Feeding My Cat - How much and how often?

I read through some of the articles on this site but I still have questions.  One would think something like this would have been outlined and stickied, since it seems like something a lot of newbies like me would be asking.

Trivia is a DSH, almost 8 months, and very energetic.  A week ago she weighed in at 5lbs 3oz and I swear she's grown since then.  I feed her principally Merrick's, which recommends half a can twice a day with a garnish of wheat grass.  In the morning she acts like she is STARVING and will wake us up for food.  I give her some canned food, and she excitedly eats about half (a quarter of a can).  She then goes and plays.  About 20 minutes later she comes back and eats nearly the rest of it but never all of it.

While we are gone for the day, we leave her three tablespoons of Orijen dried food.  When we get home at the end of the day, it is all gone and she is STARVING!  We feed her the second half of the can of Merrick's.  She feverishly eats about half of it, then wanders off.  She will come back and eat some more over the next 20 minutes or so that we leave it out.

Then, shortly after, she will be after us for our dinner.  One cannot have so much as a cup of coffee without her trying to steal it, yet she won't finish all of her dinner.

We then put out about 2 - 3 tablespoons of Orijen dried for her to snack on throughout the night in between her naps and rampant toy mouse killings.  By morning, it is gone, and she would tell you that she has never been fed and is dieing of starvation!

We do give her cat treats, Blue Buffalo Taste of the Wild and Pet Greens Treats as a reward for play, usually only two to three pieces a day during a vigorous laser pointer hunt.  I also occasionally give her poached, boiled, or baked unseasoned turkey or chicken meat.  She loves that.

Is my cat eating enough?  Too much?  Too little?  She doesn't eat a lot but seems at least interested in food all the time.

In general, kittens should be given as much as they want. Although you do have to start controlling portions at some point, maybe 8 months is a little young for that---probably closer to 12 months. Maybe increase the dry until she's not so starving.

There are around 75 to 85 calories in a 3.5 oz can of Merricks.  Based on the feeding guideline, you should feed around 2/3 a can a day.

But these are only guidelines; like humans, cats have their own, individual, caloric requirements.  Since Trivia appears to be very energetic, she may need more calories.  And at eight months, she is still growing.

So I would give Trivia more canned food (canned is better than dry).  And I would put down the canned food and remove it if she doesn't eat it within 20 minutes. 

Like Trivia, Ritz seems always hungry (she is almost three years old).  I've learned that not all meows, scent marking my legs mean FEED ME.  Sometimes its Ritz just being Ritz, or trying to get my attention for a cuddle.

2/3 of a 3.5 oz. can isn't nearly enough for an 8 month old kitten! Maybe a misprint on the site? My kittens ate 9 oz. of wet daily and as adults they eat 5-6 oz. a day. They are healthy weights at 9 and 10 pounds.

Ritz said:

Like Trivia, Ritz seems always hungry (she is almost three years old).  I've learned that not all meows, scent marking my legs mean FEED ME.  Sometimes its Ritz just being Ritz, or trying to get my attention for a cuddle.

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Yeah, she'll come up to me and chirp.  So I let her onto my lap and we have a fifteen minute snuggle session before she leaves as quick as she came.  When she plays with her toy mice she is always meowing, which I call her war cries.  But then earlier today I pour a cup of coffee and I can hear her bell as she leaps off the guest bed upstairs, flies down the hall, takes the stairs at speeds that terrify my wife, Tokyo drifts down the hall into the kitchen and demands offerings of food be made!  She climbs me as I sit down, wrestles me until I am too fatigued to fight her off and she sniffs my coffee, gives me a dirty look as if to say, "How can you drink that stuff?" and scampers off.

Yeah, I know dried sucks, but we opted to give her some based on the following reasoning: We are gone all day most days.  We want to keep her used to it for when we go away over night (rare but it happens), and to help her with tarter.  She drinks a lot of water (and pees a lot, well 3 - 4 times a day).

I'm not sure that feeding guideline is talking about the 3.5-ounce can. It looks like the feeding guide for dogs and that would be a larger can. 2/3 of a 3-ounce can wouldn't be enough for even a tiny kitty!

