Gus Got Fat. That's How This Started.

My golden retriever hit 85 pounds. The vet raised an eyebrow and said something about "golden receivers." I went home, made a spreadsheet, and built a calorie calculator that night. It was ugly. It worked.

Then friends at the dog park wanted it. Then strangers on Reddit. Then a cat owner asked for a feline version. Mochi — my British Shorthair who came from a hoarding situation — was 15 pounds at the time and the vet had just called her "obese." So I built that one too.

One tool became five. Spreadsheets became a website. PetCalCentral is what happened when I stopped googling "best dog food" at midnight and started building the thing I actually needed.

What This Site Is

A collection of free pet health calculators. Dog calories. Cat portions. Age conversion. BMI estimates. Water intake. Annual cost estimates. All based on published veterinary research — APOP guidelines, AAHA recommendations, Cell Systems epigenetic clock research. No accounts. No paywalls. No "sign up for our newsletter."

What This Site Is Not

Veterinary advice. I'm not a vet. I'm an IT systems administrator in Denver who got a puppy on impulse in 2022 and spent two years googling things at 2 AM. If your pet is sick, call a professional. If you want a starting point for a conversation with that professional, use our tools.

My Background

I graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. I've spent the last decade working as an IT systems administrator, mostly remote, which means I have the flexibility to take Gus to the vet at 10:30 AM on a Tuesday when he decides to eat a crayon.

My expertise in pet health comes from four years of hands-on experience, hundreds of hours reading veterinary nutrition guidelines, and a lot of very direct conversations with Dr. Patel (Mochi's vet at Boulder Veterinary Hospital) and Dr. Martinez (Gus's vet at Denver Animal Care). I don't have a DVM. I have a spreadsheet and a lot of anxiety.

The Animals

🐕 Gus — Golden Retriever, 4 years old

Weighed 85 pounds, now 78. Goal weight 75. His greatest predator is the vacuum cleaner. He once ate a crayon. He's currently dreaming about tater tots he stole off someone's plate at a brewery in RiNo.

🐈 Mochi — British Shorthair, adopted June 2024

Came from a hoarding situation — forty cats in a two-bedroom apartment. Was 15.2 pounds when Dr. Patel called her obese. Now around 10.2 after a year of measured meals and a $7 wand toy from Chewy. She knocks things off my desk when I write. She's on the desk right now.

I live in Denver with both of them. Gus is chewing something. I should go check.

Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you buy something through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I've actually used on Gus or Mochi. Read the full affiliate disclosure if you want the details.