Pet Food Score - Petfood Advisor

Basics of cat nutrition • Can cats digest carbohydrates even though they are carnivores?

2026-05-26T16:33:23+00:00

Hello everyone,

I have a question about the place of carbohydrates in cat nutrition. Since cats are known to be obligate carnivores, I often read conflicting information about whether they can actually digest carbs properly or not.

Could you explain to what extent cats are able to digest and use carbohydrates (especially cooked starches in kibble or wet food), and how this fits with their physiology as carnivores? Do you think carbs can be a useful energy source for cats when used in reasonable amounts, or should they be kept as low as possible because of potential digestive or metabolic issues?

Thank you in advance for your explanations and experiences.

Statistics: Posted by Frédéric Gonnot — Tue May 26, 2026 4:33 pm — Replies 0 — Views 193

Fear-based claims • Why do so many people share “toxic kibble alerts” on Facebook?

2026-05-26T16:31:49+00:00

Hello everyone,

I have noticed that there are a lot of “toxic kibble alerts” being shared on Facebook groups and pages, sometimes with very alarming messages about certain brands or recipes. These posts are often widely shared and commented on, which can create a strong feeling of fear and confusion among pet owners.

I would like to understand why so many people rely on and share these alerts instead of using more neutral or professional sources of information, such as veterinary nutritionists or official analyses. Do you think these Facebook alerts are helpful to raise awareness, or do they mainly spread anxiety and sometimes misinformation about pet food?

Thank you in advance for your opinions and experiences.

Statistics: Posted by Frédéric Gonnot — Tue May 26, 2026 4:31 pm — Replies 0 — Views 201

Label reading • Why aren’t carbohydrate levels displayed for pet food?

2026-05-26T16:30:46+00:00

Hello everyone,

I have a question about how information is shown on pet food packaging. In animal nutrition (for farm animals, for example), carbohydrate values are usually provided in a clear and standardized way, but for dog and cat food these carb levels are almost never displayed directly on the label.

Do you know why manufacturers do not indicate carbohydrate percentages for pet food, even though this information seems important and is commonly available in other areas of animal nutrition? Is it because of regulations, industry habits, or because these values would only be approximate? I would be very interested in your explanations and any sources you might have.

Statistics: Posted by Frédéric Gonnot — Tue May 26, 2026 4:30 pm — Replies 0 — Views 200

Ingredient analysis • I prefer ingredient lists over carbohydrate levels

2026-05-26T16:29:43+00:00

Hello everyone,

Personally, I do not rely on carbohydrate percentages at all when I evaluate a pet food. I know these values are often estimated and can be quite unreliable, so I do not use them as a real decision criterion.

Instead, I focus on the ingredient list and try to understand the quality and origin of the ingredients used, as well as their proportion in the recipe. For me, this gives a clearer and more concrete picture of what my pets are actually eating than an approximate carb calculation.

Statistics: Posted by Frédéric Gonnot — Tue May 26, 2026 4:29 pm — Replies 0 — Views 212

Basics of dog nutrition • Why do people rely on carbohydrate levels if they are said to be unreliable?

2026-05-26T16:28:34+00:00

Hello everyone,

I often see people comparing pet foods based on their carbohydrate percentage, even though many sources say that these values are not very reliable because carbs are usually calculated “by difference” from incomplete label data. This makes me wonder why carbohydrate levels are still used so much as a decision factor.

Could you explain why so many people continue to rely on estimated carbohydrate percentages when choosing pet food, despite the fact that these calculations can be inaccurate and do not distinguish between different types or qualities of carbohydrates? Do you think these carb-based comparisons are still useful as a rough indicator, or should they be considered too unreliable to base feeding decisions on?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and experiences.

Statistics: Posted by Frédéric Gonnot — Tue May 26, 2026 4:28 pm — Replies 0 — Views 208

Common misconceptions • Why create a petfood-score ABCDE if label data are unreliable?

2026-05-26T16:27:30+00:00

Hello everyone,

I have a question about the petfood-score ABCDE concept. If the information on pet food labels is often incomplete, unclear, or even unreliable, why do we still base an ABCDE scoring system on these data?

Isn’t there a risk that the score itself will be biased or misleading if the underlying label information is not fully trustworthy? I would be interested to know how this issue is taken into account, and whether there are ways to improve the reliability of the score despite these limitations.

Thank you in advance for your insights and explanations.

Frédéric Gonnot

Statistics: Posted by Frédéric Gonnot — Tue May 26, 2026 4:27 pm — Replies 0 — Views 211

Why we do not rate pet food A-B-C-D-E • What are the rating criteria behind these ABCDE scores?

2026-05-26T16:26:12+00:00

Hello everyone,

I have seen that there are many different ABCDE scoring systems for pet food, and it looks like each one uses its own method and criteria. This makes it difficult to understand how the final grade is calculated and to compare products fairly.

Could you please explain which criteria are usually taken into account for these ABCDE scores (for example: ingredient quality, meat content, additives, processing level, nutrient balance, etc.)? And is there any way to know in detail how each system weights these factors, since there are many different approaches?

Thank you in advance for your explanations and for helping to clarify how these ratings actually work.

Statistics: Posted by Frédéric Gonnot — Tue May 26, 2026 4:26 pm — Replies 0 — Views 200

Petfood-Score methodology • Which petfood-score ABCDE version should I use?

2026-05-26T16:25:08+00:00

ello everyone,

I have noticed that there are many different versions of the petfood-score ABCDE system, and I am a bit confused about which one I should use. Some ratings seem to differ quite a lot from one version or website to another.

Could you please tell me which version of the petfood-score ABCDE you consider the most reliable, and why? Are these rankings generally trustworthy, or should they be taken with caution and always checked against other sources (such as ingredient lists and veterinary advice)?

Thank you in advance for your feedback and recommendations.

Statistics: Posted by Frédéric Gonnot — Tue May 26, 2026 4:25 pm — Replies 0 — Views 207

Member introductions • Frédéric Gonnot, I live in Switzerland

2026-05-26T16:23:52+00:00

Hello everyone,

My name is Frédéric Gonnot, I live in Switzerland and I am new to this forum. I have a cat and a dog, and I am currently exploring Petfood Advisor.

I would like to know if it is possible to create and manage several different profiles on this platform (for example, one profile for my cat and another one for my dog), or if each account is limited to a single profile only.

Thank you in advance for your help and any information you can share.

Statistics: Posted by Frédéric Gonnot — Tue May 26, 2026 4:23 pm — Replies 0 — Views 206

Forum rules • Question about creating multiple profiles

2026-05-26T16:21:29+00:00

Hello everyone,

My name is Frédéric Gonnot and I have a quick question about Petfood Advisor.

Is it possible to create and manage several different profiles on this platform (for example, one for each of my pets), or is each account limited to a single profile only?

Thank you in advance for your help and any clarification you can provide.

Statistics: Posted by Frédéric Gonnot — Tue May 26, 2026 4:21 pm — Replies 0 — Views 199