Special Kitty Cat Food Review
When I studied pet nutrition I was taught a simple fact – cats are carnivores. So why is Special Kitty cat food so full of ingredients cats find hard to digest?
If you don’t believe me, read how bad Special Kitty cat food could be for your cat in this enlightening review…
Special Kitty review
What the marketing says
On the Special Kitty page on the Walmart website they say how “special your cat is”, and how this is the reason they created this “mouthwatering meal” worthy of your cat.
What BS. Anyone who understands commerce will know they created this to make a profit, so don’t think they’ve done it out of the kindness of their hearts.
Besides, if it really were formulated for your special kitty then it wouldn’t contain the ingredients it does.
Read on…
What the ingredients really say
Chicken is the first ingredient. More specifically by-product meal which is probably more chicken carcass in powder form rather than the succulent chicken breast on the front of the bag.
Don’t be fooled into thinking Special Kitty is mostly chicken though. Far from it.
The next FOUR ingredients are probably included in the same amount of the chicken, and none of them are ingredients you would associate with a cat as an obligate carnivore.
So what are they?
Corn gluten meal to cheaply ramp up the protein, despite a cat’s digestive system geared to digest meat protein not vegetable protein.
It gets worse from there, as you shouldn’t be feeding your cat soybean meal, wheat, and brewers rice. So many cats get sick these days from dry kibble, and my guess is ingredients such as these are the most harmful.
Take a look at the Ingredients section below – I’ve highlighted all these ingredients in red so you can see the truth about Special Kitty.
Wheat is such a problematic grain for cats and dogs. It’s hard for them to digest, and also one of the root causes of intolerances, itchy skin, obesity, and likely organ failure down the track (ironically kidney failure is one of the biggest killers of our special kitties).
When we look at the guaranteed analysis we find 38% protein which appears good, but this is more from the corn gluten meal and grains than chicken. 13% fat isn’t great either.
Special Kitty can barely be considered cat food, and my recommendation is you avoid it and find something more species appropriate.
I believe Special Kitty is manufactured by the J.M. Smucker Company, who’re also behind EverPet and 9 Lives. These foods don’t have a good reputation, with the latest recall being Jan 2017.
Walmart has had their pet foods tested positive for the chemical used to put animals to sleep. There are reports that these animals actually ARE used by cheap pet food makers, sold to them by the vets who put the pets to sleep. So in effect, that’d make the eaters of this food potential cannibals. Tasty, eh?? Do you need any more reason to avoid this?
Where to buy Special Kitty cat food?
Special Kitty is a Walmart brand, so that’s where you’ll find it. But if you’ve read our Special Kitty cat food review you’re probably already thinking of buying something better – view our entire list of cat food reviews.
Ingredients
Ingredients of Special Kitty Naturals Dry Cat Food Chicken formula (note how many fillers in this cat food in red):
Chicken By-product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Soybean Meal, Ground Whole Wheat, Brewers Rice, Animal Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Corn Meal, Chicken, Natural Flavor, Salmon, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Zinc Sulfate, Fish Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Copper Sulfate. Vitamin a Supplement. Manganese Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, D-calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement. Biotin, Vitamin by Supplement, Calcium Iodate. Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Sodium Selenite.
Guaranteed Analysis
Guaranteed analysis of Special Kitty Naturals Dry Cat Food Chicken formula:
| Protein | (min) 38% |
| Fat | (min) 13% |
| Crude Fibre | (max) 3% |
| Carbohydrates * | Estimated 29% |
This comment is pure bullshit. Been feeding my cats special kitty for years and every vet visit says they are super healthy. I hate Walmart as much as the next guy but the food is good.
Two weeks after purchasing this food my cats developed scabs all over their skin. Respiratory issues. As well as bleeding gums. This product is poison. Do not buy it. Brought it back to Walmart for a full refund. I know sometimes the cheaper version is tempting more for less, but please realize you will be paying the difference with your cats health. Whoever put this product on the shelf needs some serious repercussions.
