Cat Food Calculator
Cans and cups per day for your cat.
Starting estimate from published formulas. Your vet knows your pet.
How to use the cat food calculator
- Enter weight and whether the cat is neutered. This page uses those two facts only. It does not apply the obesity-prone factor.
- Set share from wet food to the percent of calories that should come from cans. 50 means half the day.
- Replace kcal per can and kcal per cup. The 75 and 350 in the boxes are examples so the page can draw cans and cups.
- Read cans per day first, then cups. The calorie split sits underneath so you can see which food carries the day.
- If you feed only wet or only dry, push the share to 100 or 0. Do not leave 50 and then throw one food away.
One calorie day, two foods
The day starts as maintenance for an adult cat: resting energy times 1.2 if neutered, or 1.4 if intact. The opening cat is 10 lb and neutered, so the day is 260 kcal at a factor of 1.2 × RER.
That day is then cut by the wet share. At the opening 50%, wet food carries 130 kcal and dry food carries 130 kcal. Cans are the wet calories divided by kcal per can, rounded to the nearest quarter: 1.75. Cups are the dry calories divided by kcal per cup, rounded to the nearest eighth: 3/8 cups.
Quarter-cans and eighth-cups will not add back to the calorie day perfectly. If you are measuring for one meal, trust the day and split it yourself. The rounded parts are a kitchen aid.
The 75 and the 350 are not your cat's food
Both numbers are examples so a result can be pre-drawn. A real can might be far from 75 kcal. A real cup of dry food might be far from 350. The label's calorie statement is the input. This site does not keep a catalogue of foods, and it does not guess a typical wet or dry density.
If the can lists kcal per kilogram instead of per can, do that division on the label before you type. The box wants kcal per can, the can you actually open.
Mixing wet and dry is allowed by the arithmetic. It is not a claim that mixing is better. Some cats do well on one form. The share control exists because people asked how to split a day, not because a guideline demands half and half.
What was left off on purpose
Obesity-prone cats use a factor of 1.0 on the calorie page. Putting that switch here as well would make two pages print different cans for the same cat without an obvious reason. If the cat belongs on that row, get the calorie day there and only then come back with a share.
Kittens are not this factor. A kitten uses 2.5 × resting energy on the kitten feeding page. An adult neutered factor will underfeed a growing kitten.
Meals per day are not a control. Merck's feeding chapter says many adult dogs do better on two measured meals, and that cats can be portioned rather than left to graze if weight is the problem. It does not hand this page a required cat meal count. Divide the cans and cups across the meals you already use.
Cans and cups at three wet shares
| Wet share | Cans per day | Cups per day | kcal per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 0 | 3/4 cups | 260 kcal |
| 50% | 1.75 | 3/8 cups | 260 kcal |
| 100% | 3.5 | 0 cups | 260 kcal |
10 lb neutered cat. 75 kcal per can and 350 kcal per cup are examples. Check the label.
Tips and common mistakes
- Read kcal per can, not kcal per kilogram, unless you have already divided by the can's weight.
- A 50% share is half the calories, not half the volume. Wet and dry are not the same density.
- Do not add a treat pile on top of both the can line and the cup line.
When to call your vet
- The cat is losing weight, drinking more, or leaving food that it used to finish.
- You are about to change the wet share sharply and the cat has a history of urinary trouble. Diet shape is a clinic conversation.
- The cat is a kitten, pregnant or nursing.
- You cannot find a calorie statement and you are tempted to keep the example numbers.
Frequently asked questions
How much wet food per day?
At the opening settings, half the calories come from wet food, which is 1.75 of a can at 75 kcal. Change the kcal per can and the can count moves. Change the share and both cans and cups move.
Can I mix wet and dry?
Yes. Set the wet share to whatever portion of the calories you want from cans. The rest is dry. The opening mix is 1.75 and 3/8 cups for a 260 kcal day. Mixing is a split, not a recommendation that every cat needs both.
How often should I feed my cat?
This page does not set a meal count. It gives the day. Split that day into the meals you already feed. If the cat is gaining weight on food left out all the time, measured meals are the usual next conversation with the vet.
Why doesn't neutered plus 'indoor' change the cans?
Indoor is not a factor here. Obesity prone is on the calorie calculator, where it drops the multiplier from 1.2 to 1.0. This page stays on the neutered or intact adult row so the can math stays easy to audit.
Are 75 kcal and 350 kcal typical?
They are examples, marked that way, so the page can open with a number. They are not a survey of foods. Type the statement on your can and your bag.