Picky eaters

Nothing new

I have collected antique pet food advertisements for many years – some of which go back to the 1930s. One interesting observation from these is to see how similar marketing of today and yesterday were. These messages have focused on protein levels, meat content, nutritional balance, texture and performance. The first extruded dog and cat foods were launched in the late 1950s and product expansion has steadily climbed since. Innovation of new products started slowly, but rapid expansion has occurred over the last twenty years. Multiple new companies have launched frozen, dehydrate, freeze-dried, and even playful food products.

A survey

When I started to review for this article, I decided to survey major retailers and their cat food product inventories. It is interesting that the total number of products varied dramatically with two physical store chains having well over 1,000 food products (including treats) while one major online outlet offered over 2,000 food products (including treats). 

Of the foods offered by these retailers, 30% to 45% of the products were dry extruded where the rest of the foods were canned or pouched. The biggest surprise to me was 10% to 15% of all products were treats and the remainder was foods. Over 350 treats were offered online. 

Human-pet bond

How did the cat food market get here when only a handful of products were offered during the first few decades? There have been plenty of articles written on the human-pet bond or the humanization of pets. This has led to the demonization of ingredients leading to grain-free products and to ‘wild-type’ nutrition products. Clearly, the closeness that humans feel towards their pet family has created deep desires to offer more options for their pet cats. But with all of this variety, how do consumers know what is best for their cats? How do consumers decipher the marketing stories, food types and packaging while providing a balance of nutrition that is safely fortified?

A matter of taste

Dry food innovation has slowed with the continuance of shapes, colours, textures and other blends. While cats may respond to a few colours, their colour perception is not great. Colours are generally added to appeal to the human eye and promote a look of variety. The drive to natural colours in human foods is sure to carry over to cat and other pet foods. Comparatively, dry foods are always less palatable than wet foods, but the crunchy texture of dry food allows for some teeth cleaning. Palatability among dry foods varies greatly. Hard, pointed shapes work against the cat’s inability to grind foods. Cats are specifically attracted to certain acid flavour notes, rounded shapes and textures, more than specific ingredients or protein content. Fat content can actually be somewhat negative. Soft textures that include sugars and humectants, while appealing to the owner, have led to over 40% rejection by cats. Over my experience with hundreds of products, the most palatable cat treat I have ever seen had less than 2% protein and 2% fat with no meat. This treat had a unique texture that cats seemed to respond to with unique acid flavours. 

Wet foods

Wet foods are the majority of the products sold, but not the largest volume. These are meat and liver based with a range of other ingredients. The textures are solid, pureed, shredded, cuts, cubes and blends of human food ingredients. As stated before, these are much more palatable than dry foods because of the high meat and liver content. The downside is that stools in the litter box are generally softer and smellier if the foods are not formulated correctly. Additionally, the exclusive consumption of wet foods does not help clean teeth when compared to dry foods.

Unique needs

In the wild, cats are true carnivores eating mostly protein, fat and minerals. Additional fiber must be found in eating grasses and other plants. Starches are incidental ingestion for most outdoor cats. Since cats have unique needs for taurine and other nutrients, wild-type nutrition cannot always provide these and actually may be harmful to long-term health.

Treats

The biggest expansion continues to be in the treat section. Treat products focus on nutritional benefits to help aid digestion, improve vitamin nutriture, support skin and coat, help reduce urinary issues and help with hairballs. The biggest portion of the treat market offers a benefit of dental cleaning to cats mostly eating wet foods. The great majority of these treats are dry products. 

Yet, there are still 20% of cat treats that are soft-moist (an unpalatable option for cats). Uniquely, some companies have developed playful options for cats in the shape of balls or strings and connected treats with toys. More recently, the expansion of freeze-dried and dehydrated meats and livers have proven to offer uniquely palatable options for cats. Typically, these are not complete and balanced, but some have ventured into blending freeze dried pieces into a food blend of sorts. 

Raw products

Another food option is essentially another wet version where products are frozen and sometimes raw – not in cans or pouches. The challenge to this is the unique sales in a refrigerated case, which takes up valuable floor space in most stores and creates an online delivery challenge. Nevertheless, those consumers that believe in raw products for their cats find this pathway appealing.

Core principles

The basics stand firm. There are still foods for kittens, seniors, over-weight and for hairballs. Cats are still drawn to texture, shape and acidity. Cats require higher levels of some nutrients than other pets. Certain health issues are more prevalent in cats. All in all, product developers that remember these core principles will be able to develop unique product types for the future cat market.