Community colony. Three people died. Pet cats let out, 27 cats. Nine of the 103 houses are feeders. We had to TNR some cause they weren’t all fixed. We trap to get them vaccinated, flea meds. All right ears were tipped. All microchipped as communit cats.
We all buy this brand to keep consistent. Price helps too. One of our residents works at nice restaurant. Brings home mix ins. Like fish, chicken, that might get thrown out. We moosh it in. One neighbor makes kefir. Mixes it in on occasion. I add tuna on Sundays. The base is always this food. We also all add a cap full of organic, raw apple cider vinegar to their water, in stainless steel bowls only, every time we do water.
The vet says this is the healthiest colony bunch he gets. Keeping food consistent with 9 people, plus price, helps our neighborhood maintain this colony. Through no fault of their own they became no more home street cats. Some have been adopted into homes. Our area is also very safe from heavy traffic. If we could all afford better, more expensive food, we would, but we can’t, so we make do.
Wow, I can’t believe the BS you people are putting into print here. Someone claimed that Walmart refuses to disclose the ingredients in Special Kitty. Here it is right from their online store: Ingredients: Ground Yellow Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Poultry By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Wheat Middlings, Ground Wheat, Animal Fat (Preserved with BHA and Citric Acid), Meat and Bone Meal, Natural Flavor, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, BHA and Citric Acid (a Preservative), Vitamin E Supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Manganous Oxide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Source of Vitamin B1), Riboflavin Supplement (Source of Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Source of Vitamin B6), Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K Activity), Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Cobalt Carbonate.
Some People on the web seem to either lie, bend the truth or just create drama. there are so many comments on here, it’s just hillarious. Some are just plain assholes. But I agree with you
Cats are ultimate protein eaters and that’s a list of ingredients is strictly grain carbs with some bird by-products which are beaks, feet, heads, and organs. The organs are ok as long as they are sufficiently cleaned but the rest of that is trash. The cheap cost of Special Kitty comes from the cheap items in the food as well as the cheap processing.
There are a couple products like Turkey and Giblets Dinner that has Turkey as the first ingredient. But I find that is a hot item and places like Amazon stores buy in bulk and price gouge buyers. Would you pay $5 per 22oz can of Special Kitty? I wouldn’t even if I could find it, which I can’t.
They weren’t listed at the time of the review. Cats love corn don’t they… like all carnivorous animals. No science there, just fact.
OK, folks, I see a lot of wild speculation presented as fact here. I went online looking to price larger quantities of Special Kitty dry food from walmart, and I found this forum. If you folks are going to worry about one brand to the next based on hearsay, then by all means buy the most expensive food you can find and have a clear conscience. But I’ve been feeding my own cats special kitty for many years, as well as feeding neighborhood strays including kittens, all of whom have mostly lived to ripe old ages as old as 17. I’ve had very few health problems with any of my cats going back decades, although there were a few cases of kidney stones necessitating special diets. Those were rare when you consider the number of cats I’ve had since 1985.
I’ve fed several generations of cats on Special Kitty, continue to do so, never had a problem, two of them lived to 17 years old., most at least 15. I can’t remember any of them ever being sick enough to go to the vet for any unexplained reason. You people are not vets or doctors, and drawing conclusions based on little or no actual proof is not useful or necessarily even credible, and can do a disservice to people looking for useful information. Remember that faked and discredited “study” that connected autism with vaccines? That story was cooked up by a law firm in order to prop up a bogus lawsuit against some pharmaceutical companies. Meanwhile, now, there has been a great deal of damage done by parents who stopped vaccinating their kids. Anyone out there have any real science to offer behind mere speculation? And SEIZURES? From FOOD?
Come on. You want to speculate that it causes epilepsy, or contains nerve gas? That’s downright irresponsible.
Seizures from food is very common. Fact.
