Cat Feeding Amount Calculator

How Much Should I Feed My Cat?

The right amount depends on your cat's weight, age, activity level, and the type of food you're using. The most common mistake is eyeballing portions, studies show cat owners overestimate serving sizes by up to 50%. Our calculator above gives you exact amounts in cups, grams, and cans.

As a starting point: a typical 10 lb adult indoor cat needs roughly 200–250 kcal per day. That's about 2–2.5 cans of wet food, or ½–⅔ cup of dry food, or a combination of both. But your cat's individual needs can vary by 30% or more depending on the factors below.

How Much Wet Food to Feed a Cat

Wondering how much wet food to feed a cat? Most adult cats need 2–3 standard 5.5 oz cans per day, and a 10 lb cat needs roughly 2.5 cans, scaled by weight and activity. To get an exact figure, set the Diet Type selector above to Wet Food: the calculator returns the daily amount in grams and cans for your cat's weight, age, and activity level. Because wet and dry cat food have very different calorie densities, the same calorie target means very different portion sizes. Here's a quick reference by weight. Watching your cat's carbs too? Our Cat Food Carb Calculator works out the carbohydrate content of any food.

Assumes ~100 kcal per 5.5 oz can of wet food and ~370 kcal per cup of dry food. Check your specific brand's label. Mixed feeding splits roughly 60/40 between wet and dry calories.

How Much Dry Food to Feed a Cat

Most adult cats need about ⅓–¾ cup of dry food per day, split across two or three meals. A 10 lb cat on dry food alone needs roughly ⅔ cup; a smaller 5 lb cat needs closer to ⅓ cup. For your cat's exact amount, set the Diet Type selector above to Dry Food and the calculator returns the daily portion in cups.

Dry food is calorie-dense. Most kibble packs 300–450 kcal per cup, so small errors in portion size add up fast. Two habits keep dry feeding accurate:

• Use a proper measuring cup, not a mug or the scoop that came with the bag. Free-pouring is the leading cause of overfeeding and cat obesity.
• Feed measured meals instead of leaving the bowl full all day. Free-feeding makes it almost impossible to track how much your cat actually eats.

Because kibble calorie density varies so much by brand, always check the kcal/cup on the bag. To see the exact calorie target the portions are based on, use our Cat Calorie Calculator.

Mixing Wet and Dry Cat Food

Combination feeding (wet food at mealtimes plus a measured amount of dry food) is popular because it blends the hydration of wet food with the convenience and dental benefit of dry. The one rule that matters: count the calories from both foods together, not full portions of each. Giving a whole day's wet food and a whole day's dry food is double-feeding and the fastest route to weight gain.

The easiest way to get a mixed portion right is to set the Diet Type selector above to Combination of Dry and Wet. The calculator splits your cat's daily calorie target across both foods and shows the wet amount (in cans) alongside the dry amount (in cups), so the two together add up to one day's calories.

A common split for a 10 lb cat needing ~230 kcal/day is one 5.5 oz can of wet food plus about ⅓ cup of dry. If you're switching a cat from all-dry to a wet or mixed diet, transition gradually over 7–10 days to avoid stomach upset.

Cat Feeding Guide by Age

How much to feed your cat changes significantly with age. Here's what to know for each life stage:

Sample Cat Feeding Schedule

Here's a practical feeding schedule for a 10 lb adult cat needing ~230 kcal/day, using combination feeding:

To calculate your cat's exact calorie needs, use our Cat Calorie Calculator. If your cat needs to lose weight, our Cat Weight Loss Calculator provides a safe calorie deficit plan with adjusted feeding amounts. For healthy weight ranges by age and breed, see our Cat Weight Chart by Age & Growth Guide.