How many grams of food should I feed my dog per day?

For a spayed or neutered adult dog weighing 5 kg, RER is 70 × 5^0.75 ≈ 234 kcal, and multiplying by the factor 1.6 gives about 375 kcal per day. With dry food at 360 kcal per 100 g, that is about 104 g per day, or about 94 g if 10% goes to treats, which is roughly 47 g per meal at two meals a day. Enter the weight and life stage in this tool to run the same calculation.

How much should I reduce calories after spaying or neutering a cat?

The factor is about 1.2 for a spayed or neutered adult cat and 1.4 for an intact one, so at the same weight the calorie need is about 15% lower. For a spayed or neutered 4 kg cat, that is about 238 kcal per day, or about 63 g of dry food at 380 kcal per 100 g (about 56 g if 10% goes to treats). Cats gain weight easily after surgery, so adjust while watching their weight.

What is the difference between RER and DER?

RER (resting energy requirement) is the calories needed while resting quietly, calculated as 70 × body weight (kg)^0.75. DER (daily energy requirement) is RER multiplied by a factor for growth, spay/neuter status, age, activity and so on, and is the actual number of calories to feed per day.

How much should I feed when mixing dry and wet food?

First decide how to split the day's calories between dry and wet food, then divide each food's calories by its kcal/100 g to convert to grams. For a spayed or neutered 4 kg cat with 70% dry (380 kcal/100 g) and 30% wet (85 kcal/100 g), after taking out 10% for treats you get about 39 g of dry food and about 75 g of wet food. Wet food is low in calories, so for the same calories it weighs about 4 times as much as dry food.

How many kcal per day should a dog or cat on a diet get?

A guide is the RER of the target weight multiplied by 1.0 for dogs and 0.8 for cats. For a 6 kg cat with BCS 7 (overweight), the ideal weight is about 5 kg and the daily calories are about 187 kcal. Losing 1% of body weight per week reaches the goal in about 19 weeks. Cats risk hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) if cut back too quickly, so do not lose more than 2% per week.

How many treats a day are okay?

Treats and toppings should stay within about 10% of daily calories. For a spayed or neutered 5 kg dog eating about 375 kcal per day, that is about 37 kcal of treats. One boiled chicken breast tender (40 g, about 48 kcal) is too much, and about 3/4 of one is right. Reduce the regular food by the amount of treats given.

How much water should a dog or cat drink per day?

A guide is roughly the same number of ml as the calories needed per day (about 375 ml for a spayed or neutered 5 kg dog). Wet food is about 80% water, so pets that eat mostly wet food drink much less from the bowl. If your pet keeps drinking more than 100 ml per kg of body weight per day, it may be a sign of illness, so consult your vet.

Dog & Cat Food Portion Calculator | Daily Calories and Grams per Day (RER, DER, Neutered, Puppy/Kitten, Weight Loss)

The Dog & Cat Food Portion Calculator works out the calories needed per day (DER = RER × factor, RER = 70 × body weight^0.75) from weight, BCS (body condition) and a life-stage factor, then uses the kcal/100g (or kcal/kg) printed on the bag to tell you how many grams to feed per day and per meal. Switch between puppy/kitten (up to 4 months, 4 months and older), spayed/neutered (dog 1.6, cat 1.2), intact, prone to weight gain, senior, active, and pregnant or nursing, and get gram amounts and number of cans when mixing dry and wet (canned/pouch) food. It includes a diet plan with an ideal weight estimated from BCS (RER of the target weight × 1.0 for dogs, 0.8 for cats, losing 1-2% per week), how many pieces of chicken breast, boiled egg or sweet potato fit in a treat allowance of 10% of daily calories, a guide to how much water to drink after subtracting the moisture in wet food, and a calorie chart by body weight.

Dog profile

Choose the weight and current life stage (growth, spay/neuter, age, activity) to determine the calories needed per day.

Current weight

BCS (body condition, 9-point)

Ideal (5-point scale: 3): Ribs felt under a thin layer of fat. Waist visible from above

Life stage (factor)

Standard for an indoor spayed or neutered adult dog

Food you feed

Enter the "metabolizable energy" printed on the back of the bag. If it says "3,600 kcal/kg", choose kcal/kg and enter 3600, or enter 360 per 100 g. When mixing 2 or 3 foods, set the share of calories for each.

