Pet Food Calculator

Free calculator

Cat food calculator

A 9 lb (4.1 kg) indoor, neutered cat needs about 228 kcal a day. Fed half wet, half dry, that is 1.3 pouches of 90 kcal plus 30 g of a 3,800 kcal/kg kibble. Enter your cat's weight, life stage and the calorie figures on your food to get pouches, cans and grams per meal.

Result

Calories per day
228 kcal
Dry food per day
30 g (1.1 oz)
Cups per day
0.30 cups
Dry food per meal
15 g
Wet food per day
1.27 pouches (108 g)
Wet food per meal
0.63 pouches
WSAVA chart range for this weight
228-257 kcal

A starting point, not a prescription: individual animals need up to 30% more or less (Merck Veterinary Manual). Adjust every 2-4 weeks to keep a lean body condition, and ask your vet for puppies under 8 weeks, pregnancy, lactation or any illness.

Feeding more than one animal, or someone else feeds them?

Pro prints a feeding plan per animal: grams and cups per meal, the bag's figures, the vet's notes. Saved as PDF for the sitter, the shelter or the kennel.

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How it works

Cats do not scale like dogs, so the calculator uses the cat-specific 2006 National Research Council equations behind the WSAVA feeding chart: 100 kcal x kg^0.67 for a lean, active adult and 130 kcal x kg^0.4 for an indoor, neutered or obese-prone adult. For a 4 kg cat that is 226 to 253 kcal a day; the WSAVA chart lists 226-253 kcal for that weight and the result shows that range next to the estimate.

Kittens are fed per kilogram of body weight by age (NRC 2006): 218 kcal/kg up to 8 weeks, 178 kcal/kg at 8-12 weeks, down to 83 kcal/kg at 32-40 weeks, so a 1.5 kg 12-week-old kitten needs about 267 kcal a day (tables by week, in kg and lb: how many calories a kitten needs). A cat on a weight-loss plan is fed at the resting energy requirement for its target weight, 70 x kg^0.75 (AAHA 2021), which is 198 kcal for a 4 kg target; cats should lose no more than 0.5-1% of body weight a week.

Pouches and cans carry their calories on the label (kcal per pouch, or kcal per 100 g for EU products); kibble carries kcal per kg and often kcal per cup. Set the share of calories you want from wet food and the calculator splits the day: wet calories / kcal per pouch = pouches, dry calories / kcal per kg x 1,000 = grams. To scoop by cup, see how many grams in a cup of dry cat food; to weigh wet food, see grams of wet food a day by cat weight. Individual cats vary by up to 30%; weigh monthly and adjust.

Frequently asked questions

How much wet food should I feed my cat per day?
For a 9 lb indoor cat on wet food only, about 228 kcal a day = 2.5 pouches of 90 kcal (216 g). Fed half wet, half dry it is 1.3 pouches plus 30 g of kibble. Check the kcal per pouch on your brand; 85 g pouches and 3 oz cans differ a lot.
How many calories does a 4 kg cat need?
Indoor or neutered: about 226 kcal a day (NRC 2006, 130 x kg^0.4). Lean and active: about 253 kcal (100 x kg^0.67). The WSAVA chart gives 226-253 kcal for a 4 kg cat.
How much should a kitten eat?
Per kilogram of body weight, by age (NRC 2006): 218 kcal/kg under 8 weeks, 178 kcal/kg at 8-12 weeks, 108 kcal/kg at 16-24 weeks, 83 kcal/kg at 32-40 weeks. A 1.5 kg kitten at 12 weeks needs about 267 kcal a day, in 3-4 meals of a growth food.
Should I feed my cat wet or dry food?
Both meet the calorie need if the food is complete and balanced. Wet food adds water (about 75-80% by weight), which many vets favour for urinary health; dry food is cheaper per calorie and keeps. The calculator lets you mix them by share of calories, so the total stays the same whichever you choose.
Is my cat overweight?
Look, do not weigh: ribs easy to feel under a thin fat layer and a visible waist from above mean a healthy condition. If your vet sets a target weight, feed at the resting energy requirement for that target (198 kcal for 4 kg) with a weight-management diet, and never fast a cat.

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