Should I switch my cat to canned food instead of dry food

I've had my cat Precious for about over a year now&i got her @abt 8-9weeks old. I'm not exactly sure how much she weights but she's very heavy,maybe 10lbs and she's abt 1yr&3months old. I have been feeding her a lil more than a 1/2 cup of dry food a day&shes usually out of food by the next morning or sometimes there's abt 2tablespoons left in her dish the next morning. For the most part she is an active cat but @times not so much. I also have a 7week old kitten&i have bottle fed her till abt 5weeks old&I introduced canned food to her&she took to it right away. I feed the kitten everyday @5am,10am,3pm,8pm&again @abt 12:30am. Now I know growns cats don't need to be fed nearly as much as kittens but should I switch my cats food to canned instead of dry and how much&how often should I feed her??

Canned food is always a better alternative.  Your adult cat may very well resist the change but hopefully not.  Two meals a day is normal for an adult cat but if she is resistant to changing she may only eat a very small amount and will need more meals until she makes the change.  First get her used to the food only being down for a set amount of time twice a day.  Right now what you are doing even though it is measured is what is called free feeding.  She needs to get used to set meal times.  That way she will eat a meal of the wet and be done until the next meal time.  The sooner you make the change the less resistant she will be.  I have a ten year old cat that is a kibble addict.  I have gotten him to where he will eat a small amount of Wellness chicken.   Wet food will help with keeping weight down although 1/2 cup of kibble a day does not sound like overfeeding.  A grain free canned like some of the Wellness and there are others are the best choice but it depends on your budget.

But how much of the canned food should I give her @each serving?? The canned food I get is Purina Friskies(5.5oz). It's for adult cats&kittens. I give my kitten @least a tablespoon&1/2 each serving

So much depends on the activity level of the cat, her metabolism, and the type of food.  Ultimately I would say a 5.5 oz can per day split between her meals.  Initially just to see if she's going to take right to the canned I would try giving it to her when she hasn't had access to food for several hours.  She may take right to it.  If not you will need to transition her.  The first think I would do is split her kibble into two meals.  Give her a 1/4 cup leave it down for a set time, maybe an hour then take it up.  The next meal time give her a 1/4 cup.  Give her some time to get used to meals.  Then try substituting the wet for one of her meals.  You could try crushing some of the kibble and using it as a topper for the wet food.   Of course you want to make sure she is getting enough calories to stay out of trouble health wise.  The rule of thumb for minimum calories that I have seen is 15 for each pound that the cat weighs, but unfortunately canned food doesn't list calories.  I am hoping that since she is still young she will take right to the wet food.

If you look up a canned food on the manufacturer's website, they usually list the calorie there.  15 calories per pound is pretty low for a 1 year old, especially if there's a kitten in the house.  I suspect those two will be fairly active together soon enough .  I'd probably go with 20 calories per pound, so it's important to know how much weighs, or how much she SHOULD weight, if you want her to lose weight. 

You said she's pretty heavy?  Has she been to the Vet lately.  Maybe for her annual check-up?  If not, she's probably due anyway, and they can tell you what would be a good weight for her, and they can also help you with what her daily caloric intake should be.  Just don't let them sell you a diet food to give her   IMO, there's no need for that.  But just at first blush, I would say one 5.5oz can should be plenty, although the can's usually say to feed 1 oz per lb of cat.  They always say to feed way more than you need. 

In case she doesn't take to schedules canned feedings immediately, here are some more detailed tips on how to do it:

http://www.catinfo.org/docs/TipsForTransitioning1-14-11.pdf

Cats should be getting 5-6 ounces of canned food a day. There are two main sizes canned cat food comes in, 3 oz and 5.5 oz. So either TWO 3 oz cans a day or ONE 5.5 oz can a day(split into two or three meals), should be fine. 

What abt 8week old kittens?? I think she's almost 2lbs&shes very active

Different rules for kittens -- they get to eat much more (pretty much as much as they want - as long as we're talking about a balanced, complete, wet food diet).  Give kittens small, frequent feedings. Don't worry, the ravenousness doesn't last forever! 

Adult cats, depending on their frame size and what kind of food you're giving them (canned vs raw) will eat anywhere from 4-6 oz a day.

A canned food with a decent protein/fat/carb ratio (and low phosphorus) is made by Merrick:  it's the "Cowboy Cookout" one.  See Susan Thixton's site: The Truth about Pet Food, and Lisa Pierson's Catinfo.org.  Don't wait until your cat was 13 (like I did) to switch to a diet on which they can thrive.

Happy Kittening!

c8rams said:

Different rules for kittens -- they get to eat much more (pretty much as much as they want - as long as we're talking about a balanced, complete, wet food diet).  Give kittens small, frequent feedings. Don't worry, the ravenousness doesn't last forever! 

Adult cats, depending on their frame size and what kind of food you're giving them (canned vs raw) will eat anywhere from 4-6 oz a day.

A canned food with a decent protein/fat/carb ratio (and low phosphorus) is made by Merrick:  it's the "Cowboy Cookout" one.  See Susan Thixton's site: The Truth about Pet Food, and Lisa Pierson's Catinfo.org.  Don't wait until your cat was 13 (like I did) to switch to a diet on which they can thrive.

Happy Kittening!

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  Definitely feed your 8 week old kitten ALL she will eat at this age .   Oddly enough, my 13 your old LOVES Cowboy Cookout!  How strange! 

You may find that it is pretty hard to switch your adult cat over to wet food completely, after feeding her only dry food during her main growth period. We are still struggling with one of our cats - he just refuses to eat canned food (any type, and we tried A LOT), unless it is "sprinkled" with dry. Fortunately, there are some relatively healthy kibble options nowadays also. We particularly like the grain-free high-protein varieties local Petsmart sells - "Simply Nourish" brand.  Their canned varieties (3oz cans) are also excellent and inexpensive. But yes, canned is typically still better, so be persistent and keep offering it to your cat ! The presence of another cat that enjoys wet food will help too.