Editorial Policy
This page explains how DryCatFood.org is put together. What we publish, where the information comes from, how it gets checked, and what happens when we get something wrong.
We wrote it so you can judge the site instead of taking it on trust.
What this site is
DryCatFood.org is an independent reference for people feeding cats in the United States. The audience runs from one kitten in an apartment to a barn full of working cats.
Veterinary schools, the FDA, and AAFCO publish solid information on feeding cats. The problem is where it sits. It’s spread across university fact sheets, federal pages, and technical standards, and written for readers who already know the vocabulary.
We gather that work and organize it around the questions owners actually ask. Figures get turned into cups, bags, and days, with the source named beside each one.
The site covers six areas: feeding, nutrition, cats by life stage and lifestyle, common health needs, brands, and feeding supplies.
What this site is not
We’re not a pet food company. We don’t make, sell, or test cat food. Nobody here runs feeding trials or reports results from their own cats. You won’t find a first-person feeding claim, a claimed test, or an invented owner quote on this site.
We’re not veterinarians. On a site about what cats eat, that line matters enough to get a section of its own, which comes next.
We don’t test products. Brand and supply guides come from labels, manufacturer documentation, published nutrient data, and patterns across verified buyer feedback. Where a point rests on owner reports rather than a label, the guide says so.
We’re not a replacement for your vet. Your veterinarian knows your cat’s weight history, bloodwork, and body condition. This site is a starting point, not the last word.
Where our guidance stops
A wrong food choice usually costs money. Sometimes it costs a cat’s health. Three rules follow from that, and they apply to every page on the site.
We describe. We don’t diagnose. A guide can explain what a urinary formula is built to do and which signs mean trouble. It can’t tell you what’s wrong with your cat. Several problems look alike, and some can’t wait. A sick cat needs a vet, not a search result.
We don’t prescribe diets or doses. Prescription diets for kidney, urinary, and other conditions are sold through veterinarians for a reason, and so are medications. We explain what these products are. Choosing one, and how much to feed, belongs to your vet.
Cats aren’t small dogs. Cats need certain nutrients from their food, including taurine, that dogs can make enough of on their own. A food can be complete for a dog and still leave a cat short. Every figure on this site names the species and life stage it fits.
Who writes the site
Four people research, write, verify, and edit what you read here. Each covers a defined area, which keeps the sourcing consistent within it. You can see who they are on the About page.
Guides publish under a shared Editorial Team byline. Most guides pass through more than one person, so crediting a single author would misrepresent who did the work.
How we choose what to write about
We write for questions cat owners actually ask. A topic has to clear two tests before it gets written.
Is it a real question? If nobody is asking it, a page answering it serves nobody.
Can we answer it better than what already ranks? If the first page covers it well, we need something specific to add. Portions worked out in calories instead of guessed in cups. Protein converted to a dry matter basis so two foods can be compared fairly. A life stage statement read off the actual label. A feeding mistake that quietly puts weight on cats.
If neither test passes, we don’t publish. Filling a content grid is not a reason to write a page.
Where our information comes from
Sources are used in this order.
Veterinary schools. Cornell Feline Health Center and the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts publish practical, reviewed guidance on feeding cats. This is the backbone of the site.
Federal agencies and standards bodies. The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine for pet food labeling rules. AAFCO for the cat food nutrient profiles that define complete and balanced. The National Research Council for energy requirements. NIH PubMed Central for peer-reviewed studies.
Veterinary professional groups. AAHA and AAFP for nutrition and weight guidelines, WSAVA for advice on choosing a pet food, and the Veterinary Oral Health Council for dental product claims.
Manufacturer documentation. Labels, guaranteed analyses, calorie statements, and published nutrient data, used for brand guides.
Aggregated buyer feedback. Patterns across verified purchase reviews, used only for practical points like kibble size and packaging, and always identified as owner reports.
What must carry a source
Any figure that changes by food, life stage, or cat names its source in the sentence where it appears.
That covers calories per cup and daily calorie needs, protein and fat levels, moisture, AAFCO nutrient minimums, life stage statements, feeding amounts, weight and body condition guidance, and dental claims.
