Raw Feed Calculator
Plan raw pet feed by animal weight, target feeding percent, protein, bone, organ, fat trim, batch days, meals per day, growth or lactation multiplier, and supplement buffer.
This tool is a planning calculator for portion math. Raw diets can miss calcium, iodine, copper, vitamin D, and other nutrients, so use a complete recipe or professional nutrition guidance for long-term feeding.
80% muscle meat, 10% edible bone, and 10% secreting organ.
Protein is reduced while fat trim is counted as its own component.
Lower bone target can suit cats that get firm stools on 10% bone.
Useful for comparing batches, but often too rich for fast switching.
Raw feed estimate
Enter animal weight, feeding percent, and recipe ratios to calculate daily and batch portions.
| Animal | Typical start | Higher need | Watch point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult dog | 2% to 3% of body weight | Active, lean, working, cold weather | Adjust by body condition every 2 to 4 weeks |
| Adult cat | 2.5% to 4% of body weight | Outdoor, lean, very active | Do not force fast weight loss in cats |
| Puppy | 4% to 8% of current weight | Fast growth or high activity | Keep calcium balance consistent |
| Kitten | 5% to 10% of current weight | Rapid growth months | Use complete kitten-appropriate recipes |
| Ratio | Protein | Bone | Organ note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80/10/10 | 80% muscle meat and heart | 10% edible raw bone | 5% liver plus 5% other secreting organ |
| 83/7/10 | 83% meat and heart | 7% bone target | Often used when cats need less bone |
| 75/10/10/5 | 75% meat | 10% bone | 10% organ plus 5% counted fat trim |
| 70/10/15/5 | 70% meat | 10% bone | Richer organ plan, transition carefully |
| Batch length | Best use | Container count | Prep note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 day | Testing a new recipe | Meals per day | Good for checking stool and appetite |
| 3 days | Fridge rotation | 3 x daily packs | Keep thawed raw food cold and covered |
| 7 days | Weekly freezer prep | 7 daily packs or meal packs | Label protein, date, and ratio |
| 30 days | Bulk grind or co-op pickup | 30 daily packs | Use a buffer for trim loss and weighing |
| Component | Examples | Measure as | Important note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein and meat | Boneless meat, heart, gizzard | Main protein percent | Heart is muscle meat in most raw plans |
| Edible bone | Ground bone, necks, frames | Bone percent only | Never feed cooked bone |
| Secreting organ | Liver, kidney, spleen, pancreas | Organ percent | Do not count heart or gizzard here |
| Fat adjustment | Skin, fat trim, oily meat | Separate fat percent | Too much can loosen stool quickly |
Tip: If the ratio fields do not total 100%, the calculator normalizes the recipe for math, then warns you so the batch can be corrected before shopping.
Tip: Use the buffer for kelp, fish oil capsules, vitamin mixes, thaw drip, and small scale rounding, but do not use it to hide a poor calcium ratio.
Many people decide to start raw feeding because many people want to have more control over the food that a pet eat. Raw feeding require many calculations. These calculations can be difficult for a person to complete at the start.
A person must know the total amount of food that a pet should receive each day. The total amount of food can change based on the activity and age of the pet. A person must also understand how to mix the different types of foods for a pet so that their diet isnt imbalanced.
How to Use a Raw Food Calculator for Your Pet
Using a calculator can make this easier for a person because the calculator will perform the calculations once the person inputs the weight of the pet, the percentage of the body that will be fed to the pet each day, and the recipe for the food that will be prepare. Using a calculator will remove the guesswork from a persons raw feeding efforts. The feeding percentage is a number that determines the amount of the weight of a pet that will be replaced by food that is fed to the pet each day.
This percentage is not a random number and is not one for all pets. The feeding percentage can change with the life stage of the pet. For instance, adult dogs that are not often active may require a feeding percentage of two percent.
Working dogs that are active in cold weather might require a feeding percentage of three percent. Cats typically require a higher feeding percentage because there metabolism is hotter than a dog. The owner can enter these percentages into a calculator along with the weight of the pet.
This will give the owner an idea of how much food to prepare for the pet each day. For growing cats, dogs, and nursing mother, a different amount of food is required. These life stages require a different multiplier than an adult pet.
