Whiskas food for kittens - reviews from veterinarians and owners

Everyone knows about Whiskas food for kittens, even children. It has been produced for a very long time - since the 50s of the last century and throughout this time this brand has not lost popularity. This is not surprising, because a memorable advertisement for Whiskas food with a cute gray cat and the slogan “Your pussy would buy Whiskas” are constantly flashing on TV screens.

The products of this manufacturer can be purchased in any store at a very affordable price, and from a wide range of diets, every kitten owner will be able to choose food with a suitable taste for their pet. But whether this food is as good as it is presented in advertising should be found out.

Is it possible to give Whiskas to kittens?

Many people have a stereotype that it is impossible for a kitten to get all the substances necessary for full development from natural food. That’s why ready-made food in dry or wet form is so popular today. Every person who has a small fluffy ball in their home remembers the advertisement about Whiskas and wonders: is it possible to make it a permanent diet for their pets? This food, as you know, belongs to the economy class, which means there can be no talk of any high quality. Therefore, when giving food to a kitten, it is impossible to predict how its body will react to such food.

But if, nevertheless, the owner of a kitten decides to feed his pet Whiskas, it must be done correctly.

Advantages and disadvantages of food

The disadvantages of feed include the following factors:

1. Low content of meat ingredients. If it is dry food, they are below the first position. If wet, a large proportion of the composition is occupied by water and grains.
2. Lack of percentage of components. There is no specific information available, so buyers cannot be sure of the quality of the food.
3. Using low quality ingredients. If these are cereals, then they are not whole or even presented as a protein extract. Flour is used as meat products.
4. Lack of specific information. The manufacturer does not indicate the ingredients used. This reinforces confidence in using low-quality components. Additionally, this causes inconvenience for cat owners prone to allergies.
5. Veiled attempts at deception. For example, information about cleaning teeth with granules is only partially reliable. You can’t find fault here: any dry food removes some of the plaque from the ends of your teeth. However, a real preventive product should also clean the area near the roots. Buyers perceive these assurances as a guarantee of high-quality plaque removal.
6. No fundamental differences between products. The composition of the feed is almost identical. Most often, the difference lies in the flavoring additives.
7. Presence of the pesticide pirimiphos-methyl in trace amounts. The violation was discovered during testing by Roskachestvo. Pirimiphos-methyl is an insecticide used on cereals. In small quantities, the toxin increases the load on the stomach, liver and kidneys; in large quantities, it can cause cardiac arrest.

The angular pellets can cause your cat to accidentally injure the roof of their mouth or gums.

The list of advantages can only include the relative merits of the food. For example, according to the results of the study, the product contains no pests. In reality, all food (including economy class) must meet these requirements, so this is not a reason to be proud. Cats eat Whiskas products with pleasure and often refuse to switch to other ready-made diets, but this may be due to flavorings and flavoring additives.

How to give

If a kitten eats Whiskas no more than once a month, then there should be no consequences for its body. It happens that a kitten has to be left at home alone for more than half a day, then Whiskas is suitable as a one-time meal. It’s just important not to forget to leave him enough water. For such a case, Whiskas will be very useful.

Interesting video:

But it is not recommended to purchase it for a kitten as a treat, even occasionally. It is better to give him a natural treat that will benefit the small, vulnerable organism.

Which is better: Whiskas or Friskis?

To answer the question of which food is better, you need to consider the composition of Friskis products. For example, let's look at the list of ingredients of a dry ready-made diet for adult cats:

• cereals;
• meat and its processed products;
• vegetable processing products;
• vegetable protein;
• fats and oils;
• yeast;
• preservatives;
• minerals;
• vitamins;
• dyes;
• vegetables and antioxidants.

It is impossible to say unequivocally which food is worse. Friskies products also contain dubious ingredients and vague formulations. The share of meat components is also low. There is no fundamental difference in quality.

