Using the Wayback Machine, we investigated whether pet food prices have increased by comparing prices on the same retailer websites in January 2025 with those in February 2026. We were a little surprised at what we found.
Products were selected based solely on finding records on matching websites, historical record and present day.
Surprisingly, half of the cat foods researched showed a drop in price, only one of 6 products saw a price increase.
Only the wet cat foods we researched showed a price drop.
With dog foods, we found something different. Not one product had a price decrease, 50% of the dog foods researched showed a price increase.
With dog foods, price increases included both wet and dry foods. Hill’s pet food price remained the same for the dry food but increased for the wet food.
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food
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Farmina Sickening Cats and Dogs
February 3, 2026 at 11:10 am
Thanks Susan,
I find it interesting that lower meat protein higher plant protein (generally) Dog Food have generally increased over cat food, which is higher meat, lower plant protein as a whole.
Saying that, with my 21 cats I am using fresh Pork Loin, Chicken Breasts, Fish and a couple of other meats, with EZ Complete to make fresh cat food to complement my canned with some high meat content dry and air-dried. My Pork Loin? Just $1.79/lb and Skinless boneless Chicken Breasts? Just $1.99/lb (not “broth” filled) Bargain!
T Allen
February 3, 2026 at 12:46 pm
And even for dogs it’s cheaper to feed the same meats and add a complete supplement. You just have to do more work to match the diet to your dog’s age, weight, breeding status and activity level. Better still but more time consuming and expensive is get a diet plan made specifically for your dog and buy individual supplements based on the meat you are using. I had my dog with cancer on such a keto diet and he outlived his diagnosed lifespan by 4 more years. 🙂
Ron
February 3, 2026 at 6:50 pm
My cat who has pancreatitis does very good on hills prescription diet I/d chicken and vegetable stew wet food canned! It’s the only cat food that helps with his pancreatitis!