Start with the individual
Who’s hungie?
Equations are starting points. Age, body condition, activity, health, environment, and Karen’s own weight trend matter more than false precision.
Build a defensible starting point
Daily calorie target
What the references say
These are estimates for generally healthy pets. A clinician-set target, current stable intake, body condition, muscle condition, and serial weights take priority.
The calories that disappear from most calculators
Treats, supplements & people food
These come out of the daily target first. Use a range when a portion varies; the plan uses its midpoint while showing the uncertainty.
Complete-and-balanced calories
Main foods
Adding a food automatically re-splits the remaining calories evenly. The percentage pills refer to the main-food budget after extras—not the whole day.
Label auditTucker’s needs a raised eyebrow
Tucker’s currently states 2,045 kcal/kg (58 kcal/oz). That makes a 4 oz patty 232 kcal and an 8 oz patty 464 kcal—not 580. The same page’s moisture, fat, and dry-matter figures do not reconcile mathematically, and at least one retailer publishes 2,430 kcal/kg.
Raw salmon itself ranges widely by species and fat level: USDA entries run roughly 127–208 kcal/100 g. A salmon-heavy 8 oz patty could plausibly be several hundred calories, but that does not independently verify Tucker’s exact claim. This calculator therefore keeps 58 kcal/oz as an editable, disputed manufacturer claim.
The honest answer
Karen’s whole day
Optional handoff
Send it to KareySharey
The calculator sends a pending plan. KareySharey will still require the signed-in owner to accept it before anything stored is replaced. The previous feeding plan should be emailed as the audit copy.
Method & provenance
Sources used by the calculator
“WSAVA-compliant food” is common shorthand, but WSAVA does not approve brands. The useful distinction is whether a manufacturer can answer WSAVA’s nutrition and quality-control questions. The food catalog identifies complete-and-balanced foods and makes source confidence visible; it does not award a WSAVA seal.