as a gum type binder, rather than a gluten.

So, I did a little digging into this source, and found the following page which gives some interesting background on Carageenan, where it comes from, the uses for it and mentions both the animal and human studies that have been conducted (including a link to the studies by NCBI) and how the label of being considered a carcinogen, came about. Apparently there are two types of carageenan. Undegraded and degraded which have different chemical properties. It is the undegraded that has been approved for use in human and pet food, and degraded (in the form of polygeenan) which is the type that is considered the most harmful.

I don't want to give too much away but the article does seem to dispel a few previously conceived opinions about Carageenan. Here is the link : http://chriskresser.com/harmful-or-harmless-carrageenan

I like your digging around One&1/2Cats. That's decent information they provided. 

So according to that article you linked from that independent researcher, there's no definitive answer as to the degree of harmfulness of carrageenan.  The polygeenan is proven to be a problem substance, but that's not what is used in cat (or human foods)? 

End result is still the same I suppose - buying beware, take your chances since there's no definitive link, yet. 

Marc999 said:

 
I like your digging around One&1/2Cats. That's decent information they provided. 

So according to that article you linked from that independent researcher, there's no definitive answer as to the degree of harmfulness of carrageenan.  The polygeenan is proven to be a problem substance, but that's not what is used in cat (or human foods)? 

End result is still the same I suppose - buying beware, take your chances since there's no definitive link, yet. 

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Thanks. Yes, apparently it is Poligeenan (degraded carageenan) that is considered to be the most harmful but is not a direct substance that is used in human or pet food. It is undegraded Carageenan. This is not to say that undegraded Carageenan is problem-free, but in its basic state, is not harmful as previous reports have suggested it is. There are chemical processes and reactions that have to take place, that alter the undegraded carageenan, which make it potentially harmful, but this depends on a few things. If the information from the article is reliable, the size and type of animal are important, as is, the amount of carageenan in the source. Between 0.01% and 1% is what is used in processed human foods. This may be higher or the same for pet food?

If you read the NCBI study from the numbered links, and the last bit from the article, there are two key factors associated with the increased risk for ulcerations and neoplasms as the result of exposure to carageenan. These are some contamination present in the food source AND a reaction to acids in the digestive process when food containing carageenan is consumed. This causes the undegraded carageenan to become degraded and thus take on poligeenan-like characteristics. But, based on the significant differences between poligeenan and carrageenan found as the result of tests done on lab animals, indicates that even if some degradation does take place, carrageenan still doesn’t have the potential for harm that true poligeenan does. 

I think the moral here is, if you can use a food without thickeners, artificial flavors, preservatives, this will always be better, but take some consolation that carageenan is not the carcinogen that consumers have been led to believe it is, and that in all likelihood, the greatest risk might for pets who are already experiencing food sensitivity issues, and problems with digestion.