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Pet Food Regulations

Pet Food Feeding Recommendations Concerns

Pet food regulations have not established a maximum or minimum calorie content for cat or dog foods, and there are no regulations guiding consistent feeding instructions on pet food labels. The big question is, if recommended feeding guidelines are low (in some cases very low) or high, are pets consuming too many or too few vitamin and mineral supplements when/if owners feed them more or less than recommended amounts?

Pet food regulations have not established a maximum or minimum calorie content for cat or dog foods, and there are no regulations guiding consistent feeding instructions on pet food labels. So of course, pet food feeding recommendations and calories consumed are all over the map. The big question is, if recommended feeding guidelines are low (in some cases very low) or high, are pets consuming too many or too few vitamin and mineral supplements when/if owners feed them more or less than recommended amounts?

Not meaning to bore you with all the science or regulations, a few facts need to be shared to understand the potential concern. A dog or cat’s nutritional needs include protein, fat, fiber, a variety of vitamins and minerals and the pet needs to consume a necessary amount of calories each day. AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) regulations have established nutrient requirements of pet food (such as a certain amount of protein, fat, calcium, vitamin D and so on) and these nutrient requirements are based on the pet consuming a certain amount of calories each day. In other words – for dog food and cat food, regulations require X amount of protein, fat, calcium, vitamin D and so on for every X amount kcals consumed. There is no minimum or maximum calorie requirements (in regulations) for pets per se, the system is…for X amount of calories consumed, there are minimum requirements of protein, fat, calcium, vitamin D and so on.

Most commercial pet foods provide “complete and balanced” nutrition – in other words the daily consumption of pet food provides the cat or dog with 100% of the necessary nutrients (protein, fat, fiber, vitamins and minerals). To base daily consumption amounts on (again, to fulfill ‘complete nutrition’ requirements), pet food manufacturers provide consumers with recommended feeding guidelines on pet food labels. Knowing that regulations require X amounts of protein, fat, calcium, vitamin D for the pet to consume each day, and those nutrient requirements are based on calories consumed…pet food consumers rely on manufacturer recommended feeding guidelines to provide their pet ‘complete and balanced’ nutrition.

But, what happens if a pet owner feeds more than or less than the recommended feeding amount? If the pet food is ‘complete and balanced’ at the manufacturer recommended feeding amount, if the owner doesn’t follow the recommended feeding amount is the pet consuming too many or too few of the required nutrients – such as too much vitamin D or copper or too little calcium or magnesium?

The National Research Council (NRC) – whose research AAFCO nutrient requirements are based on – has established recommended calorie intakes for cats and dogs. They are…

NRC calories

Source dog food: http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/banr/miscellaneous/dog_nutrition_final_fix.pdf

Source cat food: http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/materials-based-on-reports/booklets/cat_nutrition_final.pdf

The above is what the NRC recommends for calorie intake…now let’s look at what various pet foods recommend consumers to feed.

Evanger’s Chicken & Rice Dinner Dog Food

Evangers Chicken Rice dog food

With the above Evanger’s dog food, the low end manufacturer recommended feeding amount (1 ½ cans per day, 30 pound dog) is 395 calories or 43% above NRC suggested calorie intake for a 30 pound inactive dog. The Evanger’s high end recommended feeding amount (2 cans per day, 30 pound dog) is 370 calories or 40% above NRC suggested calorie intake for a 30 pound active dog.

So…if this pet food is ‘complete and balanced’ at 40% above the recommended calorie intake for a 30 pound dog, what if the owner fed the dog less food? Let’s say for example, a 30 pound dog eating this pet food was gaining weight and the owner decided to cut back on feeding by about 40%. Is this dog being shorted 40% of necessary vitamins and minerals for a balanced diet? Would a nutrient deficiency result in this dog?

Another dog food example. Below is another Evanger’s dog food, but with opposite caloric intake…

Evanger’s Slow Cooked Chicken Stew Dog Food

Evangers Chicken Stew dogfood

The low end Evanger’s feeding recommendations (1 ½ can per day, 30 pound dog) results in 278 calories or 42% below NRC suggested calorie intake for a 30 pound inactive dog. The high end manufacturer recommended feeding (2 cans per day, 30 pound dog) is 394 calories or 43% below NRC suggested calorie intake for a 30 pound active dog.

If this dog food is complete and balanced at the manufacturer recommended feeding amount, what happens if the dog is fed more to meet it’s caloric needs? To meet the NRC suggested calorie intake a dog owner would need to almost double the manufacturer recommended feeding. Would this dog’s health be impacted when they also consume double the vitamins and minerals in the pet food?

