FDA Identifies Salmonella in Darwin's Cat Food

Two lots of a popular chicken recipe for cats have tested positive for salmonella following reports of pet illness.

Updated on Oct. 27, 2026 in Cats

Bold vector editorial illustration of hands holding a blank pet food bag, illustrating consumer product safety awareness. — Federal regulators have identified salmonella contamination in two batches of Darwin's Natural Pet Products chicken recipe cat food after reports of illness. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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The FDA has identified salmonella contamination in specific batches of Darwin's Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Chicken Recipe for Cats. The advisory follows reports that two cats fell ill after consuming the contaminated food.

Why it matters

Pet owners who subscribe to this specific brand of raw food should inspect their packaging to ensure their supply does not match the affected lots. One cat required medical hospitalization due to gastrointestinal issues before recovering.

The FDA identified salmonella in lot 12493, manufactured April 2, 2026, and lot 12731, produced July 8, 2026. These lot codes are printed on the front of the lower left unit of the product packaging.

The players

FDA

The Food and Drug Administration is a federal agency responsible for protecting public health by ensuring the safety of food and veterinary products.

Darwin's Natural Pet Products

This is a direct-to-consumer company that provides raw pet food through an online subscription model.

The details

The FDA launched testing after receiving a complaint from a pet owner regarding gastrointestinal illness. Both cats involved in the incident recovered once their owners ceased feeding them the affected batches.

Lot 12493 was manufactured on April 02, 2026.
Lot 12731 was manufactured on July 08, 2026.

Culture Shift

The increasing popularity of raw pet food subscription models has shifted regulatory oversight toward more frequent inspection of non-traditional pet diets. This incident highlights the challenges of maintaining sanitary manufacturing standards in specialized, direct-to-consumer pet food supply chains.

Subscribers should immediately check their freezer inventory for lot codes 12493 or 12731 to avoid potential exposure. If you have these specific bags, stop feeding the product to your cat and follow disposal procedures to maintain household hygiene.

The takeaway

Pet owners should remain vigilant regarding the safety of raw food diets by keeping track of specific manufacturing dates. Always monitor pets for signs of gastrointestinal distress when introducing new food batches into their daily routine.