Wet + Dry Food Mix Calculator

Split a daily calorie target between wet food cans and dry kibble to find how much dry food to add.

How it works

Start with the daily calorie target from the Cat Food Portion Calculator (or your vet). Pick how many cans of wet food you're feeding, and the calculator subtracts those calories from the daily target. Whatever's left gets converted to cups of dry food using the kcal-per-cup figure printed on your kibble bag.

Worked example: a cat with a 238 kcal daily target eating one 3 oz can of wet food at 90 kcal per can has 148 kcal left over. At 350 kcal per cup of dry food, that's about 0.4 cups to round out the day. Feed two cans instead of one at that same 238 kcal target and there's only 58 kcal left, closer to 0.2 cups of dry food.

FAQ

Where do I find the kcal per can or kcal per cup numbers?

Check the guaranteed analysis or calorie statement on the label, usually printed as "kcal/can" or "kcal/cup." If it's missing, the manufacturer's website almost always has it. Don't guess. Wet food cans range from about 70 to well over 150 kcal depending on size and formula, and dry food density varies just as much between brands.

What if the result comes out to zero?

That means the wet food alone already covers (or exceeds) the daily target, so no dry food is needed that day. That's fine occasionally, but if it happens every day, double check the daily target against your cat's actual weight and life stage.

Should I feed wet and dry food together or separately?

Either works nutritionally as long as the calories add up correctly. Some cats do better with wet food as a separate meal and dry food left out for grazing; others prefer it all mixed in one bowl. Consistency in timing matters more than the exact split.

More on choosing between formats in wet vs. dry cat food, how to choose, and if you're changing brands or ratios, how to switch cat foods without an upset stomach walks through doing it gradually.