Cat food economics - the "daily feeding cost"

There is a no-brainer. We have a 7 kg half Maine Coon, and he eats a lot. So we definitely don't want to break the bank by giving him really fancy things like "a melange of plucked pheasant, yak calf, and goji seeds". On the other hand, if we feed him "random road kill with eleven herbs and spices" everyday, he might end up looking like the picture.

Now, here is something to think about. Pet food manufacturers do try their best to "optimize" per unit cost by adding fillers in their products, like ash, raw fat, starch and ... you guessed it ... air. Chances are, if you feed your feline friend craps-R-us, he'd come back asking for more, more often. Another thing to consider, unlike dogs, cats are very picky eaters. They will not appreciate a meal only 35 different types of natural fibers. After all, cats aren't vegans. What I am saying is that if you leave a full can of food open, your cat won't eat it all right away.

Notice that, for most cat foods, there is always a "recommended daily intake" on the label. While, in our experience this amount, will be more than enough for our 7-kg cat, it is fairly representative. So here is a formula you can use to gauge both your spending and your pussy's well being, and that is to calculate the cost to feed your cat per day:

Daily cost = Unit cost x Recommended daily intake.
This will work if the recommended daily intake is measured in the amount contained in the unit (e.g., 2/3 of a can each day). If they tell you the actual weight (e.g., 200 g for a 400 g unit), then you will have to change the formula a little bit:

Deily cost = Unit cost x (Recommended daily intake / Unit weight).
To test out my theory, I surveyed a few brands from PetSmart, and the daily cost to feed our cat with each of them, based on the published recommended daily intake. Some good, some not so good. You'll be the judge:

Name	Unit price	Rec. intake	Cost
Whiskas Choice	0.33$ / 85 g pouch	8 pouches	2.64$
Blue Buffalo Select	1.09$ / 3 oz. can	4 cans	4.36$
Authority Indoor Formula	0.79$ / 6 oz. can	2 cans	1.58$

From this example alone, it can be seen that Authority gives you the lower per day cost. If you compare the ingredients, you will also find that Authority contains the least amount of crap. So this very crude analysis illustrates how this "daily feeding cost" idea would actually help you choose the best product for you and your cat.

My list is, of course, far from complete. I encourage you to try this out, and you can tell me what your per diem cost it is to feed your beloved four-legged companion.

Also, if you can tell me how to draw an HTML table on Blogger without skipping so many lines, that would also be great.