Help figuring out k/cals per tbsp

[mrw5641]

Hi there!

Never had a large can of cat food before, but 12.5 oz is 386 k/cals and I am trying to figure out how many k/cals per tablespoon?

What I thought and calculated is wrong

Any suggestions or ideas?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi! For simplicity's sake, I would use the 'liquid' conversion, so 0.5 oz = 1 tablespoon. So, there would be about 24.5 tablespoons in a 12.5 oz can. 386/24.5 = 15-16 calories per tablespoon. It's not totally exact, but would assume it is close enough for your purposes?

 

[mrw5641]

That sounds right thank you!@ So maybe I did to it right it just didn't seem correct. I got 15.44 calories per tablespoon..

We look out 9 TBSPs and it came out to over half of a can which is why it had me all confused.

However this batch of food, I spoke to the company Rayne, the food didn't bind so good so it is more mushy

I did order a food scale too!

 

[FeebysOwner]

A rounded tablespoon vs. a level tablespoon?

 

[mrw5641]

Possibly rounded, I have to better observation.

Do you think if the food is more wet that would make a difference in the can?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Not much of difference, IMO. But, when using a liquid conversion, the tablespoon would have to be leveled off in order to better equal 0.5 ounce. If you rounded them, that would explain why you only got ~9 tbsp from half a can (vs. ~12 tbsp when level). I bet if you leveled the measuring spoon, you'd be closer.

 

[ladytimedramon]

I go by the scale. Less headache.

 

[Caspers Human]

I agree to go by weight. That's the way the food scientists calculated things when they put that information on the label.

Just for fun facts: The way it's done is to put a specific amount of food into a device called a "bomb calorimeter" and burn it then measure the heat given off. Then they do a little bit of math and come up with a figure of so many calories of heat given off per unit measure of food.

Calorimeter - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

So, if you want to calculate how much food to feed your cat, you should use the same methods that the food scientists used... Minus the bomb calorimeter, of course!

Therefore: If your can of cat food contains 12.5 oz. avdp. and that food gives 386 Kcal of energy...
386 Kcal ÷ 12.5 oz. = 30.88 Kcal/oz.

I suggest getting a scale and weighing out your amounts until you decide on the portion you want to feed your cat. Then, when you have made your decision, find a volume measure that holds the amount of food you want to feed.

Let's do some thumbnail math.
An average indoor cat needs approx. 20 Kcal per pound of body weight to maintain a healthy diet. A ten pound cat needs approx. 200 Kcal worth of food per day.

Divide your cat's caloric requirement per day by the caloric content of your food to get the amount of food needed.
200 Kcal/day ÷ 31 Kcal/oz. = 6.45 oz. of food per day.

You can weigh out 6.45 oz. of food then find a graduated measuring cup then find out how much food to feed by volume then you would know how much to feed every day.

But there's an easier way!

Just feed half a can of food per day!

A can of food contains approx. 12 oz. and you need to feed about 6 oz. of food per day.

That's two servings per can.

Why mess around measuring down to the microgram when you can just do it the easy way.

 

[daftcat75]

I'd buy a food scale and go by weight instead. If the can has the big ME (metabolic energy) kcal/kg value listed on the back, divide that by 1000 to get calories per gram. A shredded texture will come in anywhere from 0.6 to 1.0 calories per gram. A pate will start around 1.0 calories per gram and can get up as high as 1.5 calories per gram. The more soupy the texture, the fewer calories per gram.

 

[mrw5641]

Food scale coming today :-)

 

[mrw5641]

It seemed like the can I got was only 9 oz out of the 12.5 oz it advertises. daftcat75

Do you weigh the kibble the same way? I did a measurement with the scale and it didn't seem to match up

 

[daftcat75]

It seemed like the can I got was only 9 oz out of the 12.5 oz it advertises. daftcat75

Do you weigh the kibble the same way? I did a measurement with the scale and it didn't seem to match up

I have found cans usually don’t weigh out as advertised. But never such a difference as you measured. But this is why I measure portions by weight rather than volume. If your label has the big ME number (sometimes labeled as “Calorie Content” or “Metabolic Energy”) in Kcal/Kg, divide that number by 1000 and you’ll get the calories per gram. And yes, this calculation works the same for kibble as well.

 

[Caspers Human]

It seemed like the can I got was only 9 oz out of the 12.5 oz it advertises.

Is the scale set for the right units. Could it be set on Troy oz. instead of oz. avior?

Has the scale been calibrated?

If you weigh exactly one liter of water it should come out to 1 kilo or 2.205 lb. avdp. (2 lb. 3.28 oz.)

What about the tare function?
That‘s the feature that lets you put a container on the scale and set the display to zero so that you are only weighing your food and not the container.

Make sure the scale’s display is set to zero and show the right units then weigh something you know the weight of and see if it comes out right.

If it’s not coming out right, either get the scale recalibrated or take it back to the store and get another.