Calorie unit:

Calories (per 100 g)

kcal/100g

Weight of one can or pouch (optional)

Share set aside for treats and toppings

Meals per day

Amount to feed per day

Multiplying RER (calories needed at rest) = 70 × weight^0.75 by the life-stage factor gives the daily calories (DER), which are then converted to grams of food.

Daily calories needed (DER)

374kcal

RER 234kcal × 1.6 · 75 kcal per kg of body weight

Total food (per day)

93.6g

46.8g × 2 meals

Available for treats

37kcal

10% of the day. On days without treats, add 10.4g of food

Dog food (dry) 337kcal
Treats 37kcal

Amount per food
Food	Per day	Per meal (2 meals)	Calories	In cans/pouches
Dog food (dry)360kcal/100g	93.6g	46.8g	337kcal	—

The feeding table on the bag is a guide for an average pet of that weight, so it may differ from this tool's amount. Check weight and BCS every 2-4 weeks, and cut the amount by 10% if weight is going up or increase it by 10% if it is going down. With the linear formula (30 × weight + 70), RER is 220kcal (a simplified formula used only for 2-45 kg).

About the calculation

Calorie needs vary a lot between individuals even at the same weight and age (about ±20%), so the amount shown here is a starting guide. Adjust while watching weight and body shape.
For pets being treated for an illness, on a therapeutic diet, or pregnant or nursing, follow your vet's instructions first.
Use the "metabolizable energy (ME)" value on the bag for the food's calories.

What you enter is saved only in this browser and is never sent to a server.

ABOUT

About Dog & Cat Food Portion Calculator | Daily Calories and Grams per Day (RER, DER, Neutered, Puppy/Kitten, Weight Loss)

The Dog & Cat Food Portion Calculator works out the calories needed per day (DER = RER × factor, RER = 70 × body weight^0.75) from weight and life stage (puppy/kitten, spayed/neutered, intact, senior, active, weight loss, pregnant or nursing), then uses the calories printed on the bag (kcal/100g or kcal/kg) to tell you how many grams of food to give per day and per meal. It also shows how to split calories between dry and wet food and how many cans that is, a diet plan toward an ideal weight estimated from BCS, how many treats fit within 10% of daily calories, a guide to drinking water after subtracting the moisture in food, and a calorie chart by body weight.

How to use Dog & Cat Food Portion Calculator | Daily Calories and Grams per Day (RER, DER, Neutered, Puppy/Kitten, Weight Loss)

1Choose dog or cat, then enter the current weight and BCS (a 9-point body condition scale; 5 is ideal)
2Choose a life stage (puppy/kitten, spayed/neutered, senior, weight loss, etc.). If your vet gave you a factor, enter it directly
3Enter the type of food you feed (dry, wet or semi-moist) and the metabolizable energy printed on the back of the bag (kcal/100g or kcal/kg)
4To mix dry and wet food, add a second food with "Mix foods" and enter each food's share of calories and the weight of one can
5Choose the share set aside for treats (0, 5 or 10%) and the number of meals per day, then check the grams per day and per meal
6If your pet is overweight, use "Diet plan" to pick a target weight and loss rate, and see the daily amount and the number of weeks to reach the goal
7In "Treats and water", check how many pieces of chicken breast, boiled egg, etc. you can give per day, and a guide to how much water should come from the bowl

Great for

You want to know how much to cut back on food after spaying or neutering so your pet doesn't gain weight
Your pet's exact weight isn't listed in the feeding table on the bag, so you want to calculate it yourself
You want to review the daily amount as a puppy or kitten grows
You're adding wet food (cans/pouches) to dry food and want to know how many grams of each to give
You're putting an overweight dog or cat on a diet and need to decide the daily calories and time to reach the target weight
You want to know how much boiled chicken breast or egg you can give as a treat per day
Your pet drinks less water since switching to wet food, and you want to check that it's getting enough

