Survey shows pet owners don’t know what ingredients are in their pets’ bowls
Despite the petfood recall last year, a national survey released in October 2008 revealed many pet owners don’t know what ingredients are in their pets’ food. The survey was conducted online in August 2008 by Harris Interactive and commissioned by the Wellness brand of natural petfood and treats. Of the 1,305 US pet owners surveyed, 906 were dog owners, and 783 were cat owners.
According to the survey, two-thirds of the pet owners said they feed their pets as if they were members of their families. However, 56% of pet owners said they always or often read the label of their own packaged foods, compared to 38% of dog owners and 38% of cat owners who said they always or often read the labels on their pets’ food. Wellness also reported that only 38% of those surveyed said they understand all the ingredients listed on their dog food and cat food labels.
Additional findings included:
- Over half of the pet owners worry their cat or dog food contains ingredients they wouldn’t want their pets to consume;
- More than half dog or cat owners (55%) don’t know what federal body is charged with regulating petfood quality;
- When asked to name the first ingredient listed on the label of their cat’s dry food, 48% of cat owners answered they are not sure; and
- When asked to name the first ingredient listed on the label of their dog’s dry food, 44% of dog owners answered they are not sure.
