Daily Cat Food Amounts: Wet, Dry and Mixed Table

Cat Feeding Chart by Weight: Daily Calories, Cans and Cups

A cat feeding chart converts body weight into daily calories and portion sizes, and the master table below does it for lean 6 to 20 lb neutered adults. Every row is derived from RER = 70 x kg^0.75 multiplied by the feline neutered factor of 1.2, then converted at typical densities of 90 kcal per 3-oz pate can and 400 kcal per cup of dry food. The anchor rows: 8 lb needs about 220 kcal, 10 lb about 260 kcal, 12 lb about 300 kcal and 16 lb about 370 kcal per day.

The mixed column splits the same calorie budget roughly 50/50 between wet and dry — it is one budget divided, never two portions added. Use the feeding amount calculator to re-render these rows for your cat's exact weight and your food's actual label calories.

How to Read and Adjust This Table for Your Cat

Neutered indoor cats need 20 to 30 percent less food than manufacturer feeding charts state, because brand charts on bags and cans assume intact, active cats. If you have been feeding the label amount to a neutered indoor cat, the label has been overfeeding it — this table's rows already build in the 1.2 neutered factor, which is why they run leaner.

Adjust the rows for your cat's situation: an inactive indoor cat drops about 20 percent (factor 1.0), an active or outdoor cat adds 20 to 30 percent (factor 1.4-1.6), and an overweight cat uses its ideal weight row, never its current one. Our full guide to cat portion sizes walks through picking the right factor.

Every row is a starting point, not a verdict. Feeding chart amounts are starting points that body condition checks confirm or correct: weigh your cat every two weeks, check that ribs are easy to feel and the waist is visible, and move portions 10 percent in the direction the trend demands.

Wet, Dry and Mixed Columns Explained

The wet column assumes a pate at roughly 30 kcal per ounce, and the dry column assumes 400 kcal per cup — swap in your own label's numbers for accuracy, because canned recipes range from 55 to 110 kcal per 3-oz can and kibble spans 350 to 500 kcal per cup. Feeding cats by body weight only works when the density number matches the food actually in the bowl.

The mixed column applies the subtraction method: wet calories come off the daily budget first, and the remainder is fed as measured dry food. For the 10 lb row, 1.5 cans supply about 135 kcal, leaving about 125 kcal — 33 g of kibble — to complete the day.

One feline note the columns do not show: wet food's 70 to 80 percent moisture supports hydration in low-thirst-drive cats, so all-dry feeders should add water fountains or extra bowls to compensate for the missing dietary water.

Chart Rows That Do Not Apply: Kittens, Seniors and Special Diets

This table is for healthy neutered adults only. Kittens need 2.5 to 3 x RER for growth — more than double the adult rows — and belong on the kitten feeding chart, which maps portions by age and weight instead. Seniors shift to about 1.1 x RER with muscle-preserving protein, and cats past 11 often need more energy-dense food rather than less.

Therapeutic feeding plans are a different category entirely. Low-phosphorus renal rows, diabetic portioning and prescription-diet amounts come from your veterinarian and the specific therapeutic food's feeding guide, not from a generic weight table.

Whichever row applies, cats are obligate carnivores: the food filling that row must meet AAFCO's adult feline minimum of 26 percent protein on a dry matter basis. Calories from a protein-poor food hit the number while missing the nutrition.

From Static Table to Tracked Plan

A printed chart goes stale as your cat's weight changes; the loop that actually works is recalculation after every two-week weigh-in. A cat that loses half a pound has a new row, a new kcal target and a new portion, and a laminated printout never updates itself. The dog side works identically, and the weight-and-age feeding chart for dogs applies the same logic with canine factors.

That recalculation loop is exactly what FeedPaw automates. Build a personalized cat feeding chart with the feeding amount calculator — it generates rows for your cat's exact weight, food and goal, saves them and updates the plan every time you log a new weight.