Ask whether wet or dry cat food is cheaper and the answer depends on what you measure. Per ounce, canned food can look like a bargain. Per calorie, it almost never is. Because wet food is mostly water, a cat has to eat a lot more of it to get the same energy. Here is how to see the real difference with a worked example.
You can run the same comparison with your own cat’s weight and your own brands in our free pet food cost calculator.
Why dry food wins on cost per calorie
Dry cat food is typically around 10 percent moisture and wet food around 75 percent or more, so kibble packs several times the calories into each ounce. A cat’s daily energy need is fixed, so a calorie-dense food needs fewer ounces, and a cheap calorie costs less. Veterinary sources, including Tufts’ pet nutrition team, note that per calorie, wet food is generally a higher-cost way to feed.
Worked example: a 10 lb neutered adult cat
A common estimate for a neutered adult cat is 70 x (weight in kg) to the power of 0.75, multiplied by 1.2. At 10 lb (4.5 kg) that is about 260 kcal per day. Real needs vary, so check with your vet, especially for weight loss, kittens and seniors.
The prices and calories below are illustrative, not real products. Swap in your own numbers to see your own result.
| Example food | Price and size | Calories | Cost per 1,000 kcal | Per day | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry kibble | $18.99, 7 lb bag | 3,900 kcal/kg | $1.53 | $0.40 | $12.19 |
| Wet, 5.5 oz can | $1.45 per can | 165 kcal/can | $8.79 | $2.29 | $69.83 |
| Wet, 3 oz can | $1.19 per can | 78 kcal/can | $15.26 | $3.98 | $121.24 |
Feeding only the 3 oz cans would take about 3.3 cans a day. The same energy from the kibble costs about a tenth as much. Larger cans are usually the better wet-food value, because the per-ounce price tends to fall as the can gets bigger.
What about mixed feeding?
Many owners feed both for hydration and variety. Splitting calories evenly between the example kibble and the 3 oz can gives about 130 kcal from each. That costs about $0.20 per day for the kibble and about $1.99 per day for the wet food, around $2.19 per day or about $67 per month in total. Cutting the wet share from half to a quarter of the calories would drop that sharply. The calculator lets you test your own split by entering each food separately.
Cost is not the only factor
Lower cost per calorie does not make a food better for your cat. Wet food adds water to the diet and suits some cats, including picky eaters and cats with certain health needs, and many veterinarians are comfortable with either or a mix. Choose a food that is complete and balanced for your cat’s life stage, and ask your vet before changing diets.
Compare your own foods
Enter your cat’s weight, then the price, package size and calories for each food into the pet food cost calculator. It converts cans, cups and bags to the same unit and shows daily, monthly and yearly cost side by side.
