I live an hour outside of Atlanta in the country. Need as many money-saving tips as I can get. Myself and another 'rescuer' each have 20+ cats and each of us keep running out of money. Vet/health tips are especially welcome!!
The thing about comparing protein percentages in canned vs dry is that you have to figure it on a dry matter basis---how much water is in it. Wet food is usually 78% moisture. Dry food about 10% moisture. So once you take that out of the equation, even cheap wet food is usually around 45%-50% protein, and, like you said, is usually more digestible and has more meat. So even though it looks lower in protein, it really is higher than almost all dry foods. And hydration is just SO important for kitties since they don't really drink enough---that's why I said mixing canned with dry and adding water is the most cost-effective way to feed many cats.Canned food says right on the side 10-11% protien and dry food is between 30-34% protein, though how USABLE that protein is when digested is questionable.