🍖 Pet Food Calorie Calculator

How This Calculator Works

This calculator uses your pet's Resting Energy Requirement (RER) as its foundation: RER = 70 × (body weight in kg)^0.75. RER represents the calories your pet needs at complete rest just to maintain basic body functions. From there, a life-stage multiplier is applied to account for growth, activity, and reproductive status.

Spayed and neutered pets have roughly 20–30% lower calorie needs than intact animals of the same size and activity level — which is why that question is included. Overfeeding a neutered adult dog is one of the most common causes of gradual weight gain.

From Calories to Serving Size

Once you have your pet's daily calorie target, check your food packaging for the kcal/cup (dry food) or kcal/can (wet food) — usually listed near the guaranteed analysis. Divide the daily calorie target by the food's calorie density to get the daily serving in cups or cans.

For example: a dog needing 700 calories/day on a food with 350 kcal/cup needs 2 cups per day, split across meals. The feeding guides printed on bags are a starting point — individual metabolism means your pet may need 10–20% more or less than the estimate.

Adjusting Over Time

A calorie calculation gives you a starting point, not a permanent prescription. Weigh your pet monthly and adjust portions by 10% if they're gaining or losing unintended weight. The body condition check — ribs easily felt but not visible, visible waist from above — is more reliable than the scale alone for assessing whether feeding amounts are right.