Whiskas (formerly known as Kan Kal) is a brand of cat food sold internationally owned by the American company Mars, Incorporated. It is available in either sauce, gravy, or jelly as small meatloaf pieces packaged in tins, foil trays, or pouches, as well as small biscuits sold in cartons or pouches and milk sold in smaller bottles. Here read out the latest information on Whiskas cat food shortage and recall.
Its packaging has a recognizable purple color and a stylish silhouette of a cat’s head. Whiskas cat food label gives us a guaranteed analysis, and it comes with nutrient content, which is a set of minimum and maximum values.
The food’s nutrient content may be substantially different from what you see on the label. As obligate carnivores, cats need a diet, which is high in protein. Therefore, fish, poultry, and beef are present in both wet and dry cat food, and these ingredients are chopped and mild.
Cats like to eat this meal a lot, but there is a shortage due to the Coronavirus pandemic. At that time, many families were getting bored as they had nothing to do in their harbors, and they started taking home pets for their entertainment. It seems that suddenly it has become challenging for the suppliers to meet the demand for pet food for so many pets. Due to which there was a shortage of Whiskas in the market.
Why There Is Whiskas Cat Food Shortage?
This complete article will discuss the shortage of Whiskas cat brand essentially, history, recall, manufacturing and sourcing, FAQS, and conclusion. We hope it will help you to get complete knowledge of this brand.
The local shoppers are now feeling a global cat food shortage. Countdown spokeswoman Kiri Hanifin confirmed that the retail chain faced cat food shortages, with Mars-owned Whiskas particularly affected.
Hanifin said that the shortage issue is both supply and delays in shipping, and there should be plenty of other cat food from other major suppliers. They also said,” we are expecting more continuous supply next month. Foodstuff has also been contacted for comment”.
Whiskas N.Z. confirmed the nationwide shortage of pouch varieties of cat food in a statement on their website, and they said, “we are working hard to get our normal stock levels back on the shelf as soon as possible.”
Why Whiskas Is Out Of Stock?
First manufactured in New Zealand, Mars closed its Wanganui pet food factory in late 2020 and moved its Whiskas Cat Food Pouches to Thailand. In February and March, several international news publications reported on the global shortage of pet foods, especially wet foods – meat-based.
According to some news channels, Yahoo News and the BBC, the rising ownership of pets during the global pandemic and customer stockpiles have led to a run on pet food. They have resulted in warnings of supply shortages that were likely to last all year.
Supermarket chain Sainsbury’sSainsbury’s in the United Kingdom apologized to customers after running out of pouches of dog and cat food due to a “national shortage.”
The shortage of the Whiskas cat brand is due to the following issues with other product lines, including essential medicines like paracetamol.
Due to low manufacturing, limited freight traffic, and high demand for some products, international supply chains have struggled. In December, Tawa Olsen, director of the University of Auckland’sAuckland’s Center for Supply Chain Management, said that supply chains should have flowed as smoothly as water. Still, the entire chain had become ”lumpy”, which resulted in further network disruptions.
An uptick has caused this “looseness” in manufacturing supplies in China. In China’sChina’s factories online, they are meeting a backlog of orders when ports were planning to reduce container loads.
History Of Whiskas Cat Food
Whiskas, known initially as Kal Kan, began manufacturing pet foods in 1936 from its headquarters near Los Angeles, California. It eventually expanded its operations across the United States. In 1958, it entered the U.K. market under the Whiskas brand, later developed mainly throughout Europe.
The company was incorporated in 1968 as Mars Inc. and became a subsidiary of Petfoods Limited (later renamed Pedigree Petfoods).
In 1989, Kal Kahn won the U.S. changed its name to Whiskas in 2010 to bring it under one international brand (in line with their European operations) and help unify advertising campaigns globally. Before 1989, Kal Kan dry cat food was sold under the Crave brand.
Although the U.S. In 2012, Kaal Kahn had more brand equity, with “Whiscus” also being perceived by consumers as a more likable and “feline-sounding” name. In the United States, Whiskas is made by Pedigree Petfoods in McLean, Virginia.
Sourcing And Manufacturing
Whiskas is available worldwide; it’s hard to pinpoint where all their food items are manufactured. It appears that at least some of their products sold in the United States are made in Virginia by a co-packing company, so it is easy to assume that the company partners with other manufacturers around the world.
