How Important is Caloric Content in Pet Food?

The caloric content of diets has played little role in the modern epidemic of companion animal obesity. Finding a low calorie diet is not the long term solution to any health problem, and comparing diets based upon this sole criterion is an unfortunate mistake. If Wysong made a diet that was 50 k/cals less than the diet with the fewest calories on the market (which we could easily accomplish), would our new diet be "best?"

Wysong has not placed caloric content front and center on labels, literature, and websites because displaying the information would simply reinforce the public’s perception that nutriton, health, and obesity are about calories. That would be misleading since it has very little to do with pet health.

Those who focus on calories are missing out on some key evaluative criteria. For example:

• Mimicking, as much as possible, the natural carnivorous feline and canine diet
• Feeding in variety and rotation
• Augmenting the diet with raw, fresh foods
• Learning how to properly evaluate pet foods and companies
• Providing properly designed supplements
• Plenty of exercise and time outdoors

We suggest exploring our Learn section in greater depth for honest information, and to gain further understanding of why the myopic calorie/percentage approach to pet nutrition and health is faulty.

Here are two articles to get you started:
Does Your Pet Need a Percentage of Something?
The Real Problem In Pet Feeding
Please also consider Dr. Wysong's book, The Truth About Pet Foods.