And unfortunately, we can find the same concerns with cat food…

Freshpet Select Chicken & Beef Cat Food Recipe

Freshpet Select Chicken Beef catfood

The above Freshpet cat food recommended feeding amount (using 3/8 pound for 10 pound cat) is 76 calories or 28% below NRC suggested calorie intake for a lean 10 pound cat; 36 calories or 15% below NRC suggested calorie intake for a overweight 10 pound cat. If this cat food is complete and balanced at the manufacturer recommended feeding – which is 28% below NRC suggested calorie intake for a lean 10 pound cat – what happens to a cat that needs more calories? Is the lean cat – being fed 28% more food to meet its caloric requirements – being overdosed with vitamin and mineral supplements in added food?

Freshpet Select Tender Chicken with Crisp Carrots and Leafy Spinach Cat Food Recipe

Freshpet Chicken Carrots catfood

The above Freshpet cat food suggested feeding amount (1 cup per day, 10 pound cat) is 54 calories or 20% below NRC suggested calorie intake for a 10 pound lean cat; very close to NRC suggested calorie intake for a 10 pound overweight cat. Again, what about the 20% added vitamin and mineral supplements an active, lean 10 pound cat would need to consume to meets its caloric requirements?

 

The concern of too little or too much vitamin and mineral supplements a pet is consuming is magnified when we know that most pet foods utilize what is known as ‘feed grade’ supplements. Feed grade supplements, just like feed grade pet food ingredients, are a lesser quality to food grade supplements and they are often synthetic (man made, not Mother Nature made). To explain it simply, your pet’s body innately understands how to utilize vitamin D obtained from sunshine (Mother Nature made). The same is not true for man made (synthetic) vitamins and minerals.

As example to the concerns of synthetic supplements, from LiveStrong.com “In the 1990s, U.S. researchers led a double-blind placebo-controlled study of the affects of synthetic vitamin supplements on over 18,000 individuals who were smokers, former smokers, or workers exposed to asbestos. After four years, they found that people taking vitamin A had a 28-percent higher incidence of lung cancer, and a 17-percent higher rate of death from any cause. Due to fears about further participant injuries, the study was halted early, and the participants ceased taking the supplements.”

More pet food calories based on manufacturer feeding suggestions…

Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Chicken Dinner with Garden Vegetables Dog Food

Blue Buffalo Homestyle dogfood

The above pet food recommended feeding amount is 58 calories or 9% below NRC recommended calorie intake for an inactive 30 pound dog and 306 calories or 34% below NRC recommended calorie intake for an active 30 pound dog.

 

Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain Free Chicken Recipe Dog Food

Blue Buffalo Freedom dogfood

In the above pet food, the low recommended feeding amount is 49 calories or 8% below NRC suggested calorie intake for an inactive 30 pound dog; the high recommended feeding amount is 329 calories or 35% more than the NRC suggested calories intake for an active 30 pound dog.

 

Castor & Pollux Grain-Free Chicken & Potato Formula Adult Dog Food Can

Organix GF dog food

On the low end of the Castor & Pollux feeding recommendations, the above pet food is just about perfect to what NRC recommends for a 30 pound inactive dog. However on the high end of the feeding recommendation, the pet food is 198 calories or 21% more what NRC suggests for an active 30 pound dog.

 

Castor & Pollux Grain-Free Chicken & Vegetable Dinner Adult Dog Food Can

Ultramix Chicken Veg Dinner dogfood

With this Castor & Pollux dog food, the low end manufacturer recommended feeding amount is 133 kcal or 20% below what NRC suggests for an inactive 30 pound dog. The high end manufacturer recommended feeding is very close to NRC suggestions.

Freshpet Select Grain Free Tender Chicken with Spinach & Potato Dog Food Recipe

Freshpet Select Chicken Spinach dogfood

The above Freshpet dog food feeding recommendation is 254 calories or 38% below NRC suggested calorie intake for a 30 pound inactive dog and 502 calories or 55% below NRC suggested calorie intake for a 30 pound active dog.

Freshpet Select Tender Chicken with Vegetables & Brown Rice Dog Food Recipe

Freshpet Select Chicken Veg dogfood

This Freshpet dog food is 224 calories or 34% below NRC suggested calorie intake for a 30 pound inactive dog and 472 calories or 52% below the NRC suggested calorie intake for a 30 pound active dog.

