Why does wet pet food smell so awful?

Mind you since covid, my ability to smell much has not been very efficient since covid.

The wet cat food given to my cat is purina gourmet pouches and doesn’t smell noticeably at all.

Importantly - Roo woofs it down.

Whiskas is relatively cheap cat food and has a very low meat content. A lot of it is fillers. If you look at the price of cat food like Untamed or Katkins you will see the difference. My cats have Untamed and it doesn't smell. I’m not a meat eater and don't like the smell of meat and I can tell the difference.

Georgesgran

We used to feed raw tripe to our dogs - now there’s an aroma I won’t ever forget!

Our Lab is raw fed and to be honest, the smell doesn't bother me - apart from the tripe! I think I've got a pretty strong stomach, but the merest whiff of the raw tripe has me physically retching.

We used to feed raw tripe to our dogs - now there’s an aroma I won’t ever forget!

I buy the pouches but for me it's the Whiskas dried food that smells

I don't like the smell of it either, but perhaps the pets do. Perhaps buying the pouches rather than tins would mean that there's less smell wafting around; I don't think they smell as strong.