How many pouches of wet food should a cat have a day?

For an indoor 4 kg cat on wet only: 3.2 pouches of 70 kcal, 2.5 of 90 kcal or 2.1 of 110 kcal. A 5 kg cat needs 2.7 pouches of 90 kcal. Check the kcal on your pouch; brands differ by half.

How many 3 oz cans a day?

A 3 oz (85 g) can labelled 100 kcal: 2.3 cans a day for an indoor 4 kg cat, 2.5 for 5 kg. A 5.5 oz can is about twice that, so roughly one a day for a 4 kg cat.

Can I feed wet and dry together?

Yes, and the calories add up the same way: half wet, half dry for a 4 kg indoor cat is 1.3 pouches of 90 kcal plus 30 g of a 3,800 kcal/kg kibble. Set any split in the cat food calculator.

Does an active cat need more wet food?

A lean, active 4 kg cat needs about 253 kcal (NRC lean equation) against 226 for an indoor one: 2.8 pouches of 90 kcal on wet only. The WSAVA chart gives 226-253 kcal for 4 kg.

How much wet food for a kitten?

Kittens are fed by age per kilogram (218 kcal/kg under 8 weeks down to 83 kcal/kg at 32-40 weeks, NRC 2006), so the adult tables do not apply; use the cat food calculator with the kitten stage and the age in weeks, in three or four meals.

How much wet food to feed a cat per day?

An indoor, neutered 4 kg (9 lb) cat needs about 226 kcal a day. On wet food only that is 2.5 pouches labelled 90 kcal (214 g); fed half wet, half dry it is 1.3 pouches plus 30 g of kibble. Pouches range from about 70 to 110 kcal, so the tables give counts for three label values by cat weight.

Open the cat food calculator

Wet food only, indoor or neutered cat

Calories from the NRC 2006 obese-prone adult equation (130 x kg^0.4), which fits most indoor neutered cats; pouches = calories / kcal per pouch as printed on the label.

Pouches per day on wet food only (indoor cat)
Cat weight	kcal/day	70 kcal pouches	90 kcal pouches	110 kcal pouches
3 kg (6.6 lb)	202	2.9	2.2	1.8
3.5 kg (7.7 lb)	215	3.1	2.4	2.0
4 kg (8.8 lb)	226	3.2	2.5	2.1
4.5 kg (9.9 lb)	237	3.4	2.6	2.2
5 kg (11 lb)	247	3.5	2.7	2.2
5.5 kg (12.1 lb)	257	3.7	2.9	2.3
6 kg (13.2 lb)	266	3.8	3.0	2.4

Half wet, half dry, indoor cat

Half the calories from 90 kcal pouches, the rest from a 3,800 kcal/kg kibble.

Half wet, half dry: pouches plus grams of kibble
Cat weight	kcal/day	90 kcal pouches	Kibble
3 kg (6.6 lb)	202	1.1	27 g
3.5 kg (7.7 lb)	215	1.2	28 g
4 kg (8.8 lb)	226	1.3	30 g
4.5 kg (9.9 lb)	237	1.3	31 g
5 kg (11 lb)	247	1.4	33 g
5.5 kg (12.1 lb)	257	1.4	34 g
6 kg (13.2 lb)	266	1.5	35 g

Wet food only, lean and active cat

The NRC lean-adult equation (100 x kg^0.67): outdoor or genuinely active cats.

Pouches per day on wet food only (lean, active cat)
Cat weight	kcal/day	70 kcal pouches	90 kcal pouches	110 kcal pouches
3 kg (6.6 lb)	209	3.0	2.3	1.9
3.5 kg (7.7 lb)	231	3.3	2.6	2.1
4 kg (8.8 lb)	253	3.6	2.8	2.3
4.5 kg (9.9 lb)	274	3.9	3.0	2.5
5 kg (11 lb)	294	4.2	3.3	2.7
5.5 kg (12.1 lb)	313	4.5	3.5	2.8
6 kg (13.2 lb)	332	4.7	3.7	3.0

Reading the label

US and UK pouches print kcal per pouch or per 100 g; EU labels give kJ or kcal per 100 g, so multiply by the pouch weight. Wet food is 75-80% water, which is why a full day is two or three pouches. Fine-tune with the cat food calculator and your own label figures, and adjust by body condition: cats vary by up to 30%. The same feeding in grams, by the kcal per 100 g on the pack, is in how much wet food to feed a cat in grams. Kittens are fed per kilogram by age instead: see how many calories a kitten needs.

Frequently asked questions

How many pouches of wet food should a cat have a day?: For an indoor 4 kg cat on wet only: 3.2 pouches of 70 kcal, 2.5 of 90 kcal or 2.1 of 110 kcal. A 5 kg cat needs 2.7 pouches of 90 kcal. Check the kcal on your pouch; brands differ by half.
How many 3 oz cans a day?: A 3 oz (85 g) can labelled 100 kcal: 2.3 cans a day for an indoor 4 kg cat, 2.5 for 5 kg. A 5.5 oz can is about twice that, so roughly one a day for a 4 kg cat.
Can I feed wet and dry together?: Yes, and the calories add up the same way: half wet, half dry for a 4 kg indoor cat is 1.3 pouches of 90 kcal plus 30 g of a 3,800 kcal/kg kibble. Set any split in the cat food calculator.
Does an active cat need more wet food?: A lean, active 4 kg cat needs about 253 kcal (NRC lean equation) against 226 for an indoor one: 2.8 pouches of 90 kcal on wet only. The WSAVA chart gives 226-253 kcal for 4 kg.
How much wet food for a kitten?: Kittens are fed by age per kilogram (218 kcal/kg under 8 weeks down to 83 kcal/kg at 32-40 weeks, NRC 2006), so the adult tables do not apply; use the cat food calculator with the kitten stage and the age in weeks, in three or four meals.

How many calories does a kitten need? How much to feed a kitten by age and weight
A 12-week, 1.2 kg kitten needs about 214 kcal a day (178 kcal per kg, NRC 2006). Calories by age in weeks and months, per kg and per lb, pouches and cups.
How many calories does a cat need per day?
Calories a day for cats from 2 to 8 kg: resting requirement, indoor and neutered, lean and active, the WSAVA chart range and the weight-loss target.
How much dry food to feed a cat per day? Grams by weight
Grams and cups of dry food a day for 3 to 6 kg cats, and how many grams in a cup of dry cat food: 92 to 113 g on five US labels. Per meal and per bag.
How many calories should a cat eat to lose weight?
Diet calories by target weight (resting requirement of the ideal weight, AAHA 2021), grams and pouches a day, and how many weeks a safe plan takes at 0.5-2% a week.

Sources

NRC 2006, Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats — adult, puppy and kitten energy equations
WSAVA, Calorie Needs for Healthy Adult Dogs (July 2020) — chart range for dogs
WSAVA, Calorie Needs for Healthy Adult Cats (July 2020) — chart range for cats
AAHA 2021 Nutrition and Weight Management Guidelines — weight loss at the resting requirement of the target weight

Published 2026-09-15, last updated 2026-10-03. Figures are starting points from the published equations: individual animals vary by up to 30%, so adjust by body condition and ask your vet for puppies under 8 weeks, pregnancy, lactation or any illness.