 

Cat foods…

Blue Buffalo Healthy Gourmet Indoor Chicken Entrée Cat Food

Blue Buffalo Healthy Gourmet catfood

The above cat food’s feeding recommendation is relatively close to NRC suggestions.

 

Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain Free Indoor Chicken Recipe Cat Food

Blue Buffalo Freedom catfood

Again, with a second Blue Buffalo cat food, the recommended feeding guideline is very close to what NRC suggests.

 

Castor & Pollux Organix Grain-Free Organic Chicken Pate Recipe Adult Cat Food

Organix GF Chicken Pate catfood

The above Castor & Pollux cat food feeding recommendation is 48 calories or 18% below the NRC suggested calorie intake for a 10 pound lean cat. The pet food is very close to the NRC suggested calorie intake for a 10 pound overweight cat.

 

Castor & Pollux Natural Ultramix Chicken & Vegetable Stew Adult Cat Food

Ultramix Chicken Veg Stew catfood

And the above Castor & Pollux cat food feeding recommendation is close to NRC recommended calorie intake for a 10 pound lean cat; 64 calories or 26% above NRC suggested calorie intake for a 10 pound overweight cat.

 

Evanger’s Chicken Lickin’ Dinner Cat Food

Evangers Chicken Lickin cat food

The above cat food recommended feeding amount is 71 calories or 26% below NRC suggested calorie intake for a 10 pound lean cat; 31 calories or 13% below NRC suggested calorie intake for a 10 pound overweight cat.

 

Evanger’s Slow Cooked Chicken Stew Cat Food

Evangers Chicken Stew catfood

This Evanger’s cat food recommended feeding guide is 169 calories or 61% below NRC suggested calorie intake for a 10 pound lean cat; 129 calories or 54% below NRC suggested calorie intake for a 10 pound overweight cat.

 

We all need to pay attention to the calories our pets consume. But perhaps there is more than weight issues pet owners need to be concerned with in feeding our pets the proper amount of calories each day. Overdosing or under-dosing our pets with supplements – to my knowledge – has not been closely examined in pet foods that do not meet the suggested calorie intakes. So it is up to us pet owners to give this issue our attention. Try to – as best you can – to stick with manufacturer recommended feeding amounts. If your pet gains weight, or loses weight – try a different food instead of adjusting the amount you feed.  Also realize that many treats include vitamin and mineral supplements, the more treats you feed your pet, you are not only adding to calorie intake, you are adding to their vitamin and mineral supplement consumption.

 

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food

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17 Comments

17 Comments

  1. MARK

    September 1, 2015 at 3:38 pm

    I feed my 50 lb. Dalmatian WELL BELOW the recommendations on the bag of Wellness Dry food I’ve been feeding her for years. She maintains a very healthy weight

    • Casey

      September 1, 2015 at 3:55 pm

      But then the concern is are you under supplementing vitamins/minerals?

      This is an interesting point and you’d think that regulators would be all over it…unless, of course, they only really cared about keeping BPF happy…

  2. Diane

    September 1, 2015 at 3:52 pm

    the biggest problem I have found is that many food makers have fallen into the “OMG the US has a horrible pet obesity problem” and they keep reducing the calories per cup to make up for the fact that the average pet home is for whatever reason unwilling or incapable of measuring their pets food and adjusting based on visual appearance.
    SO MANY foods are now UNDER 400 calories a cup and I consider less than 400 calories a cup DIET food. I want a nutrient dense food no less than 400 cal/cup but far prefer it to be 450-550/cup
    I was feeding Healthwise, but that is being discontinued in Dec so have switched my dogs to Nutrisource performance – 491 calories/cup

  3. Dean

    September 1, 2015 at 4:17 pm

    Susan; not to mess with the premise of the article but the other issue to consider is absorption rates of these minerals and vitamins. In most cases the pet food company is more likely to use products that are taken up in the blood stream very easily, expecting the excess to be exhausted through the urinary tract. In my opinion this the leading cause of crystals and urinary stones in pets. Without enough water flushing the system these minerals will ‘crystallize out’ as the saturation point in the fluid is achieved in the urinary organs.

