Pet owners resort to making cat food as supply chain issues leave shelves empty

TAMPA, Fla. - Cat owners are having trouble finding their pets' favorite foods. Supermarkets across the Bay Area are having trouble keeping canned cat food on the shelves.

For the finicky feline – and their humans – the problem is frustrating. For the Tampa Bay Humane Society, it's becoming a concern. 

Lon Savini, facilities director at TBHS, says the shortage of some cat foods, specifically the wet, canned, pate kinds, makes the job of rescuing and adopting animals difficult. 

"Fortunately, in our building, we’ve stocked up for the next few months," said Savini. "But all that’s really out there right now is shreds and bits."

Wednesday morning, several Publix and Walmart store shelves in Tampa were bare. Cat owners and rescue volunteers say it’s not just in the big box stores.

PHOTOS: Dog escapes rollover wreckage to find help, leads cops back to injured owner on Vermont highway

"I had to resort to online orders, but on Amazon, it was very expensive," said Erica Carroll, who owns five cats. "So I think normally it was $15 for the box of her cat food, and on Amazon it was $26."

For Carroll, and many other cat parents who own more than one, it can be even more exasperating when it comes to picky kitties.

"Three of them eat dry food, but the other two eat wet cat food the most," said Carroll. "One, because she’s a Bengal, is very, very picky with what she eats. It doesn’t even come in a can, it comes in a pouch."

Another owner, Brenda Orr, takes care of neighborhood strays. She says, unlike dogs, cats are very particular about their food. 

"They won’t eat it if it’s been in the dish for more than 10 minutes, and if there’s less than 50 little pieces left, they won’t eat that either," she said. "Everything has to be clean and fresh for them."

READ: I-95 Virginia shutdown: Stranded drivers walk dogs, run out of food and water

Manufacturers say the shortages are due to pandemic manufacturing shutdowns and a surge in pet adoptions.

An employee with PetSmart told FOX 13 that a lot of the companies simply can’t get the ingredients to make the canned foods. Others say the aluminum can shortage is to blame.

Jessica Kelly, of Cat Trap Fever, traps, neuters, and releases stray cats. She says right now, feeding the 20-30 cats in their custody is a struggle. And making sudden food changes can have cat-astrophic consequences.

READ: Pope criticizes couples who adopt pets instead of children: 'a form of selfishness'

"A lot of cats, with their sensitive stomachs, if you switch foods on them drastically, they’re going to do things like vomit or have loose stools," she said.

But there are options: Orr’s last resort is making it from scratch.

MORE: Betty White: Fans seek to honor late animal lover with donations to shelters, rescues

"I brown some meat and cook up some rice and gravy with it for them to have something to eat," she said. 

Or there’s also the Humane Society’s food assistance program.

"We do offer wet food for cats, you can get about 5-10 cans on a Tuesday or Saturday," said Savini. "And most of that is pate that’s actually donated to us, we have a bunch already in our storage room."

And since there’s no end in sight to these shortages, finding alternatives might be a fur-midable task indeed.