A major pet food manufacturer has stopped supplies to Tesco in a row over pricing.
Mars has stopped supplying six brands to the UK's largest supermarket, including Whiskas, Dreamies and Pedigree. Tesco is blaming price rises from manufacturer Mars Petcare for the supply disruption.
It comes after shoppers complained about the cost of pet food going up at the supermarket, reports the Mirror.
Writing to Tesco on Twitter, one person said: "A box of Whiskas jumps from £11 last week to £13.70 this week!" Another noted: "Pedigree 6x 400g gone up £1.20 in a week."
Retail analyst Steve Dresser of Grocery Insight said he had spotted gaps on shelves for pet foods in Tesco. He said some labels warned there will be "no stock arriving to store until 23 July".
Businesses are facing rising costs for fuel and commodities - but it raises a question over whether consumers or manufacturers should bare the brunt over price increases.
A Tesco spokesperson told The Mirror that Tesco is continuing to sell Mars pet food products - but admitted some items might be unavailable right now.
They added: "We're laser-focused on keeping the cost of the weekly shop in check, offering customers great value through our combination of Aldi Price Match, Low Everyday Prices and Clubcard Prices.
"With household budgets under increasing pressure, now more than ever we have a responsibility to ensure customers get the best possible value, and we will not pass on unjustifiable price increases to our customers.
"We're sorry that this means some products aren't available right now, but we have plenty of alternatives to choose from and we hope to have this issue resolved soon."
A Mars spokesperson said: "We are aware that some of our Petcare products are currently out of stock at Tesco stores.
"We want to reassure pet owners that their favourite products are in supply and remain widely available in the UK marketplace.
"There are many reasons why our products may be out of stock in certain stores from time to time.
"We cannot comment on individual commercial relationships or situations."
