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Caloric Requirements

Calories Help

Choose the Species, Enter Pet's Current Weight, Select Body Condition Score (BCS) Value and Pet Criteria.

Pet's Target Weight, RER, MER and H2O requirements will be automatically calculated.

Enter the current Calories per can or cup of food being fed, to calculate the number of cans or cups per day needed. Look up food calorie data with the provided links.

Lbs Kgs

ID#:

Pet:

Owner:

Age:

Species:

Sex:

Procedure:

Pet

Owner

Age

Species and Sex

Procedure

*Results for MER, Maintenance Energy Requirement, are ESTIMATES, individual animals can vary by as much as 50% from the predicted values.

1 Enter Weight

lbs

kgs

2 Set Body Condition Score

Body Condition Score (BCS):

Enter Pet's Weight
Select BCS
Ideal target weight is calculated
Select Pet criteria
Calories/Day to feed is calculated
Enter the calories per cup/can of food
Number of cups/cans to feed/day is calculated
See Pet Diet Tables for calorie amounts

3 Choose Species

Canine

4 Select Pet Criteria:

Select Dog's Criteria:

Dog's Current Weight:

Dog's Target Weight:

5 RER and MER Results

RER

(Resting Energy Requirement)

Calculated

MER

(Maintenance Energy Requirement)

Calculated

(Range: - kcal/day)

6 Set Calories per can or cup

Use Pet Food Diet Tables Below

Calories per Cup or Can

Cups or Cans to Feed per Day:

7 H2O

Daily H2O Requirement

Calculated Value (Range)

Feline

4 Select Pet Criteria:

Select Cat's Criteria:

Cat's Current Weight:

Cat's Target Weight:

5 RER and MER Results

RER

(Resting Energy Requirement)

Calculated

MER

(Maintenance Energy Requirement)

Calculated

(Range: - kcal/day)

6 Set Calories per can or cup

Use Pet Food Diet Tables Below

Calories per Cup or Can

Cups or Cans to Feed per Day:

7 H2O

Daily H2O Requirement

Calculated Value (Range)

Pet Food Diet Tables Links - Calories/Cup or Can

Feline BCS

Canine BCS

Feline Calorie Chart

Canine Calorie Chart

Calories

Even when taking into account a pet’s lifestyle, age, activity level, etc., it is impossible to mathematically determine exactly how many kilocalories a pet needs. Variations in metabolic rates can alter this figure by as much as 20 percent. Results need to be viewed as an estimate only.

Calorie “calculators” or tables cannot take into account what might make an animal’s situation unique.

Resting Energy Requirement (RER) = 70 (body weight in kg)^0.75
Maintenance Energy Requirement (MER) = appropriate multiplier x RER

Commonly Used Multipliers:

typical neutered pet	1.6
typical intact pet	1.8
weight loss	1
weight gain	1.7
light work	2
moderate work	3
heavy work	6
growth (less than 4 months old)	3
growth (more than 4 months old)	2

Here's what the calculations look like for a neutered pet dog weighing 45 pounds that is at his or her optimum weight.

20.5 kg
70 x 20.5^0.75 = 674 kcal/day
1.6 x 672 = 1075 kcal/day

Remember, this is estimate. This pet’s actual needs may actually be anywhere between 860 kcal/day and 1,290 kcal/day.

2024 Lifelearn, Inc.

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Vetcalculators.com

This site is provided so users can utilize some of the veterinary calculators in the Vetcalculators App. For access to all of the veterinary calculators and references available, download Vetcalculators

Vetcalculators was designed for Veterinarians by a Veterinarian, to calculate dosages of common veterinary drugs, anesthetics, emergency drugs, antibiotics and CRI's for feline and canine patients. It is solely a guide and each dose should be thoroughly researched, reviewed and checked for accuracy and the specific dose given should be based on the Veterinarian's current physical exam as well as the patients age, medical history and current health status.

Vetcalculators is to be used as a guideline only and is not intended any way to replace clinical judgment or guide individual care in any case. Check all values and calculations prior to use and use is at your own risk. Neither Lifelearn, Inc. the developers, nor any other party involved in the preparation, publication or distribution of Vetcalculators shall be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting in whole or part from any use of or reliance upon this information. Vetcalculators is not responsible for any errors in dosing based on this calculator. Verify all values and calculations prior to use.

Vetcalculators Drug References

Dosage ranges may vary slightly between sources

Plumb DC: Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook / Edition 9, 2018.
Papich Mark G. : Saunders Handbook of Veterinary Drugs. Elsevier, 2021.
Grimm KA,Lamont LA, et al: Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia / Edition 5, 2015.
Aiello SE, Moses MA: The Merck Veterinary Manual / Edition 11, 2016.
Egger CM, Love L: Pain Management in Veterinary Practice. Wiley-Blackwell, 2013.
Gaynor S, Muir WW: Handbook of Veterinary Pain Management, 3rd ed. Mosby, 2014.
Goldberg ME, Shaffran N: Pain Management for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses. Wiley-Blackwell 2014.
Steagall P, Robertson SA: Feline Anesthesia and Pain Management. Wiley-Blackwell, 2017.

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