This product almost killed my cat. As soon as my cat consumed this product to my cat, he did not only vomited the bloody diarrhea followed after. NO ONE should ever feed this to any animal! The bag I had purchased smelled like decomposed roadkill. I don’t doubt it wasn’t. Just watch Pet Fooled (pet food documentary on Netflix). I would like to watch the Walmart and Special Kitty employees eat that bag of feces!
So if it smelled like roadkill why did you feed it to him? Food can spoil and it’s not the fault of the manufacturer. So you fed your own cat spoiled food that you should have known because of the smell. Shame on YOU! I buy this stuff and keep it in 5 gallon pails. It smells like any other dry cat food.
i feed my cats this blend and she has reacurring seizures, im not sure if its from the food, anybody else?
Why ask us? What does your vet think?
It’s a definite possibility
And epilepsy is a possibility too, right? OK, explain how cat food can cause a seizure.
Aren’t recurring seizures the definition of epilepsy??
I just Opened a Can of Special Kitty 22 Oz Turkey and the damn Can Pretty much Exploded all over EVERYTHING. Me, my microwave and the Floor but I am Lucky I got a Slit in the can big enough because with all the pressure that came out of it If i Would of just stopped right when I first opened it, I bet it would of hit the ceiling, It still shot UP 3 feet in the air and Smelled SO BAD, I Really wish I would of Filmed me opening this can because it was SO CRAZY. I Opened the Door and Ran outside with it and put it down then I got away from it because I really thought it might totally BLOW UP and it sat there and Hissed and Popped for about 45 seconds. Crazy. Well this Food is Going Back to wal mart tomorrow and If I can make it the 3 MILES to wal mart with this Smell. I did Wrap it in 3 Bags so Anyway It is OFF to Shower since I Washed off my arm,hands, Face and changed my shirt but I STILL SMELL so BAD (Not A smell of Cat food either it smells More like Rotten DEATH) Anyway NEVER will I ever BUY any Special Kitty(Or 9 lives since the same company makes the stuff even though I had never had any problems with 9 lives but still after tonight I am not Buying any of their stuff) This was Only the 2nd can of Special kitty I ever opened Because I did buy one can about 2 weeks ago and It was fine but then this 2nd can was Crazy so No more Ever for my CATS They will eat Friskies for now on which They Like way more anyway and I will just pay more cause it isn’t worth taking any chance with this Garbage.
I don’t believe a word of this. A pressurized can won’t shoot 3 feet in the air. It doesn’t hiss and pop, unless maybe you were doing a science experiment and putting it on a red hot stove. I have a degree in physics sonny, so you’ve been made. What is wrong with you? What’s with all the capital letters? You write like some troll on Fox News. Shame on you
Sorry Duane, your multitude of comments highlight one thing – you’re not as smart as you think you are.
A Few More things. WHAT the Fuck is a can of Popcorn?? Plus YES A PRESSURIZED Can Would Shoot up the the air but cat food is Not Pressurized so maybe you should Read what you wrote. I think you Meant a Non Pressurized Can but Sorry SINCE your some sort of physics genius. lol I call BULL SHIT ON THAT, SINCE Every Duane I ever Met are stupid as hell and all 3 I know never even got a high school diploma. So I bet you are a High school drop out and with hell you would think you would Love Fox news and I bet you Voted for that pedophile Trump. lol
Sure did you liberal fuck socialist asshole https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e397ca865078f112ffd20889394adfc4645e2755412bff384de245cf33403af0.jpg
I Never Figured this could EVER Happen EITHER but IT FUCKING DID so I could Give a SHIT ABOUT any Degree you have. All I KNOW is I bought the can THAT NIGHT at Walmart at somewhere maybe 8 pm and then I went home and Opened it at around 10 and that happened so NO it Was NOT in the Sun and No the CAN Was not warm at all either. I tried to Look up WHY or HOW or if this has ever happened to anyone else and Yea I didn’t find shit but My daughter seen the end of it when it was just hissing and bubbling for the last 30 seconds after I put it down outside since I was worried it was Going to Blow UP, Plus Fuck You I don’t watch only local News cause Fox and CNN are Both full of shit. I have No Reason to lie about this and just a rotten can I wouldn’t of really cared but I would of taken it back but this shit was Scary for about 30 seconds. You would think if you were as SMART as you say you