Convert a veterinarian-specified daily EPA plus DHA target into mL, pumps or capsules using your product label. This calculator does not choose a dose for your cat.
Advanced options
How to use our Fish Oil Dosage Calculator for Cats
- Enter your cat weight and unit. Enter the daily EPA + DHA target specified by your veterinarian, choosing mg/day or mg/kg/day.
- Select liquid or capsules and copy EPA, DHA and matching serving size from the same product label.
- Advanced options preserve once/twice-daily conversion, known pump size and measured food EPA + DHA. Subtract food only if your vet target is a total daily intake, not an additional supplement dose.
- Click Calculate, check the units and label strength, and confirm the product can be measured accurately. A capsule fraction is a mathematical equivalent, not a recommendation to divide a softgel.
Definitions
Veterinarian-specified target: combined EPA plus DHA in mg/day, or mg/kg/day multiplied by body weight. The calculator does not determine an appropriate target.
Label strength: EPA plus DHA for the entered serving size; total fish oil mg is different.
Supplement target after food: the signed difference between the entered total daily target and measured food EPA + DHA. A negative difference means food already exceeds that target; the product amount is then zero.
Product amount: mL or capsule equivalents corresponding to the remaining target. Schedule splits this daily amount into one or two portions; pump conversion uses your measured pump volume.
Common mistakes and quick fixes
Mistake: Entering total fish oil milligrams from the front of the bottle instead of the active omega-3 amounts in EPA per serving (mg) and DHA per serving (mg) .
Fix: Read the supplement facts panel and enter the EPA and DHA values separately, then check Your product's EPA + DHA per serving to confirm the total used.
Mistake: Typing weight in pounds but leaving Weight unit on kilograms, or the other way around.
Fix: Match Cat weight to the chosen Weight unit before you calculate.
Mistake: Using the wrong One serving size for a liquid label, such as entering 1 when the listed EPA and DHA are for 5 mL.
Fix: Enter the exact mL tied to the label values so Product amount to give each day is converted correctly.
Mistake: Choosing Softgel or capsule but expecting a whole-number answer when the math gives a small fraction in Product amount to give each day .
Fix: Treat the fraction as the true estimate, then use the Important note to decide whether a liquid or lower-strength capsule would be easier to give accurately.
Mistake: Turning on Subtract omega-3 already in food? without a real measured value for EPA + DHA already in food each day (mg/day) .
Fix: Leave that option off unless the food or veterinary plan gives a known daily EPA plus DHA amount.
Mistake: Entering Pump size (mL per pump) from guesswork instead of the bottle's actual pump output.
Fix: Only use the pump conversion if you know the pump volume; otherwise rely on Product amount to give each day in mL.
Limitations & Key Assumptions / Boundary Conditions
- This converts an entered veterinary plan. It does not select a dose or replace individualized veterinary advice.
- The calculation uses combined EPA plus DHA only. It does not adjust for your cat's diagnosis, age, kidney disease, heart disease, skin disease, or other medical needs.
- Results are only as accurate as the label entries for EPA per serving (mg), DHA per serving (mg), and One serving size.
- If you use Subtract omega-3 already in food?, the result assumes the entered food amount is a measured daily EPA plus DHA value, not a guess.
- A negative Supplement target after food omega-3 means the entered food amount alone is already above the selected target.
- Very small liquid volumes or tiny capsule fractions may be mathematically correct but hard to measure accurately in real life.
- Use extra caution and ask a veterinarian before supplementing kittens, cats with pancreatitis history, cats with active vomiting or diarrhea, cats taking blood-thinning medicines, or cats with planned surgery.
Methodology
Conversion rules
Convert lb to kg by dividing by 2.2046226218. For mg/kg/day, daily target = entered target times weight in kg; for mg/day, use the entered target directly. Combined strength = label EPA + label DHA per serving. If food subtraction is selected, signed net target = daily target minus measured food EPA + DHA. Product conversion uses max(0, net target).
Daily product = target for conversion times serving size / combined strength. Each twice-daily portion = daily product / 2. Pumps/day = liquid mL/day / mL per pump.
Arithmetic example, not a dose recommendation
Suppose a veterinarian has specified a total of 200 mg EPA + DHA per day. A liquid label lists 180 mg EPA and 120 mg DHA per 1 mL. With 50 mg/day already measured in food, the remaining target is 150 mg/day: 150/300 = 0.5 mL/day, or 0.25 mL per portion if split twice daily. A 0.5 mL pump would supply one pump per day.
Scope of the sources
The sources below discuss feline nutrition and EPA/DHA research. They do not establish a universal target for every cat. The entered veterinary plan and accurate product label are the basis of this conversion; diagnosis-specific treatment and monitoring are outside its scope.