Article about new trend of millenials buying high end pet foods

Just saw this article online: http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/07/10/petfood/aWMTk8Ccmo4Xm3JycpqHjJ/story.html Kind of interesting that millennials are buying expensive pet foods despite all the student loans and other debt they have. And there's the comment from the vet nutrionist about how people are just buying into the marketing buzzwords (holistic, grain-free, gluten free, etc) and that the premium food itself is no better nutritionally than budget brands

Interesting. I believe I fall into the qualification as being a millenial. My cats definitely eat a lot better  than I do. I have school loans that I am paying back, but I have been able to budget and survive fairly well while still taking care of my cats. My cats eat some high quality foods and some cheaper ones. I have never fallen for buzzwords though. Since I know a lot about marketing, I always look at ingredients and focus on these specifically. 

I'm a millenial whose cat eats better than I do.

I'm not concerned about the nutritional value. I know any cat food on the market is going to meet my cat's nutritional needs because that's required by government regulation, so of course the budget brands are just as good in that regard.

But there's more to food than nutrition. Technically, someone could meet all their nutritional needs on a diet of 100% McDonalds. But they'd need to take in a lot of extra calories, there are additives that are unhealthy or non-digestible, etc.

Just because a food is nutritionally complete doesn't necessarily make it a good choice, and it doesn't mean it might not cause issues in the long run. And granted, there are a couple budget brands that also do fairly well in other aspects of what makes a pet food good. It's not about flashing lots of money, and you don't necessarily need to in order to feed a good quality diet.

But ultimately, how I think of what I feed Pia is this: Pia trusts me blindly to manage her risks. She takes whatever risks I give her, doesn't know what they are, and can't consent to them. So I have an obligation to lower her risks as much as I can.

There are legitimate differences between the higher end pet foods (and the couple of especially good budget brands) and the low end pet foods. The quality of meat they use is different, the amount of non-digestible byproduct they use is different, etc. We all know the issues that can come from an all-kibble diet as well.

I don't trust a fancy label blindly. I always look at the real break-down of cat food brands before I decide to feed them long term (my rare bouts of poor planning resulting in running to the corner store to get whatever they have so she can eat dinner notwithstanding).

There are definitely expensive pet foods that are still crap! And there are a lot of "luxury" pet foods that are marketing towards the human pallet, not a cat's needs ("with kale and blueberry" -- really, what cat wants that, they're obligate carnivores and they can't even taste sweetness). And there are also high end pet foods that aren't that expensive. Again, it's not about spending money or meaningless buzzwords. It's about being informed.

But I can tell whether Pia is eating high or low quality food even if I'm literally blindfolded. Know how? Because when she's eating low quality food, her breath and poop smell like garbage.

Lilin said:

But ultimately, how I think of what I feed Pia is this: Pia trusts me blindly to manage her risks. She takes whatever risks I give her, doesn't know what they are, and can't consent to them. So I have an obligation to lower her risks as much as I can.

...
But I can tell whether Pia is eating high or low quality food even if I'm literally blindfolded. Know how? Because when she's eating low quality food, her breath and poop smell like garbage.

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I couldn't agree more about the ethical aspects of feeding a pet! They depend on us completely and I feel a responsibility to feed our cats as best I can. I agree, too, about being able to tell how good a food is for the cats, based on the litter box. And I don't trust labels and marketing claims, either.

I thought this quote from the article was a little sad:

Broadly speaking, Heinze said trends in human eating, like grain free and gluten free, are not transferrable to pets, who require different nutrients.

Yes, of course pets and humans have different nutritional needs... but cats certainly don't have much need for grains and glutens!

I'm not a millenial; I'm from the tail end (sorry!) of the Baby Boom.

There is a lot of information that feeding a higher quality of pet food ends up costing less throughout the animals life. They tend to eat less of the true premium type brands. Have healthier bowel movements , fewer behavior issues related to deficiencies. ( yes I believe food can have a direct impact on human and animal behavior ). There is also the thinking that providing good food along with other necessary care will help your pet live a longer life with quality.

Pets are good for the soul. Even if you're poor or in debt keeping one or two pets that you can give reasonable care for is beneficial for both human and pet.

Weighing the cost of a mid priced premium food against the cost of the cheapo brand essentially works out to the same cost.

I feel like this is just another "OMG! Young people are doing stuff!" article. For some reason everything someone under 40 does needs to be gawked at.

I don't even know if I'm a Millennial or GenX :tongue2:. Some lists put the cutoff at 1980 (which would make me GenX) and some put it at 1978 (which would make me a Millennial). So confusing! I got trophies for participating, though, does that make me a Millennial automatically?

Willowy said:

I feel like this is just another "OMG! Young people are doing stuff!" article. For some reason everything someone under 40 does needs to be gawked at.

I don't even know if I'm a Millennial or GenX

. Some lists put the cutoff at 1980 (which would make me GenX) and some put it at 1978 (which would make me a Millennial). So confusing! I got trophies for participating, though, does that make me a Millennial automatically?

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We go from being to young to know better to being too old to do something. You are a spirited individual and unique and not defined by a label.

