FDA warns on Quest cat food after low thiamine findings

The FDA has escalated concerns around Steve’s Real Food’s Quest Cat Food line, warning that eight tested lots contain extremely low or no thiamine and may pose serious health risks to cats. In its March 13, 2026 advisory, the agency said the products are sold nationwide and recommended that pet parents consult a veterinarian before continuing to feed any affected lot. FDA said continued feeding could lead to severe thiamine deficiency, a condition that can become fatal if not recognized and treated early. (fda.gov)

The warning builds on an earlier company-led recall. Go Raw LLC first recalled one lot of Quest Chicken Recipe Freeze-Dried Nuggets on February 17, 2026, then expanded that recall on February 26 to include two frozen chicken lots. In that February 26 announcement, the company also said it would stop the sale of all Quest products at retail until the thiamine issue was addressed. But the FDA’s March advisory went further, saying the agency had tested eight lots in total and had recommended that all eight be recalled. As of the advisory date, FDA said only three lots had been formally recalled. (fda.gov)

According to FDA, the investigation began after a veterinary neurologist reported severe thiamine deficiency symptoms in a cat that had eaten one affected lot. Additional consumer complaints prompted broader testing. FDA said every lot it tested contained thiamine levels well below the AAFCO cat food nutrient profile minimum of 5.6 mg/kg on a dry matter basis, and some had no detectable thiamine at all. The affected products span both freeze-dried and frozen formats, and FDA noted that despite label claims that the diets are formulated to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages, cats eating certain lots as a sole source of nutrition developed deficiency signs. (fda.gov)

Steve’s Real Food’s own website, as captured in search results, prominently lists the three recalled lots and references a February 25, 2026 “important update” describing a proactive market withdrawal of Quest frozen and freeze-dried formulas. That supports the company’s public statement that sales were halted, but FDA said it had not received evidence showing that the remaining affected lots were removed from the marketplace or that customers had been adequately notified about which products were at risk. That gap between a stop-sale message and a broader lot-specific recall is likely to be the key regulatory tension in this case. (stevesrealfood.com)

Industry coverage has largely echoed the FDA’s concern that the scope of risk is wider than the formal recall. Petfood Industry reported that federal testing found eight lots with critically low or absent thiamine and highlighted FDA’s statement that the company had recalled only three. dvm360 similarly framed the issue as a clinical nutrition and regulatory affairs problem, underscoring that the products tested far below the AAFCO minimum. I did not find independent expert quotes beyond those summaries, but the FDA’s account that a veterinary neurologist’s report helped trigger the investigation is itself notable, because it points to frontline clinicians as an early warning source in post-market surveillance. (petfoodindustry.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary teams, this is a reminder that diet-associated deficiencies can present first as vague GI complaints and only later declare themselves neurologically. FDA says some cats may show signs within as little as one week, while others may take months, which raises the odds that the food history won’t be obvious unless clinicians ask specifically about brand, protein, format, lot code, and whether the diet was fed as the sole ration. Merck Veterinary Manual notes that thiamine deficiency in cats can produce vestibular dysfunction, head tremor, ataxia, depression, severe ventroflexion, seizures, and death, and that diagnosis often depends on clinical signs, dietary history, and response to thiamine treatment. For practices, that means this warning has implications not just for toxicology or nutrition consults, but also for neurology workups, ER triage, and client communication with worried pet parents. (fda.gov)

There’s also a broader labeling and formulation issue here. FDA specifically pointed out that the products carried nutritional adequacy statements saying they were formulated to meet AAFCO cat food nutrient profiles for all life stages, even though tested lots were far below the thiamine minimum. For veterinary professionals, that discrepancy may sharpen questions from pet parents about complete-and-balanced claims, raw diet formulation controls, and how recalls differ from advisories when regulators believe more product is implicated than a company has formally pulled back. (fda.gov)

What to watch: The next key developments are whether Go Raw expands its formal recall to all eight FDA-identified lots, whether FDA updates its advisory with enforcement action or additional case counts, and whether more veterinary case reports emerge as clinicians connect compatible neurologic presentations to Quest diet exposure. (fda.gov)