Consumer Acceptance of Sustainable Cat Diets: A Survey of 1380 Cat Guardians

Abstract

There are a multitude of pet diets available for the world’s 476 million pet cats. Among these, an increasing range of sustainable cat foods aims to tackle the environmental, ethical, and other challenges associated with meat-based cat food. This survey of 1380 cat guardians sought to better understand the factors guiding their food purchasing decisions—concerning both current diets, and sustainable alternatives. We found that 51% of cat guardians currently feeding conventional or raw meat-based cat food felt that at least one sustainable alternative was acceptable. Cultivated meat-based cat food was the most popular alternative, followed by nutritionally sound vegan cat food. Guardians reported that the most important feature influencing their willingness to purchase these alternatives was good health outcomes. The dietary choices of the cat guardian were strongly associated with the dietary habits of their cats. Regarding information sources, labels/packaging and veterinarians were most used, with the possible exception of guardians feeding unconventional diets, who appeared to use veterinary advice less often. Since respondents were disproportionately female, from the UK, highly educated, and feeding vegan diets, reported relative frequencies were not fully representative. To minimize any resultant bias effects, we used regression analyses for the calculation of all association estimates.

There is increasing awareness about the adverse environmental and ‘food’ animal welfare impacts associated with the production of meat-based pet food. However, little is known about cat guardians’ acceptance of more sustainable food choices for the global population of approximately 476 million pet cats. By surveying 1380 cat guardians, this study explored feeding patterns used by guardians, determinants of their cat food choices, and their acceptance levels of more sustainable cat food alternatives. The sources of information used by cat guardians to obtain information about the cat diets they chose were also investigated. Key results included: (1) 51% (620/1211) of cat guardians currently feeding meat-based cat food (raw or conventional) considered at least one or more sustainable alternatives to be acceptable, with cultivated meat-based cat food being the most popular alternative, followed by nutritionally sound vegan cat food; (2) the top five characteristics alternative diets needed to offer to be considered viable were good health outcomes, nutritional soundness, palatability, quality, and environmental sustainability; (3) diet types consumed by cat guardians and their cats were strongly associated; and (4) labels/packaging and veterinarians were the information sources most used, although veterinary staff may have been less trusted as reliable sources of dietary advice by guardians feeding unconventional diets. It should be noted that, due to the reliance on convenience sampling and the overrepresentation of respondents from the UK, of female guardians, of respondents with higher education and of vegan guardians, the reported relative frequencies of subgroups were not fully representative of the global cat guardian population. Association estimates were based on regression analyses to minimize any resultant bias effects.