SECRETS OF THE PET FOOD INDUSTRY

Dog and cat food is a R2-trillion global industry, but how do we know if our furry friends like what we're serving up or if it's good for them? We step inside one of the world's biggest pet care research centres to see what goes into developing popular brands

- VIVIAN HO

FLORENCE Meowmalade came to me on a chilly winter night last year. A one-year-old orange tabby with a little pink nose, she arrived at my door in London after travelling for three days in a van with 30 dogs across continental Europe. She brought with her an EU pet passport, a soiled pink blanket and a penchant for snuggling into any available lap.

The arrival of Florence, or Lady Meowmalade as she shall be addressed by her lessers, marked the first time in my life that I had a small creature entirely dependent upon me for her wellbeing. And like so many pet owners before me, her wellbeing became my fixation.

During her time on the streets of Vaslui in Romania, Florence's teeth had come loose. By the time she reached me, she had none. Her foster mother, who cared for Florence in Romania until she left for London, assured me that she still had a healthy appetite and could sustain herself on kibble - dry, compound food - albeit the kind made for kittens. And she seemed to like it. She came to us at least a kilo overweight, her pouch swaying whenever she trotted into the room.

But I couldn't stop worrying about her little pink gums. If I had no teeth, I wondered, would I enjoy gumming down hard-baked pellets for every meal? Or would I prefer some of that soft wet mix that, in pet food commercials, you see getting spooned so alluringly onto pristine white plates?

Most pets once got by on little more than table scraps, and whatever extra they could hunt or scavenge. Today, things are different. The love humans have for their pets, combined with capitalism's eagerness to exploit our every desire and anxiety, means pets can now eat better than their owners do.