How much should you feed your cat each day? Most owners guess, and guessing leads to slow weight gain, begging, or a cat that leaves food in the bowl. This free calculator gives a clear daily portion in grams, based on your cat's weight, lifestyle, and the energy of the food you use.
The maths starts with resting energy, a formula vets use: seventy times weight to the power of three quarters. A four kilogram cat needs about one hundred and ninety eight calories at rest. Lifestyle then adjusts that number, because an outdoor cat that roams and hunts burns more than an indoor cat that naps on a sofa.
Indoor cats need less food than many owners think. A quiet indoor cat on a complete dry food may need only around fifty to sixty grams a day, split into two meals. That small pile can look mean in a large bowl, so use a small bowl and weigh the food, because eyes lie and scales do not.
Outdoor and mixed lifestyle cats need more. An active outdoor cat may need thirty percent more calories than the same cat kept indoors, and the calculator adds that factor for you. Seasons matter too: cats that roam in winter burn extra energy staying warm, so recheck the portion when the weather changes.
Food energy varies a lot between products. One dry food may carry three hundred and twenty calories per hundred grams, while another carries four hundred. That is why the calculator asks for your food's energy value, printed on the pack as kcal per hundred grams. Using the wrong food value is the most common cause of a wrong portion.
Split the daily grams into two meals, morning and evening. Cats do best with regular meal times, and a split portion stops one huge meal followed by hours of begging. If your cat wakes you at night for food, a small part of the daily portion saved for a late evening meal often solves it.
Weigh food with kitchen scales, at least for the first two weeks. Cups and scoops vary by food shape and by how full you fill them, and a ten gram daily error adds up to a large yearly surplus. Once you know what the weighed portion looks like, you can scoop with more confidence.
Weigh your cat monthly and adjust. A steady weight means the portion is right. Slow gain means trimming five to ten percent and rechecking in a month. Slow loss, or a cat that suddenly eats far more or far less, deserves a vet visit, because appetite changes can signal illness.
Treats count as food, not as free extras. Ten treats a day can add ten percent or more to daily calories. If you give treats for training or bonding, subtract a matching amount from meal portions. Keep treats to a small share of the day, and choose low calorie treats where you can.
Kittens, pregnant cats, and cats with health problems need different maths, and this calculator is made for healthy adult cats. If your cat has kidney disease, diabetes, or another condition, follow your vet's feeding plan instead, and use this tool only as a starting point for discussion.
Try the calculator above with your cat's real weight and your food's real energy value. A weighed, sensible portion keeps your cat at a healthy weight, reduces begging, and gives you one less thing to guess about every day.
A final check keeps the portion honest: once a month, compare the food bag level with what the calculator predicts you should have used. If the bag empties much faster, someone in the house may be giving extra scoops, or treats may be adding up unnoticed. A quick family check, plus weighed meals for one week, usually finds the leak, and the portion returns to target without any drama for the cat.