(Note: All but one have received some funding from the pet-food industry.) They also shared advice on pet feeding. We asked eight experts in dog and cat nutrition at seven top veterinary schools what you get by spending more for pet food. Prices for canned foods ranged from $1.38 per day (Ol' Roy Hearty Cuts in Gravy) to $4.78 (Merrick Turducken Entreé). At stores near our headquarters in Yonkers, N.Y., per-day costs for dry foods for a 35-pound dog ranged from about 38 cents (Walmart's Ol' Roy Krunchy Bites & Bones) to about $2.88 (Karma Organic).
Prices range as widely as the foods-everything from low-glycemic and grain-free meals to human-food mimics such as chicken pot pie. In a survey conducted by the Associated Press in December 2008, just one in seven pet owners said they had curtailed spending on their pet during the past year, even as they cut other expenses. Americans might be spending less on themselves, but not on their furry friends.
