Convert to a dry-matter basis
Cat food labels list nutrients as percentages of the food as it comes in the can or bag— water included. Because a wet food can be >75% water and a kibble under 10%, comparing those label percentages directly is misleading. Removing the water puts every food on the same footing: this is the dry-matter basis, and it’s how every nutrient on this site is normalized. Enter a nutrient’s as-fed value in whatever unit the label uses — %, g/kg, mg/kg, or IU/kg for vitamins — along with the food’s moisture, and you’ll get its dry-matter value (with the % equivalent shown too). You can add any nutrient we track — protein, fat, the minerals, taurine, and each omega component — or add a field of your own. See the methodology for the full reasoning.
Calorie density (kcal/kg)
Labels usually print calories per can, cup, or pouch. To compare foods you need calories per kilogram — the standard density. Enter the calories for one serving and that serving’s weight (ounces or grams) to get kcal/kg.
Phosphorus per 100 kcal
Phosphorus matters for cats with kidney concerns, and it’s often published as milligrams per 100 kilocalories rather than as a percentage. Enter that figure along with the food’s calorie density and moisture to see the equivalent dry-matter percentage. The same tool works for any mineral published on an energy basis.
Find a missing moisture value
Sometimes a label doesn’t state moisture but does publish both an as-fed and a dry-matter value for a nutrient. From any such pair you can work backward to the moisture. Enter a few pairs — they should all point to the same moisture, which is the check that confirms the answer.
For informational purposes only — not veterinary advice. These calculators do the same arithmetic used to prepare the data on this site; the methodology page explains every formula and where the numbers come from.
