Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Mar. 26, 2016	Mar. 28, 2015	Mar. 26, 2016	Mar. 28, 2015
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 541,249	$ 497,602	$ 901,061	$ 804,922
Cost of goods sold and occupancy	371,910	347,540	631,936	566,879
Gross profit	169,339	150,062	269,125	238,043
Selling, general and administrative expenses	109,936	100,091	200,949	186,934
Income from operations	59,403	49,971	68,176	51,109
Interest expense	(7,096)	(11,876)	(29,241)	(22,379)
Interest income	9	18	31	89
Other expense	(88)	(121)	(561)	(489)
Income before income taxes and noncontrolling interest	52,228	37,992	38,405	28,330
Income tax expense	18,793	14,012	13,593	10,043
Income including noncontrolling interest	33,435	23,980	24,812	18,287
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	738	743	717	747
Net income attributable to Central Garden & Pet Company	$ 32,697	$ 23,237	$ 24,095	$ 17,540
Net income per share attributable to Central Garden & Pet Company:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.67	$ 0.48	$ 0.50	$ 0.36
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.65	$ 0.47	$ 0.48	$ 0.35
Weighted average shares used in the computation of net income per share:
Basic (in shares)	48,717	48,384	48,641	48,882
Diluted (in shares)	50,445	49,439	50,558	49,689