Question 1

Why the price hike? Thus was approx $13 for 24 just 2 weeks ago. Walmart sells @ 54 cents a can. Price gouging?

Accepted Answer

It would seem that since online shopping is beginning to take precedence over brick and mortar shopping (especially due to the pandemic), Amazon and other long time online stores are hiking their prices, because they can.

Brick and mortar stores have lost a lot of ground, with long existing, well known stores going bankrupt and disappearing since the beginning of this century.  Sear's and K-Mart are a good example. Sears has been around since the 19th century, operating extensively via mail order (I have many digital copies of their early catalogs, and they're huge!).  Unfortunately, Walmart was one of 2 nails in their coffin.

The first nail in traditional retail was a mix between the white exodus to the suburbs and the coming of indoor malls.  When they began to gain popularity their spread during the 70s, 80s and 90s, snuffed out a lot of local and regional retailers.  Then along came Walmart.

Walmart is largely responsible for the last round of annihilation of locally owned stores, as well as their finishing off what was left of many medium and small sized cities downtowns.   Along came the internet, which by the mid to late 90s had only just become an alternative and possible means for smaller and specialty retailers to regain some ground they had lost previously. That is, until Amazon.

Amazon began as an online bookseller and were largely responsible for finishing off privately owned local book stores. Amazon was so successful at this that even well-known national booksellers began to suffer. Walden's, B.Dalton's, Borders, and many more, eventually couldn't compete and either downsized greatly or died a slow death.   If you were around during those years, there were a lot of people desperately trying to save those stores.  Typically, this effort was for the smaller, locally owned bookstores, but there were some who also did the same for the large corporate sellers.  Something that seems a bit odd and a text book example of misplaced loyalties.

As for the local booksellers, they were more than just stores selling books.  They were local venues for book lovers or anyone to spend time talking with others about books, and the owners were always very knowledgeable themselves.   There was also a vested interested in saving those stores (as was the same with almost any locally owned establishment) as the money spent in them not only largely remained within the communities, it multiplied itself.  While on the other side, money spent in franchises or stores whose base was elsewhere, sucked the bulk of the dollars spent within them outside the area and back to their Cities and States of origin.  This is one case where centralized retail (for that is in one sense what it is), does more damage to the communities they move into than most either know about or are willing to admit.

Walmart, being amongst the worst of its kind, finished off what the indoor shopping malls and shopping centers had begun before it.  At one point, Walmart's goal was to not have any Walmart further than five miles from another Walmart.   Then the internet blossomed, along with Amazon.

By the late 90s and early 00s, Amazon began diversifying, moving from one element of retail to another, until today their reach is well beyond originally selling books.  Unfortunately, as convenient as Amazon may appear, some of it is illusion by utilizing a third party seller system giving the impression that it carries far more than it really does.

Don't forget the damage deregulating the banking and financing system caused during the first years of the 00s. That led to the economic implosion worldwide, which many have never really recovered from. While many lost homes, jobs, etc., it was also the beginning of the shuttering of what was once considered steady and stable franchises, big box stores, and indoor shopping malls. Now that we're transitioning to online shopping, brick and mortar stores are suffering greatly.

Question 2

difference between classic and grilled

Accepted Answer

If you are in the cat food aisle at Walmart, everyone is shopping for Classic pate because it’s what their cats love.

Question 3

Why do they put cows milk in food for cats when cats generally are lactose intolerant?

Accepted Answer

It does NOT cause loose stools in my cats, in fact I switched from a food without milk that actually did cause loose stools. Not every food & protein will work with every cat. I REALLY wish Purina would not put fish in almost every flavor. There are scientifically proven negative consequences to feeding fish except as treat or special meal. Mercury, metals, disrupting vitamin E absorption & addiction. Cats absolutely love the flavor & when fed often will start to refuse other healthy proteins. However I do sometimes add a tsp or 2 of fat free lactose free milk to my cats food. It’s not needed but a special treat with calcium. Milk adds carbs which cats have no nutritional requirement for so also watch the carb content in the food do you feed. If the food has ANy plant material from grain to potatoes to pumpkin it will add carbs & carbs in cats = obese or diabetic cats. Watch the fish & carbs & you can easy measure carbs on dry matter basis using one of many cat food carb calculators available just google. Healthy cats shouldn’t have more than 10% carbs on a dry matter basis and diabetic cats should never ever have more than 5% carbs on a dry matter basis. Surprisingly, all of the new fancy face naturals are low in carbs and acceptable except they all pretty much have fish. Read those labels! It’s not hard to feed species appropriate food…even on budget. 😀

Question 4

are all of the gravy flavors chicken or are they mixed?

Accepted Answer

Hi Savannah. It's Diana with Fancy Feast. We appreciate your question regarding our Purina Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Wet Cat Food - (24) 3 oz. Cans. It  depends on the flavor you pick but if you do pick chicken it will be a full case of chicken not mixed. We hope this is helpful!

ASIN	B0012KCUKA
ASIN	B0012KCUKA
Additional Features	Gourmet, Slow-Cooked, High-Quality Ingredients
Age Range Description	Adult
Allergen Information	Allergen-Free
Animal Food Diet Type	Veterinary Diet
Animal Food Ingredient Claim	No Artificial Colors
Best Sellers Rank	#2,295 in Pet Supplies ( See Top 100 in Pet Supplies ) #131 in Canned Cat Food
Brand Name	Fancy Feast
Breed Recommendation	All Breed Sizes
Container Type	Can
Customer Reviews	4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,641)
Date First Available	October 23, 2008
Dog Breed Size	Medium
Flavor	Beef & Chicken
Global Trade Identification Number	10050000429742
Included Components	Twenty-Four (24) 5.5 oz. Cans - Purina Friskies Gravy Wet Cat Food, Shreds With Chicken
Item Form	Pate
Item Type Name	Cat Food
Item Weight	4.5 pounds
Item model number	10050000429742
Manufacturer	Nestlé Purina PetCare Company
Manufacturer	Nestlé Purina PetCare Company
Manufacturer Part Number	050000429745
Model Number	10050000429742
Number of Items	24
Occasion	Birthday
Package Size Name	24 Pack
Pet Type	Cat
Product Benefits	Provides complete nutrition and supports immune health
Product Dimensions	2.5 x 2.5 x 1.5 inches; 4.5 pounds
Recommended Uses For Product	Feeding adult cats daily, Treating adult cats
Special Ingredients	holistic
Specific Uses For Product	Maintenance; No Artificial Colors, Maintenance; No Artificial Preservatives, Maintenance; Real Meat, Maintenance; With Vitamins
Target Species	Cat
Unit Count	72 Ounce

Purina Fancy Feast Tender Beef and Chicken Grain Free Pate (24) Pack 3 oz

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