are maybe you would have some sort of Reason THIS HAPPENED. AND SHIT I SHOULD OF WROTE ALL CAPiTaL LeTtErS Too JuSt ToO FuCk WiTh YoU. I HAVE No fucking Degree but I do Know when things Rot they do Produce Gas so I guess that is why it happened but I have never seen anything like it and I know it was one in a million Like I said I Really wish I would of filmed it but WHO Films opening cat food?? Plus If I would of filmed it you be saying THIS is Faked because Who would Film opening cat food and Yea I would be wondering that too if I seen this on film. Anyway I call BULLSHIT on your Fucking Degree so SHAME ON YOU. You can get on my Facebook and ASK ALL my friends if I have Ever Lied to Any of them and if you think I would Lie about something so stupid?? Sorry I don’t lie about ANYTHING Ever because I Really don’t give a fuck what people think or say about me except my daughter who I have Full custody of for the past 5 years. Anyway my facebook name is Benjy McDannell and you will have to friend me because I just don’t let everyone look at my stuff but once you do then you can post whatever you want on my page because Like I stated before I don’t give two shits what people think or say about me.
Put down your glass pipe and quit smoking the meth you asshole. Your a typical pussy who trolls and comments the dumbest shit. Uber you work for McDonald’s flipping burgers and live in your parents basement, do t ya snowflake? LMAO, you pussy. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7d1c4ea58b0f50f984b585c913dbf57b64dd6f98ae511af840a22047c7fdfc86.jpg
Very possible there was a seal problem causing air to get into the can and spoiling the food which would then cause pressure to build up in the can from the rotting food and exploding when you finally got the can opener on it. If the top of the can is bulging outward don’t bother opening it, just pitch it in the garbage can. When cans are dropped the seal can slightly crack but not so you notice. Which is why you must check the lid before you open any can. Contents are sealed generally while still hot from the cooking and packaging process and when the contents cool down everything contracts sucking in the lid. If there isn’t a good seal at that point, the contents will spoil causing gases to fill the can bulging the lid out.
Process cat food can be deadly for cats due to the nefarious things that are put into the processed food. Cats need certain vitamins and minerals, such as taurine, or they will die. Also do not et anyone convince you to feed your cat dog food. There is no taurine in dog food and its not the same thing as cat food.
Exactly correct
You know its possible somebody else bought it & left it in the heat… It’s possible. That Wal-Mart even mishandled the product. Bad food can give off gases that create a pressurizing effect.
We bought this food a couple weeks ago and was giving it to our 2 year old cat who WAS perfectly healthy. On Thursday December 22 we discovered he had thrown up several times and same on Friday. We took the cat food away and was giving him water and trying to nurse him back to life. Saturday he was no longer throwing up but was acting weird. Normally he would be all cuddly and with us, not this day he was hiding but would be were he could see us. We continued giving him water via syringe. Sunday Christmas day he was even worse. That evening I had giving him water and had him on the counter hoping he would eat some food (yes we had some other brand of food that we normally gave him) he did not touch the food. I came back in the kitchen and he had split his water and was laying in it. We dried him off and wrapped him in a towel. Layed him on the couch. We left for about 45 minutes and came to him being in the same spot. We gave him more water. He started breathing really weird. I wrapped him up again and was cuddling him and loving him were he died.
THIS FOOD NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT.
I was drinking New England Coffee for several years, and suddenly was diagnosed with melanoma. So blaming the food for your cat’s illness makes about as much sense as blaming coffee for my cancer. I’m very sorry for your loss, but why didn’t you take him to the vet? Blaming the food – nonsense. I’ve been taking care of cats for more than 30 years, and never had a food related illness – all of my cats have been, are, diagnosed by qualified professionals. I rely on expert opinions, not wild speculation by under educated pet owners. Unless someone with a degree wants to weigh in you’re just trading in speculation and unsubstantiated and faulty conclusions.
