FDA warns on Steve’s Real Food Quest cat diets over low thiamine

The FDA has escalated concerns around Steve’s Real Food’s Quest cat diets, warning that eight tested lots contain extremely low or no thiamine, despite label claims that the foods are formulated to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages. The March 13, 2026, advisory followed multiple consumer complaints and at least one report from a veterinary neurologist describing severe thiamine deficiency in a cat that had eaten an affected lot. (fda.gov)

The issue appears to have unfolded in stages. Go Raw LLC first announced a voluntary recall on February 17, 2026, for one lot of Quest Cat Food Chicken Recipe Freeze Dried Nuggets after testing suggested low thiamine. On February 26, the company expanded that recall to include two frozen chicken lots and said it was stopping sale of all Quest products while it investigated formulation specifications, suppliers, and processing procedures. FDA’s later advisory went further, saying the agency had tested eight lots across multiple proteins and found all of them far below the accepted minimum thiamine level for cat food. (fda.gov)

According to the FDA, the affected products were sold online and through retail stores nationwide in frozen 2-pound beige zip-top bags and freeze-dried 10-ounce beige zip-top bags. The agency said the first three lots in its tested list were the ones already recalled by the company, but five additional tested lots also showed critically low thiamine. FDA reported values ranging from 3.9% of the AAFCO minimum to no detectable thiamine in some products. AAFCO’s cat food nutrient profile sets the minimum at 5.6 mg/kg on a dry matter basis. (fda.gov)

Industry coverage has emphasized the unusual step of the FDA publicly warning about lots beyond those formally recalled. Petfood Industry reported that the agency said Go Raw had not provided evidence that the remaining affected lots had been removed from commerce or that customers had been adequately notified. That distinction matters because, in practice, pet parents may assume a stop-sale announcement and a limited recall are the same thing, when they are not. A stop-sale can reduce future distribution, but it does not necessarily confirm that all product already in homes, clinics, or retail channels has been accounted for. (fda.gov)

From a clinical standpoint, the case is a reminder of how severe and, if caught early, potentially reversible thiamine deficiency can be. FDA and the company both listed early GI signs such as decreased appetite and vomiting, followed by neurologic findings including cervical ventroflexion, weakness, ataxia, circling, falling, and seizures. Published veterinary literature has long documented thiamine deficiency in cats eating commercial diets, including cases of reversible encephalopathy, and reviews note that diagnosis can be missed because routine lab work may be unremarkable. (fda.gov)

Why it matters: For veterinary teams, this is more than a recall notice. It’s a case study in diet history taking, client communication, and post-market nutrition surveillance. Cats require more dietary thiamine than dogs, and deficiency can emerge quickly when a food is used as the sole ration. Because the affected Quest products span frozen and freeze-dried formats and multiple proteins, clinicians may need to think beyond a single SKU and ask pet parents to bring packaging or photos to appointments. It also raises broader questions about how complete-and-balanced claims are substantiated and monitored once products are in the market. (fda.gov)

The broader raw-food context may also keep this story in focus. Over the past year, raw pet foods have faced heightened scrutiny tied to pathogen and nutrient-control concerns, including other FDA-posted recalls in the category. That doesn’t make every raw diet unsafe, but it does increase the importance of manufacturing controls, lot traceability, and rapid communication when deficiencies or contamination events surface. In this case, the FDA’s decision to issue a public advisory before a full eight-lot recall suggests regulators believed the risk to cats already in homes warranted a stronger signal. (fda.gov)

What to watch: The next key development is whether Go Raw converts the FDA-identified risk into a broader formal recall covering all eight tested lots, and whether the agency discloses additional complaints, inspections, or enforcement steps in the weeks ahead. (fda.gov)