Confused About Amounts of Nutrition in Canned Food

lakotawolf

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Hi everyone,

Long-time lurker, first-time poster here ;}

I have a 14-year-old cat, Wintressia, who is in good health. She has never had any serious illnesses or surgeries. She is a lifelong outdoor cat (my mother refused to have pets in the house) who has transitioned to being half-indoor, half-outdoor in the last two years.

I became obsessed with her food when my dog died of cancer, two years ago. I wanted to make sure my cat was on a grain-free, high-meat, very nutritious, etc. etc. food. I tried the gamut until I found a few that fitted both her tastes and my standards:

-Wellness canned

-Merrick Before Grain canned

-Ziwipeak canned

-Weruva canned

Over the course of the last year, I phased out the Wellness and Before Grain, because it just didn't smell right to me (it smelled too sweet/artificial), and my cat seemed to be preferring the Ziwipeak and the Weruva.

I thought things were rainbows and unicorns with the Weruva, because it looks fantastic and Win scarfs it as if it were ambrosia. But then I realized I should be looking at more than just "grain-free with meat as the first ingredient".

So, Win is around 8.5-9 lbs. By what seems to be fairly generally-accepted wisdom, she should be getting 20-30 calories of nutrition per pound per day, which comes to anywhere from 170-270 calories a day. Alternatively, the can of Weruva says a cat should be fed 1 ounce of canned food per lb. of body weight. (Win was almost 9 lbs on the last trip to the vet in February, so I'm going to err on the heavier side.)

Something else I read said that cats should be getting about 12.5 grams of protein a day, and 5.5 grams of fat.

Then I looked at a 3-ounce can of the Weruva. The "guaranteed analysis" is:

Crude Protein (min) 10%

Crude Fat (min) 1.4%

46 calories

But ... are those percentages how much of the canned food is protein? So, 10% of those 3 ounces is protein? If this is the case, that means my cat is getting 10% of 3 ounces - my math is terrible, but Google says that 10% of 3 ounces is 8.5 grams.

So then, per can, my cat is getting -

8.5 grams of protein

1.1 grams of fat

I feed her 3 cans a day, so:

9 ounces of food (total)

25.5 grams of protein

3.3 grams of fat

138 calories

By those calculations, she's not getting enough calories, but she's got the other requirements (protein and fat) met by a landslide. She isn't gaining OR losing weight, so I'm not concerned about that, and her appetite is fantastic (probably too fantastic, really.)

Am I correct on my conjectures about the content of the canned food/percentages? Should I be worried that she's low on calories?

I know I've been massively paranoid about Win's health since my dog died, so I don't know if these are needless fears. :/

Any help/advice is appreciated! Thank you :}
 

goingpostal

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You have to convert wet food to a dry matter basis.  Say you are using the chicken soup version, it is 85% moisture.  You remove that, divide the percent of protein (or whatever) x 15% that is left, then times by 100.  So that's like 67% protein if I did my math right.  Personally I don't count calories or worry much as long as body condition is where it should be.  My cat eat more than some cats, less than others her same size, my dogs are all similar in size but all eat different amounts or maintain or keep their weight. 
 
 
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ldg

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:yeah: In order to calculate the amount of protein, fat, etc. in the food you have to first "remove" (mathematically) the moisture. :nod: At http://www.catcentric.org there is a Dry Matter Basis converter - it's an excel download file, VERY easy to use. Just plug in the numbers on the can, and it'll give you the amounts on a dry matter basis. :)

As to the calories, you'll find numbers ranging from 20 to 45 calories per pound of cat. :lol3: My kitties are mostly older. My youngest is five or six, my oldest are 10. They all seem to need about 15 calories per pound. The only time I tried to figure out the calories was when I pulled up the dry food and put them on timed meals with wet food only. And I used that 20 calories per pound, and they all started gaining weight.

So if she's the right weight, and has been, I wouldn't worry about the calories, she's getting what she needs. :)
 
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lakotawolf

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Oh, derp! Right - I guess there's no protein or fat in the moisture part of the food ;} Thank you. I didn't think about that at all.

LDG - Thank you! I nabbed the Excel file and plugged in the numbers. It gave me:

66.6% protein

9.33% fat

So, that gives me a better idea of what I'm looking at.

Mschauer - I was Googling around last night for info on how much I should feed my cat. I happened on an eHow article - http://www.ehow.com/facts_5219083_much-cat-need-per-day_.html  It's where I saw it stated that a cat should have 12.5 grams of protein a day. The article writer isn't even a vet, so I took the info with a grain of salt.

Win's very happy with the Weruva, and it sounds like the nutritional contents are good for her lifestyle and age. I also have her on a senior vitamin supplement that supplies her with glucosamine, and she is fairly active for a 14-year-old fluff-slug.

I think I'll buy a digital scale and keep a closer eye on her weight. Then I can adjust her food intake if I need to.

Thank you guys for the insights :} 
 
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flintmccullough

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I can better explain this regarding horses, lol, have ridden and shown, since I was 6 yrs old, lol.  Not as many options with grain, as there is with cat food, and your feeding grain, not meat, lol.  First you look at what your doing with the horse, light riding, heavy showing or breeding, that tells you weather you need a feed higher or lower, in fat and protein. If your showing or breeding you want a higher protein.  Then you look at the horse, is he too fat, too thin, or just right, that tells you if you need a feed higher or lower in fat.  There are all sorts of grains, with different fats and proteins, depending on what your looking for.

Then you look at the guide, on the bag. Its just that, a guide, a place to start, and you adjust up or down, depending on the horse. If he is losing weight, you feed more, if he is gaining weight, you feed less.  Horses are fed grain, by the pound.  You weigh the grain.

Its the same with cats. You look at what your doing with the cat, low activity level, high activity level, showing, breeding.  High activity, showing or breeding, you want a higher protein.  Is the cat too thin, overweight, or just right, that tells you how much fat to feed.  Underweight, you would feed a higher fat, overweight you would feed a lower fat, just right, feed the average fat.

Once you know what your looking to feed, then you find a feed, that fits their needs, and one, they will eat. Horses aren't as pickey as cats, lol, unless there is something wrong with the grain, they will eat it.

Then you look at the guide, its just that, a guide, a place to start, you adjust up or down.  In most cases, the guide, recommends much more, than you actualy need to feed the cat.

I feed Blue Wilderness chicken, wet in the morn, dry at night.  Its the highest one in protein and fat, mine are show cats, they need the extra protein and fat.

According to the guide, he should be getting 1 cup, per day. Thats 1/2 cup, twice a day.  According to the can, he should be getting a whole can a day.

He gets 1/2 can in the morn and 1/8 cup dry at night, my vet figured the kcal and we started there, then we had to adjust down.  I wouldn't want any more weight on him, lol.

Senior kitties need nutrition, more protein and depending on the cat, higher or lower fat, depending on the level of activity and their metabolism.

Have you looked at Blue Wilderness Senior?  From memory, I am pretty sure, it has glucosomine and condrotin in it.  It also has antioxadents in it, which is what you want and omega 3/6.  

Best of luck.   
 

Willowy

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It's not quite the same with kittties as it is with horses, though. All cats need lots of protein; they have absolutely zero need for carbs and very little need for fiber (almost zero in their natural diet). High activity, low activity--they all need protein. I'm sure someone else can explain it better, I just don't think that comparing the dietary management of an herbivore to the dietary management of a pure carnivore is terribly useful :dk:.
 
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