10/11 SOME MERRICK NEW FUD AS-FED VALUES!!!

Mike went shopping yesterday for more Cowboy Cookout for Gus and the person at the pet food store told him Merrick had decided to totally eliminate Cowboy Cookout...even the new version. So I called Merrick and they said nothing could be further from the truth. Since I had them on the phone, I asked if they had gotten any as-fed results for their new foods. They have gotten the as-feds for Cowboy Cookout and Surf -n- Turf in their new Purrfect Bistro Line:

Cowboy Cookout
Moisture: 78.2%
Protein: 11.04%
Fat: 3.67%
Carbs: 4.49%
Ash: 1.8%
Fiber: 0.8%
Phosphorus: 0.28%

So, using Janet's Calculator, the % calories from carbs is a whopping 18.9% (I remember a member tried it and it raised their kitty's BG and now I know why)! The phosphorus is 294 mg/100kcal. Quite an increase in the %calories from carbs as it used to be 5%.

Surf -n- Turf
Moisture: 79.4%
Protein: 11.2%
Fat: 6.12%
Carbs: 1.28%
Ash: 1.7%
Fiber: 0.3%
Phosphorus: .67%

That puts the %calories from carbs at 4.9% (was 3%) and the phosphorus at 638 mg/100kcal!!!! Holy Cow!!!

Of course, I'm happy for anyone to double check my math (or call Merrick and see if you get the same numbers) but all I did was plug it into Janet's Calculator. I'm very surprised at the increases, especially the phosphorus on Surf -n- Turf, especially because the lady told me she did not think the formulas had changed much.

She was not sure when the rest of the as-fed numbers for the other foods would be out.

 

I ran the numbers on a different calculator and the %carb comes out the same.

 

Thanks for doing that just as a double check. Pretty disappointing!

 

Merrick Purrfect Bistro Grain-Free Sliced Cowboy Cookout Canned Cat Food

Deboned Beef, Beef Broth, Beef Liver, Dried Egg Product, Peas, Natural Flavor, Potato Starch, Carrots, Cranberries, Organic Alfalfa, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Cassia Gum, Carrageenan, Guar Gum, Sodium Phosphate, Salmon Oil, Minerals (Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Glucoheptonate, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate), Taurine, Choline Chloride, Yucca Schidigera Extract


Merrick Purrfect Bistro Grain-Free Classic Surf & Turf Pate Canned Cat Food

Deboned Beef, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Deboned Salmon, Dried Egg Product, Natural Flavor, Cranberries, Calcium Carbonate, Organic Alfalfa, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Carrageenan, Guar Gum, Sodium Phosphate, Salmon Oil, Minerals (Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Glucoheptonate, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate), Taurine, Choline Chloride, Yucca Schidigera Extract

 

"Holy cow" is RIGHT!
I'm so disappointed about the CC :sad: .
They took a really good lc/low-phos product and made it unservable for our FD kitties.
:-Q

Thanks so much for researching, calculating, and posting this info, Marje.
When I contacted Merrick 3 weeks ago, they still didn't have the values (and the food has been on the market for months!).

 

It's taking them forever. They have been saying they would have the nutrient info 'in a month or so' since May.
This just seems so hard to believe, doesn't it? They are aware of Cowboy Cookout being rather iconic to certain folks.
Can this be right?

I was told the formula would change some but be similar... impression was it was going to be slight.
Protein source will be fresh deboned locally sourced vs freeze dried, adding cranberries, etc..

We fed their cowboy cookout, Grammy's pot pie, and BG mainly, but only in rotation, not as primary food. Hank however has been finicky about BG for awhile..we still have some old formula left.

They were supposed to email values when they got them. Was this given to you in writing or was it verbal?
Maybe we should double check to see if someone provides the same as-fed. (I am never confident with my conversions..always let someone else check)
I can't see carb ME nearly quadrupling per the ingredient list.

