Cat owners spend three times more on pet food than dog owners

According to data from the Chestny Znak marking system and the Tsenozavr price monitoring service, the cat product category significantly dominated the Russian pet food market between September 2025 and February 2026, alongside varying price dynamics across different diet types.

Analysis of consumer behavior revealed a several-fold gap in spending between cat and dog owners. Over the last six months, total cat food expenditures reached 132 billion rubles (approx. $1.74 billion), while dog food spending totaled 45 billion rubles (approx. $592.1 million).

The gap is most visible in the wet pet food segment. For cats, 189 million kg were sold for 67 billion rubles (approx. $881.6 million). For dogs, 25 million kg were sold for 8.9 billion rubles (approx. $117.1 million). In the dry pet food and treat category, the situation also favors cats: owners spent 64.7 billion rubles (approx. $851.3 million) on 133 million kg, while dog owners spent 36.3 billion rubles (approx. $477.6 million) on 90.3 million kg. Analysts note that dry cat food is on average 20% more expensive than dog counterparts.

Differences in demand are also driven by taste preferences. Cat owners more often choose complex treats such as shrimp pillows, creamy sausages, and meat sticks, while the dog segment is dominated by denser meat items such as beef, veal slices, and lamb legs.

According to Chestny Znak, pet food demand is distributed unevenly across regions. Dog food leaders include Moscow (1,800 kg of dry food and treats per 1,000 residents) and the Moscow region (382 kg of wet pet food per 1,000 residents). Murmansk and Leningrad regions are also among the leaders in wet diets. Cat food leaders include the Kaluga region (1,623 kg of dry food per 1,000 residents), while the Nizhny Novgorod (2,459 kg), Vladimir (2,322 kg), and Ivanovo (2,178 kg) regions led in wet cat food.

The Tsenozavr service recorded a significant price increase for small pet food. Rodent food led the growth, with prices rising by 34.3% over the year. Cost changes in other categories include wet cat food (+21.1%), bird food (+14.8%), and wet dog food (+5.9%). Meanwhile, dry dog food prices decreased by 5.3% and dry cat food prices fell by 14.4%.

The current shift toward online channels and the increase in vaccine consumption, previously reported by Zooinform, correlates with general market dynamics. In 2025, experts noted that the veterinary medicine market grew by 17.7%, and the e-commerce share in the pet business continues to grow rapidly, reaching almost a third of total volume in value.