How much does your cat eat?

[marypoppinswannabe]

I have two cats and they each get 3/4 cup of dry food a day. I give it to them in the evening before I go to bed. When its gone (usually by 5pm the next evening), it does not get refilled. Both of my cats are about 8 lbs and the vets says they are in perfect health.

My sister has a maine coon and he is a REALLY BIG boy. She tries to feed him once a day, but he always steals the dog food.

 

[PatsGirl]

Great thread for the newbie kitten owner I've asked the vet how much to feed our furbaby but didn't get a straight answer and I've researched it online to no avail as well. The only thing my vet did say was that (and she was adamant about this) kittens need wet kitten food, not dry, not cat...

Indi is now 14 weeks and eats between 1 1/2 and 2 cans/day (6 oz) which I supplement with about 1/2 cup of kitten chow dry food. It seems like alot of food to me and costs me more than my 80# dog used to And, to the PP who mentioned Chicken Soup for the Kitten food, it is our favorite but when he started eating 2 cans a day I had to switch to a cheaper store brand.

So, does this seem like a ridiculous amount of food? The kitten has got much bigger in the 6 weeks we've had him, but not fat, just longer and less kitten-like And, he is extremely active

 

[Imzadi]

Great thread for the newbie kitten owner I've asked the vet how much to feed our furbaby but didn't get a straight answer and I've researched it online to no avail as well. The only thing my vet did say was that (and she was adamant about this) kittens need wet kitten food, not dry, not cat...

Indi is now 14 weeks and eats between 1 1/2 and 2 cans/day (6 oz) which I supplement with about 1/2 cup of kitten chow dry food. It seems like alot of food to me and costs me more than my 80# dog used to And, to the PP who mentioned Chicken Soup for the Kitten food, it is our favorite but when he started eating 2 cans a day I had to switch to a cheaper store brand.

So, does this seem like a ridiculous amount of food? The kitten has got much bigger in the 6 weeks we've had him, but not fat, just longer and less kitten-like And, he is extremely active

Was your kitten checked for worms? That is way too much for a kitten to eat. She's eating 16 oz.

Most adult cat's only eat one can a day.

I was admonished by my vet for feeding my adult 6 yr old cat 9 oz of cat food - 8 oz dry + 1 oz wet. She was 17 lbs at the time. Now she is down to 16 lbs and eats 7 1/2 oz. She still has about another pound to trim down. She definitely has a layer of fat.

 

[PatsGirl]

Imzadi, he has been checked (neg) for worms but the vet will be back in two weeks for our third set of kitty shots and I'll mention the amounts he eats again. He is not getting fat and is a whirlwind 75% of his waking time so he is definately burning it off.

 

[claudia]

Well,

I looked to different websites and could not seem to get a straight answer. My vet didn't even have a totally accurate answer so I will ask the fine people on the DIS. After all this is a simple enough question.

I took my kitty today to get his shots updated and he weighed in at 15.3 lbs. In prior visits he had been roughly 12.5-14.0 lbs. The vet said Matisse could probably stand to lose weight. When I feel the kitty I can't feel his ribs so I suppose I agree as I have read your are supposed to be able to feel ribs (not gaunt, just feel them).

He currently gets fed 1/2 cup dry food (with a serving of dental treat sprinkled on top) and 1 pouch (3.3 oz) wet food per day. I was thinking of making an every other day schedule with: Day 1: 1/3 cup dry AM, 1/3 cup dry plus 1 serving treat PM. Day 2: 1/3 cup dry AM, pouch PM.

That way he gets more dry and less wet food which vet wanted. I just wanted to know how much other people are feeding their cats. Obviously I have managed to make my kitty fat, so i am looking to learn some proper kitty portion control.

Matisse is a Main Coon cat if that helps.

My brother had a male Maine Coon. He said that they are not fully grown until they are 3-4 years old. How old is your kitty? They are really big cats and males full grown can weigh anywhere from 13-25 lbs. Try to run your hands over the ribs again, at 15 lbs your kitty is definitely on the smaller side for a Maine Coon, remember that you should feel flesh over the ribs, they shouldn't be protruding. Maybe you can find a breeder and give them a call as well....doesn't sound like you have made your kitty fat....
Now I have a tabby that is 13 lbs. I feed him 1/4 of a 5.5 oz can in the AM and the same in the PM. He usually eats about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of dry as well. We limit a treat to once a day. We do feed him Wellness, both the wet and dry.

 

[jenm2878]

My vet told us the general rule of thumb is to only feed 75% of what the bag tells you. He makes a good point - the makers of pet food are in the business to sell the food, not make sure your pet stays at a healthy weight.

We've being doing this for years and two of our three cats are a perfect weight. The third is a pound or two heavier then we'd like her to be, but she's our slug cat. Girl doesn't move too often!

 

[goofy4tink]

I have three cats. One is a real porker, the other two are right where they should be. The vet suggested wet food for them, twice a day. But, the two regular sized cats won't touch the wet food. So, it's back to free feeding all three of them. The most active one is the one who is fat!!! Go figure. He is always chasing the youngest one all over the house. The vet thinks his metabolism is screwed up. But, so far nothing has been able to get him to lose weight.

 

[Rora]

We have 2 cats- one is our little female who is 11 pounds and very active. The other is a big, furry male who weighs a whopping 22 pounds and doesn't play, jump, etc. He sleeps, eats, purrs and likes to be held like a baby (he is a big baby ).

Our vet said that he needs to 1. Exercise more (difficult when he doesn't want to..) and 2. Both cats should only be given 1/4 cup of dry food twice a day.

I'm sure this doesn't work for every kitty but it works for us. Our furry male hasn't lost any weight but at least he hasn't gained any. He also has kidney issues and we give him kidney specific food.

 

[Crystal0608]

I have two male cats, both about 2 years old. I got Squeaky at 11wks from the shelter & you could see his ribs. The other, Cloudy, came up on the porch in Feb and was so scrawny I thought he was a kitten-vet said he had canine teeth so was at least a year old. I don't know the breed of either, but Squeaky is built bigger and longer with more long fur (orange & white) and Cloudy has kinky grey hair with a white soft underbelly.

Anyways, we scoop out 8oz of dry and one can of fancy feast twice a day (around 8am and 5pm) for two cats. Squeaky ALWAYS lets Cloudy eat first since he likes wet food more. Squeaky grazes on dry food more throughout the day. It doesn't sound to me like you are feeding him too much.

 

[Imzadi]

We have 2 cats- one is our little female who is 11 pounds and very active. The other is a big, furry male who weighs a whopping 22 pounds and doesn't play, jump, etc. He sleeps, eats, purrs and likes to be held like a baby (he is a big baby ).

Our vet said that he needs to 1. Exercise more (difficult when he doesn't want to..) and 2. Both cats should only be given 1/4 cup of dry food twice a day.

How in the world are you able to only feed a 22 lb. cat a 1/2 cup (8 0z.) of food a day? When I knocked back from 9 oz. to 8.5 oz. then 8 oz., now 7.5 oz. for a 16 lbs cat, each time my cat acted like she was starving. Food was all she thought about. Every time I stood up, she'd be ready to run to her bowl, hoping to be fed.