What do cat parents look for when buying pet food?

A new survey of pet parents in the US, the UK, France, and Germany by global food corporation Cargill concluded that 65% of respondents value the quality of the ingredients above the price and type of pet food. 

Price is important for half of them, followed by whether the food is wet, dry or fresh (45%).

Ingredient quality is most important for French cat parents (78%). For them, brand reputation was also important (38%). British owners are the most price–sensitive (57%), while German respondents value taste and palatability (51%).

According to the 1,069 cat owners surveyed, Americans (52%) value the form of pet food more than their European counterparts. 

Cargill’s report shows that nearly 9 out of 10 cat parents purchase dry pet food for their cats. In addition, two-thirds purchase canned food, while half buy wet food in pouches.

Attractive health claims

Nearly 3/4 of consumers look for pet food that addresses specific health challenges for their cats.

The top 5 health claims when purchasing cat food include gut health (50%), immune health (37%), skin and coat health (32%), weight control (22%) and vitality or energy (20%).

Gut and immune health claims are the most popular across all 4 surveyed countries. Weight control is only of concern in the US and France, while hairball control is popular among German and American pet parents. 

The UK is the only market identified in this survey that values dental and oral benefits listed in the top health claims.

Preferred ingredient claims

Diving deeper into ingredient quality, Cargill’s report finds that ‘natural’ is the most preferred ingredient claim (72%), followed by ‘ingredient source’ (69%) and ‘veterinarian recommended’ (66%). Other popular claims were ‘scientifically proven in cats,’ ‘sustainably sourced,’ ‘organic’ and ‘scientifically proven.’ 

The claim of a food being ‘natural’ is most important to UK cat parents, while ingredient source is an essential decision-maker for American cat parents. French and German parents highly value veterinarian recommendations, although they want natural ingredients, too.

Health concerns

Nearly half of the surveyed cat parents worry about their pets developing health conditions. The top concerns are vomiting (85%), immune strength (78%) and diarrhea or loose stools.

Regionally, anxiety is a key concern for US respondents, while dental issues are a significant worry among UK owners. It was also noted that cat parents aged 24 and below demonstrated the highest concern (52%).

Dissatisfaction?

Even though 33% of German and French cat parents were satisfied with the treats and food available in their markets, varying levels of dissatisfaction with market offerings is a common theme among respondents from every surveyed country.

The highest level of dissatisfaction comes from wet food shoppers, especially in the US, where 27% are dissatisfied with wet pet food compared to 21% of dry pet food buyers.

According to Cargill, pet brands offering consistent claims and proactive health ingredients across both wet and dry foods may be “better suited” to retain customers.