How much food should a kitten eat? More, per kilo of body weight, than an adult cat — because a kitten is growing fast, and growth is hungry work. A kitten needs about two and a half times its resting energy requirement, against about 1.2 times for a neutered indoor adult, and the amount changes every few weeks as the kitten grows. This guide is the kitten cat food calculator in words: the calorie tables for kittens by weight, how to work out portions in grams, feeding by age from weaning to adulthood, the mistakes that most often lead to an overweight or underfed kitten, and the foods a kitten should never eat. It uses the resting energy requirement (RER) formula vets use, with the kitten factor of about 2.5.
The kitten year is when feeding habits are set for life, and it is also when feeding mistakes are easiest to make, because the right amount changes so fast. A kitten that is overfed grows up overweight, and a kitten that is underfed grows up stunted — and both problems are much harder to fix in adulthood than to prevent in kittenhood. Weigh the kitten every two weeks, adjust food as it grows, and use the tables below as a starting point, then adjust by body condition: you should be able to feel the ribs easily under a thin layer of fat and see a waist from above and from the side, even in a kitten. This guide gives the numbers to start from, and your vet fine-tunes them for your individual kitten.
How many calories does a kitten need?
Veterinary nutritionists start with the resting energy requirement, or RER — the calories a cat burns at rest in a neutral temperature, doing nothing at all. The formula is: RER equals 70 times body weight in kg to the power of 0.75. Daily needs are then the RER multiplied by a factor for life stage and activity: about 2.5 for a kitten, about 1.2 for a typical neutered indoor adult, about 1.4 for an intact adult, and about 1.4 to 1.6 for an active or outdoor cat. So a kitten of 2 kg has an RER of about 115 calories, and at the 2.5 factor it needs about 290 calories a day — against about 140 for the same cat as a neutered indoor adult. That difference, more than double, is the whole of the kitten adjustment: growth is expensive, and the food has to pay for it.
These factors are the standard ones used in veterinary nutrition, but they are still starting points. A very active kitten that plays hard all day needs more than a calm one that sleeps most of the day, and a kitten that has been neutered typically needs about 10 to 20% fewer calories than before, so expect to cut food a little after the operation and watch the waistline. The right amount is the one that keeps growth steady and the kitten lean: weigh the kitten every two weeks, and if weight is rising too fast, cut food by about 10% and re-weigh in two weeks rather than changing everything at once. If weight is not rising at all, or the kitten is losing weight, mention it to your vet promptly — a kitten that is not growing needs a vet check, not just more food.
Kitten daily calories by weight
Use the table below to find your kitten's daily calories. Find the row nearest the kitten's current weight — not its expected adult weight — then read the kitten column. The adult column shows what the same cat will need as a neutered indoor adult, so you can see how much the amount will fall as the kitten grows up, and why the switch from kitten food to adult food matters.
| Body weight | Kitten (×2.5) | Neutered indoor adult (×1.2) |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 kg | 105 | 50 |
| 1 kg | 175 | 85 |
| 2 kg | 295 | 140 |
| 3 kg | 400 | 190 |
| 4 kg | 495 | 240 |
Re-check the table every two weeks as the kitten grows, because the amount changes quickly: a kitten that weighed 1 kg a month ago and weighs 2 kg now needs almost twice the food it needed then, and feeding last month's amount to this month's kitten is underfeeding. Note that calories are the real target and grams are only a translation — different foods have very different calorie densities, so always check the kcal per 100 g on your own bag or tin and work from that. The grams figures below assume a typical dry food at around 350 kcal per 100 g, a common figure, but your food may differ, and the packet's number always wins over this guide's.
How much food in grams per day
For a kitten of 2 kg needing about 290 calories a day, that is roughly 85 g of a typical dry food at 350 kcal per 100 g. For a kitten of 1 kg needing about 175 calories, it is roughly 50 g. For a kitten of 3 kg needing about 400 calories, it is roughly 115 g. Split the daily amount into three to four meals for a kitten under six months — morning, midday, afternoon, and evening — then two meals a day from about six months. Small, frequent meals suit a kitten's small stomach and fast metabolism, and they make it easier to see appetite changes, which are often the first sign of illness in a kitten.
If you feed wet food, use the tin's kcal figure to convert: a typical wet food is around 70 to 100 kcal per 100 g, so a 2 kg kitten needing 290 calories would need roughly 340 g of wet food a day, split across meals. Mixed feeding is fine as long as the total calories add up — the common mistake is to give a full measure of dry food plus a full pouch of wet food, which roughly doubles the ration. Measure food with scales, not a scoop or a handful: a scoop in one house can be half as much again as a scoop in another, and that hidden extra is often the whole reason a kitten is overweight. Treats count too: they should stay under 10% of daily calories, which for a 2 kg kitten is under about 30 calories of treats a day — a few small treats, not a handful.
Feeding a kitten by age
From weaning to about 3 months, a kitten needs a kitten food — one labelled complete and balanced for kittens — fed in four meals a day, little and often, with fresh water always available. The kitten is growing fastest in these weeks, and its stomach is smallest, so frequent small meals are essential. From 3 to 6 months, feed three meals a day, and keep weighing every two weeks: this is the age when growth is fastest and when the amount changes most. From 6 to 12 months, feed two meals a day, and start to watch for the change from kitten to adult: the kitten's growth slows, its energy levels settle, and the amount it needs stops rising every fortnight.
