How Much Should I Feed My Cat? Complete Feeding Chart by Age & Weight

Stand in front of the food bowl long enough, and the question comes up eventually: how much should I feed my cat? There's no single number printed on a bag that works for every cat. Weight, age, activity level, and whether the bowl holds wet food or dry all pull that number in different directions. Feeding guidelines on packaging are built around an average cat that rarely matches the one sitting at your feet. Which is exactly why so many cats end up overfed or underfed even when an owner is following the bag exactly. Below is a how much to feed a cat chart by weight and age, along with the same math vets use to work out how many calories should a cat eat each day.

Quick Answer

Answering how much should I feed my cat starts with a simple ratio. Adult cats should get 20-30 calories per pound of their weight each day. So if the cat weighs 10 pounds, we have to give it about 200-300 calories per day, divided into two meals. Kittens require almost twice as many calories for their growth and development. Spay or neuter status, activity level, and current body condition all shift that number up or down from there. For a more exact number, the cat calorie calculator further down this page walks through the full formula.

What Determines How Much to Feed a Cat

Weight on a scale only tells part of the story. Age matters just as much. A kitten burns energy completely differently than a ten-year-old cat sleeping through most of the afternoon. Overweight cats do better fed for the weight they should be, not the one currently showing up on the scale.

Activity level throws people off more than almost anything else. Picture two cats at the exact same weight: one lazy and one extremely active. Same size, very different fuel needs. Spay and neuter status shifts things too, usually by about 20%. The procedure tends to slow metabolism down a notch, so a fixed cat eating like an intact one will often creep up in weight without anyone noticing for months.

Then there's the food itself. Dry kibble is denser, calorie for calorie, than wet food. Scoop out what looks like the same amount from a bag of kibble and a can of pate, and you're not actually looking at the same number of calories, not even close.

Body condition is a better metric. Two cats can weigh the same and need different portions. One might be carrying more muscle and the other more fat. That's why veterinarians use the 1–9 Body Condition Score instead of relying on weight.

A naturally larger breed like a Maine Coon can be heavier than a small breed. Comparing your cat to a generic chart without accounting for size can lead you to under- or overfeed without realizing it.

Cat Feeding Chart by Weight

This how much to feed a cat chart assumes an average indoor adult cat at a healthy weight, split into two meals a day.

Kibble calorie density ranges from 300 to 450 kcal per cup depending on the brand, so use this table as a starting point rather than a fixed rule. Check the label on your specific food before settling on a portion.

Cat Feeding Chart by Age

Age matters just as much as weight when it comes to how much should I feed my cat, and this how much to feed a cat chart breaks it down by life stage.

Kittens (0-12 months)

Kittens burn through calories fast. They're building muscle, bone, and organs almost all at once.

Adult Cats (1-7 years)

Somewhere in the 20-30 calorie per pound range works for most. Spayed or neutered cats usually land toward the lower end.

Senior Cats (7+ years)

Older cats often need less because they move less. Past age 12, some cats actually need more because their bodies stop absorbing nutrients as efficiently. The safest approach is weighing a senior cat every few months. Don’t assume last year's portion.

How to Calculate Daily Calorie Needs for Cats

Vets rely on a two-step formula to calculate how many calories should a cat eat. The formula behind any cat calorie calculator.

Step 1: Resting Energy Requirement (RER) RER = 70 x (body weight in kg)^0.75

Step 2: Daily Energy Requirement (DER) Multiply RER by an activity factor:

Here’s how you can apply the formula yourself:

Consider you have a neutered adult cat. It weighs around 10 pounds. RER is roughly 172 kcal. Now multiply that number by 1.2, and you land at about 206 kcal per day. 

Add your cat's weight and activity level, and you've built your own cat calorie calculator.

Wet Food vs. Dry Food: Does It Change the Amount?

This question troubles a lot of cat owners. Wet food contains almost 70-80% moisture, while dry kibble drops down to 6-10%. A cat eating wet food needs a noticeably larger volume to hit the same calorie target as a cat eating kibble. Our full guide on wet vs dry cat food explains the difference between the two types.

How to Transition Your Cat to a New Feeding Amount

Cutting or adding food overnight can mess up a cat's digestion and cause hepatic lipidosis, which can result in the cat not eating. Any change in the amount of calories should be done gradually over a period of 7-10 days.

• Days 1-3: 10% of new formula mixed with old

• Days 4-7: Another 10% mixed in, keeping an eye on appetite and litter box habits.

• Days 8-10: Transitioned to new food

If you cat stops eating for more than a day during this process. Or it seems unusually lethargic, contact a veterinarian. Don’t wait for it to pass. It is not a phase. This matters especially for overweight cats being moved onto a weight-loss plan. Cutting calories too aggressively carries real risk.

Buying and Feeding Decision Guide

Before locking in a permanent portion, run through this list to double-check how much should I feed my cat and how many calories a cat should eat:

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  Weigh your cat on a consistent scale (a kitchen scale works fine for kittens)

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  Confirm whether your cat is spayed or neutered

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  Check the calorie count on your specific food's label instead of assuming it matches other brands

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  Settle on 2 meals a day for adults, 3-4 for kittens under 6 months

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  Recheck weight every 4-6 weeks and adjust by about 10% if it's trending up or down

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  Skip free-feeding dry food if your cat is overweight or food-motivated

Free Feeding vs. Portioned Meals

For most cats without a weight issue, portioned meals win out. Free feeding tends to work only for lean, active cats who naturally self-regulate.

Common Feeding Mistakes

A lot of feeding mistakes start smaller than owners expect. Scooping food by eye instead of using a cup or a kitchen scale is one of the biggest culprits, since scoop sizes vary so much between bags that "one scoop" can mean two different calorie counts depending on the brand. Giving kittens adult-sized portions is another one that sneaks up on people. It can slow growth during a stretch when a kitten's body needs every calorie it's supposed to get. Treats matter more than most owners realize, too. They should stay under 10% of the day's total.

Switching brands without checking the new label is a quiet way to throw a routine off. Two cups from two different bags rarely carry the same calorie count. A portion that worked fine on one food can overfeed or underfeed on another. Spay and neuter timing trips people up as well. Metabolism slows down after the procedure. But owners do not make the necessary adjustments.

Multi-cat households have a problem. Splitting one combined portion evenly across bowls is easy. But cats don't eat at the same pace; one cat might finish faster and move in on the shier one's food. The recommended approach is to feed cats in separate spots. This solves this and makes it much easier to notice if one cat is nibbling on the other cat’s bowl.

Ready to Feed with Confidence? Shop T-Rex Pets

How much should I feed my cat comes down to weight, age, activity level, and neuter status. Use the charts above, or run your cat's numbers through the cat calorie calculator method.  Adjust as your cat's body changes over the next few weeks. 

T-Rex Pets carries a full range of wet and dry cat food, along with the feeding accessories to help you portion it accurately. Shop the collection and get your cat's next meal right.

Frequently Asked Questions