Petite Cuisine for Cats

by Petite Cuisine

Product Features

• People Food for Cats
• Cats love the flavor of Petite Cuisine because it is Natural with added vitamins and minerals, 100% Nutritionally Complete and Wheat Gluten free!!
• Gourmet Ingredients, No Bad Odors, Steamed and hand packed for the freshest taste
• No meat byproducts

Product Description

Flavor: Yellow Fin Tuna | Size: 3-Ounce Cans (Pack of 24)

Petite Cuisine- People Food for Cats. Once cats try Petite Cuisine they never switch back to their old food. Cats love the flavor of Petite Cuisine because it is Natural with added vitamins and minerals, 100% Nutritionally Complete and Wheat Gluten free!! Gourmet Ingredients, No Bad Odors, Steamed and hand packed for the freshest taste. No meat byproducts. Petite Cuisine Yellow Fin Tuna is made with fresh Yellow Fin whole loin tuna and tuna filets, gently steamed together in a seasoned fish broth..

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 10.6 x 3.4 inches ; 6.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001BDDT8K
• UPC: 811149010078 689076644044 811149010047
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (241 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,617 in Grocery & Gourmet Food (See Top 100 in Grocery & Gourmet Food)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Please check the controversial ingredients and decide for yourself, November 25, 2008

By 

Joe MacBu - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Petite Cuisine Variety Pack (Yellowfin, Snapper, Tuna & Sole, Tuna & Shrimp) for Cats, 3-Ounce Cans (Pack of 24) (Grocery)

(What's this?)

While several reviewers have alluded to the healthfulness of this product, I think that we owe it to our beloved pets to pay closer attention and educate ourselves about the actual ingredients.

The overall appearance gives an allure of wholesomeness to this product, but an item listed in the ingredients is actually controversial with regards to our pets' health. (And if you're considering this food good enough for your own consumption, please note that the ingredient is also potentially toxic to human organs).

Here's the list of ingredients, from the manufacturer's website:

Fish broth
Tuna fillets
Yellow fin whole loin tuna/red snapper/shrimp/sole
Soy bean oil
Trialcium phosphate
Guar gum
Calcium sulfate
Carrageenan
Vitamins and Minerals
Vitamin E supplement
Vitamin A supplement
Vitamin D3 supplement
Zinc Sulfate
Thiamine Mononitrate
Manganese sulfate
Menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity)
Riboflavin supplement
Folic acid
Pyridoxine hydrochloride
Copper amino acid complex
Iron amino acid complex

First of all, it's great that the manufacturer has whole seafood as the major ingredients (as opposed to the by-products, meal, grains, etc). But there is one item which I would not have expected to find in something of this quality: Menadione sodium bisuifite complex.

Menadione is a synthetic precursor for the K vitamins and has been reported, at high doses, to have toxic effects. Moreover, I had actually never seen menadione listed as an ingredient in other cat foods (though there seem to be others out there).

A little bit of Internet sleuthing yielded some disturbing information, which I feel obliged to list here.

*Menadione is banned by the Food & Drug Administration in over-the-counter supplements due to its potential for organ toxicity. It's also banned in Europe for human consumption.

*There are safer alternatives to menadione for proper K vitamin-related functions (e.g. blood clotting). The use of menadione over the alternatives (leafy greens, kelp) is only for cost-saving reasons, hence usually only found in cheaper and lower quality animal food.

*A study in rats showed that exposure to menadione "produced lesions in the kidney, heart, liver and lung." Chiou et al. Toxicology 1997.

*Menadione's toxicity seems to be due to its ability to induce oxidative stress in cells.

There seems to be a pet food watchdog trying to stop the inclusion of menadione in pet food: [...]

Does this information mean that this food is bad for our cats, when normal doses are given? I don't know for sure, but I wish that I'd been more aware about this ingredient before feeding it to my cats. Admittedly, more research needs to be done regarding this subject. In light of recent episodes of toxic pet food and the questionable behaviors of manufacturers and our regulatory agencies, I'm erring on the side of caution on this one.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Looks like a winner, November 25, 2008

By 

Tracy Rowan "dargelos" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Petite Cuisine Variety Pack (Sesame Chicken & Chicken Pot Pie) for Cats, 3-Ounce Cans (Pack of 24) (Grocery)

(What's this?)

I'm a serious label-reader, even more so for my cat than for myself, so before I ordered Petite Cuisine, I went to their website to see what they had to say for themselves. I was pleased to read that they use no wheat gluten in their food, nor meat by-products; neither belongs in pet food. They also make a point of saying that they use no products from China. It's a reassurance I appreciate in the light of the recent spate of pet deaths linked to product coming out of China.

What they do use was also reassuring. White meat chicken, veggies, olive or soybean oils, vitamins and minerals. The sesame chicken does contain rice which isn't something that should necessarily be fed often, but it's a minor consideration. While it's never said that the ingredients are "human grade" they are listed as safe for humans to eat. I don't know about anyone else but I wouldn't want to feed my pets anything that wasn't safe for me to eat.

The carton arrived and was marked as "Product of Thailand" which was a bit of a surprise since no mention of Thailand appears on their site. They are, however, quick to point out that no child labor is used in production of any of the food. (It's also listed as "dolphin safe." This is a pretty politically correct company.)

Of course the proof of the pudding, or in this case, the cat food, is the eating. My response as I opened the cans was the the sesame chicken looked and smelled very tempting. The chicken pot pie, not so much. It smells wonderful, but is very watery. Again, this is a minor consideration. If my cat likes it, that's the important thing. He's a picky boy, in part because he can't eat beef or lamb, so he's limited to poultry and certain types of fish. He doesn't tend to like the souped-up, holistic foods that add things like rosemary and acai and all those things which humans so cheerfully add to their own foods. But this stuff is pretty basic, and, well let's just say, he doesn't hate it. I can probably add it to the rotation without causing much consternation, and know that he's getting a quality meal.

Your mileage -- or your cat's -- may vary, of course. Cats are perverse little beasts, and you just never know what they're going to take violent dislike to. I can't tell you if your cat will like this food or not, but I can tell you that it looks like quality product made by people who have high standards. Yes, it's pricey, but if you feel, as I do, that your cat deserves the consideration you'd give to any member of the family, you probably won't balk at the cost.

The rest is up to your cat.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Warning: Contains Menadione, May 29, 2009

By 

Joe MacBu - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Petite Cuisine Chicken Pot Pie for Cats, 3-Ounce Cans (Pack of 24) (Grocery)

According to the manufacturer's website, this (and many of their other products) contains menadione sodium bisulfite complex.

Menadione is a synthetic precursor for Vitamin K and has been reported to have toxic effects. The use of menadione over the natural alternatives (such as leafy greens and kelp) is only for cost-saving reasons, hence usually only found in cheaper and lower quality animal food. It's surprising that pet food at this high of a price actually contains this substance.

Menadione is banned by the Food & Drug Administration in over-the-counter supplements due to its potential for organ toxicity. It's also banned in Europe for human consumption.

A study in rats showed that exposure to menadione "produced lesions in the kidney, heart, liver and lung." Chiou et al. Toxicology 1997.

Menadione's toxicity seems to be due to its ability to induce oxidative stress in cells.

Do an online search for menadione and you'll find more info from a pet food watchdog trying to stop the inclusion of this substance.

In light of recent episodes of toxic pet food and the questionable behaviors of manufacturers and our regulatory agencies, I would advise you to avoid feeding this to your cats.

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