Friskies food, like Whiskas, belongs to the economy class

The cost of "Friskies" is lower. The price of the pouch is 15–20 rubles. Small (400 g) packages of dry food cost 70-80 rubles, medium (2 kg) - 300-350 rubles, large (10 kg) - 1400-1500 rubles. However, it should be borne in mind that purchasing economy-class products means saving on your pet’s health. Late examination and treatment at the clinic may be more expensive. In addition, low-quality feeds have low nutritional value, so animals require more of them than super-premium or holistic products.

There is such a thing in the world, you most likely know about it exclusively from chocolate bars and you most likely associate it with astronomy. For almost two years of working in the pet business, this word evokes very strong feelings. This company produces the following feeds: Whiskas, Kiteket, Pedigree, Chappie. Although Friscos is produced by the Purina company, its quality is completely similar to Mars food. This is the most popular animal food among ordinary people. The population judges them solely on television advertising (fortunately, these are practically the only foods that are advertised on TV, with the exception of rare promotions), as well as from the experience of their closest acquaintances, therefore, the population considers these foods to be almost one of the most serious in the pet business industry, many they are trusted, and if they are not trusted, it is solely due to distrust of dry food in general. In more professional areas, opinion was developed quite a long time ago, and a completely definite one was developed. (I mean the field of veterinary medicine, professional breeding (breeders, nurseries), the field of trade in pet supplies, just people who are very interested in how to feed animals correctly). The following joke has become established among veterinarians: Martian food is our bread, as long as Mars exists, we will always have work, the day of the death of Mars will be a black day for the entire veterinary industry, it will be the day of the collapse of veterinary clinics.

On behalf of the group Cats... Cats... Kittens... In good hands! MOSCOW

https://vk.com/topic-17296831_30129564

Owners' opinions were divided. Some argue that food should be selected individually, because Whiskas suits some cats better, while Friskies suits others better. Other pet owners say it's best to avoid both products.

Whiskas diets for kittens from 1 to 12 months

The food rations of this manufacturer are distinguished by a variety of tastes. The assortment includes:

• Delicious pillows with milk, turkey and carrots . This is a dry food, sold in packages of 350 g and 1.9 kg. It is produced in the form of crispy pillows containing milk inside.

The composition contains wheat flour, as well as poultry and turkey flour (minimum 4% in brown, yellow and red granules), meat and bone meal, protein plant extracts, rice, animal fat, brewer's yeast, sunflower oil, at least 4% carrots (in brown, yellow and red granules), dairy products (minimum 4% milk solids in the pads), taurine, minerals and vitamins.

• Stew with lamb . Wet food, which is complete and essential for a growing body. Your little one will definitely love the little pieces of tender lamb in a delicious sauce.

The stew contains meat with offal (including at least 4% lamb), vegetable oil, minerals with vitamins and taurine.

• Stew with chicken. Wet food, which is complete and essential for a growing body. Your little one will definitely love the small pieces of tender chicken in a delicious sauce.

The stew contains meat with by-products (minimum 4% chicken), vegetable oil, cereals, minerals with vitamins and taurine.

• Stew with salmon . Wet food, which is a balanced diet, so necessary for the full development of a kitten. He will definitely love the tender little pieces with salmon that has a pleasant aroma.

The food contains meat and by-products (minimum 4% salmon), vegetable oil, cereals, minerals, vitamins, and taurine.

• Veal jelly . Wet food, which is a balanced diet, so necessary for the full development of a kitten. He will definitely love the tasty meat pieces with veal in aromatic jelly.

The food contains meat and offal (minimum 4% veal), vegetable oil, minerals, vitamins, and taurine.

• Turkey jelly . Wet food, which is a balanced diet, so necessary for the full development of a kitten. He will definitely love the delicious meat pieces with turkey in aromatic jelly.

The food contains meat and offal (at least 4% turkey), vegetable oil, minerals, vitamins, and taurine.

• Chicken pate . Wet food, which is a balanced diet, so necessary for the full development of a kitten. He will definitely love the tender meat pate with chicken.

The food contains meat and offal (minimum 25% chicken), vegetable oil, minerals, vitamins, and taurine.

