{"success":true,"version":"v1","request":{"tool":"get_calculator_schema","calculator_id":"pet-calories"},"result":{"entity_type":"calculator","id":"pet-calories","calculator_id":"pet-calories","canonical_url":"https://tttkmbb.com/everyday/pet-calories","name":"Pet Calorie Calculator","title":"Dog and Cat Calorie Calculator – Resting Energy Requirement (70 × kg^0.75) and Daily Maintenance Calories","category":"everyday","category_name":"Everyday Life","tool_name":"calculate_pet_calorie_needs","featured_mcp_tool":false,"description":"Computes a dog's or cat's resting energy requirement (RER = 70 × kg^0.75) and multiplies it by the life-stage factor used by veterinary nutrition services (e.g. neutered adult dog 1.6, cat 1.2) to give daily maintenance calories.","use_when":"You need a starting daily calorie target for a dog or cat from its weight and life stage, e.g. to portion food from the kcal/cup value on the bag.","do_not_use_when":"The animal is pregnant, lactating, doing heavy work or is ill; those needs (2–8 × RER or disease-specific) require veterinary guidance. For people use tdee.","inputs":[{"name":"species","label":"Species","type":"enum","required":true,"values":[{"value":"dog","label":"Dog","aliases":["canine","puppy"]},{"value":"cat","label":"Cat","aliases":["feline","kitten"]}],"description":"Dog or cat; selects the factor table.","example":"dog"},{"name":"weight_kg","label":"Current weight","type":"number","unit":"kg","required":true,"min":0.3,"max":120,"description":"Current body weight in kilograms (use the target weight for a weight-loss plan).","example":10},{"name":"life_stage","label":"Life stage / activity","type":"enum","required":false,"default":"neutered_adult","values":[{"value":"neutered_adult","label":"Neutered adult (dog ×1.6, cat ×1.2)","aliases":["neutered","spayed","adult"]},{"value":"intact_adult","label":"Intact adult (dog ×1.8, cat ×1.4)","aliases":["intact","entire"]},{"value":"inactive_obese_prone","label":"Inactive / obese-prone (dog ×1.3, cat ×1.0)","aliases":["inactive","obese prone"]},{"value":"weight_loss","label":"Weight loss (dog ×1.0, cat ×0.8)","aliases":["diet"]},{"value":"growth_under_4_months","label":"Puppy under 4 months ×3.0 / kitten ×2.5","aliases":["young puppy","kitten"]},{"value":"growth_4_months_to_adult","label":"Puppy 4 months to adult ×2.0 / kitten ×2.5","aliases":["puppy","older puppy"]},{"value":"light_work","label":"Light work (dogs) ×2.0","aliases":["active"]},{"value":"moderate_work","label":"Moderate work (dogs) ×3.0","aliases":["working dog"]}],"description":"Life stage or activity level; each maps to a multiple of RER.","example":"neutered_adult"}],"outputs":[{"name":"rer_kcal_per_day","label":"Resting energy requirement","type":"number","unit":"kcal/day","decimals":0,"description":"RER = 70 × weight_kg^0.75."},{"name":"mer_factor","label":"Life-stage factor","type":"number","decimals":2,"description":"Multiplier applied to RER."},{"name":"mer_kcal_per_day","label":"Daily calories","type":"number","unit":"kcal/day","decimals":0,"description":"Maintenance energy requirement = RER × factor."},{"name":"mer_kj_per_day","label":"Daily energy","type":"number","unit":"kJ/day","decimals":0,"description":"Same requirement in kilojoules (1 kcal = 4.184 kJ)."},{"name":"weight_lb","label":"Weight","type":"number","unit":"lb","decimals":1,"description":"Body weight in pounds."}],"input_schema":{"type":"object","properties":{"species":{"description":"Dog or cat; selects the factor table.","type":"string","enum":["dog","cat"],"examples":["dog"]},"weight_kg":{"description":"Current body weight in kilograms (use the target weight for a weight-loss plan). Unit: kg.","type":"number","minimum":0.3,"maximum":120,"examples":[10],"x-unit":"kg"},"life_stage":{"description":"Life stage or activity level; each maps to a multiple of RER.","type":"string","enum":["neutered_adult","intact_adult","inactive_obese_prone","weight_loss","growth_under_4_months","growth_4_months_to_adult","light_work","moderate_work"],"default":"neutered_adult","examples":["neutered_adult"]}},"additionalProperties":false,"required":["species","weight_kg"]},"output_schema":{"type":"object","properties":{"rer_kcal_per_day":{"description":"RER = 70 × weight_kg^0.75. Unit: kcal/day.","type":"number","x-unit":"kcal/day"},"mer_factor":{"description":"Multiplier applied to RER.","type":"number"},"mer_kcal_per_day":{"description":"Maintenance energy requirement = RER × factor. Unit: kcal/day.","type":"number","x-unit":"kcal/day"},"mer_kj_per_day":{"description":"Same requirement in kilojoules (1 kcal = 4.184 kJ). Unit: kJ/day.","type":"number","x-unit":"kJ/day"},"weight_lb":{"description":"Body weight in pounds. Unit: lb.","type":"number","x-unit":"lb"}}},"formula":"RER = 70 × weight_kg^0.75; MER = RER × factor (dog: neutered adult 1.6, intact 1.8, inactive 1.3, weight loss 1.0, puppy <4 months 3.0, puppy 4 months–adult 2.0, light work 2.0, moderate work 3.0; cat: neutered 1.2, intact 1.4, inactive 1.0, weight loss 0.8, kitten 2.5)","method":"Factors follow the Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center table used with the WSAVA nutrition toolkit; the inactive dog factor is the midpoint of the published 1.2–1.4 range. The result is a starting point: weigh the animal every 2–4 weeks and adjust portions by about 10% to hold ideal body condition.","sources":[{"name":"Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center – Companion animal nutrition support service: basic calorie calculator","url":"https://vmc.vet.osu.edu/services/companion-animal-nutrition-support-service","type":"reference","retrieved_at":"2026-09-24"},{"name":"WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee – Global nutrition guidelines and toolkit","url":"https://wsava.org/global-guidelines/global-nutrition-guidelines/","type":"standard","retrieved_at":"2026-09-24"}],"freshness":{"type":"static","max_age_seconds":null,"note":"Deterministic formula with fixed constants; results never go stale. Inputs supplied by the caller determine the output."},"examples":[{"name":"10 kg neutered adult dog","inputs":{"species":"dog","weight_kg":10,"life_stage":"neutered_adult"},"expected":{"rer_kcal_per_day":394,"mer_factor":1.6,"mer_kcal_per_day":630,"mer_kj_per_day":2635,"weight_lb":22},"url":"https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/pet-calories?species=dog&weight_kg=10&life_stage=neutered_adult"},{"name":"4 kg neutered adult cat","inputs":{"species":"cat","weight_kg":4,"life_stage":"neutered_adult"},"expected":{"rer_kcal_per_day":198,"mer_factor":1.2,"mer_kcal_per_day":238},"url":"https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/pet-calories?species=cat&weight_kg=4&life_stage=neutered_adult"}],"faq":[{"q":"How do I turn calories into cups of food?","a":"Divide the daily calories by the kcal per cup (or per 100 g) printed on the food label; typical dry dog food is 300–400 kcal per cup."},{"q":"Why is the result lower than the feeding guide on the bag?","a":"Bag guides are often based on intact, active adults (1.8 × RER or more). Neutered, indoor pets need less, which is why many are overweight when fed by the bag."}],"tags":["pet calorie calculator","dog calories per day","cat calories per day","resting energy requirement","how much to feed my dog"],"related":[{"calculator_id":"dog-age","reason":"Life stage from the dog's age."},{"calculator_id":"cat-age","reason":"Life stage from the cat's age."},{"calculator_id":"tdee","reason":"The equivalent calculation for people."}],"links":{"html":"https://tttkmbb.com/everyday/pet-calories","markdown":"https://tttkmbb.com/everyday/pet-calories.md","json":"https://tttkmbb.com/everyday/pet-calories.json","api":"https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/pet-calories","schema":"https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculators/pet-calories","openapi":"https://tttkmbb.com/openapi.json","mcp":"https://tttkmbb.com/mcp"},"version":"v1","updated_at":"2026-09-24"},"timestamp":"2026-09-24T01:50:08Z","next_actions":[{"tool":"run_calculator","calculator_id":"pet-calories","reason":"Run Pet Calorie Calculator with the inputs above."}],"links":{"markdown":"https://tttkmbb.com/everyday/pet-calories.md"}}