How much to feed? Dry food.

 Oliver has been used to free feeding on dry food since we got him 3 months ago. He lived outside for some time and was underweight. I admit now it wasn't the smartest thing to do but we wanted to bulk him up without depriving him. Now he's got a hangy belly!! He's where we want him to be, he's filled out the frame we knew he had BUT, now he wants dry food down whenever he wants. This morning I woke up to him telling me all about it, his dish was empty and he was pretty sure he would have starved overnight had I not woken up at that moment. Very dramatic of him. 

  Every morning when I wake up and before bed he gets 25g of wet food. (approximately, because I quarter up his 100g trays with a fork). So my question is, how much dry food should he eat in a day and how do I transition it so he thinks he's still free feeding?? Thanks!!

Well - he should get about 20 calories per pound as an adult cat. If he is overweight - then reduce it to about 15 calories a pound. But keep weighing him to make sure the change is not drastic. The caloric content should be on the bag of dry food. Just offer him the meals on a schedule - maybe three a day. He will adjust to getting scheduled meals. Then maybe you could try to add a little more wet food into this diet as well. Much better than dry for his bladder health - the moisture content in wet. You can also buy "treat ball" toys at the pet stores. Put a few kibbles in the treat ball and this will keep him busy till the next scheduled meal. A good tip when transitioning to set meal times. Good luck

In addition to Feral's advice I would like to add that you might use a timed automatic feeder.  Calculate what his daily intake should be then put it in the feeder to be dispensed at different times throughout the day and possibly night.  That way he will be getting several small meals at regular intervals.  Just a thought.

Hello!

May i know what brand of dryfood do you feed him now? Better quality brands usually offer more nutrition & benefits, so if you feed your kitty with better quality brand, they won't starving & ask for food everytime. & yet, the better quality brand usually won't make your cats obese (althought this depends on the cat activities too)

I have read somewhere that one owner just feed her cats Friski*s wetfood, & her cats always asking for more food (& even snatch her food) though they've just eaten up 2 small can for their dinner. But when she switch it to Natural Balance one, the kitties already full with only 1 small can each meal, & show no more interest in her food!

Cat tends to stop eating when their needed nutrition has already fulfilled, & especially he's still kitten, limit his food is just a bit cruel since he's still on growing process.. My kitten will reach his 4months old in a week, & i free-feeding him since his arrival but he's not getting any hanging belly. He even seldom finish all the kibbles (i always make sure the kibbles always there in his bowl). He eat when he feels like it. But he also stop when he feels full. & he never beg for food to me (especially lunch because i usually feed him wetfood/cooked food at lunch time, so he will just meowing asking for his lunchie to me )

Also, hanging belly is the first sign of obese, & obese might likely come from too much carbs. Cats need protein. Not carbs so maybe the dryfood you feed him is high in carbs but low in protein, that's why he always starving & asking for food, but then he's getting hanging belly..

 Thanks for the replies

 Sadly, we don't have a scale, in the house so I have no idea what he weighs! I guess it's been at the back of my mind since we moved but I hadn't a use for it since my dog passed away. I'll check the caloric content and protein. The problem with feeding small meals 3x daily is memory. I'm overrun all the time. I feel like a working single mom sometimes! I work part time and go to school full time and then since I'm a history major I am either at the library or at my desk with other things on my mind. But I'll talk it over with the man, he's worse for forgetting things than I am but maybe we can set alarms. I have a slimcat ball, however, I need another one bc the one I have is for my bunny!!!  Another thing that always slips my mind when I'm out. 

  I don't know what an automatic feeder is but unfortunately it sounds expensive! The priority list is a dome litter box atm since he kicks the litter out. That and an electric water fountain. 

  He seems to have a bit of a sensitive tummy. When we first got him, since it was unexpected, we bought dry Friskies. As soon as I could I gently switched him onto PC Nutition First and now he's undergoing a transition to Holistic Blend cat food. His wet food is Whiska's. It the easiest wet food to buy and the ingredients are not terrible by comparison to some. Hangy belly is caused by carbs?? Wow, didn't know that! I thought spayed/neutered cats living indoors got it when they lack exercise. Oliver sure doesn't lack exercise!! But we do need to harness train him, he longs to be outdoors. 

