Beware of Meow Mix wet food! Found BONES in my cat's bowl

[wasabibenny3]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the site and joined in hopes of spreading the word about a scary occurrence with wet food. My cats eat dry and wet food mixed together and last week I FOUND A BONE in the wet food. It was 1 inch long and sharp. I emailed Meow Mix and have yet to hear from them. Two days later, I found a second bone in their food- this one was a wish bone approximately 3/4 of an inch long. I was TERRIFIED that one of my babies could have eaten this and hurt their throat or stomach. 

My husband and I decided to contact the FDA and file a complaint against the company. TWO BONES IS TOO MANY in our opinion! There will be an investigation against Meow Mix through the FDA and we opened a complaint with Meow Mix as well. I returned all the unopened containers of wet food to the store and told the manager there. She was astounded that the bones were so large and sharp. She told me to print out information from the FDA investigation once its over and she can refuse to sell the food in that store. 

PLEASE BE CAREFUL, CAT OWNERS! I love my cats very much, they are part of the family to me. For this to happen, I'm outraged- my cats could have become very sick and/or injured from this food. 

I am now researching how to make homemade cat wet food so that I can control exactly what my cats are consuming. Thanks for reading and please spread the word about the dangers of Meow Mix brand. 

Love, 

Wasabi & Benny's Mommy 

 

[ldg]

I'm so sorry!

Many people feed home made food. Some cook it, most don't.

Of course you don't expect to see something like that in a commercial cat food, and cooked bones are VERY dangerous because they splinter. But cats eat raw bones all the time. In fact, if you make home made, you'll have to decide how to handle the calcium component of the diet. I feed boneless "whole prey model" raw to my cats, but many people feed chicken wings to their cats (not cooked, of course).

If you need assistance with nutrition resources and recipes for home made, whether raw or cooked, I'm sure we can help if you like.

 

[violetxx]

ouch.. that is very dangerous. The other day I found a piece of black rubber in Merrricks Cowboy Cookout and I've heard of bone incidents in Wellness dry food for dogs. It is scary.

Good on you for deciding to make homemade for them. Just make sure you talk to your vet or find a RELIABLE source for the best way to do it. There are alot of horrible sites online that provide recipes that could be deadly. I found a site that used garlic in many of their recipes.. I emailed them about it and never heard back. And make sure you know what supplements you need or don't need (taurine, calcium/phosphorus ratios, etc.). The raw forum here on TCS is a great place to get started and read about past experiences other cat owners have had.

All the best! 

 

[luvmyparker]

I've gotten Meow Mix wet food for Parker once before...I found what appeared to be bones from fish in it. Wasn't sure of those were suppose to be there, if they were cooked or not. I haven't given him Meow Mix since, just to be safe.

I always check his food before I feed him now to make sure there's nothing odd in there.

 

[ldg]

I've gotten Meow Mix wet food for Parker once before...I found what appeared to be bones from fish in it. Wasn't sure of those were suppose to be there, if they were cooked or not. I haven't given him Meow Mix since, just to be safe.


I always check his food before I feed him now to make sure there's nothing odd in there.

If bones are in canned or kibble, they are cooked by definition. :nod:

 

[Willowy]

Well, fish bones are fairly common in canned fish of all kinds (even human-grade sardines or salmon) and supposedly don't usually cause a problem. I would be more concerned about bones in canned chicken (and I have found bones in human-grade canned chicken, too!). But I think the biggest problem in Meow Mix canned (hmmm. . .plastic-tubbed? :lol3: Wet anyway) food is the added sugar found in most formulas . I don't think it's a good idea to give cats sugar on a regular basis.

 

[emilymaywilcha]

I became interested in cooking for cats during the 2007 pet food recall. Purina claimed cats need wheat gluten, the ingredient that was tainted with melamine. News articles explained the whole purpose of wheat gluten was to preserve freshness, not make cats and dogs healthier. The melamine scare was not proof wheat gluten is bad, but taught everyone cats and dogs simply don't need it.

What does this have to do with bones in Meow Mix? Both mistakes made people want to stop feeding commercial cat foods. I will never try to feed raw meat to cats without undeniable proof it is safer and cheaper than cooked meat I prepare myself. But as long as cat food has bones and other stuff cats should never eat, I have no reason not to make up my own recipes wiht the help of a local vet.

 

[arison09]

A few days ago, I too found a rather large (inch and a half probably) and sharp bone in my cats' chicken and liver flavor Meow Mix wet food. I filed a complaint with Del Monte which owns meow mix, and I got a call about an hour later offering me coupons for free food, and a bubble mailer to send the bone in. I'm scared to feed it to them now! I got the bone out, and I have still been feeding it to my cats over the last couple days(checking for bones of course), but now one of my cats keeps getting sick. This is only happening since I found that bone and I'm wondering if it could be related. 

It's a shame you can't even feed a cat anymore without being nervous about it.

