Dry-matter basis

Computed on 2,019 of 2,354 verified labels (85.8%)

A guaranteed analysis states protein "as fed" — with the water still in it. A canned food at 10% protein and a kibble at 30% can end up within a point or two of each other once the moisture is taken out, which is why comparing the two bag numbers directly is the single most common mistake in pet-food shopping. We compute a dry-matter figure on 2,019 of the 2,354 labels we have verified (85.8%); the rest do not disclose enough to do it.

The arithmetic

Dry matter is everything that is not water. If a label says 78% moisture, the food is 22% dry matter. To convert any nutrient, divide the as-fed percentage by the dry-matter fraction: a wet food listing 10% protein at 78% moisture is 10 ÷ 0.22 = 45.5% protein on a dry-matter basis.

Run the same conversion on a kibble at 30% protein and 10% moisture and you get 30 ÷ 0.90 = 33.3%. The canned food that looked like a third of the kibble’s protein actually carries substantially more. Nothing about the food changed — only the basis you compared it on.

Why we show it on every food

Because the alternative is a comparison that is wrong in a predictable direction: it always flatters dry food and always understates wet. Every nutrition figure on this site is shown as fed and on a dry-matter basis, and every ranking that involves composition uses the dry-matter number.

The one figure this does not fix is cost. For that you need calories, not weight — which is why prices here are expressed per 1,000 kcal rather than per pound.

What it cannot tell you

Dry-matter conversion makes two foods comparable; it does not make either of them good. It says nothing about protein quality or digestibility, which is the difference between a named muscle meat and a plant concentrate reaching the same crude-protein number. Crude protein counts nitrogen, and plant nitrogen counts too.

Frequently asked

How do I convert a guaranteed analysis to dry-matter basis?

Divide the as-fed percentage by the dry-matter fraction, where dry matter = 100 minus the moisture percentage. A food at 10% protein and 78% moisture is 10 ÷ 0.22 = 45.5% protein dry-matter.

Why do wet and dry foods look so different on the bag?

Because a wet food is roughly three-quarters water and a kibble is about a tenth. The guaranteed analysis includes that water, so the as-fed numbers are on two different scales until you remove it.

Does a higher dry-matter protein mean a better food?

Not on its own. Crude protein counts plant nitrogen as well as animal, so a food can raise its number with pea or corn protein concentrate. Read the ingredient list alongside the figure.

Related

See it applied

Every figure discussed here is computed on each product page from that food’s own verified label, with gaps marked rather than filled. Start with every priced dog food ranked by cost per 1,000 kcal, browse every verified cat food, or read what is actually in pet food — ingredient prevalence counted across all 2,354 labels. The full extraction method is in the methodology.