Pet Calorie & Feeding Reference

Every figure below is computed by the same calculation engine that powers the calculators on this site — none of it is hand-entered. The full reference is available as JSON and per-table CSV, under a CC BY 4.0 licence. Cite it as PetPortionCalc.com — Pet Calorie Reference Dataset.

Resting energy requirement (RER)

The resting energy requirement is the starting point for every figure here. It uses one equation for dogs and cats, and a separate single-formula shortcut for cats that is used in clinical settings.

Note the two exponents: the general RER uses 0.75, while the cat single formula uses 0.67. A site that applies 0.75 to cats without saying so is not following the cat formula.

Energy multipliers (NRC 2006)

Daily energy need is the resting requirement multiplied by a factor that depends on species, life stage, neuter status and activity. These are the factors this site applies.

The full table, including intact (not neutered) rows for every activity level, is in the CSV download. A weight-loss target overrides every maintenance row above it.

Daily energy, by weight

Applying the multipliers to the resting requirement gives the daily calorie need for the most common profile: an adult, neutered animal of typical activity.

Converting calories to grams — and why density is an assumption

A calorie figure is not a portion. Turning it into grams needs the food’s energy density, and there is no single correct density: it varies by brand, recipe and form. This site therefore states its density assumption wherever a gram figure appears, rather than publishing one “official” number.

The formula is grams = daily calories ÷ kcal per 100 g × 100. Change the density and only the grams move — the calories do not. The dataset publishes the density as a labelled column on every row, never as a hidden constant.

Reference ranges

• Dry food energy density: about 3,500–4,000 kcal/kg (350–400 kcal per 100 g), at roughly 10% moisture.
• Wet food energy density: about 800–1,200 kcal/kg (80–120 kcal per 100 g), at roughly 75% moisture.
• Wet vs dry by weight: wet food carries roughly a quarter of the calories of dry per gram — 100 g of wet replaces only about 25 g of dry.
• Water intake: dogs about 30–50 ml per kg per day; cats about 40–60 ml per kg per day. Both totals include the water in food.
• Treats: no more than 10% of daily calories.
• Safe weight-loss rate: 1–2% of body weight per week for dogs; 0.5–2% for cats. Slower is safer — crash dieting in cats can cause hepatic lipidosis.

Download and licence

The whole reference is published as open data. Every row carries a source field pointing back to this page, and every density-bearing row carries its own assumption field.

• Pet Calorie Reference Dataset (JSON) — all tables plus metadata in one file
• energy_multipliers.csv — the full NRC factor table
• daily_energy_typical.csv — daily calories by weight
• portion_by_density.csv — grams per day at stated densities
• resting_energy_formulas.csv
• water_intake.csv
• food_density_reference.csv
• feeding_rules.csv
• calorie_units.csv
• energy_variation.csv
• README.md — what each file contains and how to cite it

Licence: CC BY 4.0. You may copy, redistribute and adapt this data for any purpose, including commercially, provided you credit PetPortionCalc.com — Pet Calorie Reference Dataset and link back to this page.

Where these numbers come from

The energy equations follow the National Research Council’s Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats (2006); the life-stage and body-condition framing follows the WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee guidelines and AAHA’s 2021 nutrition and weight-management guidelines. Density and water figures are ranges across typical commercial products, not single manufacturer values. This is an estimation reference, not veterinary advice.

Dataset version 1.0.0 · last updated 2026-10-03 · generated directly from the site’s calculation engine.