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Kitten Calorie Needs Calculator

Enter your kitten's weight, age in months and the food's calorie density to see its daily energy needs and portion.

How it is calculated

Step one is the resting energy requirement: RER = 70 × kg0.75, where kg is body weight in kilograms. Step two multiplies it by a growth factor chosen from the age in months: 3.0 under 4 months, 2.5 from 4 to under 6, 2.0 from 6 to under 12, and 1.4 from 12 months on. daily kcal = RER × factor. The food amount is daily kcal ÷ kcal per 100 g × 100, in grams, so the food field is calories per 100 g, as on most labels. All three results are rounded to whole numbers. The age step is a jump, not a curve: at 3.9 months the factor is 3.0 (285 kcal for the example kitten), at 4.0 months it is 2.5 (237 kcal). Weight above 12 kg or age above 24 months is rejected as not a kitten and shows no result. The result is an estimate for a healthy kitten, not a vet's feeding plan.

Worked example

A kitten weighs 1.5 kg, is 3 months old and eats a food with 400 kcal per 100 g. RER = 70 × 1.50.75 = 70 × 1.355 ≈ 95 kcal. At 3 months the factor is 3.0, so the daily need is 95 × 3.0 = 285 kcal. Food = 285 ÷ 400 × 100 ≈ 71 g per day, usually split over several meals.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Entering the food's calories per gram (for example 4) or per kilogram (4000). The field is kcal per 100 g; typing 4 instead of 400 makes the portion 7,116 g instead of 71 g.
  • Entering the weight in grams. A kitten of 1500 g must be typed as 1.5 kg; 1500 is rejected and shows no result.
  • Entering age in weeks. The field is in months, and a number of weeks would put a young kitten into an older growth band, or past 24 and no result.
  • Feeding the whole figure as dry food on top of wet food. The grams are for one food only; if you mix foods, split the calories between them.
  • Not updating the age. The growth factor drops at 4, 6 and 12 months, so recalculate as the kitten grows, or it will be overfed.

About this calculator

A growing kitten's daily energy need starts from its resting energy requirement (RER), roughly 70 times body weight in kilograms raised to the 0.75 power, then multiplied by an age-based factor that reflects how much extra energy growth demands — 3 times RER for kittens under 4 months old, 2.5 times from 4 to 6 months, 2 times from 6 to 12 months, and 1.4 times from 12 months on. Dividing the resulting daily calorie target by the food's calories per 100 grams (and multiplying by 100) gives the actual portion size to feed.

Cat owners, breeders and veterinary staff use this calculation because underfeeding a growing kitten stunts development while overfeeding sets up lifelong weight problems, and generic "feed according to the bag" instructions rarely account for an individual kitten's actual weight and age the way a calculated target does.

From your kitten's weight in kilograms, age in months and food's calories per 100 grams (from the label), it works out its daily energy needs and the food portion in grams, so you can feed an amount matched to its actual growth stage rather than a one-size-fits-all scoop.

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