Are my cats getting enough food?

Hi guys!

I just have a question relating to food. My kittens are now 5 months old (they grow up too fast!) and have been on Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Feline Formula wet AND dry since we've had them. They love this food and I love this food, as I feel its very nutritious and has great ingredients. So it's been a win/win.

Considering I have never owned cats before and have always been a dog person, however, I'm just concerned with their portion sizes. I have been feeding them the same amount since they were 8 weeks and I'm unsure if I'm supposed to increase the amount or decrease it. TOTW is usually a high-in-protein food, so I feel like less is more, but I still want to make sure they are getting enough!

They each get 1/4 scoop of the dry food and 1/4 of the can mixed around (if I put the wet on top, Khaleesi will usually just eat that and I want her to have both!). The get this in the morning around 7:15AM and when I get home from work around 6:00PM. Is this too much, too little? TOTW can be pretty expensive, especially the canned, so I much rather increase their dry intake if needed. However, I will do what is best for them!

Does anyone else have experience with TOTW? Am I feeding them right?

On a somewhat unrelated note: Khaleesi has somehow decided to get in the habit of waking us up at 6:30AM or right before our 7:00 alarm recently. She cries and cries outside our door until my boyfriend gets annoyed and puts her in the office. Aside from weekends, we haven't changed our feeding schedule for them in the 4 months we've had them, so I'm a bit confused. 

I did some research on the forum and read it's good to NOT feed her as soon as I get up, otherwise she is training ME to get up and give her food, thus crying to wake me up. Since we've had them, I have never fed them right away. I shower and get dressed first and then feed them while I make my boyfriend his lunch.

I also read that maybe I should feed them later? Maybe 8PM? Or some sort of food puzzle before bed?

Any suggestions on this would be very helpful, as my BF and I love out sleep and don't appreciate the half hour early alarm lol.

I would add a third feeding right before you go to bed.  Adult cats are fine with 2 meals a day but I think kittens need that third meal.  They are still growing and need the extra calories.  I think it's great that one of them would rather eat the wet, it's better for them than the dry.  Many of us struggle to make that switch from dry to wet.  I know the wet is more expensive but maybe you could rotate the taste of the wild with a cheaper wet food to bring down the cost.

Thank you! I think I will give them a small scoop of dry before bed then, as they do love the dry as well, as hopefully that will sustain them.

As for the wet, they DO get it. I know wet food is essential to a cats diet because of the water content and also just better all around, but I hear some good things about dry food as well (good for their teeth, etc). Which is why I do both. I definitely want to keep them both on all TOTW though, as I just really like the food. I feel good as long as they ARE getting wet (might not JUST be wet, but they do get it).

I actually think it was here where I heard a mix or dry and wet is a great diet .

I'm not sure what you mean by 1/4 of a scoop. Is that 1/4 of a cup of dry? How large are the cans of TOTW? Kittens typically should be eating often and as much as they want. I definitely think adding a later meal, closer to bedtime, would be great.

I feed raw now, but when my 2 oldest were kittens that age they got 1/2 a 3oz can each 4 times a day with dry down to nibble on all day. When they reached adulthood I cut back on the dry as just a mid day snack, as they were still getting a total of 6 oz of wet each per day divided into 3 meals.  Once I learned that wet food was much better for them, I eventually just cut out the dry altogether.

It is a myth that dry food is good for a cats teeth. It is no better for their teeth, then eating crackers would be for ours. Unfortunately many vets still push this thinking and so is understandable why you may have been told this. Some good reading can be found at http://www.catinfo.org/ if your interested in learning more on good nutrition for your furbabies. It is written by a vet who has done a lot of research on cat nutrition. Hope this helps.

Your babies are beautiful btw!

Yes, 1/4 cup. Sorry! Haha. And I believe I'm getting the 3.0oz cans (the other size is 5.5oz, might have to check when I get home).

They don't act hungry or beg for food (only Khaleesi does in the morning and just recently) and weight wise they looks very good, so I always thought they were fine.

Should I increase it a bit? And for how long?

If they aren't acting hungry and look a healthy weight, adding just that extra meal at night is probably fine. That should hold them until their breakfast and hopefully not wake you early. But do read that site I linked. I think you'll learn a lot. I sure did! Good luck and keep us posted.

Oh I didn't even catch that link or your comment on my babies (thank you, btw ) - will definitely read!

And yes, I think the little bed time snack will be a good idea. Definitely going to start that tonight and see how she does this week