Most "better" quality pet foods cost a bit more money than "supermarket brands", but there are many advantages.
Reason #1 - Premium Equals Quality Ingredients: To begin with, most premium pet foods use high quality, and often all natural ingredients. Many consumers want to reduce or eliminate the amount of chemicals found in their own foods, so it is understandable that they feel the same with their pets.
Reason #2 - It's Actually Less Expensive Than Economy Food: Premium pet foods are made with better ingredients. In farming, there is an old saying that goes like this "Corn In – Corn Out". This means that less expensive brands that rely on corn as a main ingredient instead of a quality meat product, will generally result in more waste over time. To start, the pet will eat more initially to feel full.
Second is that corn is less digestible than many better ingredients, so the more corn that goes in the mouth, the more corn that goes out the other end! This means that you will generally have a lot less to clean up after when you use higher quality foods that are more readily digested. Smaller stools and less waste are a definite advantage when feeding premium diets.
Most premium foods are nutritionally complete, so you do not need to add other items to your pet’s diet. This better nutritional package generally means a healthier pet that requires fewer visits to the vet, saving even more money.
Overall, paying more initially for higher quality pet food saves you money because your pet will eat smaller portions and still feel full, will have less to clean up because of reduced waste and smaller stools, and will likely remain healthier and live longer because of better nutrition.
Reason #3 - Get the Right Food Your Pet So they Stay Healthy: There are many high quality pet foods on the market today, that provide the nutrients and vitamins that pets need to grow up healthy and stay healthy as they age.
Currently, most quality pet foods offer "life stage" products that match a pet’s age and activity level to the proper nutritional diets. Further more, there are differences in the needs and problems of various breed sizes, so many diets for small, medium or large breed pets are now available. Life stage formulas generally are available for puppies or kittens, adult dog and cats, older or senior pets, less active pets and over-weight pets.