# Cup of dog food or 8oz?



## aneighbor

Maybe a strange questions, but I wanted some input on this. My dog food says to feed a certin amount of cups per day using a standard 8oz measuring cup. 

Now my measuring cup when full of dog food comes in at 4oz, so would I really need to feed 2 cups for every one the bag says to get the right amount?









Thanks all, just something i've been trying to figure out.


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## Zahnburg

A measuring cup is 8 fl. oz. It is a measure of volume not weight. 

So feed 1 cup for every 1 cup that is recommended.


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## Kayos and Havoc

Yes you would use 2 4oz measuring cups. Although it is a measure of volume and not weight, the instructions are still geared toward a standard measuring cup.


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## Zahnburg

Yes but I believe the OP is stating that 1 cup only WEIGHS 4 oz.


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## aneighbor

Thanks all, appreciate it.


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## rjvamp

According to several companies I have called, Evo, Kumpi and Purina....have all said the same thing....even though the cups may be a weight of 4.8 oz as an example, the cup used for measuring the food at each meal is your standard 8 oz measuring cup. 

If the bag calls for 2 cups a day, that is 2 x 8 oz measuring cups NOT 2 x whatever oz stated on the bag (not 2 x 4.8 oz measuring cups). If you do that your dog WILL NOT get the right nutrition and will lose weight PLUS bug you to death cause they are HUNGRY!


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## rjvamp

Another way to look at it as an EXAMPLE:

Dog A requires 1500 calories per day

Food A is 300 calories per 8 oz cup. Feed 5 cups (standard 8 oz) a day = 1500 calories
Food B is 500 calories per 4 oz cup. Feed 1.5 cups (standard 8 oz) a day = 1500 calories

1000 x 1.5 = 1500 calories, since 500 x 2 = 1000 calories per 8 oz cup, thus 1.5 cups to get 1500 calories
300 x 5 = 1500 calories, since 300 x 1 = 300 calories per 8 oz cup, thus 5 cups to get 1500 calories

This explains why some dogs foods require you to feed less - more nutrient dense and thus what may appear to cost more may cost less or equal out to some degree - all depending on what you are comparing.


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## rjvamp

I'm thinking now my calculations may be off....maybe I misunderstood what the companies were telling me...because, as I go to my cat food, if it is measure by 8 oz cup already, then 2/3 of a cup out of 371 calories would be approx 247 calories and for a 10 lb cat at 25 calories per pound that is about right give or take a few calories.

But when I work out 601 calories per 4.8 oz cup that is 160 calories per oz * 4 oz and that is about 504 calories. That would be way too much for a 10 lb cat. But the side of the bag says 1/2 cup or 4 oz.

So I guess that even if it says 4.8 oz per cup, you still measure per 8 oz cup though. Taking 1/2 cup per 10 lb cat at 601 calories would be approx 300 calories....they are using 30 calories per pound of cat in that instance. That makes more sense to me. So I guess just disregard the 4.8 oz or 4 oz per cup. Measure by 8 oz cup, realizing that one company may be doing a 25 calorie per oz for a cat and another doing 30 calorie per oz per cat....well same scenario can be determined for dogs...it was just easier for me to look at my small bags of cat food









So in Food B above 500 calories per 4 oz cup. Would be fed 500 x 3 cups to get the same amount of calories = 1500. Thus feeding 2 cups less than the Food A that has 300 calories per cup.


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## tintallie

My bag of old formula Acana Grasslands says that 1 cup (volume) = 100g (mass) = 3.5oz and the new formula bag says 1 cup (volume) = 115g (mass) = 4.1 oz.

You should continue using the 8 fl oz measuring cup to transfer the food, but use the scale saying 4oz to determine the amount of food. So if your dog needs 3.5 cups of food, measure out 4oz*3.5 = 14oz of food.


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## rjvamp

This is what Natura told me...I had to go back and re-read it....so if the package says 1/2 cup, it is 1/2 of 8 oz standard measuring cup...not the weight of 8 oz.

"Thank you for contacting Natura Pet Products with your concerns regarding our foods. When the packaging says cup=4.8oz, that is the weight of 1 cup(8 oz standard measuring cup). Please continue to use your standard cooking measuring cups to feed your cat the correct amount of food!"


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## Cassidy's Mom

> Originally Posted By: AngelesVonLobosSo in Food B above 500 calories per 4 oz cup. Would be fed 500 x 3 cups to get the same amount of calories = 1500. Thus feeding 2 cups less than the Food A that has 300 calories per cup.


Exactly. You were originally WAY overthinking it! You can't go by volume with one food and then weight with the other when you're comparing two different foods, it's apples and oranges. I always use the same standard 8 oz measuring cup, no matter how much the food actually weighs. Since it's a general guideline only, I'm not worried so much about how many calories that is - I adjust up or down based on the condition of the dog. 

The only time I care about the number of calories they're getting is when I'm switching from one food to another. You simply multiply the kcals per cup by the number of cups you're feeding of the old food, and then divide that number by the kcals per cup of the new food to get the number of cups to feed of the new food in order to provide the same amount of calories. It's a very simple equation that always works.


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## rjvamp

> Originally Posted By: Cassidys Mom
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted By: AngelesVonLobosSo in Food B above 500 calories per 4 oz cup. Would be fed 500 x 3 cups to get the same amount of calories = 1500. Thus feeding 2 cups less than the Food A that has 300 calories per cup.
> 
> 
> 
> Exactly. You were originally WAY overthinking it! You can't go by volume with one food and then weight with the other when you're comparing two different foods, it's apples and oranges. I always use the same standard 8 oz measuring cup, no matter how much the food actually weighs. Since it's a general guideline only, I'm not worried so much about how many calories that is - I adjust up or down based on the condition of the dog.
> 
> The only time I care about the number of calories they're getting is when I'm switching from one food to another. You simply multiply the kcals per cup by the number of cups you're feeding of the old food, and then divide that number by the kcals per cup of the new food to get the number of cups to feed of the new food in order to provide the same amount of calories. It's a very simple equation that always works.
Click to expand...

I tend to overthink things at times!!! Well, lots of times! LOL


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## Cassidy's Mom

I do too!







But I'm also all about efficiency, so if I can figure out a faster or easier way to do something, I'm doing it! Streamline, streamline, streamline....


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## rjvamp

I like that idea - streamlining makes things so much easier and I might save a few brain cells!


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