Pet Care - Frequently Asked Questions - Which is better - Moist or Dry?

Which is better - Moist food or dry?

How the food is presented is of minor importance compared to what the ingredients are or their proportions. Moist foods tend to be tastier than dry but that is mainly because moist foods tend to be higher in protein and fat. Dry food is more convenient and usually more economical. When comparing the analysis of moist and dry foods it is necessary to allow for the difference in moisture content.

A moist food with a declared 10% protein and 80% moisture has 10g of protein in 20g of dry matter i.e. 50% protein on a dry matter basis.

A dry food with declared 20% protein and 10% moisture has 20g of protein in 90g of dry matter i.e. 22.2% protein on a dry matter basis.

The dry food although appearing to have twice as much protein actually has less than half as much protein on a dry-matter basis.