Good to know

Resting energy requirement (RER) is calculated as 70 × body weight (kg)^0.75 kcal, and daily energy requirement (DER) as RER × a factor. The linear shortcut (30 × weight + 70) only works for 2-45 kg, so it is shown for reference only.
The factors are as follows. Dogs: puppy (up to 4 months) 3.0, puppy (4 months and older) 2.0, spayed/neutered 1.6, intact 1.8, prone to weight gain 1.4, senior 1.4, active 2.0, working 3.0, weight loss 1.0, late pregnancy 3.0, nursing 4.0. Cats: kitten (up to 4 months) 3.0, kitten (4 months to 1 year) 2.5, spayed/neutered 1.2, intact 1.4, prone to weight gain 1.0, senior 1.1, active 1.6, weight loss 0.8, pregnant 2.0, nursing 3.0. Each is a representative value within a range.
During weight loss, the factor is applied to the RER of the target weight, not the current weight. The target weight is estimated from the rule of thumb that each point of BCS (9-point scale) above 5 means about 10% extra weight.
Food amounts are calculated from the metabolizable energy (ME) printed on the bag. The feeding table on the bag is a guide for an average pet, so it may differ from this tool's result.
Daily water need is taken as roughly the same number of ml as the calories needed (kcal). Food moisture is subtracted as 10% for dry, 30% for semi-moist and 78% for wet food.
Treat calories are estimates: the per-100 g values from the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan (8th revision) multiplied by the weight of one piece and rounded.
Even at the same weight and age, calorie needs vary by about ±20% between individuals. Check weight and body shape every 2-4 weeks and adjust the amount. If your pet is being treated for an illness or is on a therapeutic diet, follow your vet's instructions first.
What you enter is saved only in this browser's localStorage and is never sent to a server.

Questions this tool answers

Use Dog & Cat Food Portion Calculator | Daily Calories and Grams per Day (RER, DER, Neutered, Puppy/Kitten, Weight Loss) for searches like these:

I want to calculate how many grams of dog food to give my dog per day
I want to know the calories and food amount for a cat after spaying or neutering
I want to know how to calculate RER and DER and what the factors are
I want to calculate amounts when mixing dry and wet food
I want to know how much to feed a puppy or kitten by age and weight
I want to decide daily calories for an overweight dog or cat on a diet
I want to know how many treats a dog can have per day
I want a guide to how much water a cat drinks per day

FAQ

How many grams of food should I feed my dog per day?: For a spayed or neutered adult dog weighing 5 kg, RER is 70 × 5^0.75 ≈ 234 kcal, and multiplying by the factor 1.6 gives about 375 kcal per day. With dry food at 360 kcal per 100 g, that is about 104 g per day, or about 94 g if 10% goes to treats, which is roughly 47 g per meal at two meals a day. Enter the weight and life stage in this tool to run the same calculation.
How much should I reduce calories after spaying or neutering a cat?: The factor is about 1.2 for a spayed or neutered adult cat and 1.4 for an intact one, so at the same weight the calorie need is about 15% lower. For a spayed or neutered 4 kg cat, that is about 238 kcal per day, or about 63 g of dry food at 380 kcal per 100 g (about 56 g if 10% goes to treats). Cats gain weight easily after surgery, so adjust while watching their weight.
What is the difference between RER and DER?: RER (resting energy requirement) is the calories needed while resting quietly, calculated as 70 × body weight (kg)^0.75. DER (daily energy requirement) is RER multiplied by a factor for growth, spay/neuter status, age, activity and so on, and is the actual number of calories to feed per day.
How much should I feed when mixing dry and wet food?: First decide how to split the day's calories between dry and wet food, then divide each food's calories by its kcal/100 g to convert to grams. For a spayed or neutered 4 kg cat with 70% dry (380 kcal/100 g) and 30% wet (85 kcal/100 g), after taking out 10% for treats you get about 39 g of dry food and about 75 g of wet food. Wet food is low in calories, so for the same calories it weighs about 4 times as much as dry food.
How many kcal per day should a dog or cat on a diet get?: A guide is the RER of the target weight multiplied by 1.0 for dogs and 0.8 for cats. For a 6 kg cat with BCS 7 (overweight), the ideal weight is about 5 kg and the daily calories are about 187 kcal. Losing 1% of body weight per week reaches the goal in about 19 weeks. Cats risk hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) if cut back too quickly, so do not lose more than 2% per week.
How many treats a day are okay?: Treats and toppings should stay within about 10% of daily calories. For a spayed or neutered 5 kg dog eating about 375 kcal per day, that is about 37 kcal of treats. One boiled chicken breast tender (40 g, about 48 kcal) is too much, and about 3/4 of one is right. Reduce the regular food by the amount of treats given.
How much water should a dog or cat drink per day?: A guide is roughly the same number of ml as the calories needed per day (about 375 ml for a spayed or neutered 5 kg dog). Wet food is about 80% water, so pets that eat mostly wet food drink much less from the bowl. If your pet keeps drinking more than 100 ml per kg of body weight per day, it may be a sign of illness, so consult your vet.

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