    With a raw fed dog, we believe, the uptake of these nutrients can be modified in the digestive tract moderating the uptake as needed without the ‘forced absorption’. That also means though that consideration must be given the source of mineral/vitamin. For instance calcium. Many raw diets use the bone mass as the source of calcium which is fine; but many of the blends don’t consider the low uptake of calcium and phosphorus from the bone. Therefore under supplying, by taking only the value from the bone mass total without consideration to the availability. IMO

  4. Diane

    September 1, 2015 at 4:39 pm

    also the NRC recommendations are based on garbage foods like Dog Chow, pedigree etc where the product digestibility is low.
    For example when I fed ProPlan decades ago my dogs ate literally twice what they now eat (cup and calorie wise) to get the same body condition vs what they now get eating a better food.
    When feeding a highly digestible food the calories per lb needed go down a bit
    according to the NRC rec above my active 67lb dog would need 2059+ calories a day. The reality is that using a nutrient dense, highly digestible food she only needs 859- 1000 calories a day depending on what we are doing and those nutrient dense foods are calculated at feeding recommendations to match that in vit/minerals

  5. Laura

    September 1, 2015 at 4:54 pm

    My cat is having to stay in one room due to current living conditions that will hopefully change soon, and even though he’s young, athletic, and playful, having to be sedentary has obviously made him gain weight. His vet recommended his daily calorie intake to be reduced to 180 calories, but after browsing that PDF you linked and seeing the chart on page 7 of average daily energy needs for a cat, I’m very concerned. His overall body build is large, and his vet has told me his ideal weight is 11 to 12 lbs. He used to be 14 lbs, and is now around 12 lbs, but he still has some fat on his belly that hangs down. I’m worried that he’s actually lost some muscle instead of fat, because he’s a bit bony right around his lower spine, above his tail, which is like how he was when he was a stray. He has fat folds on his face (maybe loose skin?), but I don’t feel worried about that because he looked like that even when he was a stray. His vet said that the fat hanging down is just loose skin and that he hasn’t lost muscle, but I’m still really afraid that I’m feeding him a dangerously low amount of calories. Soon enough he’s going to be getting eyelid surgery, which will involve pre-surgery bloodwork and a weigh-in. Should I wait to see how much he weighs and what the blood results say before possibly adjusting his calorie intake, or should I go ahead and feed him the 260 calories the NRC recommends for a 12 lb cat?

    • Laura

      September 1, 2015 at 5:01 pm

      For the record he’s still strong, fast, agile, and a good jumper, but that bit of boniness just has me anxious.

      • Peg

        September 1, 2015 at 8:28 pm

        Laura, I am not a vet but I have owned cats all my life.
        I am so fed up with vets saying male cats should weigh 11-12 pounds.
        Some breeds are big and if yours is a mixed breed then genetically he could larger and therefore weigh a bit more.

        As an example, I have a rescued purebred Maine coon male who came from a horrible situation. Maine coons take up to 6 years to reach full growth and maturity. When I got this boy back in Dec he was 11 pounds and I was sobbing when tgey handed him to me. He is now 18 pounds and not quite as bony but is took 9 months to get this weight on him.

        Laura, your catboy has lost some weight, hence the droopy belly.
        Cats don’t do ab crunches, it’s that simple.

        My favorite rule of thumb came from the most wonderful vet I had years ago.
        He said feed all meat, only meat, and 1 oz of food/ pound of body weight to “maintain” the kitty’s weight.
        My boy Leo eats raw and I am currently feeding 24 oz/day because for his enormous size, and the need to gain weight, he should be at least 20-21 pounds now, this is what my vet suggested. As Leo nears the weight he should be for his size and age I will adjust the ounces accordingly.

        I just took a look at a can of Ziwipeak Rabbit and Lamb that I keep for emergencies and snacks. The feeding instructions on the can say 1/6oz can per 7 pounds of body weight for an adult cat. Kittens and pregnant/nursing need double the amount in 2-3 feedings/day. This is right along the line of what my vet said so many years ago.

        I hope this helps a bit.
        Peg

        • Peg

          September 1, 2015 at 8:36 pm

          Please accept my apologies for the typos.
          I could not find my glasses for the life of me!
          Leo found them and made them into a favorite toy……..they really don’t look like eyeglasses anymore………great big sigh

        • Laura

          September 1, 2015 at 8:44 pm

          He’s mixed and is definitely on the larger side, though not as big as a Maine Coon. I guess I didn’t think to say this in my original comment, but even though he’s lost weight his belly looks the same. I think the only noticeable difference is, like I said, the bit of boniness.

    • Audrey

      September 1, 2015 at 8:09 pm

      Are you feeding him kibble? If so, you should switch to a grain-free wet cat food or a raw diet. Dry foods contain lots of carbs, which contribute to weight gain. Cats thrive on high protein, low carb diets (cats actually require little to no carbs in their diets).

