Cat feeding · daily calories
How much should I feed my cat?
Put your cat's weight and life stage in below and this calculator works out how many calories a day it needs — the way vets do, from its resting energy need. Most adult cats need less than owners expect, which is why so many are overweight. Add your food's calories to turn that into grams or a fraction of a cup.
Just to keep the body ticking over (its resting need) it burns about 217 kcal. Adult — neutered or spayed.
Treat this as a starting point, not an exact ration. A real cat can need up to about half again more or less, so watch its body shape over a few weeks and adjust — you should feel the ribs easily and see a slight waist from above.
Most dry foods are about 300–450 kcal a cup, or 3,000–4,000 kcal per kilogram — but the exact figure is on your bag, usually as “kcal/cup” or “ME kcal/kg”. Enter it above to turn the calories into cups or grams.
How we work it out (and why it's less than you'd think)
A cat's calorie need starts from its resting energy need — the fuel it burns at rest — which vets estimate as 70 times its body weight in kilograms to the power of ¾. That resting figure is then multiplied by a factor for the cat's life stage and whether it is neutered: a neutered adult cat is only about 1.2 times resting, an intact one 1.4, and a growing kitten about 2.5. The neutered-adult figure is low — lower than the same calculation for a dog — which is exactly why an indoor, neutered cat gains weight so easily on free-fed food.
This is the method in the WSAVA and AAHA nutrition guidelines, and those guidelines are clear that it is an estimate: an individual cat can vary by as much as half from the figure, so it is a place to start and then adjust to keep the cat lean. Calories are the honest answer; how many grams or how much of a cup that is depends entirely on how energy-dense your particular food is.
A neutered indoor cat's need is only about 1.2 times its resting energy — often 150 to 250 calories a day for a normal-sized cat. Bag charts and free-feeding both tend to offer far more, which is how a cat drifts into overweight without anyone noticing. Measure meals against calories, not by topping up the bowl.
The feeding factors, by life stage
Daily calories are the resting need multiplied by one of these, set by age and neuter status.
| Life stage or situation | × resting need | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Kitten — under a year | ×2.5 | Growing fast — feed a kitten food across several small meals a day. |
| Adult — neutered or spayed | ×1.2 | Most adult pet cats — and lower than people expect, which is why so many cats are overweight. |
| Adult — not neutered | ×1.4 | An intact adult burns a little more than a neutered one. |
| Overweight — needs to slim down | ×0.8 | Feed for the target weight, not the current one — and slim a cat only under a vet's guidance, because crash dieting can make a cat dangerously ill. |
Daily calories by weight — a quick reference
The resting need and a neutered adult's daily calories at a range of weights, worked with the same formula as the calculator.
| Weight | Resting need | Neutered adult |
|---|---|---|
| 6 lb (2.7 kg) | 148 kcal | 177 kcal/day |
| 8 lb (3.6 kg) | 184 kcal | 220 kcal/day |
| 10 lb (4.5 kg) | 217 kcal | 261 kcal/day |
| 12 lb (5.4 kg) | 249 kcal | 299 kcal/day |
| 15 lb (6.8 kg) | 294 kcal | 353 kcal/day |
Find your cat's breed
Pick a breed to load a typical adult weight, then set the life stage — or open its full profile.
Common questions
How many calories does my cat need a day?
Start from its resting need — about 70 times its weight in kilograms to the power of three-quarters — then multiply by a factor for its life stage: about 1.2 for a neutered adult, 1.4 for an intact one, and 2.5 for a growing kitten. A neutered 10 lb cat, for example, needs on the order of 260 calories a day. Enter your cat's weight and stage above for its own figure.
How much should I feed my cat in grams or cups?
It depends on the food. Dry foods vary a lot in calories, so find the “kcal/cup” or “ME kcal/kg” figure on your bag and type it into the calculator — it will turn the calorie target into grams a day or a fraction of a cup. Wet food is far less energy-dense, so the same calories mean a much larger weight of food.
My cat is overweight — how do I help it lose weight safely?
Feed for the weight it should be, at about 0.8 times that target weight's resting need — but do it only with your vet's guidance. Cats must lose weight slowly: crash dieting or a cat that suddenly stops eating can trigger hepatic lipidosis, a serious liver disease. Your vet will set a safe target and pace.
How do I check my cat's body condition?
You should be able to feel the ribs easily under a thin layer of fat, and see a slight waist behind the ribs when you look down from above. A rounded belly, no waist and ribs you have to press to find all point to overweight — the commonest nutritional problem in pet cats.
How accurate is a cat feeding calculator?
It is a good starting estimate, not a prescription. The veterinary guidelines it uses say an individual cat can vary by as much as 50% from the calculated figure, so use it to set a starting ration and adjust to keep your cat lean. For a kitten, a pregnant or nursing cat, or one with a health condition, ask your vet.
Where these figures come from
- WSAVA — Global Nutrition Guidelines — The world small-animal veterinary body's standard for how much to feed: work out the pet's calorie need and portion to it, rather than trusting the chart on the bag.
- AAHA — 2021 Nutrition & Weight Management Guidelines (calorie box) — The exact formula this calculator runs — RER = 70 × (kg^0.75) and daily calories = a life-stage factor × RER — with a worked veterinary example.
- Pet Nutrition Alliance — “Calculating Calories Based on Pet Needs” — The maintenance-energy factor table for dogs and cats used here, and its own caution that these are estimates — an individual pet can vary by as much as 50% — to be used as a starting point and adjusted to body condition.
This calculator is a guide, not veterinary advice. Kittens, pregnant or nursing cats, and cats with a health condition have different needs, and an overweight cat must be slimmed slowly under veterinary supervision, because rapid weight loss can cause a dangerous liver disease. For anything about your cat's diet or weight, ask your vet.
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