This is long, but please read. We also fed our cats this brand of cat food. @ the time, had 3 cats. 1 of them became very ill, vomiting, diarrhea, rapid, extreme weight loss, etc. We kept taking her to the vet, spending 100s of dollars & many tests done. All they could do was give us prescription wet food high in protein, grain free(thinking maybe a grain allergy) & lots of Intravenous fluids. Went as far as giving us a very large feeding syringe to force feed her (this was very close to the end of her life as she had stopped eating), & IV bags to bring home, as well as anti-diarrhea medication, vitamins, supplements, & a couple other medicines. This particular appointment cost us a little over $800. She passed the very next day. She was about 1 year old, & had been a very active and healthy kitty & was vetted regularly before she fell ill. I cant even tell you how many appointments there were after that! She lived for 2 weeks after she got sick. Fearing the worse, we brought our other 2 furr babies for testing & they were 100% healthy! The vet didn’t suspect the food (we couldnt afford a necropsy due to the amount of money we had already spent) so we continued to feed the other 2 special kitty. Same story. Same result. Both passed shortly after (appx 3 months). Our vet & several colleagues across the bi-state area, agreed that the only thing it COULD’VE been was the food as after the 1st kitty became sick she was quarantined from the other 2. EVERYTHING in our home was cleaned by PROFESSIONALS experienced cleaners, w/ experience cleaning doctor’s offices, hospitals, nursing homes, & yes, even veterinary clinics, animal hospitals, animal SHELTERS, etc. There is no doubt in my mind or the mind of our veterinarian that it WAS the food. Ive raised animals for over 20 years. Since, we’ve adopted a brother and sister pair of kitties, feed them a good brand of food, & have had zero issues. Sorry so long.
We bought our cat special kitty in the middle of December and within a few days she stopped eating completely to the point where I was trying to spoon feed her wet food and she died on January 2nd. She was an older cat but up until then she had never had any health issues and was still so much like a kitten. I’m so sorry you had to deal with a similar situation
I fed my 7 yr old cat Special Kitty dry and wet his whole life. He died at 7 yrs from a huge mass in his lungs. I certainly don’t know if his diet was a factor. I’ve had a new kitten for 5 weeks now. He has been eating Special Kitty. He farts a lot and has stinky, loose stools. He tested neg for parasites. So I bought a different kitten food today to try. Nothing spectacular, just Purina Kitten Chow. I don’t know what to think. I buy house brand products for myself all the time.
It is so sad to hear the comments on here about there cats. My cat passed away a few years back from Kidney failure by eating this brand. My husband and I had just got our first place together so we were on a tight budget so I tried this brand. Never again!. I can not believe they are even allowed to make this brand still. When we got a bad bag of special kitty it killed my cat within 8 hours. We couldn’t get our cat to a vet until the morning and he passed in the middle of the night. He was a healthy and happy 2 year old before that. You would think people would have a heart and stop making this brand. I understand not being able to afford an expensive brand but there are other cheap brands I would use than this one.
I purchased 6 cans (156g) of special kitty each can a different flavor. When I opened it for my cat, who normally eats anything, he walked around the bowl smelling it. Then he started scratching the floor as if he was trying to cover it up. I tried each of the 6 cans and he did the same to each can.I couldn’t believe it. I came on the internet to google Special Kitty so I could write them a note but I cannot find a site for that. Now I find out Special Kitty is Walmart’s brand. Won’t ever try it again, that’s for sure.
I have a lot of feral cats that feed at my house and I have historically fed them the Tractor supply brand with no issues. I found the outdoor kitty food at Walmart and decided to try it because it was less expensive but now after feeding it for 2 weeks, I have 4 kittens dead and several adult cats sick! This cat food should be banned!!!! I am heading out this morning to buy the Tractor supply brand to see if I can reverse the death rate from the Kitty food from Walmart!
