Don’t be fooled by the corporate fat cats and marketeers, say the Money-Saving Amateurs  – you can feed your feline on a fraction of what they claim

Having recently acquired a cat, we’ve been investigating the strange and enormous world of cat food. It’s clearly a very competitive area. Purveyors of cat food spend fortunes on marketing. This made us reflect that it must be a business with fantastic margins. You know how the ingredients of a pizza cost around a quid and the pizza is sold for £15? Well maybe it’s the same with cat food. Is it a question of buying some relatively cheap ingredients, putting them in a tin, commissioning a cat illustrator and selling it at a vast markup?

On the evidence of a new cat-food start-up called KatKin, we’d say yes. KatKin markets itself as having been dreamt up round the kitchen table by a couple of innocent cat lovers, but in fact is a conspiracy of financiers set on making money.

Take co-founder Brett O’Farrell. His biog says: “Brett is a seasoned finance and investment professional with a strong background in private equity, venture capital, and entrepreneurial ventures. Currently, as Co-Founder of KatKin since March 2019, Brett focuses on promoting cat health and industry-wide change. Previous experience includes serving as a Venture Partner at Blossom Capital, an Investment Manager at Schroder Adveq, and roles at CDC Group plc, Asante Capital Group LLP, Sloane Robinson LLP, and KPMG. Brett holds an MBA from INSEAD, a Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting, and a Bachelor of Business Science with Finance honors, both from the University of Cape Town.”

Other directors include Lopo Champalimaud, whose bio states: “[A] Portuguese entrepreneur and investor best known for founding Treatwell, Europe’s leading online booking platform for hair and beauty services.”

KatKin employed the services of a trendy Brooklyn-based branding agency called Center Design to create its look and feel. The agency came up with a sort of Brew Dog style vibe, using phrases like “love hard, eat fresh” and other nonsense like this manifesto point: “The time for change is now, and we won’t stop until our cat-first, no-bs attitude becomes the new standard everywhere.” Correction: we won’t stop until we sell the business and deposit vast sums in our bank accounts.

We looked at the price of KatKin. They charge £30 for a monthly delivery of 2.8kg of cooked chicken and some so-called treats. That’s roughly £10 per kilo. Well, you can buy chicken at Tesco for £3 per kilo. Or you can get raw chicken necks and other raw food from Healthy Pet Store online for £4 a kilo or less. What’s more, no irritating marketing materials or invitations to post pictures of your cat on the KatKin Instagram feed.

Cats shouldn’t live on chicken alone, anyway. As your vet will tell you, it’s best to mix it with inexpensive dry cat food – such as good old Whiskas – and it’s not hard to prepare it yourself. Either boil or bake plain – without any oil or condiments – allow it to cool and serve cut into chunks with all skin and bones removed. This last point is important – chicken bones can splinter and cause grave damage to cats.

According to vet Sandra C Mitchell at petmd.com, kittens under six months may have two teaspoons of plain cooked chicken a day, while cats over that age can have two tablespoons per day. You can do the same with turkey, beef and fish.

Do readers have any more tips on how to save money and keep your cat healthy? Email us at mail@idler.co.uk.

This article appears in Idler #108.

A Drink with the Idler

“A Drink with the Idler” is taking a short break but will be back in April with author and activist Michael Pollan, who will be talking to Tom about one of life’s deepest mysteries: consciousness. That’s Thursday 9 April at 6pm. Find out more and book tickets here.
It’s FREE to subscribers – otherwise £7.50.

Subscribe to the Idler here and get 12% off the shop price plus a FREE copy of Idle Thoughts by Tom Hodgkinson, worth £8.95.

Subscribers may comment. Please add your idle thoughts using the box below

How to Live Like a Stoic

The March/April 2026 issue of the Idler (#108) is out today – available in Waitrose, Smiths and TG Jones.

Click here for your nearest stockist.