The research shows that all of the WHISKAS® products are made in Australia and Canada, and all WHISKAS pouch products are made in Thailand. Contact your local Whiskas customer support team if you want detailed information about Whiskas food sold in your country.
Where To Buy Whiskas Cat Food?
You can buy Whiskas cat food from groceries, big box stores, and pet stores worldwide. You can also find it online on Amazon, Chewy, Walmart, Pets world, and other online retailers that sell pet food.
Whiskas Cat Food Recall
Whiskas has never issued a recall after over 60 years in the cat food business. However, other Mars brands have been recalled several times, and it is unclear whether these brands were manufactured in the same facilities that handle Whiskas cat food.
As of September 06, 2021 – Mars Petcare Canada, Whiskas Dry Cat Food, has announced the recall of various lots due to raw materials that were not up to the company standards.
Please be aware: Whiskas has not disclosed the reason for or the reason for the recall; the company merely stated that the “raw materials” were out of “quality specifications” It can be anything from mycotoxins to salmonella.
More than a dozen of Whiskas Dry Cat Food products are being recalled. Its parent company Mars Petcare Canada says that the recall has been issued because some raw ingredients do not meet the manufacturer’s “stringent internal quality specifications.”
Consumers who have purchased affected products are advised to discard the food and stop feeding it to their pets. Mars Petcare says it has not received any consumer complaints because of the issue, but the recalled products were distributed to retail customers across Canada.
What Do Customers Think About Whiskas Brand?
Whiskas is a famous brand, and people worldwide buy and trust it every day—and cats love it, too. While most customers feed their pets with Whiskas without writing any reviews, the vast majority of them have good things to say.
Whiskas also get some critical feedback. For example, reviewers at ConsumerAffairs give it an overall satisfaction rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars. Some say their cats got sick after eating Whiskas, and others found foreign objects in the food.
Positive Reviews
Some buyers gave good feedback about the Whiskas brand. They said their feline suffered from Lymphoma disease, so they felt that if she could overcome it, she could overcome it, and before eating this food, she dropped to a terrifying 4lbs before they decided to start force-feeding her.
After several nights of baby food, kimchi, broth, etc., she finally came back to eat independently. They wanted their brand meal to be as tasty as possible but didn’t have the money or resources to spend an arm and a leg on the cream of a crop better than humans.
She liked to eat Whiskas, and she went crazy for it. She started to eat pieces of meat again. Once her appetite returned to normal, she couldn’t get enough! At one point, they were feeding her three packets a day to help her gain weight.
And finally, it worked… in less than four months; she was back to 6lbs. They appreciate Viscous Tender Bites because they’re inexpensive, are easy to open the pouches, and are pretty delicious.
And while the ingredients may not be super-duper organic and premium, real meat is the second ingredient after water for processing. Plus… they mean… this meal saved my kitty’s life and helped her get back into a more healthy weight range!”
Negative Reviews
Where customers gave good feedback for the Whiskas brand meal while on the other side some of them gave critical reviews about it. They said they agree with some of the other reviews about this product.
The last many cases they have bought have dark meat, and the gravy is dark. He feeds his feral cats, but they leave the heart, which is a waste. They will order this once or twice more, but they will stop buying it if it keeps looking like this.
Which brands are similar to Whiskas?
We would suggest IAMS Proactive Health dry food as an alternative to the Whiskas.
Where is Whiskas manufactured?
It is made in the United States; Whiskas is made in McLean, Virginia By Pedigree Petfoods.
Is it correct to feed cats Whiskas?
It is a good brand and has a perfect wet variety. There are many Whiskas treats, and it is good in our opinion but not the perfect one. Cats need both wet and dry balance.
Has Whiskas been discontinued?
No, but its other Mars brand has been discontinued because raw materials were not up to the company standards.
Conclusion
Whiskas food brand has been recalled for the first time in history, and this was because of caution. However, there are no complaints against those selling dry cat food. Also, people are advised to stop feeding the affected dehydrated meals of this variety if it makes your pet ill.
Moreover, Whiskas is not bad for cats enough though they use grains, meat by-products in their recipe. Comparing other brands such as Royal Canin and Purina, Whiskas has better nutrition with more protein and fiber.
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