Animal World Shop — pet nutrition and supply | animalworldshop.com
A daily ration is four steps: weigh the animal, compute resting energy, apply the life-stage factor, and weigh out the food.
Step one is the scale, not the bag. Resting energy requirement is 70 times body weight in kilograms raised to the 0.75 power. A 10 kg adult dog lands near 750 kcal per day; a 25 kg dog near 1,750 kcal. Because of the 0.75 exponent, needs per kilogram fall as animals get bigger — the 25 kg dog runs on about 70 kcal per kilogram, the 10 kg dog on about 75.
Step two is the life-stage factor. Puppies and kittens need roughly 2.5 times resting energy up to four months, about 2 times from four to eight months, and about 1.5 times after that. Large-breed dogs are held at about 1.5 times until twelve months, because driving growth faster with extra energy is linked to developmental bone problems rather than to stronger adults.
Mineral balance rides along with the calorie question. The recommended calcium-to-phosphorus ratio in dog food is about 1.2:1 to 2:1, and exceeding it during growth is part of the same bone-problem story. A complete growth food already sits inside that band, which is why adding mineral extras on top is a fault, not a boost.
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Step three is converting calories into food. Divide the daily target by the food's energy density: kibble at 3,300–3,800 kcal per kilogram gives roughly 3.3–3.8 kcal per gram, so a 750 kcal dog eats about 200–225 g. Wet food at 600–900 kcal per kilogram means a 100 g pouch covers only 60–90 kcal, which is why wet-fed animals need either many pouches or a mixed ration. The format numbers are compared in detail on the Dry, wet and raw formats page.
Cats get one extra rule. The accepted split is about 70% of calories from wet food and 30% from dry, and it exists for water intake: dry-only feeding is linked to urinary problems in male cats. Protein requirements are also higher than in dogs, so the dry minority should be a proper cat recipe rather than borrowed dog kibble.
Step four is the feedback loop. Weigh the portion for the first week, then judge the animal rather than the arithmetic, adjusting the daily amount in small steps if condition drifts. Once the ration is right, any change of food should run through the 7–10 day schedule on the Transitions and common faults page.
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