Kittens and puppies burn more nutrients than there size would suggest. A nursing pet must burn extra calories to create the milk that its young will drink. The multiplier field in the recipe calculator will account for these demands on the pet.
When the nutritional needs of the pet increase, the owner can increase the multiplier. The calculator will then calculate the total amount of food that is required for the pet each day with the increase in the multiplier. Using the multiplier will ensure that the owner does not underfeed the pet during these life stages.
Once the person knows the total amount of food that is needed, the person must decide how to prepare the food. The number of meals that need to be prepared can change according to the freezer space and the amount of time that will be required to thaw the food. The most common number of meals is seven days of food.
Preparing seven days of food will ensure that the pet has food according to its shopping cycle. The calculator will calculate the total weight of the food and will include a small buffer to that total. This buffer will take into account the weight of food that may be lost to trimming, supplement weight, and the weight lost to the kitchen scale when measuring the food.
Without this buffer, it is likely that the owner will run out of food before the end of the week. The ratios of raw food are important to know. The most common recipe is an 80/10/10 split.
This means that eighty percent of the food should be muscle meat; ten percent should be edible bone; and the remaining ten percent will be an organ that will secrete its fluids to aid in the digestion of the meal. This recipe works for most dogs. Some cats may require that the percentage of bone be lower to ensure that their stools is firm.
A ratio comparison grid is included in the raw food calculator so that the owner can determine the weight of each ingredient with different percentages of each component. While the percentages of the ingredients are targets for the food that is prepared, they are not rules that will never change. If the dog has loose stools, for instance, the fat percentage can be lowered to find a more suitable recipe.
The buffer percentage field in the raw food calculator is used for accounting for factors in real life that will not match the recipe. The buffer percentage takes into account the moisture that will drip off the bone when the food is thawed. This field also accounts for the weight of supplements that will be added to the raw food.
The buffer percentage does not account for nutritional imbalances in the food or incorrect calcium to phosphorus ratio. Some raw food calculators will alert the owner if the percentage of bone ingredients is above fifteen percent. In this case, the owner should make changes to the recipe gradually instead of all at once.
The raw food calculator will provide a figure for how much raw food to prepare per meal. This per-meal figure is useful for preparing meals that are consistent in size and weight. Dogs and cats typically require a routine in their feeding schedule.
By preparing meals of equal sizes, the owner will ensure that the pet is fed equally each day. The calculator will calculate the total amount of raw food that needs to be prepared each day and ask the owner how many meal the pet will eat daily. An adult dog may be fed two meals daily while a puppy may eat three or four meals.
Some people will worry that raw feeding requires a great deal of work using spreadsheets. However, after preparing the first few batches of raw food, the process will become a routine. The owner will learn which proteins are best for the pet and which sources of bone will provide the best quality stools from the pet.
Using the raw food calculator will help the owner to prepare these batches of raw food quick. The calculator cannot replace the observation of the pet’s health and the physical inspection of the pet. With raw feeding, an owner must observe the body condition, energy, and stool of their pet.
The calculator may provide an estimate of how much food to feed the pet daily, but if the pet does not look well, adjustments must be made to the food recipe. Every animal is different and their variables will become apparent to the owner once they begin feeding their pet with raw food. Having a raw food recipe calculator will allow people to plan raw food meals for their pets, transforming raw feeding from an idea into a repeatable process.
By planning raw food meals using a recipe calculator, raw feeding becomes more predictable. With a raw food recipe calculator, an owner will know how much protein and how much bone to order for their pet. Raw feeding can be organized in the kitchen to make meal preparation easier.
This will allow the owner to have more control over their kitchen and freezer. With a recipe calculator, an owner can easily change the type of raw food that is fed to the pet. For instance, if the pet begins to grow rapidly, the number of meals can be increased.
An adjustment in the feeding needs of the pet can occur due to a growth spurt or change in activity levels. The recipe calculator allows for an owner to become prepared for the feeding of raw food to their pet. The arithmetic involved in raw feeding is the start of the process.
However, the process of raw feeding becomes a routine with the observation and care of the pet itself.