   Thanks again guys, I'll definitely consider the suggestions and see what we can't do for the kitty

Yes, most of the spayed/neutered cats especially male one will become fat gradually. But cats could be obese too if they consume too much carbs, which that if don't convert well into energy, will become fats. Some good quality brand is not as good as it looks. It fills with cheap useless fillers & lack in protein & nutritions but high in fats & carbs, so if you are feeding cats with that kind of food, they will likely gone fat because of the food too.. Not to mention many risks of health problem might come along..

I must say that Whisk*s wetfood is like 'junk food' for cats. But if you just feed him as complimentary food, like only 1-2times a week. I think it won't be any problem. Unless if you do feed him everyday with Whisk*s.. I suggest you might eant to switch to a better brand

Both of mine have a hanging belly, but in one of them it's simply a fold of skin, not fat, and when she stretches it vanishes.  The other has a bit of an udder but lost some weight once the back garden was cat-proof and he started going out and being more active.  He did have a pad of fat over his shoulder blades which has gone.  This has happened without me controlling how much either of them eat.

You might be able to take him to the vets to weigh him (many vets in the UK will do this for free), but accurate bathroom scales are not expensive.  They are less than the annual innoculations and checkup at most vets.  Weigh his carrier first, then weigh it with him inside.

You could also scatter his food around, so he has to find it, and one of mine (the slimmer one) is besotted with raw chicken wings.  She will eat a small one almost completely, and it both takes her quite some time and gives her the most beautiful clean teeth.  She is so besotted she has been known to jump in the fridge if my back is turned! 

Be careful about cat treats - a lot of them are like human treats, contain a lot of calories for their size.

The Whiska's wet food he eats ingredient list: Liver, Meat by-products, chicken by-products, chicken, turkey, natural flavors, calcium carbonate, sodium tripolyphosphate, gums, color, minerals, dried yam, methionine dextrose, salt, l-cysteine, d-xylose, vitamins, erythorbic acid, glycine, taurine, water for processing.

 He eats about 50g of this food every day. His dry food is called Holistic Blend. While I hear about the carb content being bad in it, it is the best food he will be getting for a while. I simply cannot afford taxis and buses to go out eveyr few days to buy Buffalo or Innova because my location is not very convenient for the stores that carry it. I don't beleive in buying food online bc I don't trust the quality and the costs to ship it outweigh the quantity of food I receive. 

  Given this fact, cup-wise how much do you think he should eat? I will pick up a scale if I can find a cheap one next time I'm able to venture away and steal a few hours to shop.  Regarding the raw chicken, I tried. Oliver will not eat it. He doesn't like chicken hearts, raw chicken breast or raw beef. Product of his upbringing I assume. 

Reading the ingredient of the Holistic Blend dryfood, it is not that bad although 2grains in 2nd & 3rd place is too high for me but at least it doesn't contain gluten or other cheap useless fillers..

I guess you would want to stop the Whiska* & would want to change it to better quality brand, to feed him everyday, like i have said before, Whisk*s wetfood for me is like junkfood for cats, & he will eventually eat less amount if you feed him the right food. Whisk*s wetfood for treats once a week would be not so bad.. Every cats seems to like it.. (well, who doesn't like a bite of BigMac once a week )

For the raw meat, have you try to boiled the meat? I boiled the meat & torn it into small pieces everytime i feed him homemade. & he loves it you might want to boiled it up first.. With just small amount of water, then you could feed him the water too (which will turns into broth when you boiled the chicken)

I feed my 4months kitten wetfood/homemade every lunch time too. & 1 small 2.8oz can Of better quality brand could be feed 3times.. & the big one could last up to 4times feeding.. No lie.. Look at how small portion just need to feed him.. Because when I give him more than he usually eat, he just left it over when he feels full & enough.. And he's not thin at all. He's full of energy & is a big boy!

 Thanks for your suggestions I'm still looking around for an affordable food to feed him every day. I rely on public transportation to get around so I need to find something I can get close to home. I live 15 minutes from the vet but I don't trust they carry good food. 

Sure! Hope it helps! & actually i'm quite envious for you all who live there& get easy access to buy great canned food w/ cheap price & even cheap delivery cost

Our price here nearly double up from the actual price you got there.. LOL yes.. Don't rely totally on vets for nutrition.. Most of them don't understand nutrition.. I am more confident to put my trust of nutrition based on long-time experienced owner & surfing good website.. Trust the good, throw the bad

I hope you could find those better quality food in petstore near your place