I think it has more to do with the fact that dog people are schooled that changing to a new food is a long drawn-out process, and therefore becomes something not undertaken lightly. I suspect this leads to a high degree of brand loyalty -- at least for extended periods of time.

Cat owners are schooled that cats are "finicky" and need to have different tasting food every meal. I'm guessing this may lead to a lower degree of brand loyalty. And coupons exist to play on the possibility that a consumer will change brands.

Cats are carnivores and there's little argument about that so, of course, their food is more expensive/oz that the omnivore foods for dogs.  And that's likely to make people more cost conscious.  Then there is the fact that cats are traditionally more likely to be owned by single women who, on average, earn less and that makes them more aware of costs too.

I also think cats are just plain healthier on average and, when they aren't, then they are in the extraordinary medical cost arena; doesn't seem to be an in between with them like with dogs.  And maybe that is because of them being carnivores.

Oh, and for the record, we feed the Cadillac stuff to all of our pets.  Before Grain to the dog, and some form of "no grain" to the cats though honestly the name escapes me at this time.

I am just thinking outloud about this subject from a business perspective.  The market for cat food is smaller, at least in volume, than the dog market.  For example, our dog eats almost four times as much food as our biggest cat.  So the manufacturer has to make 25% as much cat food as they do dog food, yet the infrastructure to manufacture, package, ship, and sell remains the same.  A coupon is an attempt to get a piece of that small market.  Also, a cat owner is more willing to buy a different brand because of a coupon as the person didn't just get done "buying a 50Lb bag."  Even if the dollars don't support that reasoning, the idea of throwing away a half bag of dog food (25Lbs for the big bags) is a little harder to swallow than throwing away a half a bag of cat food, which might be more like 6lbs.

Maybe because canned cat food costs so much more per oz than dog food.  A teeny tiny 3oz cans of the better quality cat food can easily cost $1.50, while a 13-oz can of good dog food can be found for $1.89-1.99.  And when I turn my back and the dog gobbles up that $1.50 can of cat food in one gulp, that's adding insult to injury!  That said, I don't clip coupons but I feed my cat higher-end dry food and Fancy Feast wet food.  And he gets his shots and a checkup every year.

I do see your point Stefani(and Dr. K), but it seems to be the same with dogs.  I hear all the time that these people "don't have enough money to come in to get vaccine."  but I see them at the pet stores buying expensive dog toys, shampoos, sweaters, etc but can't bring their dog in for vaccines.  It just drives me crazy.  The worst example is from  my future in-laws who make 4X more money than my fiance and I do...their dogs haven't been to the vet in over 5 years because they "don't have the money."  and their cat who is indoor/outdoor has never been!  Yet they have big screens, full cable packages, 2 Wii's and take 2 full vacations every year.  So I guess it just all goes back to not WHAT you can afford but what you WANT to afford.   

DNS83:  Maybe the high end food is why they seem to stay healthy.  Most people aren't crazy about the whole routine vaccination thing anymore, even (or especially) very conscientious pet owners.

There are almost never coupons for the foods I feed!

Well, I take that back:  Nature's Variety has been running a pretty aggressive coupon campaign.  I think you can go to their website and scare up coupons for their raw nuggets.

What I can't understand is that at the animal hospital I work for we  have several clients that will only bring in their cat every 2 years or so for vaccine but then I see them on the weekends at the pet stores buying $60 bags of cat food.  It doesn't make any sense to me why they feel their cat doesn't need vaccines or testing (fecals, routine blood work, blood pressure, etc) but needs that $60 bag of food. 

Also, at every given quality level, cat food is significantly more expensive than dog food. My two cats together weigh not quite as much as my dog, they don't eat more quantity-wise, and they are painfully more expensive to feed.

My Kitter Kat eats a high quality kibble that never goes on sale (Felidae).  My dogs are raw fed and my cat would be too if he would just eat it.  haha  Honestly, I would never feed my animals anything that I can clip a coupon for.  Either one of them.  Cat or Dog.