Analysis of dry food composition

The company produces only one type of Whiskas dry food for kittens - air pads. Manufacturers do not hide the fact that dry food contains various types of flour, the mass fraction of which is at least 4%, and by-products. This recipe makes the food grain-based and lacks the required amount of protein. Manufacturers also add brewer's yeast, animal fat and vegetables to Whiskas.

Whiskas dry food helps prevent the formation of tartar and the development of gastrointestinal diseases in kittens.

Feed composition

As an example to analyze the composition of Whiskas for kittens, you can take “pads with milk filling, turkey and carrots.”

• The first ingredient on the package is wheat flour, which is a source of carbohydrates; rice is the same source. The amount of flour present in the feed is unknown, as is the percentage of other feed components. But since flour comes first, we can assume that there is more than half of it in the feed.
• The second ingredient is flour of animal origin, that is, from turkey, poultry and meat and bone. But there is no information on the packaging about what parts of turkey and poultry were used in the production of the food and the exact percentage.
• Next come protein plant extracts, but their percentage is again unknown.
• Since poultry meal, meat-and-bone and wheat flour, as well as rice contain a small amount of protein, most likely of the 34% of protein present in the food, a significant part belongs to vegetable protein, which is more difficult for the cat’s body to digest.

• The feed contains sunflower oil and animal fat as sources of fatty acids, but it is not known which animals it comes from.
• The source of B vitamins is brewer's yeast, and the source of fiber is carrots.
• The remaining ingredients are various additives.

Information about the feed manufacturer

Whiskas is an economy class food produced by Mars Inc.

The company has been producing cat food for over 50 years. During this time, the range expanded, the compositions were improved, but the company never managed to bring its product to a high-quality level.

Whiskas is widely distributed among cat owners and is sold not only in pet stores, but also in regular supermarkets.

Veterinarians' opinion

If you listen or read reviews from veterinarians, you can see that almost all of them agree that Whiskas should not be fed not only to kittens, but also to adult cats. No matter what kind of food (wet or crushed dry) a kitten is given, it will not grow up healthy. Sooner or later he will begin to have health problems, because the daily portion of Whiskas contains a tiny amount of protein (only 5%) and harmful chemicals.

Of course, there will be people who are ready to argue with this, and will give more than one example of how cats eat only Whiskas for years and feel great without any health problems. But before drawing any conclusions, it would be a good idea to carefully analyze such cases. Most likely we are talking about non-pedigreed cats, since their bodies are resistant to even the most severe influences. And in fact, such animals can live 5-7 years without illness, eating low-quality food. But then they will still start to get sick and will live no more than 9 years, not reaching the required 15.

Interesting video: Whiskas kills cats

An owner who loves his pet and wants it to grow up active and healthy will never skimp on its food. He will choose expensive ready-made premium food or will feed the animal with good quality natural food, which will be healthier than any ready-made food.

Feed to replace Whiskas

If you believe most veterinarians, you can replace Whiskas with almost any food. Moreover, you can choose a new food in any class (economy, premium, super premium and even holistic). Naturally, after economy class it is very difficult to switch to holistic food financially, so let’s consider more economical food:

• economy class: Kitekat, Sheba, etc.;
• premium class: Royal canin, Iams, Pro Plan, etc.;
• super premium: Hills, Monge, 1st Choice, etc.

Photo gallery: feed to replace Whiskas

Expensive foods contain more useful ingredients, but such products are difficult to find in a regular store

Hills has a line that is close to holistic people, and also has a series of products for the prevention of various diseases

“Kitekat” is one of the cheapest and most popular feeds, although its composition does not have a high content of animal proteins

Veterinarians often recommend Pro Plan to their clients.

Royal Canin is one of the most common foods among cat breeders

Table: comparison of feeds of different classes

Is it worth exchanging Whiskas for another economy class food?

Having heard negative reviews about their usual food, owners often rush to replace it with another food, albeit in the same price category.

From the point of view of economy, of course, it is not easy to immediately switch to more expensive food. After all, the owners made their choice in favor of Whiskas for a reason. But on the other hand, if you feel that you no longer trust purple bags, then you can choose the cheapest food in the class, for example, premium. If you buy large packages (from 1 kg), then in the end the difference in price will not be so big.

