Counting Calories: A Graphical Analysis of the Daily Food Intake of a Kadoatie

      What is the Kadoatery?

     The Kadoatery is a place for kadoatie owners to leave their beloved petpets while they go on vacation. During our day-long investigation, we counted 266 uniquely named kadoaties in residence! Despite being a large, busy and (presumably) successful facility, the Kadoatery relies on user’s kindness to feed its client petpets. Luckily for you, the Neopian Times reader, this gives us a unique opportunity to study their diet.

     At the Kadoatery, kadoaties can become hungry and demand food every 28 minutes, but often ask to be fed in longer intervals. Over the 24 hours we were there, there were 27 ‘main’ feeding periods, averaging just over 1 an hour. At each feeding period, we recorded the name of each of the 20 kadoaties demanding food and their desired meal. If you want to learn more about how you can help feed kadoaties at the Kadoatery, check out guides like “The Kadoatery: New Time System Explanation” by vitorplemes in NT Issue #661 and “The Kadoatery: Hot Tips from Over Feeders” by alyndasgallery in NT Issue #720. Now, on to the data!

      Part 1: My Kadoatie will eat HOW often!?

     Based off their names, we recorded how many times each kadoatie was fed over one 24 hour period while staying at the Kadoatery,

     Most kadoaties eat just once every 24 hours, but the average (median) kadoatie eats twice a day. On the high end, three hungry kadoaties asked for food 6 times! (Let’s hope their owners consider putting them on a diet.). For simplicity, we’ll stick with assuming kads will ask for two meals a day.

     Next, it’s important to also consider the quantity of food in each meal. Most Neopians can point out the difference between snacking on a few potato chips every few hours and a full turkey feast – and your kadoatie can too! Luckily for us, each food item comes with an estimated weight. From tracking the weight of the items asked for at the Kadoatery over a day, it’s clear most food items kadoaties ask for weigh 1lb.

     (In case you’re wondering what that one pesky item that weighs nothing is, it’s a Left-over Turkey Steak Sandwich. Stay tuned for a future investigative report on this phenomenon).

     Ignoring the questionable density of food in Neopia, combining an average weight of 1lb with our earlier findings of kadoaties eating twice a day means your kadoatie will eat two pounds of food every 24 hours!

      - Question Period -

     Question: Will painted kadoaties eat more food?

     Answer: No! The colour of the kadoatie doesn’t seem to affect their diet, so grab that petpet paint brush and paint away without worrying about your wallet!

     Question: My kadoatie eats twice the number of food items a day! Will she become overweight?

     Answer: Not necessarily. Astonishingly, most food in Neopia weighs 1lb, regardless of its shape or size. Kadoaties weigh only three pounds, so they’re eating most of their body weight a day anyway. We assume their lightning speed metabolism will take care of it.

     Question: How often should I put out food for my kadoatie to eat?

     Answer: While you should consult with your petpet’s dietician, we recommend feeding your kadoatie two small meals (weighing 1lb or less) approximately 12 hours apart.

      Part 2: The Meat and Potatoes of What Your Kadoatie is Eating (literally)!

     In the second part of this investigation, we wanted to find out what type of foods kadoaties eat. While 518 foods were fed to the kadoaties during our time at the Kadoatery, only 488 foods were unique. Duplicate requests among all kadoaties are not uncommon, but there were no patterns in terms of foods asked for by specific kadoaties. The food types can be visualized using a pie plot,

     Kadoaties are not picky eaters and ask for foods from Terror Mountain to Kiko Lake. If you and your pet choose a kadoatie petpet, be ready to travel all over Neopia to get the exact item they’re looking for. However, you’ll be glad to know that almost 40% of the items can be bought from the Food Shop in Neopia Central (which makes for a much less daunting weekly shopping trip).

     How difficult will the items be to find? See the rarity of each item in the bar graph below,

     Kadoaties will never ask for items with a rarity higher than 95 (how nice of them!). This means no special or retired items will show up either. When your kadoatie starts mewing for the 3rd time today, rest assured you will be able to find what they’re asking for in a Neopian shop. Most items rarities are between 71 and 90, which is still affordable for the average owner. Keep reading to find out more about the cost of feeding your kadoatie!

      - Question Period -

     Question: What are some of the kadoaties favourite foods?

     Answer: Kadoaties do not seem to be picky eaters and enjoy everything! For reference, duplicate items we saw three times during the investigation include Grundo Stix and Turkey Monster, but that doesn’t mean every kadoatie will enjoy those snacks. Get to know yours and figure out what they like!

     Question: My Neopet wants to celebrate their kadoatie’s birthday. What’s a special gift that I could bring?

     Answer: Kadoaties will occasionally ask for gourmet foods like a Chokato Toffee Apple or a Happy Anniversary Negg. Our personal favourite is Kadoatie Biscuits. Bringing one of these for your petpet’s birthday can be an expensive treat!

      Part 3: Budgeting for Your Kadoatie & How to Not Break your Wallet

     In the final part of this investigation, we wanted to find out how much feeding your kadoatie will cost. If you buy kadoatie food from a Neopian shop, you’ll have to travel around:

     Travelling to different lands can be expensive and time consuming. Alternatively, you can get a great deal on some foods buying from user shops found in the Neopian Marketplace using the Shop Wizard.

     The price of each Neopian food item can be calculated in two ways: (1) Based on Neopets estimated value and (2) based on user shop price (with data collected from official partner site Jellyneo). Since we know our readers buy their food from many sources, we’ve provided both in the graph below.

     In general, the Neopets underestimates the selling price of food compared to what the Shop Wizard will find for you. Also notice how the prices rises exponentially when the rarity of the item is over 90. If you’re willing to wait at a Neopian store for what your kadoatie needs, you might find a great deal on some of the more expensive items on your list!

     The average prices per item, weighted according to the average rarity that appears, is 8548 NP based on Jellyneo prices and 1363 NP based on Neopets estimated cost. We’ve assumed that most users will choose convenience and will buy their food from user shops using the Shop Wizard. So, if your kadoatie will eat twice a day, expect to spend approximately 17,000 NP a day (or 6,200,000 NP a year) on your petpet.

      - Question Period -

     Question: I’ve heard some kadoaties ask for expensive food items like a Mega Pipper Sandwich? Help!?

     Answer: While some gourmet foods are favourites of kadoaties, they won’t ask for them as often as most other foods. Unfortunately, kadoaties are stubborn creatures and will refuse to eat anything else until they’ve been fed what they want, so keep this in mind before bringing your kadoatie home!

     Question: I’ve been thinking about buying my first Neohome and want to be close to the store to buy food for my pet’s kadoatie. Where should I live?

     Answer: Although kadoaties are important and demanding petpets, with the shop wizard service you don’t need to worry about being too close to the Neopian shop which sells your kadoatie’s favourite treats!

     In conclusion…

     As we’ve seen in this three-part report, those hungry petpets will devour everything in your Neohome if given the chance. They’re not cheap to take care of but make great companions for your Neopets and can be worth every Neopoint spent! Readers: feel free to share stories of your kadoaties and tips for prospective owners. What did you wish you knew before you got your beloved petpet? We can’t wait to hear from you!

     **Final Note: While this investigation uses real data collected from the Kadoatery, the author is not a registered petpet dietician and holds no responsibility for any unintended effects of feeding your kadoatie according to this guide.