Why is tinned cat food disappearing from shops?

Jill1956

Hello - my first post!
All the cats l have had have been happy with tinned food, plus the dried variety for variation and snacks. Currently we have three cats, happy, healthy and energetic (when they're awake) which of course means a fair weekly expense. I have always bought brands such as Whiskas and Kitekat, and occasionally the 'better' supermarket own-labelled varieties. It's more economical to buy food in quantity, in packs of six or twelve cans. Increasingly however, I'm finding it hard to find them, even in large branches of major supermarkets. Plenty of cartons of pouches, but they are far more expensive, and I don't think the pouches are recyclable, which for me is an issue on its own. Kitekat was always a favourite, but that seems to have disappeared altogether. Individual tins, and little trays which are very expensive, but no multipacks of full sized tins, apart from own brands which are of lower quality.
So my point is - why has tinned cat food all but disappeared, and can anyone suggest where I can find it in economic quantities? I suspect it's to do with weight and transport costs, but it would be interesting to know what other people think.

GwylimT

Pets at home still do decent packs of tinned food, online is also good as it means nothing to carry home. The best supermarket tinned food is butchers, it is often on offer in places like b&m bargains etc.

tealady

Pet supermarket have it on their website
HTH

Feral_Moon

Probably because brands such as Whiskas and Kitekat are really poor quality and the equivalent of junk food in human diets. People are becoming far more aware of the necessity to feed a healthy diet to pets too that demand for these older brands is vastly reduced. Plus pet food manufacturers need to keep up with the trends to be profitable.

Have you had a look on Zooplus? They have a vast selection of tinned foods at very reasonable prices, usually cheaper than Whiskas etc.

A couple of very popular brands are:

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/canned_cat_food_pouches/rafine

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/canned_cat_food_pouches/bozita#Cans

Bath_cube

I have noticed that cat pate goes off the shelves quickly. My tiggy loved the morrisons ones. That reminds me I have a can of food plus some trays of pate in my cupboards. In my local morrisons there is a collection bin for donated food for the local animal shelter which has mainly cats, I will donate it in her memory. Seeing cat food offers in the shops today I started getting teary and it felt really strange no longer picking it up and then storing it away at home.

paddypaws101

It is all to do with profitability, with manufacturers being able to charge hugely inflated prices for these so-called premium products.
I don't think the cans of Whiskas or Kittekat are any less nutritious than the pouches or 85g tins but we are all being guilt tripped into buying these 'special' foods, many of which are not even nutritionally complete.
Zooplus is a really good option, with brands such as Smilla or Bozita offering good value 410g cans.

doglover86

Hi!

I'm a dog person, but I buy all of my dogs food from Pet Connection over in Ireland, and I find they're usually really well priced, especially compared to some of the local shops - I'd imagine it would be equally good for the cats? I'm sure they do both Whiskas and KiteKat too amongst others.

They're a really good company to deal with too, the odd time there's been an issue with my order, they've been great sorting it out.

Hope this helps!