Willowy said:

I feel like this is just another "OMG! Young people are doing stuff!" article. For some reason everything someone under 40 does needs to be gawked at.

I don't even know if I'm a Millennial or GenX

. Some lists put the cutoff at 1980 (which would make me GenX) and some put it at 1978 (which would make me a Millennial). So confusing! I got trophies for participating, though, does that make me a Millennial automatically?

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This! It's getting kind of annoying, frankly.

"Well, in my day, we all just ate garbage and we damn well liked it! Look at these dumb kids being all concerned and stuff!"

*sigh*

I'll take this opportunity to officially inaugurate you into Millenial-ism, on the basis that everyone's a winner.

I agree with everyone else. I feed my cats premium foods because they can't make any nutritional choices for themselves. It's *my* responsibility to feed them appropriate foods, and it's my fault if they become overweight, etc. (And for the record, they ARE overweight, but we're working on it.  ) I really believe in feeding the best you can afford. If you can't afford the best of the best, that's fine! You're not a terrible person, or doing your cats some awful disservice. If all you can afford is Sheba, then that's all you can afford. I also realize I have the luxury of working at an indie pet store and have access to lots of different products for free or at discounted prices. That definitely helps a LOT, but not everyone has that luxury. I also don't fall for buzzwords. I know what to look for, and I pay very little attention to the packaging or the marketing of a product. The same can be said for the food I choose for myself.

I think this is less of a "millenial" thing and more of a consumer thing. How many scary recalls have we seen in the pet food industry in the past few years? I just think consumers - of ALL ages - are more aware these days. I sell premium pet food to people of ALL ages. In fact, most of my customers are "middle-aged", NOT "millenials."

Kacy said:

 
I agree with everyone else. I feed my cats premium foods because they can't make any nutritional choices for themselves. It's *my* responsibility to feed them appropriate foods, and it's my fault if they become overweight, etc. (And for the record, they ARE overweight, but we're working on it. 

) I really believe in feeding the best you can afford. If you can't afford the best of the best, that's fine! You're not a terrible person, or doing your cats some awful disservice. If all you can afford is Sheba, then that's all you can afford. I also realize I have the luxury of working at an indie pet store and have access to lots of different products for free or at discounted prices. That definitely helps a LOT, but not everyone has that luxury. I also don't fall for buzzwords. I know what to look for, and I pay very little attention to the packaging or the marketing of a product. The same can be said for the food I choose for myself.

I think this is less of a "millenial" thing and more of a consumer thing. How many scary recalls have we seen in the pet food industry in the past few years? I just think consumers - of ALL ages - are more aware these days. I sell premium pet food to people of ALL ages. In fact, most of my customers are "middle-aged", NOT "millenials."

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I still have nightmares about the Chinese melamine mess. And my cats were never in danger. I have 10 cans of top of the line pet food with the tops puffed. I've been told it's the altitude. I tell them to take it home and feed it to their pets.

It's become trendy to be into nutrition but I wouldn't have thought that quite carries over to pet food. It's a lot of money on vet bills otherwise.

I read the labels to ensure decent ingredients and buy whatever's on special. I'm not buying bloody Libra again after I read the bunf when I got home claiming cats are omnivores. No wonder we buy fancy (when/if we can) when there's that type of blatant rubbish trying to persuade us the cats need to eat their peas.

I'm a millennial but I honestly don't know anyone else who is 20-30 who doesn't just feed what they can find at the grocery store. Some feed things like purina one and scoff at people if they spend less on food but that's about it. I don't look for the buzz words like what's said in the article but I do try to feed my pets at least semi good food. My cats can't tolerate the cheaper canned foods except fancy feast which doesn't fill them up so the 8lb ones want 4+ cans a day with really adds up. So they get better brands of food with fills them up and doesn't make them sick. It's the same for my dogs. One has mild fur loss on low quality food and the other has horrible dandruff on low quality so I won't feed that. If money is tight then I will cut back on my spending first because it isn't fair to make my pets suffer when I could just spend a little less on myself for a month or so. I also tend to buy food to last a few months so I can have a stockpile if need be.

I'm pretty far from being a Millennial. I'm 55 and my husband is 58. We spend more on the cat food then our own.  Gluten is added to assure a certain level of protein. I suppose most of the time it isn't terribly harmful but years ago there was a huge problem with many different pet food manufacturers (including Dick VanPatten's Natural Balance, IAMs and Nutro) who sourced wheat gluten from China. The manufacturer had substituted melamine plastic for the wheat gluten and many cats died. During that massive recall, it was fascinating to see how many different brands of food were manufactured in the same plants with ostensibly the same ingredients.

I'm not sure how many of the premium branded foods have the capacity to manufacture their own food. I'm not sure what the necessary sales need to be to have your own pet food plant.
 

I usually go for the premium brands because I want the protein to come from the muscle meat. While I have no problem with organ meats being part of that mix, I'm much less excited by the presence of the by-products. There's a whole set of meanings for meat by-product and meat by-product meal. And while a manufacturer might not really incorporate feathers in their meal, they could and so one has to assume that parts one would never want to feed their pets are in the cans.