From 12 months, most cats can move to an adult food and two meals a day — but ask your vet when to switch, rather than switching at the first birthday out of habit, especially for a large breed such as a Maine Coon, which can take 2 to 4 years to finish growing and may need kitten food for longer. The switch should be gradual, over a week, mixing the old and new food in increasing proportions, because a sudden change upsets a kitten's digestion. If your kitten is neutered, expect to cut food by roughly 10 to 20% after the operation. Cats are obligate carnivores, so their food must contain animal protein and nutrients such as taurine and arachidonic acid that cats cannot make themselves — a dog food, or a vegetarian diet, is not safe for a kitten. The kitten cat age calculator guide explains the life stages the feeding follows, and the kitten cat weight calculator guide explains how to track growth against the breed's expected adult weight.
Common feeding mistakes with kittens
The most common mistake is free-feeding — leaving a full bowl of dry food down all day. It makes it impossible to know how much the kitten has eaten, it hides appetite changes that are often the first sign of illness, and it is the fastest route to an overweight kitten. The second is feeding by the packet's chart alone: packet charts are generous, because they are written for active cats and rounded up, so treat them as a maximum, not a target. The third is treat creep: a treat here, a piece of cheese there, and the kitten's daily calories rise by a quarter without anyone noticing. The fourth is milk: most cats cannot digest lactose well, and milk is not a substitute for water — fresh water should always be available, and kittens should have their mother's milk or a vet-recommended kitten milk replacer, never cow's milk.
The fifth mistake is feeding an adult food to a kitten, or a kitten food to an adult: a kitten food is richer in protein, fat, and calcium than an adult food, because growth needs them, and an adult food does not give a kitten what it needs to grow properly. The sixth is switching foods suddenly, which upsets digestion — change foods gradually over a week. The seventh is overfeeding to make the kitten grow faster: rapid growth and excess weight in kittenhood set up weight problems for life, and a kitten should stay lean enough that you can feel its ribs easily at every age. If your kitten has a health condition, ask your vet or a veterinary nutritionist before choosing a special diet — therapeutic diets are medicines in food form and should not be chosen by guesswork.
Foods a kitten should never eat
Some everyday foods are toxic to cats and should never be given, in any amount: onions, garlic, leeks, and chives; chocolate and cocoa; grapes and raisins; xylitol, also called birch sugar, found in some sugar-free gum, sweets, and peanut butter; alcohol; and raw fish or raw meat that has not been handled safely. Lilies are also highly toxic to cats — even the pollen — so keep lilies out of a house with a kitten. If your kitten eats any of these, call your vet or an animal poison line straight away — do not wait for symptoms and do not try to treat it at home. Keep a note of what was eaten, how much, and when, because the vet will ask.
A kitten is more vulnerable than an adult cat to the same hazards, because its body is smaller and its organs are still developing. A small amount of a toxic food that an adult cat might survive can be serious for a kitten, and a bout of vomiting or diarrhoea that an adult recovers from in a day can leave a kitten dehydrated and weak. Keep the diet simple, consistent, and measured, and keep anything the kitten should not eat out of reach — including the kitchen bin, which a determined kitten can still raid, and houseplants, some of which are toxic to cats. If you are unsure whether a food is safe, do not give it, and ask your vet.
For related reading, see the kitten cat age calculator guide, the kitten cat weight calculator guide, the cat food calculator, the kitten weight predictor, the kitten cat lifespan guide, the cat age in human years chart.
Frequently asked questions
How much food should a kitten eat per day?
A kitten of 2 kg needs about 290 calories a day at the kitten factor of 2.5 — roughly 85 g of a typical dry food at 350 kcal per 100 g. A 1 kg kitten needs about 175 calories, and a 3 kg kitten about 400. Re-check every two weeks as the kitten grows, and adjust by body condition and your vet's advice.
How many times a day should I feed a kitten?
Three to four meals a day until about six months, then two meals a day. Small, frequent meals suit a kitten's small stomach and fast metabolism, and they make it easier to see appetite changes, which are often the first sign of illness.
When should I switch from kitten food to adult food?
Usually at about 12 months, but ask your vet — large breeds such as Maine Coons can take 2 to 4 years to finish growing and may need kitten food for longer. Switch gradually over a week, mixing the old and new food in increasing proportions.
Can kittens drink milk?
Most cats cannot digest lactose well, so milk often causes an upset stomach and adds calories the kitten does not need. Fresh water is what a kitten needs. Kittens should have their mother's milk or a vet-recommended kitten milk replacer, never cow's milk.
How do I know if my kitten is overweight?
Feel the ribs: you should feel them easily under a thin layer of fat without pressing hard. Look from above for a visible waist. If you cannot feel the ribs or there is no waist, the kitten is probably overweight — cut food by about 10% and ask your vet to check growth against the expected adult weight.
What foods are toxic to kittens?
Onions and garlic, chocolate, grapes and raisins, xylitol, alcohol, and lilies — even lily pollen — are all dangerous for cats. If your kitten eats any of them, call your vet or an animal poison line immediately and tell them what was eaten, how much, and when.
Results on this page are estimates for general information only and are not veterinary advice. If your pet is ill, underweight, overweight, pregnant, or has a health condition, consult your veterinarian before changing diet or care.