How much food should a 1 year old cat eat per day

In what amounts?  My cat is having a hard time keeping food down ( long long long long long story) But, I am noticing that he will keep chicken down and tuna down if he has just a small spoonful but only every few hours.  This doesn't seem like enough food does it?  I know I am going to need to add other things to his diet, but he is sensitive to food right now, so chicken and tuna it is.  

what amount really should he be working up to?  and how often does it take to digest?  perhaps I'm just giving more too soon.  how frequently should I give him food?

Different foods have different calorie content :dk:. So it depends on what you're feeding him. Have you tried canned cat food, just a small spoonful at a time? (most adult cats will eat one 5.5-oz can a day of most brands, so you can see how much of the can he's eaten) Just chicken and tuna isn't a balanced diet and it'll eventually catch up with him. Has he been to the vet to see if they can figure out why he vomits so much?

I can try the canned food again, but he was having a hard time with it the other day.  

He had an ulcer which started to get better and he was doing awesome.  Then he got into some people food with onions, and it aggravated the ulcer and I think opened it back up.  I think it is getting better though because his stools are looking more brown than they were black.  

Can a cat eat green beans?  He loves those.

Sure he can. When I was growing up we had a big garden in the field out back of our house (10 of us in household). Our cats ate out of it alot. Mainly peas and beans. They also got lots of meat though as my family had cows and chickens too. 

that is funny because his other favorite is peas

Are you supplementing the chicken and tuna?  It is especially important that cats get taurine, as well as other vitamins and minerals.  I agree that it would be good to try canned food for this reason. Peas and green beans won't hurt him but it's not what he needs.My cats go crazy for split pea soup! I don't think the frequency matters as long as he eats about 5-6 oz. a day .I wouldn't give him too much tuna because of the mercury. I hope he's feeling better soon.

I just wanted to chime in here. Pretzel, the kitty that this thread is about is having vomiting issues because he has been slowly getting better from ingesting a paint/water mixture. He doesn't tolerate canned or kibble cat food right now (even tuna comes up fairly soon after eating it), so I suggested plain human-grade grocery-store chicken cut into chunks--either cooked or raw. He did keep cooked chicken down okay today for quite awhile, but ingested a greenbean (and I think was given a bit of tuna earlier), and my feeling is that this caused him to vomit again. But, he did keep the chicken down much longer than any other food because other "regular cat" foods (canned or kibble) and he will vomit almost immediately.

Pretzy's mom has him on a couple things, SEB is one, to help heal from the inside out. SEB has been helping.

My hope is to get him to a balanced home prepared food that he can keep down as he continues on his way to recovery. Then, either stay on this diet or try to transition him back to his old food. Although Sheeshshe is going the extra mile for her little guy, her hubby is reluctant to do much for Pretzy, so that is a consideration. Hey, we've all probably had people in our life that see cats as "just cats"--I know I could relate to this perception from others in my life.

Just wanted to explain a few things because right now he isn't going to be able to keep greenbeans, peas, or other things down quite yet. Although maybe baby food peas or greenbeans might be acceptable if no other ingredients are in them. Maybe his little digestive system wouldn't have to work so hard to digest if they are in cooked, pureed form. I hate even suggesting this yet until he can keep the chicken meat down. IMHO, I would stick with the chicken meat and nothing else for a few days to see how he does.

Thankyou WhollyCat for explaining the situation. Maybe 2nd stages gerber baby food chicken will work for him. You could probably mix some 1st stages babyfood vegs with it later if the chicken works by itself. Try very bland food with him as it will sit best. Very little bits at a time. Keep in touch and let us know how he is doing. Prayers coming in the little guys way.

ilovemia said:

Thankyou WhollyCat for explaining the situation. Maybe 2nd stages gerber baby food chicken will work for him. You could probably mix some 1st stages babyfood vegs with it later if the chicken works by itself. Try very bland food with him as it will sit best. Very little bits at a time. Keep in touch and let us know how he is doing. Prayers coming in the little guys way.

