What the update includes

The how much should I feed my cat guide now includes:

  • A life-stage calorie multiplier table aligned with WSAVA Global Nutrition Guidelines
  • A worked example: a 4.5 kg neutered adult cat with a multiplier of 1.2 needs approximately 218 kcal/day
  • A section on reading pet food labels — how to find the metabolisable energy (ME) figure and convert it to grams per day
  • Expanded FAQ covering raw feeding risks, prescription diet rationale, and when a vet nutritionist is needed

Why WSAVA alignment matters

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) Global Nutrition Guidelines are the most widely adopted international reference for companion animal nutrition. They are updated regularly and are produced by veterinary nutritionists with no commercial ties to pet food manufacturers.

Using the WSAVA calorie formula (based on Resting Energy Requirement) means CatTheGuide's estimates are consistent with what a veterinary nutritionist would calculate — not drawn from pet food marketing literature, which frequently overstates feeding amounts to increase sales.

The key formula. RER (Resting Energy Requirement) = 70 × (body weight in kg)0.75. Multiply by a life-stage factor: 1.2 for neutered adults, 1.4 for intact adults, up to 2.5 for kittens under 4 months. The full table is in the guide.

What comes next: the feeding calculator

An interactive feeding calculator — currently in development for the Tools page — will let you input your cat's weight and life stage and receive a personalised calorie estimate with the working shown. It will also convert kcal/day to grams of a specific food based on the energy density you enter from the food label.

This joins the existing age calculator and the planned litter-box planner in our growing tools suite. Sign up for the newsletter (on the News page) to be notified when new tools launch.

How CatTheGuide keeps guides accurate

Every guide on CatTheGuide carries a published date and a review date. When a major guideline is updated — such as a new edition of the WSAVA Nutrition Guidelines — the affected pages are marked "under review" in the changelog until they have been re-checked. This cycle is adapted from the evidence update practices used in human clinical guidelines, applied to our smaller scope. You can see the full history of changes on the News page changelog.