Merrick Cat Food

We have been feeding our cat Merrick, both the Cowboy Cookout and Beef Wellington, for about 18 months. The last case I got is not the same. The gravy has been replaced with a gelatinous goop coating the top! I put some in a bowl and set it on the floor. My cat just walked away. I threw that can up and opened another one. Same goop. Thought it was just a bad batch, possibly expired, but the date on the bottom said it was good until 2022. I have read other recent reviews elsewhere, to people saying it's a definite change for the worse. Our cat is picky. Merrick has always been his favorite, but we have had to change to another brand.

My vet recommended that we feed our cats some wet food along with the dry. We chose Purrfect Bistro pate and the cats ate it but within a week they became sick. They would throw up and then they developed crystals from this food causing them to keep trying to pee and peeing blood. One cat needed to be put down and the other cat is fighting with antibiotics, pain meds and not eating this food. Hopefully she will recover unlike our Stormcloud. I will never buy from this company again....ever. From all the reviews I would definitely not recommend this to anyone.

I'm so glad I discovered Merrick over 4 years ago. I started feeding it to my two cats when they were kittens; they will be 5 years old this May, and they are still fit, trim and full of energy! I give them a combination of both wet and dry food (each cat gets strictly 1/2 can of wet and 1/4 cup of dry per day). My one cat developed an illness when she was a kitten that lasted for months - I don't know what caused it, but she was lethargic all the time and had little appetite; the vet gave us a 'special formula' cat food to feed her, but the ingredients were awful - full of fillers and things cats should not be consuming! I was very aware of cat health already, so I tried a couple different healthy brands to see which one my currently picky cat would actually eat - and she would only eat Merrick.

My cat is finicky on new foods, and she tends to puke here and there, but not crazy. They were out of the normal food and suggested this Merrick food. Cat seemed to like it alright, cleaned her dish. We use an automatic feeder since we spend weekend at the grand kids. I had four meals a day with a double serving at 6pm set. This Merrick, I set 6 meals and two were doubles. Instead of 5 servings, she was up to 8 or more if she was really pushy. Huge poops. HUGE. And enough vomit to choke a horse. I just cleaned up a hallway wall to wall puddle that was insane. Tomorrow I will hit the pet store to see if the other stuff is back in stock.

I changed to Merrick adult cat food in attempts to give our Cali a better quality food but during the 4 or 5 days she was fed this brand she kept vomiting. Now occasionally she would vomit but this was consistently after each time she ate this particular brand. At first I thought it was because she was eating too much so I decreased the quantity, then thought she was eating too fast but she refused to eat it after the 4th or 5th day. I gave her real chicken for one day to be sure it wasn't upset stomach, parasites or something and she kept it down so figured I'd try another brand. She ate the new one, with no problems, hasn't vomited once so it had to be the Merrick brand, not sure what it is but hopefully they'll look into it.

I had a hard time for a few weeks to get the specialty flavors my finicky cat will eat and it was frustrating enough that I called the company. During the course of our conversation I found out one of those flavors was discontinued (to my dismay), and the other was out of stock. Then the customer service rep said that from time to time they like to change things up and also had updated some recipes to add more gravy. I questioned why they would do that. It seemed like they were adding gravy to the detriment of the actual meat because how would they fit it in the can otherwise. She assured me the other two flavors I was used to buying had not changed.

My first clue something might be up was when it took my local co-op 2 weeks to get my usual case of this cat food. I switch off every 2 days with another kind of cat food, so I bought 3 cans at Petco to tide them over. That's when I discovered it now comes in aluminum cans! The ingredient list is longer, but not a lot different from what I've been able to discern so far. My 3 rather finicky cats all still like it, so changing would be difficult, but I'm not happy about the aluminum cans.

Purchased at Petco because it was discontinued and price reduced. Thought I was getting a good deal on a quality cat food. I have 5 cats rescued from a colony from one abandoned pregnant cat. I have never cleaned up so much vomit! I blame the food.

We have been feeding our 2 cats Merrick their whole lives. Recently, within the last couple of weeks, my 8 year old has decided that he doesn't like their wet food, and he's not so keen on the dry food either. My 14 year old (who is very active) will still eat it but they are not as anxious about eating it as they had been. I know the formula changed. I can see it when I open the can. It doesn't look as natural and it is a different consistency than it used to be.

My 2 yr old cat has been eating Merrick Cat Food since I adopted him 2 yrs ago and eats 4 or 5 flavors of the grain free pâte. He always looks forward to his meals but these past 2 weeks he’s been turning his nose up!!! The last time a cat that I had did this, the food company had been taken over by another owner. And, obviously changed the formula. Something tells me Merrick has changed the ingredients or quality of the food too. Why would they be so foolish to do this? If it’s not broken, don't fix it!!

