How much should my pet eat?

When starting a healthy weight loss plan you first need to figure out how much your pet needs to lose.  This info can be obtained by asking your local veterinarian or licensed technician.  The second step is to decide how many calories  your pet needs and how much food/treats you can give each day.

So how do you determine how many calories a day your pet needs?

For a dog, the following formula can be a baseline for figuring out about how many calories a day your dog needs. Body weight in pounds divided by 2.2 (this will change pounds into kilograms) multiply by 30 then add 70 = the amount of calories needed daily for a healthy adult dog. 

For a cat, the formula is similar to dogs.  Body weight in pounds divided by 2.2 multiply by 30 = the amount of calories needed daily for a healthy adult cat.

After you find out about how many calories your pet needs per day, you can calculate how much to food to feed them based on the numbers on the back of your pets food bag.  Pet foods should list calorie content in the same way that human foods do.

When weight loss is the goal, remember to use your pet’s ideal weight rather than current weight when calculating calories needed each day.

For more information on food guidelines please contact us at 256-533-3385, info@covepets.com or leave a comment below.