Nowadays there are plenty of offers of seemingly expensive food (Royal Canin, First Choice, Advance, Hills and others) in large packages from 3 to 10 kg. In terms of daily expenses for feeding, it will be cheaper than Whiskas and the like, but the quality is much higher.

Vetathome, forum user

https://ipc.kiev.ua/kormlenie-kotov/2180-zamena-viskasu-i-kitiketu-predlojeniya.html

And if you listen only to the opinion of veterinarians, then they are the ones who do not recommend “jumping” from one food to another. No matter how questionable the composition of the feed may be, it is in any case already balanced. In addition, all food undergoes many checks before entering the market, including compliance with international standards. Therefore, whether to replace Whiskas with another cheap food or not is up to you to decide.

Feed reviews from cat owners

The cat is 1.5 years old. Well, we accustomed her to Whiskas food. The cat didn’t want to eat anything other than this food (like a drug addict). She ate until she became severely poisoned and almost died.

Alissa111, forum visitor

https://spasibovsem.ru/responses/etot-korm-chut-ne-ubil-mou-lubimuu-koshechku.html

Video: cat eats Whiskas

What’s good about it for me personally is that you don’t have to wash dishes, like with other foods. In general, if the cat likes it, what should I wish for? If only the pussy ate Whiskas. And Filya eats.

Eliza Dulitl, forum user

https://otzovik.com/review_1527451.html

Video: cat eats Whiskas with hands

I read that cats supposedly start to feel bad if you only feed them whiskey. I don’t know, I haven’t noticed this with my cat. Feels normal. Recently he goes outside to go to the toilet more often, so I can’t control it. But the cat looks quite well-fed and happy with life. So I recommend this food.

ms.M.Ko, forum user

Read also:  How to accustom an adult cat to dry food: basic methods, action plan

https://irecommend.ru/content/dovolno-taki-prilichnyi-korm-za-svoi-dengi

Whiskas is one of the most popular cat foods among Russians. It is inexpensive, but its composition is not ideal. At least that's what veterinarians think. But cats simply love Whiskas, and this brand also has special lines and a series of food for kittens and adult cats. Reviews about this product are extremely contradictory, but this does not make it less popular.

Pros and cons of Whiskas food

As mentioned above, Whiskas food is produced in dry and wet form, giving kitten owners a choice. But only the owner, and not his pet, can discover any advantages in food that belongs to the economy class. And the statement “your pussy would buy Whiskas” has nothing to do with the truth. A kitten who eats budget food with great appetite does so only because of the presence of various chemicals in it, which cause gradual addiction to this food and a desire to eat it. It's similar to how people get addicted to drugs.

According to kitten owners, the advantages of Whiskas include:

• Ease of feeding . If you don’t have enough time, feeding your kitten with ready-made food is very convenient; you only need to spend a couple of minutes on the whole process. Since the food is already ready, all you need to do is open the pack and put it in a bowl. Even a child can cope with feeding a kitten.
• Avoiding food spoilage . Those who have a kitten left alone for the whole day put a portion of dry food in a bowl designed for this time, and can rest assured that the food will not spoil and the kitten will not be poisoned after eating it.
• Eating food with appetite . A kitten may adore Whiskas, but not for its quality composition, but for the chemical components contained in the food in large quantities.
• Low cost of feed . The kitten owner may like this because he won't have to spend a lot of money on his pet. But this is only an appearance, but in fact, having carefully calculated the funds spent on the purchase of ready-made food, it will become clear that natural food will be much cheaper.

As for the disadvantages of Whiskas, they are associated with the condition of the kitten. If he feeds only on it, his health will be undermined in a short time. An animal that grew up on such food will no longer be able to live a full life, even if the owner later switches it to feeding high-quality natural food.

