Friskies Cat Food: The Best for My Cats, Especially Now

"Friskies" has always been a favorite with my cats. Over at Yahoo in one of the cat chats, pet owners are understandably frantic over the massive pet food recall initiated by Menu Foods in March (2007) and followed in early April by an extensive Purina Brands recall. Is Friskies canned cat food on the recall list? I did discover it is manufactured by Nestle Purina Pet Care Co., but, nope, I'm happy to report, Friskies is not on a recall list.

As a lifetime cat-companion (to claim cat ownership is novice-speak), I credit myself with nearly fifty years of cat maintenance, top to bottom, as it were. And when it comes to food, I've always headed straight for the Friskies aisle. Both dry food and wet. It doesn't surprise me that Friskies is not on the recall list, but I'm relieved, to be sure.

From my first childhood cat, Blackie, who hopped around with casts on both hind legs, (a bit of bad driving by Mom), to Huckle, the calico who grew with my kids and lived to be 18 human years, to my current duo of fur-shedding furniture-shredders (say that ten times), I've never had a cat who walked away from Friskies. For cats, the traditional picky-eaters, that's saying something.

Kroger grocery chain (also Fry's out west) runs a seemingly open-ended "sale" on Friskies® canned food in nearly all varieties. My cats recommend Ocean Whitefish and Tuna prepared as a loaf, although shredded salmon is always a nice change of pace. At $.29 per can and sometimes 4/$1.00,there's a significant value-added feature to the name-brand Friskies® product.

Proceeding cautiously through a puzzling time of pet food recalls, as the list grows longer than Santa's, I tried to feed my cats table scraps (no thanks!) and then I offered a store-brand tuna meant for humans. Yet even the tuna was shunned like an iPod in Amish Acres.

I wouldn't neglect my cats' need for fiber, certainly, and Friskies is again the go-to brand. Specifically, Friskies Dry Ocean Whitefish Flavor is a must in our home.

The Pet Food Industry has done well owning up to the recent disturbing news regarding poisonous wheat gluten.

By the way, for a list of non-Friskie tainted brands, check your cupboards and toss the many cat foods from Menu brands, (Among those on the Menu Brands list are variations of Americas Choice, Preferred Pets, Authority, Best Choice, Companion,Compliments, Demoulas Market Basket, Eukanuba, Fine Feline Cat, Food Lion, Foodtown,Giant Companion, Hannaford,Hill country Fare,Hy-Vee, Iams, Key Food,Laura Lynn, Li'l Red, Loving Meals, Main Choice, Nutriplan, Nutro Max Gourmet Classics,Nutro NaturalChoice, Paws, Pet Pride, Presidents Choice, Price Chopper, Priority, Save-A-Lot, Schnucks, Sophisticat, Special Kitty Canada, Special Kitty US, Springfield Prize, Sprout, Total Pet, My True Friend, Wegmans, Western Family, White Rose, Winn Dixie.)

Also on the recall list is Science Diet. I'm not sure whether or not Menu Foods makes Science Diet.

(Their recall affects only 3-ounce and 5.5-ounce cans of Kitten Savory Cuts Ocean Fish; 5.5-ounce cans of Feline Adult Savory Cuts Beef, Chicken and Ocean Fish, and 5.5-ounce cans of Feline Senior Savory Cuts Chicken.)

I'm not certain which other brands will pop up on the list of shame, however, it is now several weeks past the initial scare; I'm guessing Friskies is still in the clear!

In the event you have a loud, slobbery but loveable mutt, there's some info on tainted dog food as well. CNN has been on top of the pet food recall lists from the beginning and is a reliable source for the latest recalls. Here is the CNN recall list from March 31, 2007.

Nestle Purina announced on its web site it is "confident that the contaminated wheat gluten has been isolated to this limited production quantity of ALPO Prime Cuts canned products" for dogs. None of its dry food is damaged. Purina (and thus Friskies) cat food consumers are safe - let's hope it stays that way!

I would have a big hole in my heart if I didn't have a cat around. And since my cats can't seem to live without Friskies brand, then neither can I. And that, as I often hear my cats mumble before they tell me to get outta their faces, is that.

Source: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/203560/friskies_cat_food_the_best_for_my_cats.html