Inflation hit the pet-food aisle as well as the meat and dairy counters, bakery and produce sections
“I’m pulling the plug on the cookbook project,” Nature Boy shared recently.
“You worked so hard, why stop now?” I asked. “Of course, there’s as much demand as ever for 100 Delicious Ways to Serve Cat Food at Dinner Parties Without Letting the Cat Out of the Bag. Stats Canada says food costs have increased by 22.5 per cent over the past four years. People still need to put meatloaf on the table.”
“I think people may be habituating to higher costs,” he said. “And pet food prices have also gone up.”
Then I had a Good Idea. (It happens sometimes.) “Maybe you can use the time you’re not messing with kibble to tend to the vegetable garden.”
Count Times Colonist Columnist David Sovka wrote in these pages last week, “when it comes to finding a career, everyone’s number-one value is not having to eat cat food.”
Nature Boy’s own Good Idea — the cat-food cookbook — was inspired more than a decade ago by a conversation a friend and I had about their career transition.
The friend just quit his safe government, benefits-filled, defined-benefit-pension job to launch himself as a freelancer — er, consultant. (“I don’t use the word ‘freelance,'” he said. “People hear ‘free’ and expect to pay accordingly.”)
The friend told us that eating the cat was his fallback plan.
It’s a joke. I think.
Since his business has been doing so well since then and he’s never been short of clients or high-paying consulting work, even during the pandemic, this friend probably won’t need to replace his Cheerios with kibble.
And while I was wondering if we should invest in the pet-food industry — you know, just in case — Nature Boy saw another potential opportunity.
If this friend may/may not seriously consider cat food as a viable alternative to filet mignon or hamburger, so may others.
Over the past few years, anyone responsible for filling the fridge or putting food on the table has watched the price of groceries rocket.
Like many others, Nature Boy and I cut back on discretionary spending, eating out and buying gourmet, or just plain expensive, treats.
I’m more than happy to say that Nature Boy has yet to visit the pet-food aisle to stock up on alternative protein sources for the dinner table.
Despite lower inflation rates than in previous years and recent interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada, 57 percent of Canadian households say their incomes are lagging inflation, according to the most recent TransUnion consumer pulse study.
Inflation hits the pet-food aisle and the meat and dairy, bakery and produce counters.
Statista reports that Canadian cat owners spent $576 on food for Felix in 2022, the third highest category of expense associated with cat ownership.
The site also reports that the cost of Felix and Miss Miao’s food has doubled since 2020, while Statistics Canada indicates that in the past few years, pet food prices have doubled to rate of inflation.
All the usual pandemic-related issues that have affected other industries have also hit pet food manufacturers — supply-chain problems, inflation and crazy weather events.
As demand for food banks has increased across Canada, so has the need for pet food banks where they exist.
If it’s really possible to serve cat food in 100 different delicious ways to friends without losing those friends – a challenge I’d rather turn down – the economics of trying to do so provide less incentive .
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