So, the main disadvantages are:

• Bad composition . He will not be able to saturate the kitten with the required amount of proteins, microelements and vitamins, so with such a diet there will be no full development. And if the kitten grows well outwardly, then its insides are still not formed correctly. Sooner or later, problems will begin with the baby's health.
• Presence of addictive chemical components . Eating only Whiskas, the kitten gets used to these substances, and then it will be very difficult to switch it to nutritious food.
• Development of urolithiasis . This is due to an increase in the level of mineral salts in the urine. Normally, a kitten should drink a glass of water after eating 100 g of food. But it is clear that this is impossible, and the baby gradually begins to develop this disease from childhood.

Benefits and harms of Whiskas food for cats

Economy class feeds cause a lot of controversy regarding their quality. However, the demand for such products (especially if we are talking about widely advertised products) is not decreasing. Cat owners still buy Whiskas, although this food has plenty of analogues. Those cat owners who have been feeding their pets Whiskas for many years, and people who are just about to make their choice, should objectively evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of this product. After all, store-bought food should be ideal for your cat.

Situations often occur when the owner carefully studies the packaging before purchasing food, chooses the best option, making sure that the chosen food meets all the pet’s requirements. And after some time it becomes clear that something has gone wrong - either the cat is not feeling well, or diarrhea has begun, or even completely - the animal has developed an allergy.

There is such a thing as individual intolerance. The food may be the best in the world, but it was not suitable for this particular animal. It’s like, for example, someone drinks milk and it’s normal, but someone has a complete intolerance, but you must agree that milk, in fact, does not make it bad.

KLEO-One, forum visitor

https://www.zoovet.ru/forum/?tem=803227&tid=35

Before purchasing cat food, weigh its pros and cons.

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages of Whiskas food include the following factors:

• affordable price;
• satiety (you can choose a food option that is higher in calories);
• wide range (you can choose cat food taking into account taste preferences);
• availability of special food (for sterilized, long-haired cats, etc.);
• Whiskas is aromatic, so cats eat it with great appetite.

However, in addition to the advantages, Whiskas also has disadvantages:

• presence of artificial additives;
• cats may become “addicted”;
• unclear wording of the ingredients in the composition;
• Some components are not listed at all.

It turns out that this food has approximately the same number of pros and cons. Veterinarians believe that chemical additives provoke the formation of cancer, have a bad effect on the kidneys, etc. But this can also be looked at from the other side: preservatives do not allow the product to spoil as long as possible, dyes and flavors increase appetite, etc. Therefore whether to choose such food or not is a purely personal matter for each cat owner.

“Your pussy would buy whiskey” - this slogan is the basis of food advertising, but owners and veterinarians sometimes disagree with this

In our family, we treat this issue leniently. After all, it also happens that the most expensive food causes, for example, allergies. And some cats eat cheap food all their lives and live a long time. If a husband goes to the store, he can call and ask, “Should the cat take glutamate?” Of course, all this is a joke. It's just that Whiskas really enjoys controversial fame. Its name alone is almost synonymous with all feeds. For example, when making a shopping list, my sister writes “whiskey,” although her cat only eats Pro Plan.

At first glance, the composition of Whiskas food is bad only because it contains low protein and high fat content. But Whiskas added a lot of taurine and even glucosamine and chondroitin - an important component for maintaining joints and connective tissue. True, this is relevant for humans, but a cat does not need such supplements. But it's not the pussy that buys Whiskas!

braу, forum visitor

https://www.zoovet.ru/forum/?tem=803227&tid=35

Reviews from veterinarians

Not all veterinarians say that food is disgusting. I am a veterinary DOCTOR (not a veterinarian). Whiskas is disgusting. But there are high-quality dry food that can provide your pet with everything he needs. I have 6 cats and 2 dogs. Proper feeding from the table is difficult - many nuances must be taken into account and the animal’s needs for proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals must be known.

anna spiridonova, forum user

https://otzovik.com/review_1220448.html

Video: veterinarian’s opinion on Whiskas food

There are also veterinarians who have nothing against Whiskas. True, there are very few such veterinarians.

Some people live happily ever after on Whiskas. In general, besides Whiskas and Friskas (which are economy class), there are a lot of more worthy and healthy foods, try giving the kitten something else to choose from.

Chirota, active forum participant, veterinarian

https://www.veterinarka.ru/forum/t173.html