Hello …. just want to say I stumbled across this site, and it is helpful to know everyone’s opinion in special kitty . I have quite a few kats and I go through special kitty twice a month , I take well care of my beautiful kats and are healthy as can be.. my cats have been alive for over 12 years now in humans life… also my oldest cat is has been around for even longer and he is first in line to eat…. been thinking of switching to a better brand but speical kitty is the only bag that is 44lbs.. any recommendations to a bag as big.
Tractor Supply Store sells some Brand that comes in 40 Pound bags and are Really cheap but Seems ok atleast it is A LOT Better then Special Kitty and Kit and Kaboodles too is Pretty cheap but my cats seem to love that And I have never had problems with any of there food. I just had a Can of Special Kitty EXPLODE all over me and it is Outside and still Hissing and Popping, It was the Strangest thing that ever happened to me. it was a 22 oz can and It Smells so Rotten and nasty and that is why I looked up This cat food. Man I wish I would of Filmed this can of Food exploding all over my Microwave and Me, I am sure I would of got a Million views on it but Who Takes video of them self opening up cat food???
Keep in mind that with better quality foods, you feed less. So you may not need to buy in such a large quantity. I haven’t used it myself, but I know Kirkland brand (Costco) dog food is quite inexpensive and of decent quality. Perhaps they have a cat food brand as well?
Kit and kaboodle 30 lbs for 19.00. These comments couldn’t be more true. Just because they have survived doesn’t mean they are healthy or happy. Kit and kaboodle is not even great by any means but its better. Sad to hear so many people think of animals as possessions or just animals and treat them so poorly.
I am like everyone else and as I become educated, I am horrified at the horror stories about what “might” go into meat by-products–I don’t mind feeding guts, bones etc. as this is part of what they would eat in the wild, but I sure don’t want to feed melted tick collars and euthanasia drugs. However, I question this big thing we are on now about how corn and wheat are terrible for our pets. It seems to parallel the gluten free craze for people. Yes, there are animals that have allergies to these items, but I don’t see the problem with the others. My dogs can’t wait to eat the corn out of the bird feed my husband puts out. Cats and dogs are quick to graze on new grass. (And no, it is not to make them throw up!) People are down on Walmart for the contents of Special Kitty, but I am pretty sure no feed company that uses meat by-products has much control over how those by products are produced so they all are painted with the same brush. Anyway, I have fed Purina dry food and Special Kitty wet food for years–my cats have beautiful coats and are active. My two cat girls are ages 14 and 17. My oldest dog who is fed a similar type of food for dogs is 15. So while I have a problem with the idea of meat by-products, my animal seem to be thriving on these foods.
Grains are bad for cats (much more so than for dogs) because cats are obligate carnivores and should eat mostly protein and fat with just trace amounts of carbohydrates. Cats don’t need to have allergies for grains to be less than ideal. The total percentage of calories from carbs should be much lower than it is, especially for most dry foods.
We have had cats of all kinds for over 30 years. THE price has gone up, the quality gone down. Our cats throw up daily all over the place. The outside kittys will not even eat it, nor will the strays-now that ought to say something! So, nomore “special” kitty crap will come home with us.
EX-customer and SHAME on them!
I just want to say I have a 3 year old cat name Psycho. His his coat is very shiny. I feed him Blue Buffalo Wilderness. He is so healthy. I would never feed him anything that comes out of Walmart and you should never just change their food without mixing it with what the use to eat. Changing their food brands will make them sick every time .
Hi Dorothy, changing or rotating food brands is something I strongly recommend to keep a diet balanced. Changing the diet isn’t what makes the cat sick, it’s because they’ve been fed a single food for a long period – if that makes sense.
We were feeding out cat Special Kitty, then we got a new cat and he wouldn’t eat it, so we switched to Friskies all was good until about 6 months ago and both cats started throwing it up. So we switched back to Special Kitty which the new cat would eat this time. A couple days ago my Grandson went to the store and bought Friskies again. The next morning after eating it both cats were throwing up again. Guess I’ll be making a trip back to the store for Special Kitty.
