Pet care tools / Daily water intake
Cat and dog daily water intake calculator
Many cats and dogs drink too little all their lives, and water intake is the health signal most easily missed. Enter weight and season to get a reference figure for your pet's daily water, and how much the bowl actually needs to hold. Everything is calculated on your own device — nothing is uploaded.
Daily water intake calculator
How much water should a cat or dog drink each day? Enter weight and season for an instant estimate, converted into bowls. Everything is calculated in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Results
50 ml/kg × weight
Suggested daily water intake (total)
200 ml / day
About 0.8 bowls (250 ml each) · includes water from food
Red flags (see a vet promptly)
- A sudden, clear increase in drinking (may be linked to kidney disease, diabetes or the thyroid).
- A clear drop in drinking lasting more than 24 hours, or alongside a poor appetite, vomiting or low energy.
- A cat that keeps refusing water: try more bowls, a running fountain, or adding water to wet food.
These figures are general reference values calculated with standard veterinary nutrition formulas. They are for guidance only and cannot replace a veterinary diagnosis or prescription. If your pet is unwell, pregnant or nursing, recovering from surgery, still growing, or has breed-specific needs, follow your vet's advice and the label on the food or product, and adjust the portion to your pet's body condition score.
Browse water fountains and food (product matcher) →|Work out daily feeding amount
How to use this figure
- Weigh your pet properly first (use the same scale each time, ideally in the morning before food).
- Offer the total amount of water across several servings; for pets on mainly dry food, keep the bowl available all day and change the water daily.
- For a few days, record how many ml disappear from the bowl and compare that with the result to see whether your pet is drinking enough.
- On a mainly wet or raw diet the food itself supplies water, so there is no need to force your pet to drink the full amount.
How it is calculated (fully disclosed)
- Daily water = weight (kg) × the reference amount per kg (50 ml for cats, 60 ml for dogs) × an adjustment factor (1.2 in hot weather or after a lot of activity).
- The result includes water from food; dry food is about a tenth water, wet food can be over seven tenths.
- Figures are rounded to the nearest ml; the adjustment factor is always kept between 0.5 and 2 to guard against mistyping.
Frequently Asked Questions
These figures are reference values based on common veterinary proportions. They are for guidance only and cannot replace a veterinary diagnosis or prescription. If your pet's drinking has clearly changed, or your pet has a history of kidney disease, diabetes or urinary problems, ask your vet directly.
Want to line up water and food? You can filter wet food, fountains and other real shop products with the product matcher →
Further reading: Daily feeding calculator|Pet age converter|Health category guide