I do also buy cans of Purina Friskies pates. Every cat prefers the 50cent can food to the premium. Every.single.one. So frustrating.  As my cats get older I don't really want to risk the issue of the ash content in the Friskies, but they are super picky about the better brands. Cans of food that seem like they would be a big favorite based on the ingredients don't get touched unless the cats are desperate.

I'm probably a bit long in the tooth to be characterized as a millennial.  In any event, I try to provide the most nutritious food that I can afford, although I am not convinced all the fear and loathing about cat food is based on objective facts.  We keep Purina in the cupboard at our home.  I scrutinize the label for the ingredients and read as much as I can about pet food.  My kitten certainly prospered, as she is quite healthy and spry.  Lately I have added more costly brands to her diet, though I remain very price-sensitive.  I'll probably never buy brands like Wellness or Royal Canin, Weruva or even Blue Buffalo because I just don't feel that they are substantially superior to top of the line formulas from Purina.  When their prices are discounted, I have purchased recipes from Whole Earth Farms, DVP Natural Balance and Natural Variety, to add to the grain-free offerings from Purina, Fancy Feast and Sheba.  Nearly every formula I buy is a pate.  I don't mind paying a bit more for reasonably-priced grain-free brands with ample muscle meat, which can be had from smaller manufacturers such as Evolve and Under the Sun.

I agree. I had a cat that lived to 19 on pate Friskies and Fancy Feast and Purina pro plan. She had excellent teeth, and a health appetite to the end. She was a huge cat too as she was Maine Coon.

With my current brood, we went with premium foods which I stated earlier, have iffy popularity. I've kept it to mostly canned food (which some of them hate) and the food that gets left on their plates is always the premiums with a few exceptions: Wellness.

Instinct

It's relative Pride

Addiction

Merrick

BFF

Weruva

They all hate it.

And I would never feed Weruva because it's made overseas as are some of the Wellness now. 

I have to say it could be happenstance but I feel like my cats started having various health issues relatively young despite the careful attention to the food and of course, vet care.

Laura Mae said:

 
I agree. I had a cat that lived to 19 on pate Friskies and Fancy Feast and Purina pro plan. She had excellent teeth, and a health appetite to the end. She was a huge cat too as she was Maine Coon.

With my current brood, we went with premium foods which I stated earlier, have iffy popularity. I've kept it to mostly canned food (which some of them hate) and the food that gets left on their plates is always the premiums with a few exceptions: Wellness.

Instinct

It's relative Pride

Addiction

Merrick

BFF

Weruva

They all hate it.

And I would never feed Weruva because it's made overseas as are some of the Wellness now. 

I have to say it could be happenstance but I feel like my cats started having various health issues relatively young despite the careful attention to the food and of course, vet care.

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The key to nutrition for our cats is not in the name on the package but the ingredients used.  Everyone with cats , especially indoors knows not only about nutrition but finding the cat food their cats will eat.  I have one that loves the Blue Wilderness indoor and the baby loves her Nutro kitten formula. I have dropped off several hundred dollars worth of canned foods to rescues. I truly hope the cats there eat what my snobs turned their noses up at.

So far I don't have any reservation about brands that import their source meat, at least when it comes to suppliers from Thailand.  I understand that's where Weruva imports their meat from.  I haven't purchased any Weruva (I think their claims are vastly overstated,  for example; no way is their "Kobe Beef" formula the genuine item), but I did give my cat a Sardine & Shrimp recipe made by Natural Value, a California company that imports its supplies from Thailand.  I was impressed by the real chunks of fish and the ample bits of shrimp in the can.  Best of all, the cat devoured the food like a vacuum cleaner on full blast.

TheGreyStalker said:

 
So far I don't have any reservation about brands that import their source meat, at least when it comes to suppliers from Thailand.  I understand that's where Weruva imports their meat from.  I haven't purchased any Weruva (I think their claims are vastly overstated,  for example; no way is their "Kobe Beef" formula the genuine item), but I did give my cat a Sardine & Shrimp recipe made by Natural Value, a California company that imports its supplies from Thailand.  I was impressed by the real chunks of fish and the ample bits of shrimp in the can.  Best of all, the cat devoured the food like a vacuum cleaner on full blast.

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Agree there. Thailand has excellent production standards, and I have no qualms about feeding brands like Weruva. 

Kacy said:

 
Agree there. Thailand has excellent production standards, and I have no qualms about feeding brands like Weruva. 

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I also agree. Thailand does have excellent production standards. Some people automatically equate all "overseas" production to substandard production such as parts of China. But every Asian country has its own regulation, and even parts of China have "up-to-par" regulations. The problem is that it's such a huge country and without a single standard regulation, things can go wrong as they sometimes do.

iI'm 23 and feed my cats the best quality I can afford. My reason? Not trends, I just know that I can either pay now or later in vet bills... and I would rather pay now with the food and have my kitties live a pain-free life and be very hydrated and happy Sometimes I add Fancy Feast pates and Sheba into the mix when money is tight. My boys are my support system for graduate school! I don't know if I could get through it without them. They deserve to be healthy, I feel like I owe them that