The Nielsen company may be best known for tracking what we watch on TV, but they also have a market research branch that tracks trends in consumer products. They presented the results of a pet food online search term study at this year’s Global Pet Expo.

What are dog and cat owners looking for when they search online for food and treats? Here’s what’s trending:

Top cat food and treat searches:

• Wet
• Canned
• Pate
• Gravy
• Indoor animals
• Lickable
• Urinary tract cat food
• Refrigerated
• Venison
• Grilled
• Shredded/shreds

“Venison” is the fasted growing cat food search term, fueled by this meat’s sustainability and higher protein/lower fat, as compared to beef.

Top dog food and treat searches:

• Dental and breath health
• Calming chews for dogs
• Dog calming treats
• Wet
• Dehydrated/dried
• Pea free
• Protein
• Real meat
• Refrigerated
• Human grade

Interestingly, the once-hot “grain-free” search has now cooled, with the recent news about the link between some grain-free dog foods and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

When it comes to dog and cat food trends, Nielsen sees a growing interest in ancient grains as a pet food ingredient, as well as human-grade pet food. Pet owners are also looking for foods that are free of artificial ingredients and are produced and packaged sustainably.

There is also increased interest in the idea of pet food as medicine, with owners shopping for food that supports brain, kidney, joint, heart, and eye health.

The researchers also reported that online sales are surpassing brick-and-mortar sales in the pet food and products industry. Pet spending as a whole is outpacing all other retail store categories, as consumers continue to pamper their fur kids!