Nutrition
Reading a cat food label without losing your mind
Four things on the packet that actually tell you something, and several that are marketing. Where to look first, and what to ignore.
Last reviewed
Cat food packaging is designed to be reassuring rather than informative. Most of the front of the bag is marketing. Almost everything useful is on the back, in small type, in a fixed format that is the same across brands — which makes it easy to compare once you know where to look.
1. The nutritional adequacy statement
This is the single most useful sentence on the packet. It says whether the food is complete and balanced, and for which life stage — growth, adult maintenance, or all life stages. A food that is labelled complementary is a topper or a treat, not a meal, however good it looks.
Match the life stage to your cat. A kitten fed adult maintenance food is being underfed for growth; an inactive senior on a growth formula is being overfed.
2. The ingredient list
Ingredients are listed by weight before cooking. That matters more than it sounds: fresh meat is mostly water, so a fresh chicken listed first can contribute less actual protein than a dry meat meal listed third. Neither is a trick — it just means position alone does not rank contribution.
Cats are obligate carnivores. Animal protein should be prominent. Beyond that, an ingredient being unfamiliar is not evidence that it is bad.
3. Guaranteed analysis
Minimum protein and fat, maximum fibre and moisture. The catch is that wet and dry food cannot be compared directly from these numbers, because wet food is roughly 75% water and dry is roughly 10%. Comparing the printed percentages will always make dry food look higher in protein than it is relative to wet.
4. Feeding guidelines
Treat these as a starting point, not a prescription. They are calculated for an average cat of a given weight, and your cat is a specific one. Body condition — whether you can feel ribs easily, whether there is a visible waist from above — tells you more than the chart does.
What to ask a vet rather than a packet
Weight loss or gain, urinary problems, kidney disease, diabetes, and food allergies all change the answer entirely, and no label is written for a cat with a diagnosis. If your cat has one, the diet is a clinical decision. Bring the packet to the appointment — the adequacy statement and guaranteed analysis are exactly what your vet will want to see.