Merrick LID

Heads up to anyone that follows Natural Cat Care Blog, she updated her list of "best foods" removing Merrick's LID foods  stating that she received several "complaints" about the quality of the food since the Purina buy out and she's concerned the quality is declining.

I'm super bummed about this, especially because I just ordered a couple of cases from Chewy. I haven't noticed any issues other than some inconsistancies with the texture. I don't really know what to replace it with because my cats don't seem to like Nature's Variety LID. 

Sigh. The struggle for good quality food continues. 

Ugh I thought they upgraded it, now it is downgraded? I have had no issues and my cats like it!

Thanks for mentioning this, missmimz. Our cats love Merrick LID but it is definitely one of the most inconsistent foods we feed, in terms on consistency. And they do have a can-filling problem: the can I opened this morning had a big empty cavern under the food!

I also notice that the food blog says Weruva removed the starch (the tapioca) from their Cats in the Kitchen pouches. It's still listed on the pouches I have and on their Web site but I would definitely love to see it go--it just adds lots of carbs to "gravy" that I end up draining. Maybe I'll write to them to ask what's up with the tapioca. And see if they'll be removing it from Soulistic's chicken/pumpkin, too, which the cats also love since it's pretty much the same thing!

If you & your felines like Merrick continue to use it, just monitor the consistency. We've seen issues here, but they seem in the minority. My cats prefer NVI to Merrick, so I haven't been using Merrick much. Good luck.

Another good choice that my cats like is Hound & Gatos. You can get a case of 24 for the price of a case of 12 NVI.

I wish our cats liked Hound & Gatos more! They love the lamb but had a hard time finishing the other flavors.

Weruva already wrote back: they did not remove any starch from their foods!

Great! Honestly, it's so hard to keep up, and just when you think you've found a good food they go and change it.
Thanks for posting this. I mix and rotate their brands so much I don't think I'd notice much reaction, but I will be watching more closely when I feed this.

LisaHE said:

 
Weruva already wrote back: they did not remove any starch from their foods!

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Hmm that's interesting I didn't see the mention about the starch in the Weruva pouches on her site. I do feed those as well. I like her list and I think she does good research but I was disappointed she didn't go into detail about the "complaints" that she's received about Merrick. 

Red Dog said:

Another good choice that my cats like is Hound & Gatos. You can get a case of 24 for the price of a case of 12 NVI.

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Mine don't like H&G, unfortunately. 

Red Dog said:

If you & your felines like Merrick continue to use it, just monitor the consistency. We've seen issues here, but they seem in the minority. My cats prefer NVI to Merrick, so I haven't been using Merrick much. Good luck.

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Merrick is mostly a snack for my kids because I have several growing kittens. They eat about 70% raw right now but I also feed Weruva and Tikicat as well as a small amount of kibble as snacks too. I like to keep lots of variety in the house to avoid pickiness and boredom. I may or may not keep using Merrick. It's possible they are downgrading their meats since they are now owned by Purina. 

missmimz said:

 
Hmm that's interesting I didn't see the mention about the starch in the Weruva pouches on her site. I do feed those as well. I like her list and I think she does good research but I was disappointed she didn't go into detail about the "complaints" that she's received about Merrick. 

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The mention is this: Moved from 2nd to 1st place because no longer contains starch ingredient.

It's on the chart. I'd never noticed it, either: the listing's for Cats in the Kitchen pouches and cans. We feed a lot more cans than pouches because of the carbs. 

I was also disappointed there weren't details about the Merrick complaints, particularly after your weighing the can that came up so short. Our cats still love the LID food but I guess I'll monitor the ingredients to be sure they don't add meat meal (I didn't realize some Wellness Core has chicken meal until very recently!) or carrageenan or something else I'd prefer not to feed. I really need to get EZComplete and start making my own food!

I just bought 48 cans of the duck pate with carageenan on sale at Chewy.com for $50. My cats [emoji]10084[/emoji]️ It!

LisaHE said:

I was also disappointed there weren't details about the Merrick complaints, particularly after your weighing the can that came up so short. Our cats still love the LID food but I guess I'll monitor the ingredients to be sure they don't add meat meal (I didn't realize some Wellness Core has chicken meal until very recently!) or carrageenan or something else I'd prefer not to feed. I really need to get EZComplete and start making my own food!

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Most of my cats are still enjoying the EZ. My oldest is picky so sometimes he'll eat the EZ sometimes not, but my kittens like it. In fact I just ordered a second bag. I'm using it in rotation with some HT meat with bone to add variety. One of my cats that refuses homemade raw and only eats Rad Cat actually likes EZ, which was exciting. 

I think I will probably feed the two cases of Merrick i just bought and then reevaluate. 

bonepicker said:

I just bought 48 cans of the duck pate with carageenan on sale at Chewy.com for $50. My cats [emoji]10084[/emoji]️ It!

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That's a good deal! My cats don't like the duck so I only feed the LID chicken and turkey. 

missmimz said:

That's a good deal! My cats don't like the duck so I only feed the LID chicken and turkey. 

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Mine like duck best in any brand, I will keep feeding lid, regular and Grammy pot pie because they love it! I have to read or see specific problems myself. Because Merrick LID is less food I feed it mixed with Soulistic good Kharma or tiki puka luau small can! When the complaints are not specific, I take it with a grain of salt! I keep reading reviews on Chewy and Amazon. I have a friend who is a vet and thinks Merrick is one of the best foods ingredient and cost wise, my cats agree!

My cats inhaled the old Merrick duck with carageenan. I forgot how MUCH MORE they liked it over the LID Merrick.

bonepicker said:

My cats inhaled the old Merrick duck with carageenan. I forgot how MUCH MORE they liked it over the LID Merrick.

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Ah that's interesting. 

I decided to keep the two cases of Merrick LID I ordered from Chewys. My cats aren't having any issues with them so 

The old Merrick was so cheap on Chewy.com I could not resist buying 48 cans of duck for $1 a can my cats inhale it and look so happy after they eat it, maybe I should get the chicken too!