The short answer
No, Meow Mix is not made by Purina. Meow Mix belongs to The J.M. Smucker Company (through its Big Heart Pet Brands line), the same company behind Milk-Bone and 9Lives. Purina's cat brands are Friskies and Fancy Feast. It is an easy mix-up, because a handful of large companies own most of the cat food you see on the shelf, and their names are rarely on the front of the can.
The companies behind the big cat brands
Most familiar cat foods trace back to one of a few parent companies. Here is the map for the brands people ask about most:
| Cat food brand | Parent company |
|---|---|
| Fancy Feast, Friskies, Purina ONE, Pro Plan, Beyond | Nestlé (Nestlé Purina PetCare) |
| Sheba, Whiskas, Temptations, Iams, Royal Canin | Mars, Incorporated |
| Meow Mix, 9Lives | The J.M. Smucker Company |
| Blue Buffalo | General Mills |
| Science Diet, Prescription Diet | Colgate-Palmolive (Hill's Pet Nutrition) |
Some brands are a retailer's own line. Simply Nourish, for example, is PetSmart's own brand, sold only there. Store brands like this are usually made for the retailer by outside contract manufacturers rather than in a plant the store owns, which is why you will not find a single "maker" name on them.
Made by, versus owned by
"Who makes it" has two answers, and they are not always the same. A parent company can own a brand and produce it in its own plants, or a brand can be owned by one company and physically manufactured by another (a contract manufacturer or co-packer) to a recipe. Fancy Feast and Friskies are produced in Nestlé Purina's own facilities. A newer brand like Jinx owns its recipes but has them made at third-party manufacturing plants. Both models are normal, and neither is automatically better or worse. It just means "owned by" is not always the same as "made in a factory belonging to."
Why it's worth knowing
- Shared recipes and plants. Brands under the same parent sometimes share formulas, suppliers, or production lines. If you are switching between two brands that turn out to be siblings, you may be changing less than you think.
- Following a recall. Recalls are issued by product and lot, but knowing the corporate family can help you understand a notice that spans several brand names at once.
- Comparing like for like. Once you know two brands are competitors from different companies, a head-to-head is more meaningful. You can put two brands side by side, for example Fancy Feast vs Friskies or Friskies vs Meow Mix, and compare their actual scores and nutrition.
Who owns a brand does not determine its KibbleLab score. Every food is scored the same way, on its own published nutrition and ingredients, whoever owns it.
See who owns a brand, where its food is made, and how each product scores on its brand page, or look up a specific food with Check a Food for its ingredients, independent nutrition score, and current recall status.
A few parent companies own most cat food brands: Nestlé (Fancy Feast, Friskies), Mars (Sheba, Whiskas, Royal Canin), J.M. Smucker (Meow Mix), General Mills (Blue Buffalo), and Colgate-Palmolive (Hill's). Meow Mix is a Smucker brand, not a Purina one. Knowing the corporate family helps with switching, recalls, and fair comparisons, but it does not change how a food is scored.
Sources & Further Reading
- The J.M. Smucker Company. Acquisition of Big Heart Pet Brands (Meow Mix, Milk-Bone), public filings.
- Nestlé Purina PetCare and Mars Petcare published brand portfolios.
- General Mills (Blue Buffalo) and Colgate-Palmolive (Hill's Pet Nutrition) investor disclosures.
Based on public company filings and brand ownership records, current as of August 2026.
KibbleLab Explains articles are educational, and are not veterinary advice. Before starting an elimination diet, a weight plan, or any major diet change, talk to your veterinarian.
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