🐾 Cat Weight-Loss Planner
Not just a calorie number — a whole plan. Daily calories set the way vets set them, a safe pace of about 0.75% of body weight per week, the plan broken into 3-month steps, and a weigh-in tracker that recalculates each step from your cat's real weight. Slow is not a flaw in cat weight loss. Slow is the safety feature.
Your cat's plan
Weigh yourself holding the cat, then without, and subtract — or use the vet's scale number.
The weight your vet set. Must be below the current weight.
The food
Feeding a mix? Build the plan here, then split the calories between wet and dry with our Wet & Dry Food Mix Calculator.
On the bag as kcal/kg ÷ 10. Typical dry: 350–420.
Also on the bag ("kcal/cup"). Cups vary — grams are the honest measure.
On the tin/pouch label. Typical wet: 70–100.
Printed on most cans. Default ≈ an 85 g pouch at 85 kcal/100 g.
Treats stay inside the plan, never on top of it — the budget comes out of the daily calories before portions are worked out.
Weight-loss plan — take to your vet
The plan
That is, in real food
The plan in steps (recalculated as your cat loses)
Vets run weight loss in steps (the APOP method): each step's calories are set from the weight at the start of that step, then reassessed. Reweigh every 2 weeks and log it below — each weigh-in starts a fresh step at the new weight.
| Step | Weeks | Projected weight | Daily kcal |
|---|
📏 Weigh-in tracker
Same scale, same time of day, before a meal. Stored only in this browser — nothing is uploaded.
| Date | Weight | Change |
|---|
No weigh-ins logged yet. Add the first one to start the tracker.
Every figure here is a starting estimate to confirm with your own veterinarian — your vet knows your cat; this page knows the standard formulas.
Why use this planner?
Steps, not a one-shot number
Every other calculator hands you one calorie figure and wishes you luck. Real plans are reassessed: this planner works in 3-month steps (the APOP structure vets use) and recalculates each step from your cat's measured weight, so the plan stays right at month four, not just day one.
A safety floor that can't be argued with
The daily target is never allowed below 70% of your cat's resting energy needs — the APOP floor. If the maths ever tries to go lower, the planner stops at the floor and tells you plainly, with the vet note attached. No crash diets, ever.
A tracker that knows what a plateau means
Log weigh-ins and the planner compares actual loss with the plan. A stall doesn't trigger an automatic deeper cut — it tells you to check treats and adherence first, then talk to your vet about a small adjustment. That's the clinical order of operations, built in.
How the numbers work
| Step | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Resting energy (RER) | 70 × (weight in kg)0.75 | The baseline every veterinary nutrition calculation starts from. |
| Daily calories | 0.8 × RER at target weight | The 2021 AAHA weight-loss factor for cats, calculated on the target weight — how vets set it. |
| Safety floor | Never below 0.7 × RER at the step's starting weight | The APOP (Association for Pet Obesity Prevention) floor. Going lower needs a veterinary nutritionist, not a website. |
| Planned pace | ~0.75% of body weight per week | The conservative midpoint of the published safe range for cats (0.5–1% per week; APOP plans around 0.5–1.2%). |
| Treats | 10% of daily kcal, taken out of the food budget | The standard ceiling — treats are planned, not extra. |
| Steps | 3-month steps, reweigh every 2 weeks | Each step's calories are rechecked against the floor at that step's starting weight (APOP step method). |
Method sources: AAHA 2021 nutrition guidelines factor table; APOP Step Weight Loss Calculator method and planning ranges. Reviewed November 2026. Individual cats vary — the weigh-in trend outranks any formula, including this one.
Questions people ask
Why is the pace so slow? Can't we just feed less?
Because cats aren't small dogs. An overweight cat who eats far too little — or stops eating — can develop hepatic lipidosis, a serious liver condition. The published safe band for cats is roughly 0.5–1% of body weight per week, and this planner sits at 0.75%, the conservative middle. A 6 kg cat losing ~45 g a week is doing it exactly right.
What is the 70% floor, and why did my plan hit it?
APOP's rule: a home weight-loss plan should never feed below 70% of the resting energy requirement (RER) at the weight the cat starts that step — below that, nutrient adequacy and safety need a veterinary nutritionist's supervision. It usually binds when the target is far below the current weight. As your cat loses, each new step starts lighter, the floor eases, and the plan converges on the target-weight calories.
The scale hasn't moved in a month. Should I cut calories?
Not on your own, and not automatically. The clinical order is: first check the invisible calories — treats, other people's feeding, the other cat's bowl, the "measured" cup that isn't. If intake is genuinely as planned, the next step is a conversation with your vet about a small 5–10% adjustment. This planner deliberately never prescribes a deeper cut by itself.
My cat is losing faster than the plan. Good news?
Not necessarily. Loss persistently above ~1.2% of body weight per week deserves a vet call, especially if appetite drops — too-fast loss is the dangerous direction in cats. The tracker flags it when it sees it.
Can I just feed less of the usual food?
You can, and many plans start there — but know the trade-off vets flag: cutting a maintenance food by a lot also cuts its protein and micronutrients by the same amount. A therapeutic weight-loss diet is formulated to stay complete at fewer calories. That's a label conversation worth having with your vet at the next recheck.
Can kittens or senior cats use this?
No. Kittens are growing and must never be dieted; seniors lose weight for medical reasons that need investigating first; and cats with diabetes, kidney or thyroid conditions need vet-directed plans. This planner is for healthy adult cats whose vet has already set the target.
Keep exploring
Ideal Weight & BCS Checker — where the target weight comes from · Cat Calorie Calculator — maintenance calories once the target is reached · Wet & Dry Food Mix Calculator — split the day's calories between foods · Cat Weight Tracker — the full long-term weight log · All KittyButts tools
This planner gives general weight-loss planning guidance for healthy adult cats, built on published veterinary formulas (AAHA 2021; APOP step method) — it is not veterinary advice, not a diagnosis, and not a treatment plan. Every target here should be confirmed with your own veterinarian, and any cat who stops eating, loses weight unexpectedly fast, or seems unwell needs a vet, not a recalculation. Talk to your veterinarian before starting, and at every recheck along the way.