Attribution sits in the text, not in a footnote. You should see which source backs a number while you’re reading it.
Every feeding figure also names the life stage it applies to. That rule has no exceptions here.
How a figure gets verified
Every number is opened in the publication it cites and checked before the guide goes live. Not a summary of it. Not another blog quoting it. The publication itself.
Brand figures are checked against the current label or the maker’s published data. If a claim can’t be traced to a named source, it comes out of the draft.
Verification happens before publication, never after. That’s the whole reason the order matters.
When sources disagree
Respected sources don’t always print the same number.
Moisture in dry food shows this well. Cornell Feline Health Center puts it at 6 to 10 percent. The FDA says dry pet food typically runs 10 to 12 percent. Both describe real foods, summarized in different ways.
Where that happens, we give both figures and name each source. Averaging them would produce a number nobody published.
When the research is thin
Some questions have no solid published answer. Senior formulas are one example: AAFCO has no senior nutrient profile, so senior means whatever the maker decides it means. Many front-of-bag terms fall into the same gap.
We say so. A guide that states its limit is more useful than one that fills the space with a guess.
How we write about brands
Brand guides read every food the same way: life stage statement, calories per cup, protein on a dry matter basis, and what the company will tell you about who formulates its food.
We name real drawbacks, not polite ones. A food can be complete and balanced and still be a poor fit for a particular cat, and the guide says which cats it suits.
We don’t take sides between budget and premium. The FDA notes that premium and gourmet foods aren’t held to a higher nutritional standard than other complete and balanced foods, and our guides reflect that.
Tools we use
Our writers use research and drafting tools, including AI assistance, at the drafting stage.
No figure publishes on that basis. The person responsible for the guide checks every number against the publication it cites, then edits the draft before it goes live.
The tool behind a first draft isn’t what makes a guide reliable. Verification is, and that’s where the work goes.
How we cover products
Product guides follow stricter rules than the rest of the site, because the risk of overstating is higher there.
- We don’t claim hands-on testing or feeding trials, because we don’t do them
- Nutrition figures come from labels and manufacturer data, not from other review sites
- Practical points come from patterns across verified buyer feedback, and say so
- We name honest drawbacks, not decorative ones
- We don’t publish prices, because they change faster than we can update them
- We don’t link to prescription diets, prescription medications, or supplements sold only through vets
- Every food link names the life stage the food is formulated for
If we can’t document a claim about a product, it doesn’t appear.
How we make money, and what it doesn’t buy
Some pages carry affiliate links. If you buy through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Our affiliate disclosure covers it in full.
No company pays for placement, for a rating, or for coverage. Nobody outside the editorial team sees a guide before it publishes. A food that falls short gets written up as falling short, link or no link.
We don’t accept sponsored posts, paid guest posts, or link placements.
Corrections and updates
Corrections. If we publish something wrong, we fix it. A correction states what changed and which source the fix came from. We don’t quietly edit a figure and leave the page looking untouched.
Updates. Foods get reformulated. Labels change. Recalls happen. Feeding guidelines get revised. When a source we cite changes, the guide changes with it.
Reporting an error. Send the page address and the figure to editor@drycatfood.org. Telling us which bag or publication you’re comparing against speeds it up considerably.
A reader correction is a favor, not a complaint. People holding the bag often spot a reformulation before we do.
Review schedule
Brand guides get checked at least once a year, and sooner when a maker announces a change or a recall touches the brand.
Guides that cite feeding guidelines, calorie formulas, or label rules get reviewed when the source changes or a reader flags something. Settled material, such as converting protein to a dry matter basis, rarely needs more than that.
Images
Photographs show real cats, real food, and real feeding gear. Team photos on the About page show the actual people who work on the site. Nowhere else do we present a person as an owner speaking for the site.
We don’t show cats in distress. Diagrams and charts are built from the same sourced figures used in the guide they sit in.
Questions about this policy
Write to editor@drycatfood.org. If something here is unclear, that’s worth knowing.
Last reviewed: 10/03/2026