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NRC — Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats in dog and cat diets

A short guide to the role of NRC — Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats in dog and cat nutrition.

NRC — Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats

Key points

NRC is the study Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats published in 2006 by the American National Research Council [1]. It is a scientific summary of how much of each nutrient the dog and cat need, based on a review of nutritional research, not on the requirements of a specific food market.

In BARFLAB we treat NRC as the primary point of reference. When we evaluate a diet, we first look at whether it covers the requirement described by NRC. FEDIAF and AAFCO serve as an additional check, described in separate articles [1].

MR and RA — two values for each nutrient

NRC does not give one number per nutrient, but usually two:

  • MR (Minimum Requirement) — the minimum amount that prevents deficiency symptoms in a healthy animal.
  • RA (Recommended Allowance) — the recommended amount with a safety margin, accounting for differences in bioavailability and individual needs [1] [2].

In practice we aim around RA — it's a safer level than the minimum alone. Some nutrients also have a SUL (Safe Upper Limit), i.e. an upper boundary considered safe.

Why the conversion to 1000 kcal

NRC gives the requirement converted to 1000 kcal of metabolic energy (ME). Thanks to this, the same standards work for a small cat and a large dog — the portion is different, but the nutrient density of the diet is comparable. BARFLAB calculates the diet exactly this way, so the results can be sensibly compared regardless of the size of the animal [1].

What to remember

NRC describes the body's needs, not the requirements of a commercial label. That's why it is the best base for evaluating a BARF diet. If the diet does not meet NRC, we treat it as an important signal for improvement [1].

Sources

  1. National Research Council (2006). Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. National Academies Press. https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10668/nutrient-requirements-of-dogs-and-cats
  2. Hand MS, Thatcher CD, Remillard RL, Roudebush P, Novotny BJ (2010). Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, 5th Edition. https://www.markmorrisinstitute.org/sacn5.html