How much for a 6 month?

Feeding her wellness canned food, and I'd like to make sure I'm not over or underfeeding her -- especially since the budget is tight too!

6 months, female, spayed

I've read the back of the can but would love to hear from personal experiences.

Unless grossly overfeeding to the point of diarrhea, you don't have to worry about overfeeding a six month old. Within reason, the more the better.

The only real concern is too fast of feeding, where they scarf and barf. If the food is all being eaten, and there is no vomiting/diarrhea, that's great. Add a bit more, and if its still eaten, all the better.

For Wesley and Buttercup, they got wet 2-3 times a day and dry was left out 24x7 to nibble on.

Here's info from Sharky: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...ce#post3119432

General rule of thumb for a wet fed only amount... 1/2 ounce to one ounce per lb of body wt ( ie the ideal body wt) .. so a 12 lb cat who should be 10 would be 5-10 oz a day... In my experience 3/4 of oz seem to keep wt at right level and 1/2 oz for wt loss ...

Remember ANY wt LOSS should be closely monitored by a Vet .. Also the vet normally if asked will devise a calorie idea for a diet ( most do not like to as this is a bit of work)

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Sharky was posting regarding another health issue - but I think the same thing applies here. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Of course, your 6-month old wouldn't be concerned about weight reduction, and - she's still considered a kitten, I think, until she at least 1 years old (?), so maybe going with the 1 ounce per pound of ideal body weight is in the ballpark of the amount you should be feeding her.

Has your vet offered any information regarding how much she should be fed?

Thanks guys!

A friend of the family is a vet tech and they nursed her to health at the vet office after she was hit by a car at 5 weeks old. I haven't spoken to the vet myself, but I wasn't informed about any nutritional goals.

It seems like she can eat nonstop. I've been adding raw chicken breast to her wellness canned too. Wondering if I should keep adding more and take note when she stops eating.

6 month is a kitten though, and feeding suggestions for kittens are typically double whatever is listed for an adult. So a 6 lb kitten would be eating as much as a 12lb adult.

I agree, just feed as much as will be eaten without wasting. Kittens grow so fast and unlike adults are usually pretty spastic running around burning energy, that I don't think I've ever heard of an overweight kitten fed an appropriate healthy diet.

Do kittens know when they're full at their age? or will they sometimes meow for food (as a routine) just to get food and eat despite not being hungry?

Hungry kittens can often eat far too fast when hungry like its their last meal.

But they definitely know when they are or aren't hungry. They have tiny tummies, and grow extremely fast with very high energy levels.

Imagine if you went from baby size to adult size in about a year while running around all day... yeah, you'd be hungry all the time too, heh!

If you want to leave food for em so you're not constantly pestered or have to go out, and want to make it a little fun and "slow their roll" on how quickly they eat, on Amazon for about $5 they have these little feeder balls:


Kitties always had fun with it, attacking it or just pushing it around and nomming on food that falls out.

At six months old she must be very active and I agree that you should feed her as much as she will eat, in small portions at a time.

My 15 month old kitten Queen Eva will only eat a maximum of 1.5 ounces of food at a time. Sometimes even smaller amounts.

My cats are fed numerous servings a day. There are two meals and two snacks, but each meal is portioned out over a period of about an hour, for breakfast and supper. The snacks are smaller, so are given in one or at the most two servings. I know the caloric content of all the foods I feed, and they are given quantities accordingly, though the self regulators won't eat more than they need anyway. I have two who are NOT self regulators, so I keep track

Wellness canned, if you are feeding the grain fee varieties are high in calories. The canned grain free chicken for example is 220 calories for 5.5 oz. That's fine for a kitten and she may need even more than that, depending on how active she is and remember, your kitten is still growing, so some days she may eat more or less than other days. The other flavors of that line are slightly lower in calories, though not by much so that may affect her eating quantities too.

Is your girl a good eater?

Queen Eva is not, she is very finicky, will eat only one food, one flavor, and self regulates. If she eats six ounces of her food and a tablespoon of kibble for a snack today, she will eat only 4 ounces, and no kibble tomorrow. I will offer her more, but she will not eat it. She is very slender, but a small cat too, she weighs only 6.5 pounds.

Tolly is a senior cat, and he also self regulates, always has. He eats a little more variety than Queen Eva but not by much. No matter what I feed him during the day, when I total his intake for the day I will find that he ingested 180 calories. If I feed him a high cal food, he will eat less. Lower in calories, he will eat more. He weighs 9 pounds.

He is very active for his age and condition (he takes phenobarbital and has liver disease) and very slender.

The other two girls Mazy and Jennie, though younger need even fewer calories, and it is a struggle to make sure they feel satisfied without becoming over weight. They are both a bit chubbier than Queen Eva and Tolly.

A kitten that age is very much like a growing teenage boy--he'll vacuum up every item of food in the house, and still look as skinny as though he hadn't! Over the next six months, the kitten's metabolism will slow down as she approaches her adult size, and she'll start eating less. By the time she's full-grown, she'll be fine with the usual amount for her weight (check the bag or can for that).

Well, I'm starting to give her 3.8-4oz a day spaced out between 3 meals.. I was giving her as much as she would eat before, and she would almost always eat it all up -- I noticed her getting a little chunkier, so now I'm giving her about 4oz a day to regulate her weight. Not exactly sure if that's a good idea or not.. She's always crying for food and will sit by her bowl when anyone is in the kitchen -- is she just pulling a pavlov or is she really hungry?

That doesn't sound like enough for a growing kitten to me. Kittens usually need more than adult cats. For instance Tolly, who is 12 1/2 and weighs 9 pounds eats 6 oz of canned food a day.

I realize Wellness is higher in calories than most, but still...4 oz a day doesn't seem like enough for a 7 month old kitten. If she's acting hungry, feed her. Remember, her little body is not only still growing, she is much more active than an adult cat.

She seems like she's always acting hungry though. Before this, we would give her about 6-7 oz a day and she would still be acting hungry.

Just gave her an additional 3oz and she's licking her plate! That's about 7 oz today.

Feed that baby - she needs to grow into her full potential.  

what if she's looking chunkier?

ya know - I realize my experience is limited - but I have yet to see an overweight kitten unless there's a health issue.

Have you actually weighed her recently?  What is "overweight" for a kitten of 6 months?  What does your vet say about her weight?  

This is my last post here, I think I've contributed all that I have to offer.  I hope your furbaby has continued good health.

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