YIKES. Guess it may be off the list. Dr. Lisa will need to revise her commercial food most approximating makeup of a mouse comment

 

Merrick Purrfect Bistro Grain-Free Classic Turkey Pate Canned Cat Food

Deboned Turkey, Turkey Broth, Chicken Liver, Deboned Chicken, Dried Egg Product, Natural Flavor, Cranberries, Calcium Carbonate, Organic Alfalfa, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Carrageenan, Guar Gum, Sodium Phosphate, Salmon Oil, Minerals (Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Glucoheptonate, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate), Taurine, Choline Chloride, Yucca Schidigera Extract


Chip can't have Cowboy Cookout or Surf & Turf because of the beef. He's been eating Purrfect Bistro Grain-Free Classic Turkey Pate for about a month now instead of FF. He wouldn't eat the old Merricks so it's some miracle he's eating this. Looks similar to Surf & Turf starchwise, so maybe around 5% carbs?

However the number doesn't matter too much for Chip since it's seemingly lower glycemic for him than FF T&G from what I've seen so far.

His coat looks better already eating the new Merrick pate. No more "mystery mammal" by-products. A relief getting him off FF, clearly it wasn't the best for him. I'm interested in what the protein is for the Purrfect Bistro Classic Pates. And in the long term perhaps the phosphorus. Certainly happy so far.

 

What about the Grammy's Pot Pie? That's the only one Mikey can eat (no red meats) and it used to be around 8% so I would use that to "boost" his numbers when he'd be running low. I'm fairly certain that it's going to be just as disappointing with an increase in carbs because the one time I fed him the new Purrfect Bistro version, his numbers went waaaaay up. :?

 

I'm going to have to look for that one and give it another try. When I first tried the Merrick's Grain-Free before (the old version), Mikey and Henry both hated the "whipped" texture and refused to eat it every time I served it (wasted about 5 cans till I figured out they'd rather starve than eat it).

 

Merrick Purrfect Bistro Grain-Free Shredded Grammy's Pot Pie Canned Cat Food

Deboned Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Deboned Duck, Peas, Dried Egg Product, Natural Flavor, Dried Potato, Sweet Potato, Carrots, Cranberries, Organic Alfalfa, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Carrageenan, Cassia Gum, Guar Gum, Powdered Cellulose, Sodium Phosphate, Salmon Oil, Minerals (Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Glucoheptonate, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate), Taurine, Choline Chloride, Thyme, Sage, Rosemary, Yucca Schidigera Extract


Grammy's Pot Pie does look bad. Multiple unnecessary starches in this version. White potato seems to be about the worst for Chip.

I'm happy with the Purrfect Bistro Classic Pate. I bought a few cans to try and found myself making trips for more and more cans before I ordered it. Chip wouldn't readily eat the old BG. I also got some Tiki Cat Puka Puka Luau and Chip lapped up the consommé, but he's somewhat bewildered about what to do with the shreds. Everyone else loves it!

Chip likes the Purrfect Bistro Pate. Nearly the same texture as FF or Friskies.

 

I started out by mixing this in with their regular Pate so they'd realize it was edible. They still prefer it mixed in with their Pate, but they'll at least eat it by itself now. Since it's 0 carb, I'll feed this exclusively when Mikey has been running high or I've had to skip or delay a shot for some reason. It helps keep his numbers from skyrocketing too high from even his regular 5% carb Friskies SD.

 

What a disappointment ~ why did Merrick have to go and ruin a good thing :sad:

 

whoa! thanks for this Marje! I was just getting ready to buy some Cowboy Cookout and try it out. thats way too high carb! @-)

 

Definitely way too high carb. I bought some for Tobey (our civvie)....it's going back. I don't even want him to have it.

 

Bummer on Merrick. I bought the new bistro pate (turkey) for Rusty, but he didn't like it. Fortunately I only bought 1 can.

It sure is a challenge to keep on top of what the food companies are doing! Thanks for the info., Marje.

Ella

 

I might have to try that. I'd hate to have to use the magic bullet on the shreds, but I'm really impressed with the TiKi Puka Puka Luau. I wish the 2.5 oz cans were more reasonable since that's more practical for Chip. Do you have a plastic lid for the odd size 6 oz. can? I guess we aren't supposed to store it in the can anyway due to potential BPA, but it's already been in that can for months.

Let us know what your guys think of the new Purrfect Bistro Pates.

 

I thought there was something weird going on when I saw the new labels. Such a shame. But I am really getting to like Weruva, on paper anyway. They seem to have a lot of good options for FD/CRF kitties.