I guess I should have asked, what flavor of Merrick's and what size? I was assuming a 5.5-ounce can, but if it's the smaller can it's probably not enough for her.

Most cats need about 20 calories per pound per day, kittens can need 2-3 times that amount, although at her age probably closer to 1.5-2 times the amount, so let's say 30-40 calories per pound per day. If she weighs 5 pounds, that would be roughly 150-200 calories a day, so if you figure out how any calories are in the dry food, and how many calories per can, you can see if she really needs more or if she's just a chowhound :lol3:.

And of course be sure to increase her calories as she grows!

smitten4kittens said:

2/3 of a 3.5 oz. can isn't nearly enough for an 8 month old kitten! Maybe a misprint on the site? My kittens ate 9 oz. of wet daily and as adults they eat 5-6 oz. a day. They are healthy weights at 9 and 10 pounds.

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Maybe it is a regional thing, but here in Canada, Merrick's comes in a 5.5 oz can.  I'd say Trivia eats 4.5 - 5 oz a day plus just under 1/2 cup of Orijen dried.

Willowy said:

I'm not sure that feeding guideline is talking about the 3.5-ounce can. It looks like the feeding guide for dogs and that would be a larger can. 2/3 of a 3-ounce can wouldn't be enough for even a tiny kitty!

I guess I should have asked, what flavor of Merrick's and what size? I was assuming a 5.5-ounce can, but if it's the smaller can it's probably not enough for her.

Most cats need about 20 calories per pound per day, kittens can need 2-3 times that amount, although at her age probably closer to 1.5-2 times the amount, so let's say 30-40 calories per pound per day. If she weighs 5 pounds, that would be roughly 150-200 calories a day, so if you figure out how any calories are in the dry food, and how many calories per can, you can see if she really needs more or if she's just a chowhound

.

And of course be sure to increase her calories as she grows!

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The Orijen bag says an 8 month kitten that is five pounds should have 1/2 cup a day.  My Merrick's can just says 1 oz of wet food per pound of body weight, more if a kitten or pregnant.

The flavours of Merrick's she eats is Turducken, Grammy Pot Pie, and Thanksgiving Day Dinner.

Their website says Grammy's Pot Pie has 152 calories per 5.5-ounce can: http://www.merrickpetcare.com/consu...s=Cat-Classic-Recipes-Wet&age=All_Life_Stages

So that plus any amount of Orijen really should be enough. But every cat has a different metabolism, and if she's extra active she'll need more. Just keep an eye on her weight.

Absinthe said:

Maybe it is a regional thing, but here in Canada, Merrick's comes in a 5.5 oz can.  I'd say Trivia eats 4.5 - 5 oz a day plus just under 1/2 cup of Orijen dried.

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4-5 oz. of wet a day and 1/2 cup of dry sounds like enough . Around 1 year you can adjust according to her weight. Mine act absoluely starving too, even though they are well fed.   Maybe because they were strays as kittens they are always concerned about getting enough.

smitten4kittens said:

4-5 oz. of wet a day and 1/2 cup of dry sounds like enough . Around 1 year you can adjust according to her weight. Mine act absoluely starving too, even though they are well fed. 

 Maybe because they were strays as kittens they are always concerned about getting enough.

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  Yes, I was remiss in not adding:  stray/abandoned/rescued cats seem to be concerned about getting enough food to eat.  Ritz and her litter mates and the mother queen were abandoned shortly after they were born, and Ritz and her litter mates were rescued when they were around four months old.  It can take a long time for a cat to get over this fear.

Is Trivia a stray?

Yes.  Trivia was found by a farmer when she was a kitten, alone and with a nasty cut on her neck.  She was admitted into the local shelter and fixed up.  A few months later we adopted her.
 

That may explain some of her behavior.  Regular feedings at regular times may help her get over the "not enough" syndrome.  And consistent "no" when you know she has had enough to eat even if she doesn't think she has.

Her weight will tell you a lot.