feeding frequency

How often should i feed my 1 year old cat? We have been feeding her about evey 6 hours. She eats a 1/2 can of fancy feast wet food each time. We do not give her dry at all. is this enough? too much?

There is no "right" answer. It depends on the cat. How much does she weigh? How active is she? Is she gaining or losing weight? Generally, if cats are fed a high protein low carb quality wet food, they regulate themselves pretty well. I would not feed her dry food at all. Dry food is usually full of ingredients that aren't needed by cats so they can overeat in order to get the nutrition they need.

It sounds like you are feeding her 6oz of wet food every 24 hours? That sounds "about right" for her age. Does she eat all of the 1/2 can in one sitting? Does she still want more after that? I would try to let her tell you how much she needs, noting that it will probably change somewhat season to season and year to year.

Mesha is very cute!

Awe thank you. I love her so much.

She weighs 8 pounds and is pretty active. She is slowing down compared to when she was a kitten.

She use to eat all the 1/2 can at once. Now she is only eating 1/2 of a half of some of the flavors and sometimes going back and sometimes not. She will eat all the 1/2 of others flavors.

I worry about her not eating all i give her. she use to eat every bite.

I feed her fancy feast pate...non fish because she boycotted the fish flavors s couple months ago. Now it seems she isn't liking the beef/chicken and liver/chicken.

I don't know. People say not to use friskies but i don't know what else to try. and im trying to stay with pate items.

Any advice?

How much to feed is, as Vball91 mentioned, dependent upon a cat's metabolism and activity level. Very generally speaking, you can expect an adult cat to eat about 6 ounces of canned food a day and kittens to eat about twice that. Feeding frequency, however, must take into account the cats' evolutionary need to eat small meals often, so adult cats should be fed at least three times a day and kittens at least four times a day (How often should you feed your cat?).

Rotating through several brands and flavors will likely help keep your sweetie from getting tired of - or becoming fixated on - any one product (a problem if they change or stop producing it) and protect her from potential quality control issues by diluting their impact. Since cats can develop hypersensitivity when continually exposed to the same proteins or ingredients for extended periods, it will also help prevent food intolerance issues (and the associated diarrhea and vomiting).
 

As for what to feed, that's the million dollar question, isn't it? *smile* Many of us feed raw (see the Raw Subforum for more info), others feed low-carb canned foods, some folks feed a little of everything. My personal recommendation is raw first, then low-carb (no fruits, veggies or grains) canned products with a minimal ingredient list. TCS has had several really good discussions on this topic (including this thread: "Nutritionally Complete" assurances for our pet food?), and I'm sure other posters will come along and share their favorite threads to help you figure out what's best for your Mesha.

AC