      I would avoid feeding your cat a reduced calorie formula, as they are typically plant-based (cats are obligate carnivores and as such, require a meat-based diet).

      My elderly Siamese slimmed down nicely when I switched her from kibble to wet food. She’s been on a raw diet for three years now and she looks great!

      • Laura

        September 1, 2015 at 8:39 pm

        He used to only eat dry food. Now him and my other cat that I now realize could stand to lose a bit of weight eat both canned and dry, and I’m currently looking for a raw food to switch them over to.

    • Deep Search

      September 6, 2015 at 4:12 pm

      My cat Hal is a bigger cat. I think he at least weighs 12-13 lbs, but his weight is under control. He does have the flabby skin that hangs down on his stomach, but that is genetic. It’s called the “primordial pouch.” Some cats get a lot of saggy skin and some don’t. His mom and sister have tight stomachs. Hal is pretty lean except for the fatty pouch, he is just on the large side. And my long hair cat Edward, who resembles a smaller Maine Coon, still needs to lose some weight, but has lost a decent amount on an all wet food diet. He primarily eats Weruva Paw Lickin’ Chicken– which is lean white meat– and Holistic Select and Halo Impulse pate formulas. The vet said he should get down to 14 lbs. He is a bit larger than Hal in general, but doesn’t have as much of a pouch.

      If your cat is confined to a room it is important to play with the cat to get them to exercise– but then it’s important to exercise all cats. Exercise maintains muscle. My female cat Dinah who usually does not want to eat wet food and is pretty sedentary has been on Orijen and Acana cat kibble and was able to lose weight through monitoring how much of the kibble she eats in a day. The foods are 80% and 70% meat, fish and egg ingredients, which is very good compared to the typical kibble which is half or more carbs. We had tried her on Primal freeze dried food, which also helped, but she didn’t like eating much of it with water added. I try not to feed much fish to my cats, but I also give her some wet food with fish as I am trying to get her to adjust to eating more meat wet food. That is the most effective way to maintain a healthy weight in cats.

      You could try switching your cat to a more nutrient-dense, cat appropriate food and go by the feeding instructions for your cat’s size and see if your cat is able to maintain his weight and muscle masss. Or you could wait for the blood tests and ask the vet about his diet and body condition to be sure he is getting adequate nutrients. Whichever you’re most comfortable doing.

  6. Gitta

    September 1, 2015 at 5:35 pm

    GREAT point Susan! I never thought about it in terms of vitamins and minerals. When you think about it for half a second it becomes so obvious. If a food is complete and balanced based upon the recommended amount – it can no longer be balanced if that amount is changed. It would probably mean the manufacturer is no longer responsible since the consumer did not follow their recommendations.

  7. Debbie

    September 1, 2015 at 6:52 pm

    Great article! This is exactly what I have been struggling with for a while now. My two 50 pound bulldogs have to eat considerable less calories than the manufacturer recommends or their weight gets completely out of control. So, not being able to find a veterinary nutritionist locally, I had to have the University of Tennessee Veterinary Nutrition Department come up with a plan to supplement their meals so they got adequate nutrition. They added fish and a dietary supplement to their food. This is a very real problem.

  8. Debbie

    September 5, 2015 at 9:54 am

    I would also love to hear any suggestions from any of you about the feeding guidelines. The reason I had to seek out a veterinary nutritionist is that my bulldogs have joint problems and I can’t let their weight get out of control. One of them has already had TPLO surgery on one knee and the other one is being done this month. They are each about 50 pounds and eating 475 calories a day. This amount is maintaining their weight as is. But if I look at the feeding guidelines on one of the dry foods I have used in the past it shows feeding 5-6 cups a day for their weight and each cup is 375 calories. No way can we do that. Huge difference.

  9. orfan

    September 12, 2015 at 2:53 am

    So if I (like other posters above) feed my dog less than the amount recommended on the bag so she can lose/maintain a healthy weight (per vet’s instructions), should I be concerned enough about insufficient nutrients to look into supplementing in another way? Should I first take into consideration the other items she consumes (treats, healthy “people food”, the joint supplements she’s already getting) when calculating how much she’s under the recommended amount of each particular nutrient? What about the fact that those items, while largely similar, change day-to-day? Is it worth buying a doggy multivitamin (which I’ve always heard aren’t necessary if you’re feeding a good food), or is it made of mostly human-created, unnatural vitamins (and other suspect ingredients)?

    And I’m not trying to be sassy or sarcastic; I really want to know.

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