Pet Water Intake Calculator

About this calculator

Veterinarians commonly estimate a healthy dog or cat’s daily water intake at roughly 50–60 mL per kilogram of body weight — close to the old rule of thumb of about 1 ounce per pound — though the real number shifts with diet, since a cat eating wet food gets much of its water from meals while a dog on dry kibble needs to drink most of it directly.

Activity level, ambient temperature and health status all push the estimate up or down: a dog exercising outdoors in summer heat needs noticeably more than the baseline, while a sedentary indoor cat needs less. Pet owners and vets also use expected intake as a diagnostic cue — a pet drinking far more than the estimate can be an early sign of diabetes, kidney disease or other conditions that cause excessive thirst.

This calculator takes your pet’s body weight and estimates how much water it should be drinking per day.