Cat Food Calculator

Enter your cat's weight and life stage, and how you split wet and dry food. You'll get daily calories, cans and cups.

How the calculation works

Like dogs, a cat's daily needs start from the resting energy requirement:

RER = 70 × (weight in kg)^0.75

A neutered indoor adult usually needs 1.0 to 1.2 × RER. Kittens need about 2.5 × RER. For weight loss, vets often feed 0.8 × RER of the target weight. The calculator then splits calories between wet and dry food and divides by the calories on each label.

Worked example

A 10 lb (4.5 kg) neutered adult: RER = 70 × 4.5^0.75 ≈ 217 kcal, × 1.2 = 260 kcal a day. Half from wet food is 130 kcal, about 1.4 cans of 90 kcal. The other 130 kcal is about ⅓ cup of a 400 kcal/cup dry food.

How much to feed a cat by weight

Neutered adult cats at 1.2 × RER. Use either the cans or the cups, not both.

Cat weight	Calories a day	Cans a day, all wet (90 kcal can)	Cups a day, all dry (400 kcal/cup)
6 lb	178	2.0	0.44
8 lb	221	2.5	0.55
10 lb	261	2.9	0.65
12 lb	299	3.3	0.75
14 lb	336	3.7	0.84
16 lb	371	4.1	0.93

Frequently asked questions

How much should a 10 lb cat eat?

Around 200 to 260 calories a day for a typical neutered adult, depending on activity. That's roughly ½ to ⅔ cup of dry food, or 2½ to 3 small cans of wet food if fed alone.

Is wet or dry food better?

Both can be complete diets. Wet food adds water and fewer calories per bite, which helps many cats with weight and urinary health. Dry food is cheaper and keeps longer in the bowl. Many owners mix the two.

My cat is losing or gaining weight. What now?

Adjust portions by about 10% and reweigh in a few weeks. Sudden weight loss, or a cat that stops eating for more than a day, needs a vet visit.