Marketing Pet Food By Mail

Have pet food manufacturer's seen such a dip in their sales that they feel the need to bombard pet owners with pamphlets and even food samples through the mail? Lately I seem to be getting one or more a day, for both dogs and cats.

Yesterday I got two pieces of literature trying to entice me to buy a certain dog food brand which shall remain nameless as I do not care for the food very much and am not going to give the company any free advertising. I will say that is a high end food that can only be bought in specialty stores, not supermarkets nor chain pet supply stores, and my boys only ate it as Bram was being fed that when I got him and I didn't want to change his diet suddenly as he has quite the delicate little constitution. He loves the stuff and so does Edison (who never eats anything), which doesn't surprise me as it isn't good for them at all, despite its high falutin' name and price tag. After all, who would pass up a bag of potato chips and a cheeseburger for a plate of carrot slices and some lean chicken?

I did read the little booklet though and found an interesting bit of information that I felt compelled to pass on to Bram. It said, and I quote, "the chihuahua produces only a small amount of waste..." Excuse me? I have never had a dog of any size who shits as much as Bram does in a single day. It's staggering what comes out of his tiny body. I showed him the booklet, I read him the data and do you think he cared? Not a whit. And still I have the shittingest chi in the east.

Today I got a small package from Fancy Feast. I say their name because this is the brand Maia eats (and I use the term "eat" in only the loosest sense of the word). She sniffs it, she might lick it, but then she walks away in disgust. At least she'll eventually eat this stuff, albeit grudgingly, because there isn't another food on the planet she'll even consider, no matter the quality or price, and believe me I've tried them all. But I digress.

Apparently Fancy Feast is now making cat appetizers. Little plastic containers with shredded meats in broth and nothing else added. The food sample came in a fancy box, complete with pop open windows and catchy feel-good phrases printed all over it such as "in a delicate broth" and "simply for anytime" (the italics is Fancy Feast's choice and not mine). This last one floors me. If my cat won't eat the main dish, what makes them think she's going to be interested in an appetizer? And what's next? A wine list?