• by Adrienne W. Fawcett , April 13, 2007

According to recent news reports, America's domestic animals have catapulted to ever higher levels of pampering thanks to the food recall by Menu Foods. It appears millions of concerned pet owners have resorted to feeding Felix and Fido organic pet food, home-made pet food and/or leftovers from the family table.

But stories of humans rushing to purchase holistic kibble may be more bark than bite. An exclusive research report created for Marketing Daily by Synovate E-Nation shows that awareness of the pet-food recall is extremely high, but owners are making few changes in their pets' diets.

The on-line survey, conducted April 9-11, found that 95% of Americans are aware that pets have died recently because of tainted pet food. Among owners of dogs and cats, awareness reached 100%. Most of them are following the story: 80.4% of cat owners and 74.8% of dog owners say they know which brands are associated with this issue. And of the pet owners, 13.1% said the brand they usually buy has been recalled.

But the pet-food scare has not influenced people to change their behavior. Most are still buying the same brand and type of food (i.e.: wet versus dry) they usually buy, and they're getting it at the same retailer they always go to.

Since March 16, Menu Foods of Streetsville, Ontario has recalled more than 100 brands of pet food and treats. The reason: 16 pets died and thousands of others were sickened from tainted food. The culprit: the U.S. Food & Drug Administration says pet food and wheat gluten used by Menu Foods included melamine, an industrial substance used to make plastic cutlery and sometimes used as a fertilizer.

The Synovate research found that since the recall, 10.7% of pet owners switched from wet to dry food; 11.9% switched to a different brand; and 2.9% changed where they buy pet food. Cat owners were no more likely than dog owners to switch from wet to dry food.

In a pet-crazed country that spends $16 billion a year on pet food, that's not dramatic behavior modification. "It's been a big scare, but maybe overblown. After all, fewer than 20 pets have died," says Tom Mularz, senior vice president at Synovate E-Nation. "For the most part, people feel their pets were unaffected by the recall."

That doesn't mean they don't feel strongly about the issue, however: 86.2% of people--pet owners and non-owners alike--feel that people should be compensated for the loss of pets that died from tainted pet food. Among pet owners, that number shoots up to 92.5% of dog owners and 94% of cat owners. They don't blame the government, retailers or even marketers of the brands. The survey found 97.3% of respondents feel the company that makes the pet food should compensate pet owners for their losses.

Note to the pet industry: Cats are reported to outnumber dogs in the U.S., but this study found that out of the 1,000 respondents, 419 owned dogs and 393 owned cats.

Also worth noting: In the four weeks ending March 25, Americans spent $77.5 million on dry cat food and $70.8 million on wet cat food, according to Information Resources Inc. Meow Mix was the No. 1 dry cat food, with $8.6 million in sales for the month. Friskies Fancy Feast was the No. 1 wet cat food, with $27.1 million in sales. Dog owners spent $236.9 million in that month. Iams was the leading dry dog food brand in March, with $21.6 million in sales; Cesar Select dinners was the leading wet dog food in that time period, with sales of $6.2 million.