Do pet food companies actually taste-test new cat foods on actual cats? (eating, blood)

[James Bond 007]

Sometimes I buy a new brand or flavor of cat food I found in the store, and I give it to my cat who turns up her nose at it.

So then I bring it to work to give to the cats I feed at work. But sometimes even the least picky of the ones their turn their nose up at it too! That happened again today. Although, other times they do eat it. My own cat tends to be pretty picky.

When that happens I can't help but wonder if pet food companies think of a new recipe, and start making and selling it before they even taste-test it on any cats. I mean, if even the semi-stray cats at work who will otherwise eat just about anything, turn their nose up at something I give them, then for the life of me I can't believe they ever taste-tested it on any cats before they started selling it.

One time I was in a pet store and there was a bin of items they were trying to get rid of at a steep discount. One of them were several cans of ... alligator cat food! They were large cans the store was trying to get rid of for, like, 50 cents or something. Just for the heck of it I bought one can and brought it home.

When I got home I opened it and put it in front of my cat. It was this reddish-brown liquid-y stuff and both me and my cat were, like, "Ewww." It had this funky smell, too. You couldn't get me to believe for one second that the pet food company that made that ever bothered taste-testing it on any cat. I can't imagine the hungriest, most desperate cat in the world would ever touch it. Just for the heck of it, I brought it in to work the next day but, unsurprisingly, the cats there wouldn't touch it.

[catsmom21]

Pet food manufactures do "feed trials". I think they last six months, do some blood work during and if no animal dies then the food is approved for retail marketing. I also believe they use "purpose bred" animals, I know I read that once, but it was a few years ago.


I see alligator mentioned now and then in a Europe based pet forum I visit. It's used as a novel protein.

[James Bond 007]

Hmm. Well, if they breed cats deliberately to be taste-testers, they must deliberately breed them to be as un-picky as possible!

Yet another can today was a failure - Fromm's turkey pate'. I think at one time my cat liked this, but the last few times I've tried it she won't touch it. And the semi-stray cats at work won't touch it either. It's not bad quality or unusual stuff, I'm wondering if it just doesn't smell very yummy or something, as far as I can tell it doesn't have much of an aroma at all (at least from my human perspective, of course). Makes me wonder if some of these flavors the cats turn their noses up at just need some gravy or something.

[catdad7x]

You do realize that pet food manufacturers are formulating the food & packaging to appeal to you don't you? Problem is you aren't the one eating it. If they were strictly adhering to what cats would naturally be attracted to & want to eat, there would probably be very little difference or variation in what's in the can.

[James Bond 007]

Originally Posted by catdad7x

You do realize that pet food manufacturers are formulating the food & packaging to appeal to you don't you?...

Oh yes, in many cases that's plainly obvious. Especially when they give the flavors names like "Chicken and fish luau."

[saibot]

My cats will always eat canned food made from fish (any kind of fish...) and almost always eat chicken, but they very often reject turkey. I don't know what it is about turkey and cats.

[James Bond 007]

My cat eats turkey cat food all the time. It's an individual taste thing. She tends to be more picky about certain brands than flavors. Though, I can't give her anything with beef because she's beef sensitive. She usually barfs it up.