Database → Friskies · Nestlé Purina PetCare Company · Nestlé S.A.
Friskies — Friskies Meaty Bits With Beef In Gravy
55.0★
Average across 1 scan
📈 How Far Up Does It Go?
🧪
Worst Ingredient
Chicken
A
🥫
This Flavor
Friskies Meaty Bits With Beef In Gravy
D
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Brand (overall)
Friskies
F
🏭
Company (overall)
Nestlé Purina PetCare Company
C-
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Umbrella (overall)
Nestlé S.A.
B
"Overall" blends every species and category this company touches — a good dog food line can't hide a bad one elsewhere in the portfolio.
📦 Product info
BrandFriskies
Parent CompanyNestlé Purina PetCare Company
Umbrella CompanyNestlé S.A.
TypeCat Food - Wet/Soft
Life Stageadult
Size5.5 oz (156g)
🏪 Where It's Sold
No stores logged yet — be the first.
Cost-per-calorie needs the label's Calorie Content statement — not captured on this scan yet.
🧪 Every Ingredient, Graded
In label order, top to bottom — same as the bag or can.
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1.Water
Sufficient for gravy; standard for wet food. Not a protein source.
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2.Meat By-Products
UNSPECIFIED meat by-products. No species named. This can legally include organs, bones, blood, and scraps from any animal — including 4D animals (dead, dying, diseased, disabled). Pentobarbital contamination risk from rendered euthanized animals.
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3.Beef
Named whole meat. Good. But it's listed third — after water and unspecified meat by-products, meaning real beef is a minority ingredient.
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4.Wheat Gluten
Cheap protein booster that inflates crude protein numbers without providing the amino acid profile of meat. Common allergen in cats.
A
5.Chicken
Chicken is a legitimate, named whole meat protein that provides essential amino acids for dogs. It is a standard, safe ingredient with no known health concerns when properly sourced and processed.
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6.Fish
UNSPECIFIED fish. No species named. Could be any fish, any quality. Mercury and heavy metal risk with unknown sourcing.
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7.Soy Flour
Common allergen for cats. Highly processed soy filler that inflates protein cheaply. Estrogenic concerns.
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8.Corn Starch-Modified
Modified food starch — lab-altered, zero nutritional value. Pure binder/thickener.
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9.Meat By-Products (repeated or continued from earlier)
Already penalized above — appears to be a continuation of the same ingredient listing.
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10.Natural and Artificial Flavors
Artificial flavors are chemical mimics with unknown composition. Natural flavors are undisclosed — could be animal digest under a nicer name. Double penalty: one for artificial flavor, source undisclosed.
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11.Calcium Phosphate
Standard mineral supplement for calcium and phosphorus balance.
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12.Potassium Chloride
Standard potassium supplement.
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13.Salt
Sodium source. Acceptable in moderation for wet cat food.
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14.Taurine
Essential amino acid for cats — mandatory. The fact that it must be supplemented suggests the base ingredients don't provide enough naturally.
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15.Choline Chloride
Essential B vitamin. Standard.
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16.Ferrous Sulfate
Iron supplement. Standard.
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17.Zinc Sulfate
Zinc supplement. Standard.
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18.Manganese Sulfate
Manganese supplement. Standard.
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19.Copper Sulfate
Copper supplement. Standard.
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20.Potassium Iodide
Iodine supplement. Standard.
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21.Tricalcium Phosphate
Calcium and phosphorus supplement. Standard.
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22.Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Vitamin K)
Synthetic Vitamin K3. Banned in human supplements in many countries due to toxicity concerns. Cheaper alternative to natural Vitamin K. A cost-cutting choice by Purina.
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23.Vitamin E Supplement
Standard vitamin supplement.
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24.Niacin (Vitamin B-3)
Standard B vitamin.
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25.Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B-5)
Standard B vitamin.
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26.Vitamin A Supplement
Essential for cats — they cannot convert beta-carotene.
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27.Thiamine (Vitamin B-1)
Critical for cats. Deficiency causes neurological damage.
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28.Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B-2)
Standard B vitamin.
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29.Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6)
Standard B vitamin.
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30.Folic Acid (Vitamin B-9)
Standard vitamin.
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31.Biotin (Vitamin B-7)
Standard vitamin.
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32.Vitamin D-3 Supplement
Standard vitamin.
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33.Vitamin B-12 Supplement
Standard vitamin.
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34.Sodium Selenite
Inorganic selenium. Cheaper and more toxic at high doses than selenium yeast (organic form). Another cost-cutting choice.
📋 All scans (1)
55.0★ Grade D Not Recommended
4/12/2026
Label states '100% Complete & Balanced for adult cats' and is formulated to meet AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for maintenance of adult cats. Formulated, not feeding trial tested.
☠ This food contains unspecified 'Meat By-Products' as its PRIMARY protein source. Under AAFCO and FDA definitions, unspecified meat by-products can legally include rendered material from any mammalian species — including 4D animals (dead, dying, diseased, disabled). The FDA has confirmed pentobarbital (euthanasia drug) in rendered pet food ingredients, which can only come from euthanized animals. There is no way to verify what species or condition of animal is in this can. The unspecified 'Fish' ingredient carries similar transparency problems — no species, no origin, no quality verification.

Friskies Meaty Bits With Beef In Gravy is a budget cat food that relies on unspecified meat by-products as its primary protein source, padded with wheat gluten, soy flour, and modified corn starch. The real beef and chicken on the label are marketing window dressing — they appear after water and mystery by-products. The 'With Beef' designation only requires 3% beef content under AAFCO naming rules. Cats deserve to know what species they're eating, and this label doesn't tell them.

Randall™ verdict: This is Nestlé selling mystery meat in a can for pennies and calling it 'Meaty Bits.' The first protein ingredient is unspecified 'Meat By-Products' — meaning Purina won't tell you what animal is in this can. Could be cow, could be pig, could be something worse. The real beef on the label? AAFCO only requires 3% for a 'With Beef' claim. The rest of the protein is propped up by wheat gluten and soy flour — cheap plant proteins that inflate the numbers on paper but don't provide the amino acid profile an obligate carnivore needs. Modified corn starch is a lab-altered thickener with zero nutrition. Menadione (synthetic Vitamin K) is banned in human supplements but somehow acceptable for cats. This food meets AAFCO minimums on paper, which is about the lowest bar that exists in pet nutrition. Purina is one of the most researched pet food companies in the world — they have board-certified veterinary nutritionists on staff — and they CHOOSE to make this product this way because it's profitable, not because it's good. Cats can survive on this. That doesn't mean they should.

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