I've been purchasing this product since it replaced the previous 'New England Boil'. The quality has gone downhill since then. The batches are very hit or miss. Some batches are fine, others (most lately) are 2/3 water. They say that they want feedback, but nothing has changed in the past year. I'm trying to get my cat to eat something else, but he is, unfortunately, extremely finicky.

Pet store recommended Merrick about 6 months ago over another brand because he said they were a better company and made better food. I believe this WAS true since my dog and cat both started eating better after the switch. We buy food about every 2 months, so 2 months ago cat was still eating fine, but with this new batch, my cat is refusing to eat it. I tried switching to a different formula "minimal ingredient recipe" and still he won't touch it. Just found out the company sold out by reading these reviews. Obviously something has changed and not for the better. On with the search for a better product. Might have to start adding my animals to my grocery budget and just start feeding them from the kitchen if a company can't stay pure!

My cat has been raw-fed since he was a kitten (he is now 2 years), but when I am traveling I buy the best quality canned food I can find and transition him over in the week before I leave. I made a 2 week trip in August 2018 (my cat LOVES road trips), and I bought an entire flat of Purrfect Bistro Chicken Pate from my local pet store (he's a big cat - he eats 8-12 oz per day, depending on his activity). He was eating it for 2 weeks no problem. On the very last day, mid-morning, my cat became VIOLENTLY ill. Constant diarrhea and vomiting. It was eventually just clear fluids coming out both ends, very scary. He was lethargic and isolating himself hunched up in a corner. I took him to the emergency vet: he had a fever and was mildly dehydrated. We did a bunch of tests which came back fine, but they kept him for 3 nights on IV because he wouldn't eat anything.

This food is not good. I do not know what they are putting in it, but my cat has lost quite a bit of weight and is now very underweight. I also found from Amazon reviews that other people's cats have been losing weight on this food to the point of starvation, which I feel is also happening to my cat, and she eats constantly. I also purchase from Amazon and realized other people are having similar problems with weight loss. I couldn't figure out why she was losing weight. It is very crumbly and gives my cat bad breath, and gets all over her face and stays there. She was a very happy cat and now is very lethargic and tired. I am changing her food immediately, after realizing she has lost weight with this, even though she eats constantly. Bad food. I don't know what Purina is pulling, but it is not good.

The last couple of bags of Purrfect Bistro chow I have used is filled with crumbled chow dust. The cats stopped eating it because of all the crumbs that sit on the top. I have to keep shaking their bowl to make it settle. I used to buy Merrick because they had their own processing plant so their food didn't get mixed with everybody else's. With all the crumbled kibble dust I can't buy this anymore. It's a waste of money. Things have sure changed at Merrick since they sold out or supposedly did. What a shame... Happens every time when Big Corporations take over. They ruin everything! No more...

I went to feed my cat today and opened a can of the Merrick grain free chicken pate. She’s been eating the same brand for 2 years. I order it from Amazon. Well today I went to open the tab and it exploded in my face & went all over me and on the wall. The smell was horrible. I immediately jumped into my shower. Thank God I had my glasses on because it covered my face and hair. I still can’t get the smell out of my house and it smells like something died. On top of it my cheeks feel like they are on fire and burning. I’m sure it was a faulty seal in the can and a build up of gases. This happened an hour ago. I’ve tried contacting Amazon and I’ve tried contacting Merrick. This product needs to be recalled.

Have been using Merrick chicken kibble for 10 years. Have noticed, particularly the last 6 months my 3 kibble loving cats are getting chubby, seem unsatiated and have considerable congestion issues...then I found out that the company was sold to a multi corporation focused on money, not pet care. I have 7 cats...we depend on excellent quality in pet food to facilitate good health and reduced vet bills. I am angry that I wasn't informed sooner. NO MORE MERRICK CRAP.

Just opened a can of Merrick's COWBOY COOKOUT. Instead of the usual meaty contents, I got ONLY GRAVY and a VERY small quantity of solid food. Are you kidding? At $1.69 per can? I've purchased COWBOY COOKOUT for years which DID have excellent vet recommendations as high quality food. Is this the "new" Merrick? I am so shocked and disappointed!!! I will call the pet store AND your company to complain.

My cat (5 years old) refuses to eat Merrick Purrfect Bistro. I tried mixing with regular brand, by itself, with water added. She would rather go hungry. Now she smells the Merrick and walks away. I had to make a trip to get her old brand (FROMM) since she refuses to eat Merrick the last 2 days. I had picked Merrick because I liked the ingredients, same as in other cat foods she is used to. However, no more Merrick at our home.

Purrfect Bistro - Kitten (dry & wet) - I've read all of the reviews and have had none of the problems others have described. My 5 month old Short Hair goes nuts when it's time to eat! Mowing, purring, & prancing while I'm mixing it up. I purchased 2 cases of wet cans & a bag of dry from Amazon. I notice no off-flavors in either. I am a Professional Brewer who has gone through a rigorous sensory training program so my nose is definitely honed to detect off-flavors. And both taste fine. Yup I taste my animal’s food. I've had cats, dogs, & rabbits my whole life of 43 years and by far Merrick is the best smelling & tasting pet food.