 

[kittylover23]

It's a shame you can't even feed a cat anymore without being nervous about it.

So so true.

 

[nebula]

A few days ago, I too found a rather large (inch and a half probably) and sharp bone in my cats' chicken and liver flavor Meow Mix wet food. I filed a complaint with Del Monte which owns meow mix, and I got a call about an hour later offering me coupons for free food, and a bubble mailer to send the bone in. I'm scared to feed it to them now! I got the bone out, and I have still been feeding it to my cats over the last couple days(checking for bones of course), but now one of my cats keeps getting sick. This is only happening since I found that bone and I'm wondering if it could be related. 

It's a shame you can't even feed a cat anymore without being nervous about it.

Isn't that how it goes though? You complain to a company about how horrible their product is, what do they do? Give you more of the same product!! LOL

 

[lotusflower]

I just found a 1" long bone in a can of Meow Mix Tender Favorites with REAL salmon and crab meat in sauce.  I contacted Meow Mix and sent them pictures of the bone.   They said they will send out coupons, but I'd like to know what they are going to do to stop this from happening again.  The bone was sharp and I can't imaging what it would have done to my cat's mouth and throat or stomach if she swallowed it whole.   Please be cautious of what is in your cat's food before putting it in their bowl, luckily I caught this one before she ate it.  

 

IMG_0854.jpg

• lotusflower
• Nov 15, 2012

 

[terestrife]

wow, this is exactly why i use a spoon and scoop out her wet food onto my cats plate, then i press down. its safer that way.

 

[terestrife]

Isn't that how it goes though? You complain to a company about how horrible their product is, what do they do? Give you more of the same product!! LOL

lol i know what you mean, i fed a kitten a food once and she threw up chunks EVERYWHERE for the first time ever. i called, and they offered coupons. lolol

 

[krysta]

I usually feed premium foods, but the very first time I decided to try Friskies Poultry Platter to cut costs a little, I found a piece of hard black plastic in it. So that ended that little experiment.  And the coupon thing- I contacted Natura once because my local stores they claimed participated in their frequent buyer program were blowing me off when I asked about it. So they sent me coupons for dog food. I do not have a dog.

 

[wasabibenny3]

Thank you all for your responses!

Isn't it stupid that when you contact the company all they do is send coupons for free food BUT IT HAS BONES IN IT!? Like I said, I was so mad at meow mix's response that we contacted the FDA and filed a formal complaint. They ask questions like the size of the bone, the exact type of food, the expiration date on it and how often you feed it to the cat. The lady from the FDA said that obviously more investigation into the complaint needs to happen but that I was not the first..and obviously not the last.

Now I am feeding my toothless wonder, Benny mostly home made ground beef and chicken. He likes tuna a lot so I mix that in with the meats. I did a lot of research before hand on cat nutrition to find out what they need in a healthy diet- it should almost all be protein. Through trial and error I have found out that Benny also like string beans (not that he NEEDS veggies in his food) so I add some in from time to time.

 

[wasabibenny3]

Make sure you file a complaint with the FDA as well! Don't let monte get away with this!!!

 

[Willowy]

Now I am feeding my toothless wonder, Benny mostly home made ground beef and chicken. He likes tuna a lot so I mix that in with the meats. I did a lot of research before hand on cat nutrition to find out what they need in a healthy diet- it should almost all be protein.

I'm sure you know this because you've done so much research, but for anyone else reading this, I want to point out that just ground muscle meat isn't a balanced diet for a cat!. It needs to be balanced with the proper amount of calcium and organ meats. And too much tuna can cause vitamin E deficiency. Just making sure that nobody reads this thread and starts feeding their kitties nothing but ground beef .

 

[mewlittle]

I don't buy meow mix thanks anyway

 

[sevenwonders]

I usually feed premium foods, but the very first time I decided to try Friskies Poultry Platter to cut costs a little, I found a piece of hard black plastic in it. So that ended that little experiment.  And the coupon thing- I contacted Natura once because my local stores they claimed participated in their frequent buyer program were blowing me off when I asked about it. So they sent me coupons for dog food. I do not have a dog.

I have been feeding Friskies Poultry Platter for a few years to my Ferals, and I have never found anything unusual in there.

Additionally, to provide extra moisture, I dump the cans into a bowl, add some warm water and smash it up with a fork -

that way, if something is in there, I would find it.

I suspect your Poultry Platter situation was a very isolated incident.

I don't use Meow Mix, but it seems there is clearly something to that situation.

 

[rmorry]

I recently started feeding Meow Mix wet food to my cats.  They seem to love it and it does look good enough to eat but I also have found bones in it.  I did a Google search and I saw your post which was from about a year ago and it appears this problem is still occurring.  Until the box is finished I will be checking for bones before feeding it to them (Jill and Sable) but unlikely I will be buying again.  Do you have any updates on the matter?  I see you filed a complaint with the FDA.  I am in Canada so I will be doing the same with our equivalent agency.