Is anyone else having problems with Friskies?

aranoid3 The addition of chicory to Friskies dry cat food has resulted in two very ill cats in my home. I have had these cats since they were 5 days old - fed them with an eyedropper when I rescued them after dog killed their feral mom. They have eaten Friskies Ocean Fish since they started eating solid food. I know there is better food, but Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m on a fixed income and have to "share" the food with other cats that keep showing up on my porch. My cats recently experienced loose stools then bad diarrhea. I thought it might be the well water here at this house, but after trips (spelled with an $) to the vet with no diagnosis, I turned to their food - perhaps a batch of Friskies may have been contaminated in some way. I called Friskies & the rep was not the least bit surprised when I explained the reason for my call. She said that they added chicory to the product recently. I went to the store and read the bags of Friskies. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t read the label each & every time I buy the same cat food Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve ALWAYS bought & I had poured the contents of my bag into sealed container to keep it fresh. Lo & behold the label touts the benefits of chicory as it relates to digestion. Not MY catsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] digestion!!

Since hearing about the chicory, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve tried to research any other adverse reactions. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve heard of owners suddenly having allergic reactions to their pets (dermatitis, sneezing, etc.) on Friskies as well as cats having digestion problems. Is anyone else who is using Friskies dry cat food having problems?

PS Slippers and Socks are now on Science Diet for sensitive stomachs until I can get them straightened out - and they hate it!!!!!

Hjrd,

I'd write a letter to the president of the company telling him exactly what you just said, also explaining that you're on a fixed income and because of his company's changing the food by putting chicory in it, your cats have had digestive problems costing you alot of money (also enclose a copy of the vet bill). Tell him or her that your cats have been on his product since day one and you never had a problem until the chicory. I'll bet you you'll see some kind of compensation. CEO's don't like that kind of publicity.

Good luck.

Donna

Thanks, I did that Wednesday. I really don't care about compensation but I think there should be an alert or recall or something if there is indeed a problem. That's why I'm trying to gather additional data to present them. I'm willing to bet there have been LOTS of complaints. Based on the Friskie representative giving me a speil about "scientific research on the benefits of chicory", I think they have heard from quite a few of us. In fact, they even told me they were "returning the original formula to the shelves."

What has surprised me is the allergic reactions experienced by the owners. I had been sneezing my head off since buying the last bag of Friskies and when the cats stopped eating Friskies, I stopped sneezing. I never put the two together until I heard others doing the same thing. Still other owners have developed dermatology problems.

Now I'm on a crusade!!!! They won't want to mess with an old lady with sick cats!

Hjrd,

You go, girl! I have always fed my cats Science Diet, since they were babies. I changed once to Purina One, in order to save money. My oldest male, Casey, Instantly came down with a urinary tract infection. They told me it was the food and that some cats are prone to uri's. So back to S.D. I went and haven't had a problem since.

Donna

I know ScienceDiet is good food, but my kitten devours Iams. I have heard it is supposed to taste better than Science. May be worth a try. My Jinxy really seems to love it. On the other hand, he has never eaten anything else so he has nothing to compare it to!

I am very pleased to hear of your crusade. That burns me up. Let us know how it turns out.

Hope your cats are back to their old selves really soon!!

-Jacquie

My favorite foods is Iams, eukanuba, and Wiskas. If you get dissatisfied with Friskies, maybe switch to Wiskas. I've fed that to my Jake and he would eat it up and have no problems

Thanks for suggestions about the food. I am NOT going to use Friskies anymore, nor anything made by its parent company. When Slippers & Socks get their tummies straightened out, I'll have to switch to something economical and that comes in large bags. Just about once a month we have kittens or pregnant cats show up on our porch and I can't let them starve while I wait for friends to "need" them or the shelter to come and pick them up, so I serve them a few meals - but not gormet ($6.00/3#) meals!

The purpose of my initial post though was to see if anyone else has had problems with Friskies. I'm sure there are cat owners out there going crazy trying to figure out why their cat has diarrhea when they think they didn't change cat foods when indeed they did because the CAT FOOD changed.

I can't believe that they didn't even put some kind of warning label on the bag that they changed the formula. I guess they haven't been educated on the dangers of playing with a cats food!

Friskies vet technician called to follow up on my letter of complaint. Gave same "scientifically researched" speil ... but said since my cats were bottle fed from 5 days of age, their digestive systems may be less than normal because they didn't have the benefit of mother's milk. (Strange it took a 1 1/2 years and a new cat food ingredient to produce digestive symptoms).

Guess my cats' tummies are the only ones that don't agree with chicory.

Hello, everyone!

​This is my first post here. I hope I have the font down correct;y.. It seems so small on myn computer.

I, as a human, cannot take any chicory root...It took me a while to realize why I was feeling so sick; nausea, gas, bloating to the point where the trapped gas was unbelievably painful...How could anyone imagine a poor kitty going through this....

Friskies should have, in all honestly, and in good faith, mentioned the change in formula.....

Wow!! It is really irresponsible to have a major food provider act this way!

so reprehensible!!!

I do hope the word get out-----and fast...

thank you for posting this important information...

i heard some complaints in Egypt from cat owners when they used Friskies. 

It is possible that the problem with the chicory root in the Friskies was already resolved--this thread is 14 years old.