What is Guaranteed Analysis and how is it used in scoring?
Guaranteed Analysis is the nutritional panel on every cat food bag - listing minimum protein and fat, and maximum fibre and moisture. It's the starting point for every score calculation.
Guaranteed Analysis shows minimums and maximums - not exact values. The actual protein content could be higher than stated; the actual moisture could be lower. Scoring uses these stated values as the basis for calculation.
What's included in Guaranteed Analysis
Every cat food sold in most markets must declare:
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Crude Protein (minimum %)
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Crude Fat (minimum %)
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Crude Fibre (maximum %)
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Moisture (maximum %)
Some manufacturers also voluntarily include ash, taurine, or specific mineral levels.
How it's used in scoring
Extract the four core values
Protein, fat, fibre, and moisture percentages are read from the Guaranteed Analysis panel.
Calculate carbohydrates
Carbs are not listed directly. They're calculated as: 100 - Protein - Fat - Fibre - Moisture - Ash (Ash is estimated at ~6% when not stated.)
Convert everything to dry matter basis
All values are converted to dry matter basis to remove moisture and enable fair comparison between products.
Apply the scoring rules
The dry matter protein and carbohydrate percentages are then used in Rules 1 and 2. The ingredient list handles the remaining rules.
The Guaranteed Analysis only covers the amount of nutrients. The quality and source of those nutrients comes from reading the ingredient list - which drives Rules 3 through 9.
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