How much should a cat eat per day?

October 4, 2026 · 4 min read

Ask your cat how much it should eat and the answer is clear: more, and now. Ask a vet and you get a better answer, but it starts with "it depends". Here is what it depends on, and how to turn it into grams in the bowl.

It is about calories, not grams

Cats need a certain amount of energy per day. How many grams that represents depends entirely on the food: a gram of kibble contains far more calories than a gram of wet food, because wet food is mostly water.

As a rough guide, a healthy adult cat of about 4 kg needs somewhere around 200 to 250 kcal a day. A small, calm, indoor cat sits at the lower end; a larger or very active outdoor cat at the upper end, or above.

What moves the number:

Weight and build. A larger cat needs more, but not proportionally: a 6 kg cat does not need 50% more than a 4 kg cat.
Indoor or outdoor. Indoor cats move less and usually need noticeably less.
Neutering. Neutered cats tend to need less energy and gain weight more easily.
Age. Kittens need much more per kilo while they grow; older cats often need less, though some seniors lose weight and need more.

What that means in the bowl

Here is what it looks like with our own food. Our cat kibble contains 379 kcal per 100 g. Our fillets contain 83 to 90 kcal per 100 g, so a 70 g tin brings about 60 kcal.

For a 4 kg indoor cat, our kibble feeding table gives about 47 to 79 g of kibble a day (between 3 and 5 kg). Around 60 g is a reasonable start for a 4 kg cat, which is roughly 230 kcal.

Add a fillet, and the kibble goes down:

A day for a 4 kg indoor cat	Kibble	Fillets (70 g)
Kibble only	about 60 g	none
Kibble + one fillet	about 45 g	1 tin

One tin replaces roughly 15 g of kibble. That is the part most people miss: a fillet on top is not "extra", it is part of the day, and the kibble should shrink to make room for it. Our fillets are made to go with a complete food, so keep the kibble as the base. Our feeding calculator does this split for you, recipe by recipe.

These are starting points, not prescriptions. Your cat's body will tell you whether to adjust.

Is my cat the right weight?

Scales help, but your hands are just as useful:

Ribs: you should be able to feel them easily under a thin layer of fat, without seeing them.
Waist: seen from above, there should be a gentle waist behind the ribs.
Belly: from the side, the belly should tuck up a little. Some cats have a loose flap of skin there; that is normal and not fat.

If you cannot feel the ribs, reduce the daily amount by about 10% and check again in a few weeks. If the ribs and spine feel sharp, increase it a little. If your cat loses or gains weight quickly without a change in food, talk to your vet.

Weigh your cat every month or two, on the same scale. Small changes are easier to correct than big ones.

Practical habits that help

Weigh the kibble. A "cup" can vary by 20% or more depending on who fills it. A kitchen scale is the cheapest diet tool there is.
Count the treats. Treats and snacks count towards the day. A few a day is fine; a handful is a meal.
Two or more meals. Most adult cats do well on two to three meals a day, rather than a bowl refilled whenever it looks empty.
Wet food helps with water. Besides the calories, each fillet brings about 50 ml of water, which most cats need more of. More on that in Cats and water: why wet food matters.

Kittens and older cats

Kittens need much more energy per kilo and should eat food made for growth, in several small meals. See feeding a kitten in the first months.
Older cats vary more. Some slow down and gain weight; others lose appetite or muscle. Regular weighing matters even more after about ten years.

In short

A 4 kg adult cat needs roughly 200 to 250 kcal a day; indoor and neutered cats are at the lower end.
Count calories, not grams: kibble is dense, wet food is mostly water.
With our food: about 60 g of kibble a day, or 45 g plus one fillet, for a 4 kg indoor cat.
A fillet on top replaces some kibble; it is not extra.
Check ribs, waist and belly, weigh regularly, and adjust by about 10% at a time.

Your cat will continue to tell you it is starving, several times a day. That is not a measurement. That is an opinion.