Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 29, 2012	Dec. 24, 2011
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 292,497	$ 302,066
Cost of goods sold and occupancy	215,538	221,328
Gross profit	76,959	80,738
Selling, general and administrative expenses	90,053	92,018
Loss from operations	(13,094)	(11,280)
Interest expense	(10,315)	(9,547)
Interest income	65	28
Other expense	(981)	(114)
Loss before income taxes and noncontrolling interest	(24,325)	(20,913)
Income tax benefit	(8,978)	(7,646)
Loss including noncontrolling interest	(15,347)	(13,267)
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest	(78)	(177)
Net loss attributable to Central Garden & Pet Company	$ (15,269)	$ (13,090)
Net loss per share attributable to Central Garden & Pet Company:
Basic and diluted	$ (0.32)	$ (0.27)
Weighted average shares used in the computation of net loss per share:
Basic and diluted	47,871	47,823