Fake branded cat food being sold on Shopee
For many of us, finding original pet food from a reliable source can always be challenging. So, we tend to look them up everywhere including online for the best deal especially now that we are unable to travel far from our vicinity due to the movement control order.
Unfortunately, some cat owners have been scammed online with fake branded cat food being sold on a local e-commerce platform.
Customer received fake Royal Canin from Shopee seller
Image credit: @ZackAvaricious
On Thursday, 15 July 2021, netizen @ZackAvaricious took to Twitter to share his frustrations over Royal Canin cat food he purchased from Shopee which turned out to be fake.
A screenshot of the fake cat food listing
Image credit: @ZackAvaricious
His initial tweet captioned “Fake royal canin fit32 10kg [Unamused face emoji]” was accompanied by screenshots of the product listing on Shopee and customer reviews claiming it to be fake.
Reviews from people who had purchased the fake cat food
Image credit: @ZackAvaricious
He then created a thread under his tweet sharing how he previously became a victim of fake Royal Canin and proceeded to share some tips to differentiate it from the original.
The viral tweet which has garnered over 12,000 retweets and more than 8,000 likes sparked discussion among other cat owners who are also victims of fake branded cat food purchases.
Image credit: @ZackAvaricious
The original cat food packaging tears open in a different way from the fake cat food packaging, as demonstrated in a Twitter picture by @ZackAvaricious.
Image credit: @ZackAvaricious
The font and font size of the text printed on the packaging, and the colour and shape of the cat food, also differ between the real and fake versions.
Netizens share tips on how to identify original cat food
Image credit: @fzara97
Several netizens quoted @ZackAvaricious’ tweet also sharing their experiences of buying fake Royal Canin from Shopee. Netizen Fatimah Zahrah wrote that she too was a victim of the fake cat food in April when she spent more than RM200 on the said product.
“My poor babies got diarrhoea, had to buy ANOTHER pack right after… Reported of course, but no refund, unfortunately [crying emojis] I’m so angry!!! [cursing emojis]”, she wrote, referring to her cats who had gotten sick from eating the food.
Image credit: @strwberl
Meanwhile, another netizen @strwberl said that her cats died several weeks after eating the fake Royal Canin.
“This seller is so irresponsible. They don’t reply to chat messages at all. I’m the third person to have commented that this is fake and many have reviewed but they still dare to sell them,” she wrote.
Fake Royal Canin being sold on Shopee
Netizen @ZackAvaricious and others who spoke about their experience receiving fake Royal Canin cat food from Shopee have raised a much-needed warning among pet owners.
We hope more pet owners will be vigilant towards counterfeit products when purchasing them from non-official stores online or offline. Do make sure that your pet foods are original, cause fake products can be extremely dangerous to your pet’s health.
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Cover image adapted from: Candy Pet House and @ZackAvaricious