Practice Scenario

Get to know Muffin, an obese, but otherwise healthy, adult cat

Meet MUFFIN

A 7-year-old, spayed female cat 

  • Muffin is an indoor cat presented for routine physical examination and vaccinations.
  • Her owner reports that she is fed dry food ad libitum and is in a single pet household.
  • Muffin has a body condition score of 8/9, weighs 8.2 kg (18 pounds), and has normal muscle mass.
  • She has mild seborrhea and an unkempt coat along her dorsum. She appears otherwise healthy and is bright and alert on exam.

MER Calculator for Cats

This interactive tool has been designed to help you with nutritional recommendations. Enter your patient's age group, weight, body condition score (BCS), and dietary goals (maintain or lose weight) to reveal estimated ideal weight if pet were in ideal BCS, and estimated daily caloric needs (maintenance energy requirements, or MER).

*Required Fields
Age Group *
Purina Body Condition System for Cats
Weight Goal *
If a goal of "maintain weight" is selected for a pet with a BCS of 6 or 7, slow weight loss could occur since MER will be based on a lower body weight. However, selecting "lose weight" as the goal will provide greater calorie restriction, which will facilitate faster weight loss. If a pet is underweight, selecting "maintain weight" should encourage slow weight gain since MER will be based on a higher body weight. However, desired weight gain may not occur until contributing conditions are identified and managed, especially in pets with a BCS of 1 or 2.

Related Tools and Content:

MER Calculator for Dogs

Using your patient’s age group with current weight and body condition score, this feeding calculator will provide estimated daily caloric needs to reach or maintain ideal body condition.

View Tool 1 min to 5 min