Wow! After contacting Merrick Pet Food Customer Service about an unknown, hard lump object inside their canned "Rabbit Recipe" cat food that could harm a cat's teeth, the best they offered was UPS delivery pick up to examine the object. Not even a "Sorry this happened" or "We'll send you some coupons to make up for this."

I adopted a beautiful ragdoll Siamese cross type cat from the shelter... Changing cat food frequently to try to get away from dandruff and the poor Kitty vomiting. This is the only food that I found that she is not vomiting anymore. It's a sheer blessing. This is probably the reason why she went to the shelter to begin with. I went through minimum of 6 different types of food Kitty wouldn't even eat moist food. So that wasn't even an option. I was lucky when she liked the salmon formula and even eats the freeze-dried kidlets. Which she would not do in other formula. This works for my cat. Took me over a year to find it but we will continue to buy this food. Thank you.

Two months ago, I purchased, through Amazon, 4 cases of the Limited Ingredient Diet, Real Chicken Recipe. The first 4 cases were great, good moisture and color of the product. My cats loved it. Cost per case, $33.08. The next 4 cases that I purchased for this month are not good. Dry, very little moisture, a dark color and does not smell well at all. My cats will not eat it. So THAT puts me into a bind, thought I had a good source of quality food, NOT... Being I am low income, I am stuck with 3 and one half cases, $115.78 worth of useless canned cat food. I will be contacting Amazon to see if I can return these and get a credit. Merrick was a good choice for cat food, years ago but being they have sold out to the Nestle corporation I truly doubt they care about pet health and only about MONEY.

I have been a long-time Merrick canned food buyer. I have 4 cats, I buy from Petco. I am considering changing to a different brand now because I have noticed that my cats are now turning their noses up when I open different flavors. I open one can (chicken and duck mostly) the cats will eat it, I open another can, the color is different and the cats ALL 4 won't touch IT!! What the heck is going on? This brand sure isn't cheap!!

We feed our cat the Merrick's brand of Diet Kibble for cats. It does the job of keeping Percy's weight down while feeding very good ingredients. My only problem is that we have to order online as I cannot find it in the stores.

I am extremely unhappy with this product for one main reason... fraudulent packaging. My cat actually enjoys most varieties of the food. But when you open a can it is far less than full. There's a gap around the edges and an empty hole (sometimes large) in the middle. It results in there being about 1/4 less food than there should be. Other cat food companies, like Blue, also have a packaging issue and I've complained to them as well. In fact, I've complained to the NY attorney general's office and stopped buying their product. I've stopped buying the Merrick cans that I know have this issue. Some of them do not. This is outright fraud, IMHO, and I'm really ticked off, without anything I can do about it. You can.

This company has very poor quality control and customer service. I have 3 cats, 2 barn and 1 indoor. I feed them one meal of human grade raw meat and one meal of a grain-free canned daily. I rotate each brand of canned food for 3 months and purchase by the case. My last case of the Chicken Pate smelled fine but the cats were turning their nose up at it. Very unusual. Then, when spooning the food onto a plate I noticed something it the food. It was dark brown, approx. 3" long, covered with hair and smelled like poop.

Try Merrick cat for my 2 cats. Noticed coloring of food not right. Opened cans, both same flavor but totally different colors. My cats liked it at first, now will not eat it. I thought this was a good quality cat food? Opened more, big hole in center.

Purrfect Bistro Chicken Pate - I never know the quality of the food in the can. I have 3 cats, so I buy 1-2 cases at a time (very hard for stores to get). Each case is different. Some product in cans is reddish and has a distinct smell, that one my cats love. Open another case and the product is brownish color and different smell. My cats will not eat it AT ALL, I end up throwing it all away. I have read other complaints same as mine. Why can I not get food that is the same? Are they putting the cheaper food in wrong cans. I just know that I have wasted a lot of money and now I have to start all over again to find a canned food they will eat. What has happened to Merrick, it's scary. I love my cats and I check food carefully. Thank you.

Three months ago I bought the kitten grain free formula from Merrick dry food. I have two kittens. They were eaten the food, but sometimes they spitted the food. Lucky us. One day, I saw a long, clear piece of plastic in one piece of the food, then I started to have my doubts about the safety of this food. I kept feeding them with that food just checking every single piece, then, the following week I found another piece of plastic same thing long and clear. I called the company. They said they will investigate the matter and asked me for the number of the bag, and send me a voucher for a bag of free food. Just in case, I don't want to take any chances with my kittens, so I won't feed them this food anymore. And anyway, I don't think they like it very much. I hope the company finds out where the plastic comes from, and find a solution. Thanks.