Need advice as to amount of wet food/dry food

Hi everyone:

I have a 6 month old and 4 month old kitten (Gatsby and Archer), both recently adopted.. I'm wondering if I'm feeding them right. I'll start by saying they have no known health issues, both seem to pee and poop just fine (although poop seems soft usually), both are active and happy.

What I normally do is this - they have two bowls and I leave down about a half cup of kibble in each bowl. I leave it there until its gone. Typically, they only nibble on the kibble (ha I rhymed) throughout the day/night, so they don't eat it up very quickly.

I give them each approximately 1/2 of a 6 oz can of wet food a day (fed morning - 8 am and again at night - 6 pm). Gatsby eats all of his wet food immediately; Archer normally eats about 3/4 of his portion but leaves the rest. Archer seems to like the kibble and nibbles on it all day; Gatsby does too to some degree.

My mom seems to think Archer is getting a bit pudgy, but I think it's more kitten fat. Plus he's had two vet appointments and no concerns re: weight have been stated. Archer is about 4.5 lbs; Gatsby would probably be a bit more as he's older and bigger.

Is this enough or should I give them more wet food? I know wet is more nutritional than the dry, I leave the dry mostly to give them something to nibble on throughout the day/night if they get hungry.

Brands are Wellness Kitten Formula (dry) and Performatrin Kitten Formula [chicken] (wet).

Thanks in advance!

as an addendum to the above: I'm looking at Archer laying on my coffee table and he actually does look a bit pudgy. but again i don't know if that's normal for kittens. here's some recent pictures (Archer is the tabby; Gatsby is black).

Wow he's got big paws!  He is probably going to be a big cat!   I can't comment on the wet/dry as we are feeding our 6 month old raw.  But from what I understand it is best to feed Meals and not let them graze. Cats tummies need a chance to rebuild acids after their meals have been digested.  Cats will eat when they are hungry and only what they need.  Kittens usually need 3 meals a day for the first year.  Sometimes our Kipper gets 4 if he is especially active or we've had a long day.  But if he doesn't show interest when I put it down, then I immediately take it away.  (this is also a raw issue of course) But you should let them eat until they walk away and then remove their dish or only give them 30 minutes for a meal if they are slow and picky.  They will get used to the routine.  Kipper usually eats breakfast, then at 1-2pm and then 6-7pm.  Kittens also expend a lot of energy growing, so you can't over feed them if they are hungry.  If Archer is finishing his plate, I'd offer another spoonful if he is still interested, and again if he polishes that off in short order.  But I'd cut out the snacking if your schedule allows.

I have found that Our little guy has gone through a fat tummy stage a couple of times, but like human kids they are probably stocking up for a growing spurt....and Gatsby looks like he has some growing to do to catch up to those paws!

Yes he's got massive feet, mostly because he's polydactyl and has an extra toe in each foot. my adorable little mutant.

Unfortunately I can't feed them at lunch time as I'm at work all day. I could do breakfast, dinner, and then bedtime. It's just so confusing because there's mixed information everywhere. I read a very detailed kitten book before adopting which recommended dry food all day to graze and wet food 2x a day.

I hope his pudgy faze won't make him a fat cat, but he is very active and healthy. And mischievous.

What a cute baby! His paws are HUGE. And I love both of their names :-)

He doesn't look pudgy to me- just the normal kitten stockiness that they get before they slim out again. I agree with what the previous poster said about feeding- by doing this and picking up the food instead of leaving it out all day it will probably end in Archer eating more wet and less dry which is good either way. With kittens on wet I usually feed four times a day and pick it up after they are initially done. With older kittens usually when I do three times a day they are good but it depends on how much they eat at once. If they gobble it all up I will give them a little more if they are still interested in the food. 

So should I be feeding them even maybe double the wet - a can each a day - and feed them three times (morning dinner and bed)?

If it is summer and hot where you are it might work with the morning dinner and bedtime.  My little guy really has no interest during the hot mid day sun, and usually forgoes the 1-2pm meal and we end up doing the same.  You could also look at a food timer?  I've not researched it, but have read some threads here about them.

They are very cute, and those paws just scream 'Thumper' to me... bunny paws! LOL  In Nova Scotia we just called these 6 toed cats 'Mousers'.

I am in a similar situation except I worry about my kitten not getting enough. I am feeding my cats nature's variety pride duck and lamb and the website said I should feed my kitten 12 oz of wet food and my older cat 9 oz. The pride has more calories than the other food they eat tiki cat so I would have to feed even more with that food. There is no way I can get them to eat so many ounces. I might get my kitten to eat 5 oz of wet food and my older cat might eat up to 4 oz (which is actually within the normal range for an adult cat according to cat info.org). Now that my kitten is almost 6 months she is not so much of a voracious eater and it makes me worry- she seems to be becoming picky like Frank which I do not want to happen. What I am doing is giving them 3-4 three ounce cans to share a day and also give the kitten a little raw food. I give one at 5-6 am, another as I am leaving for work and feed them once or twice more when I get home. I do give them some dry too to up the calories (I know dry is bad but it is a struggle to get them to eat enough calories). I have the natures variety limited ingredient grain free, which like other grain free foods has a lot of calories and I only need to feed a little to give them extra calories (1 cup is over 400 calories). I give them a handful before I leave for work and they eat it right away and I give them another handful after their last wet food feeding and again they eat it right away.

They're still growing, so it's probably OK to free-feed until they have their full size.

How I figured out how much food my cats needed, was just to start out giving them more than they needed, and slowly decrease the amount until they regularly ate all or almost all of it. That way I knew how much they wanted, and could just give them that amount. Their weight is normal and their energy is good, so I figure it worked!

I never time feed my cat. His bowl is always available and filled with food (he only likes dry)

mcis said:

I never time feed my cat. His bowl is always available and filled with food (he only likes dry)

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This usually works with kittens, but many adult cats will overeat and become overweight if free-fed. So you really need to keep an eye on your kitty to prevent that.

Your cat is sooo cute, how old is he?  He looks like my little fluffy :-)

They do look alike! Archer is 5 months. Gatsby (the black one) is almost 7 months.

Fluffy is around 3 1/2 months old now....its about time for them both to get spayed

Her and her sister I meant lol