You cannot switch food on a cat they most likely will throw up or not eat it. If you want to switch you must do it gradually mixing the old with the new until there is no more old kibble.
Hello my name is Tyler what are the cats names what is your real name my real name is tyler Michael helt ( that’s my full name )
I have a grown cat that is 17 yrs old I have been given her this sense a kitten she loves this product she likes the gravy
I live way up in the mtns and so I have allot of cats and kittens that I feed I got a big 44lb of special kitty outdoor food and each one of my cats are extremely sick including my inside cats and kitten. I am extremely pissed off that walmart sells this crap just to make a fortune on the selling of this product. Now the biggest thing is trying to save them with using home remedies. I for one will be making several phone calls tomorrow. I live in California.
I bought a case of special kitty wet cat food and only gave a teaspoon to each of my cats one ate it but the other sniffed it and walked away. wow am I happy she did, I was up and down all night with my other cat he had diarrhea terribly and what a mess !!! He is doing better today. I returned the cat food to walmart and the manager and cashier were very rude with me but did give me back my money. I will never buy that cat food again!!! I am still thinking of writing to walmart about their rude employees but would it be worth it??
So I read everyone’s comments, and I’m sorry to hear about everyone’s cats being sick or dying.. I have been feeding my cat for 2.5 years now special kitty. I mean I’m a student and can’t afford high end foods. He seems to be fine! He is a Maine coon and the only thing I noticed is he gets lazy and he is a little chubby but I am not sure if it’s him or the food.. Also I want to inform those of you who switch foods because you’re tight on cash. Switching an animals diet can upset their stomach and make them sick, you are suppose to gradually switch over their diet by adding a little of the new food at a time until the old diet is gone. Do not keep switching up their diet it isn’t good for them.
My little kitten (roughly 12 weeks, I rescued her at 4 weeks and hand fed her every 2 hours for weeks, it was like having a newborn baby at home!) anyway, money has been tight so I started using this brand. This is the second bag the kitties (I have two close in age) have eaten. Boy kitty, who is older, is ok but poops a ton but my baby girl had had diarrhea for the last two days and wants nothing to do with the food. I’m back to hand feeding her. Tonight she seems to be feeling slightly better, purring for the first time in two days. I got online to review this food and after seeing all of the horrible reviews it’s gotten, I will be tossing this bag of food and getting s higher quality. I’ll “cut corners” somewhere else, no longer on their food. I can’t believe something so terrible would be allowed to be sold as food for any living thing!
I buy Special Kitty wet food can with fish – the larger size – at Walmart. It’s just great, smells quite like fish, has fish the two first ingredients, and my cat goes crazy about it. I also fed him with Wiskas dinner paté thing, also good but the SK is just better and wetter. He gets no diarrhea mixing the SK wet food with dry food, which is great.
As for the SK dry food, it’s perhaps same as eating at a McDonald’s. I give him good quality dry food instead, a local brand at about $20/3pounds
My kitten was only 7 months old. His name was Birl and he was so playful and an awesome cat. We were feeding him meow mix which he liked and was doing good on. Unfortunately we ran out of it and didn’t have much money, so I bought some cheap Special Kitty kitten food for him. He died on March 12 2015. I loved him so much and I had no idea something like cat food which is SUPPOSED to be good for keeping them alive, could kill my precious baby boy. I still feel guilty because doing something I thought would be good for him ended up killing him. Please people, don’t feed this stuff to your animals. I would never wish the feelings I have now on anyone. I can still hear him, and sometimes I just sit and look at pics of him and bawl my eyes out.
Esther I feel really bad for your loss but thank you very much for giving us a warning. I will never feed my cat snow special kitty ever again! I’ll continue feeding her chicken soup for the cat lovers soul. If you get another cat, buy them that food! It may not be the cheapest but you’ll like the results! I’ve heard meow mix is also bad for cats, maybe that’s why your baby Birl passed away by eating too much junk food. I hope Birl will forever be in your heart.
