Friskies: Facts, Recalls & Verified Foods
Friskies is made by Nestlé Purina PetCare, founded 1934 — it scores green on 3 of 5 WSAVA-aligned criteria we track (0 red, 2 undisclosed), no FDA recalls on record, and 0 of the 18 Friskies foods we've verified carry an AAFCO feeding-trial statement.
· 18 Friskies food labels checked
The scorecard
WSAVA-aligned criteria
The World Small Animal Veterinary Association's nutrition guidelines suggest questions to ask any pet food maker before you buy. Here are this brand's answers, each with its source, or marked undisclosed when we could not confirm one.
3 of 5 criteria confirmed yes · 0 confirmed no · 2 undisclosed. Undisclosed is common, especially for smaller brands — it means we couldn't confirm an answer from a public source, not that the answer is unfavorable.
Arleigh Reynolds, DVM, board-certified in veterinary nutrition, employed by Nestlé Purina PetCare (maker of Friskies).
source & quote
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Nestlé Purina owns and operates its own U.S. factories.
source & quote
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No feeding-trial AAFCO statement found on the 18 labels we’ve verified for this brand, and no company-wide claim was found either. Most pet foods are only "formulated to meet" AAFCO profiles (a paper calculation) rather than fed to real animals in trials — this is common, not necessarily a red flag.
The company website blocked our automated check, so we could not read its quality-control page. This is not a "no".
144 PubMed papers (animal/pet filtered) list Nestlé Purina in an author address; we checked 144 and 143 really name the company. A floor, not a total.
source
These five checks come from WSAVA's guidelines on selecting pet foods — not our own opinion score. WSAVA does not approve or list brands. See how all 50 brands we track answer WSAVA's questions → · Our methodology →
The company
Who makes Friskies
Ownership and history, each sourced independently — private-label and co-packed brands often hide the actual manufacturer behind the name on the bag.
Parent company
Nestlé Purina PetCare
source
view source →
Headquarters
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
source
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The cost
What Friskies costs, against everything else we have priced
The median Friskies wet food we have priced works out at $5.42 per 1,000 kcal, against $17.63 for the median wet food we have priced — so it sits about 3.2x below the market. Cost per 1,000 kcal is the only basis that survives different bag sizes and moisture levels; per pound this comparison would mean nothing. On composition the gap is usually smaller than the price gap implies: 45.5% dry-matter protein against a median of 46.7%.
Friskies foods by cost per 1,000 kcal
| Food | Form | Protein (DM) | Cost / 1,000 kcal | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friskies Classic Pâté Turkey & Giblets Dinner | wet | 45.5% | $4.65 | Check price |
| Friskies Paté Country Style Dinner | wet | 40.9% | $4.68 | Check price |
| Friskies Sea Captain's Choice Paté | wet | 40.9% | $4.68 | Check price |
| Friskies Paté Liver & Chicken Dinner | wet | 40.9% | $4.79 | Check price |
| Friskies Paté Salmon Dinner | wet | 40.9% | $4.80 | Check price |
| Friskies Extra Gravy Paté with Salmon in Savory Gravy | wet | 44.4% | $5.42 | Check price |
| Friskies Shreds Chicken in Gravy | wet | 50.0% | $6.29 | Check price |
| Friskies Prime Filets with Beef in Gravy | wet | 55.6% | $6.53 | Check price |
| Friskies Shreds with Turkey & Giblets in Gravy | wet | 50.0% | $6.54 | Check price |
| Friskies Prime Filets Chicken in Gravy | wet | 55.6% | $6.66 | Check price |
What Friskies actually puts in its food
The ingredients this brand reaches for most across its 18 verified foods, counted once per recipe. Each links to what the ingredient is, what the evidence says, and how common it is industry-wide.
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By-Product Meal (Meat / Poultry By-Product Meal)
In 17 of 18 Friskies foods (94%).
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Taurine (supplemental)
In 17 of 18 Friskies foods (94%).
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Guar Gum
In 8 of 18 Friskies foods (44%).
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Carrageenan
In 7 of 18 Friskies foods (39%).
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Mixed tocopherols (natural vitamin E)
In 6 of 18 Friskies foods (33%).
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Meat and Bone Meal
In 5 of 18 Friskies foods (28%).
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Wheat Gluten
In 4 of 18 Friskies foods (22%).
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Named Meat/Poultry Meal (e.g., Chicken Meal, Lamb Meal)
In 4 of 18 Friskies foods (22%).
The safety record
FDA recall history
From the FDA's Animal & Veterinary recall list, last checked 2026-11-11, plus older FDA notices we added by hand. Friskies recall page →
The FDA's online recall list is complete for recent years but leaves out many notices from before about 2023. We add older FDA recall notices by hand when we find them.
The labels
What we've verified from Friskies's labels
Computed directly from the official-label data we've extracted for this brand — never estimated.
Foods verified
18
0 dog · 18 cat
Feeding-trial validated
0
of 18 (0%)
Formulated to meet
17
AAFCO paper calculation
Label transparency
61%
avg. fields disclosed
The foods
Foods from Friskies we've verified
Every one links to its own Verified Label — guaranteed analysis, AAFCO statement, and (where priced) cost per day.