Better information for the animals who depend on us.
I created the Purrs McBarkin’ Pet Wellness Blog to make dog and cat nutrition clearer, more practical, and easier to understand.
Pet nutrition can become confusing very quickly. Labels are filled with percentages, ingredient lists, feeding directions, health claims, and carefully chosen marketing language.
Online discussions can make things even more confusing. Strong opinions are often presented as facts, important context is left out, and simple answers are offered for subjects that are rarely simple.
My goal is to explain the information honestly, acknowledge its limitations, and help pet owners make more informed decisions for the dogs and cats in their care.
Pet owners deserve more than marketing and guesswork.
Clear explanations
Pet nutrition should not require a scientific background to understand. I explain complicated subjects in practical language without stripping away the details that matter.
Independent information
Manufacturer advertising, package claims, and sales materials are not treated as proof. I look for independent evidence and disclose uncertainty when the evidence is limited.
Respect for the reader
I do not believe education should be used to frighten people or talk down to them. It should help them understand the issue and make a better decision.
My name is Dave Zanoni.
I am the owner and operator of Purrs McBarkin’, an independent pet nutrition store in Hartsville, South Carolina. I am also a Certified Canine and Feline Nutritionist through Southern Illinois University.
I pursued formal nutrition education because I wanted to provide people with more than personal opinions, package claims, or something repeated online.
I wanted to better understand how nutrients work together, what dogs and cats actually require, how feeding choices should be evaluated, and where the information available to pet owners can fall short.
This blog is where I share what I have learned in a way that is useful, honest, and understandable.
I do not claim to know everything. The more I have learned about nutrition, the more I have come to respect its complexity.
The more I learned, the more careful I became.
One of the most valuable parts of my nutrition education was also one of the most difficult.
For my final exam, I had to formulate balanced meals for dogs and cats. That included meals for healthy animals as well as animals with medical conditions.
It was extremely challenging. It was also eye-opening and humbling.
Every ingredient had to serve a purpose. Calories, protein, essential amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, nutrient ratios, life stage, health status, and the needs of the individual animal all had to be considered.
That experience showed me how easy it is for a meal to look healthy while still being nutritionally incomplete.
Chicken, rice, vegetables, and blueberries may sound wholesome. The person preparing that meal may be doing it completely out of love. I would never criticize that love.
But wholesome-looking ingredients do not automatically provide every nutrient a dog or cat requires.
Love may choose the ingredients, but science must complete the bowl.
Proper formulation requires much more than combining meat, vegetables, fruit, and a carbohydrate source. It also cannot be repaired by casually adding a multivitamin or several supplements afterward.
Supplements can be part of a properly formulated recipe, but they must be selected and calculated for that specific recipe. Adding nutrients without knowing what is already present, what is missing, and how much is required can create additional imbalances.
Even with my education, I do not casually formulate homemade diets for my own pets. Could I work through the calculations? Yes. But I also understand how much precision is involved and how easily a diet can change when an ingredient is substituted, omitted, measured differently, or prepared another way.
Homemade food is not automatically bad. A properly formulated homemade diet may be appropriate for some animals.
Homemade is not the problem. Guesswork is.
Education that goes beyond the front of the bag.
There is no single perfect food for every dog or cat. Animals are individuals, and their needs can change according to species, age, body condition, activity level, digestion, medical history, food tolerance, and many other factors.
This blog does not declare one feeding method universally correct. Its purpose is to explain the principles behind nutrition so readers can understand the information, recognize its limitations, and ask better questions.
- Dog and cat nutrition
- Pet food labels and ingredient lists
- Protein, fat, carbohydrates, and calories
- Vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids
- Hydration and moisture
- Weight and body condition
- Feeding practices and common mistakes
- Homemade diet considerations
- Supplements and nutritional claims
- Senior pet nutrition
- Digestive health
- Questions to discuss with a veterinarian
Science matters. So do independence and context.
Numbers and ingredient lists can be useful, but they do not tell the entire story by themselves.
A crude protein percentage does not explain amino acid balance, digestibility, nutrient availability, or whether that amount is appropriate for a particular animal.
An ingredient list does not independently prove quality, sourcing, safety, manufacturing standards, digestibility, or suitability.
When researching an article, I prioritize independent peer-reviewed research, recognized nutrient standards, government and regulatory information, veterinary literature, and sources that clearly disclose their funding and limitations.
I do not use pet food advertisements, manufacturer blogs, sales materials, or package claims as scientific evidence.
I also avoid relying on research funded, produced, or materially influenced by major pet food manufacturers whenever credible independent evidence is available.
When the evidence is strong, I will say so. When it is limited, mixed, uncertain, or still developing, I will say that too.
Confidence should come from understanding the evidence, not from overstating it.
This blog is education, not a sales pitch.
I own an independent pet nutrition store, but this blog was not created to promote products, push brands, or steer readers toward something I sell.
It is not a brand-review website. I do not use these articles to praise brands I carry, attack brands I do not carry, or tell readers what they should buy.
The purpose of this blog is to explain nutrition, ingredients, labels, feeding practices, and pet wellness topics as clearly and honestly as I can.
This website contains no paid advertising, sponsored articles, affiliate links, or commissions.
I do not earn money when someone reads an article, follows a link, or uses one of the educational tools.
No manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or outside company controls what is written here.
My responsibility is not to sell a product or protect a brand. It is to provide useful, independent information that helps pet owners make more informed decisions.
Tools designed to make the numbers easier to understand.
The blog includes free calculators and label-analysis tools that help pet owners work with information found on pet food packaging.
These tools can help explain dry matter values, estimated carbohydrates, calorie information, protein percentages, and other label details.
They cannot prove the overall quality of a food or determine whether a product is appropriate for an individual animal.
They are educational tools, not product recommendations and not a substitute for professional judgment.
Education is not a diagnosis.
I am a Certified Canine and Feline Nutritionist. I am not a veterinarian, and I do not represent myself as one.
The articles and tools on this website are provided for general educational purposes. They do not diagnose disease, prescribe treatment, replace veterinary care, or create an individualized therapeutic diet.
Animals with symptoms, diagnosed medical conditions, abnormal laboratory results, or specialized therapeutic dietary needs should be evaluated by a veterinarian or an appropriately qualified veterinary specialist.
Understanding where your knowledge ends is not a weakness. It is part of being responsible.
Animals cannot read labels, question marketing claims, or choose what goes into their bowls.
They depend on us to make those decisions for them. That responsibility deserves honest information, careful thought, and more than guesswork.
Dave Zanoni
Owner, Purrs McBarkin’
Certified Canine & Feline Nutritionist