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My thinking is that even the Gerber baby foods will have preservatives, etc. in them, so I would be hesitant to use. Just my 2-cents.

WhollyCat said:

My thinking is that even the Gerber baby foods will have preservatives, etc. in them, so I would be hesitant to use. Just my 2-cents. :rub:

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No preservatives. Just a little cornstarch in the Gerber (I think Beechnut is pure meat, though). Expensive, but if the OP doesn't have time to mush up some chicken one night it's a good alternative.

Willowy said:

No preservatives. Just a little cornstarch in the Gerber (I think Beechnut is pure meat, though). Expensive, but if the OP doesn't have time to mush up some chicken one night it's a good alternative.

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Willowy, because he is/was vomiting up everything (most within a few seconds), I wanted to go with the most digestible and bioavailable type of food for him, as in nothing but actual, unprocessed meat. I wanted to see if just meat without a scintilla of other ingredients could perhaps make a difference and help get him on the road to keeping food down long-term.

Internally (meaning him internally) it is my feeling that the paint/water mixture did some real damage that needs to be undone and given time to heal.

Make sense?

Of course . Just saying, some brands of baby food are nothing but pureed meat, so if she doesn't have time one day to make him his chicken it could be a decent option. But I do think your idea of keeping him on chicken only for now is a good one, definitely.

Thank you WhollyCat for explaining the situation, you've done a much better job than I ever would have done.  I have too much emotion mixed in LOL.  

yes, as soon as the food hit his stomach it came back up.  He did keep chicken down ALLLL afternoon, until it came up 4 hours later and it was ALLLL in there.  Like it didn't get digested at all from the entire afternoon it looked like.  

Things must be digesting really really slowly.  I'm not sure how long to wait until I give him another bite of food.  He is alert, happy, and begging for food ALL the time, but I can't give it to him bc he can't handle that.  But at the same time it is a struggle because he is thin and he needs that.

he is pooping well.  so things are getting through.  

if he continues to vomit everything it might be a good idea to take him to the vet, perhaps they can put him on an IV and feed him like that until he heals....

He has been holding down everything this morning thus far.  No heaving yet either, yeah!!!

Just how frequently should I feed him small amounts?  How long does it take a cat to digest a meal?  Like how many hours approx.  does anyone know?

We had a kitty playgroup a bit ago.  they were less than amused LOL


Do you know where I'd post on here to see if anyone has a partial container of digestive enzymes?  We're short on cash, so buying a partial bottle would be cheaper than a full one.  Just to test out and see if it would help him.

Good thread, heart aches for him, never heard of an ulcer.

I just dealt with my kitty not eating due to massive heart failure.  This is much different.

Being that your cat is hungry, then what you need to fix is his stomach.  Does the doc have a plan?  Any meds?

If he doesn't, call other vets and ask if they have any "off shelf" meds for cat stomachs.

Not sure if off shelf is the word, but what I mean is meds not traditionaly for animals, but trials and vet knowledge allow it.

For example, my cat after heart failure was found to have a heart packed with Platelets.  The cardiologist prescribed Plavix (which made her vomit), the vet silently disagreed (I think she had a patient perish from it).

Back to your cat, I would recommend Gerber chicken stage 2, if you cat is hungry, just put it in a bowl.

I cant think of anything more basic and smooth.

He's eating and doing awesome!

sheeshshe said:

He's eating and doing awesome!

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YEAH!!!!!

Korina said:

Good thread, heart aches for him, never heard of an ulcer.

Being that your cat is hungry, then what you need to fix is his stomach.  Does the doc have a plan?  Any meds?

If he doesn't, call other vets and ask if they have any "off shelf" meds for cat stomachs.

Not sure if off shelf is the word, but what I mean is meds not traditionaly for animals, but trials and vet knowledge allow it.

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I'm not convinced it was an ulcer. I'm more inclined to believe that the paint/water mixture eroded his digestive tract, including his stomach lining.

As far as Sheeshshe's vet for Pretzel, s/he is worthless.

Just me, but since a non-drug route is working, why rock the boat?