How we write health and food safety content

This page explains how PawLife writes the health, nutrition and food safety content on this site. It covers which sources we rely on, how we take numbers from them, how we keep pages current, and how to tell us when something is wrong. The author of these pages is PawLife, the organization behind the app.

Sources we rely on

• ASPCA Animal Poison Control: toxic substances for dogs and cats, plant and food lists, and guidance on what to do after an exposure.
• Merck Veterinary Manual: the mechanism, dose reference points, clinical signs and treatment for toxicoses and common conditions.
• Pet Poison Helpline: toxicity information for pet owners.
• WSAVA (World Small Animal Veterinary Association): global guidelines, including nutritional assessment for dogs and cats.
• Peer-reviewed veterinary and nutrition journals: when a claim rests on one study, we link the study itself. For example, the work on why cats cannot taste sugar.
• FEDIAF nutritional guidelines and NRC (National Research Council) publications: energy and nutrient requirements for dogs and cats.

How we take numbers from sources

Every number on a page comes from a named source, and the page links that source. When a source gives a range, we show the range. When we do arithmetic on a source, for example to work out a dose for a 4 kg cat, we say so and show the calculation.

Toxic thresholds are reference points for a veterinarian. They are not safe amounts. We do not write that any quantity is safe.

Where a source has no data for cats, the entry says so. We do not borrow dog figures for cats.

How the app uses the same formulas

The feeding plan and calorie figures in PawLife use the same formulas that our guides describe. If a guide and the app ever disagree, the guide is the reference and we treat the difference as a bug.

How pages are reviewed

Each food safety table and entry shows a Last reviewed date. We check a page again when one of its sources changes, or when a new study changes a claim we make. The date moves when we do that check.

What this content is not

This is information, not veterinary advice. It does not diagnose a condition or prescribe treatment.

If your pet may have eaten something toxic, call your veterinarian or an animal poison control line now. Do not wait to see whether symptoms appear. Vomiting, weakness, tremors, seizures, pale gums or trouble breathing need urgent care. The websites of ASPCA Animal Poison Control and Pet Poison Helpline list their phone numbers. Poison lines may charge a fee.

Disclosure

PawLife makes the app these pages support. Food safety entries link to the app only in a call to action at the end of a page, and the blog says at the top of each comparison that PawLife is ours.

Report an error

Write to support@pawlife.pet. Include the page address, the line you think is wrong, and the source if you have one. We check the line against the source, correct it if needed, and update the Last reviewed date.