I bought the indoor brand Special Kitty and out of my 9 cats 4 of them are now throwing up,I’m going back to Rachel Ray!
Its most likely due to you switching their food all at once instead of gradually mixing in the new food with the old food brand, that could be causing the upset stomachs.
Ya, I have 4 cats also. I bought a bag of this to pinch a penny and now I’m cleaning up cat vomit multiple times a day! All of them are throwing up. Hate it, awful garbage!
This gave both my cats diarrhea 🙁 Going back to Iams !
Hi Brenda, Iams is a slight improvement but read my Iams review here.
Walmart should publicise this information. Its horrible knowing people feed this “crap” to there pets without having a clue :o(
My cat died yesterday as a result of special kitty.. he was 7 months old
Choosing the right brand of dog food is no joke. I won’t say where we got it but one brand in particular broke our Charlie out something fierce. Vet said it was the food.
I have bought special kitty 2x.. both times I have purchased the 13lb bag which is about 8 or so $.. My cat refuses to touch it. She’ll smell it then walk away. It drives me crazy because I spend the money on it thinking she’ll eat it. Now that I’ve read these comments an reviews, I Will Not buy this crap again. She loves the Whiskas brand. I havent researched anything on it, but she eats it so I guess that’s all that matters. I’m just tired of spending my money on junk.. thanks for giving us the truth about Special Kitty. Guess I need to research before I waste my money. Again.
whiskas does not have good ingredients either.
Whiskas has bad ingredients also. Don’t buy any food where the label lists “by-products”. I also try to avoid the ingredient “soy or corn” because they try to use that as a cheap substitute in place of meat.
a
Hi Cate,
Your cats deserve better than Whiskas. Cats are carnivoires, please find a food that does not contain corn or wheat <- these are not what cats eat!
What you save in food costs will more than be offset by higher vet bills and you can't put a price on the heartbreak of a young cat death…
Peace,
– Samatva
Special Kitty Kitten Food made my two kittens very sick !! I wish I would have seen this sooner!
Hi,
Loving your site!
I was feeding my kitties Special Kitty for more than a 2 years but since discovering what is good and what is not (still learning), I have been trying out others. Problem is, none of them are high enough in fiber and way too high in fat. I’ve tried Blue, Performatrin and Actr1um. They liked them all but I noticed their belly’s enlarging 🙁 so I’ve mixed in Special Kitty again which seems to be helping as it’s high in fiber and low in fat 🙂
Strange because when I started investigating ingredients, Wal-Mart had them listed. Now it’s only a partial list: http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/special-kitty-indoor-cat-food-32kg/1455222100106
How do you feel about Actr1um?:
http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/actr1um-holistic-senior-cat-food-16-kg/6000001834898
Now I am thinking of trying out Chicken Soup Light Cat Food. Ingredients look pretty good and the fat is only 9%, rather than 18+ so hopefully that will help with their belly’s 😉
Also, I am on a very tight budget but, I want my babies to be healthy! 🙂 Their wet is Friskies, the meaty chunky ones.
Thanks for your time 🙂
Try this brand called merrick or Fromm trust me is all natural and you’ll see a big difference
Is there a store I can go buy chicken soup for the cat lover soul or is it only online
The website, chickensoup.com has a store locator function. In my area I can get it at a few local stores, but not petcos or petsmarts.
Only online I think Justina
I’ve reviewed Actr1um here – https://www.petfoodratings.org/dry-dog-food/actr1um-actrium-holistic/
Firstly, thank you! It’s always nice to know Pet Food Ratings helps people!
Special Kitty is awful, so good to see you’re looking for alternatives. I haven’t much experience with Actr1ium, and it doesn’t help in reviewing foods when Walmart won’t publish information (which is usually suspect). It also only seems to be available in Canada. From the ingredients it looks really good, especially for the price. Could be worth a try?
You can’t go wrong with Chicken Soup, so if it’s within budget then give it a go. If you can buy online, such as Amazon, then you can save money.