How much do you feed your cat everyday? Lots of info inside!

Well, inside this new article by our one and only Laurie, aka @LDG  

How Much Food Should I Feed My Cat?

Please take a minute to click through and read the article, then come back here and let us know your thoughts, as well as how much food you feed your cat everyday!

Good article! 

Oliver gets 2 to 4 cans (usually closer to 2) of Fancy Feast Classics each day with the occasional raw. What he doesn't eat after so long goes in the fridge until the next feeding. We feed four times a day, currently. We're going to transition to three times a day this week, as I don't completely trust my BF to feed him during the day while I'm at school. 

I was worried he wasn't eating enough (though he's given as much as he wants), but he just went to the vet Thursday and she said he weight gain is perfect. 

Thanks! It can be such a confusing thing to figure out.

To be honest, my elder kitty Pearl kind of stunted my ability to know how much food is "enough." She always kept her appetite until the end, but she had a tough time keeping weight on, so I basically just fed her constantly. Probably almost twice what a cat her size needs if they're healthy, because it was always a fight to keep weight on her.

So when I brought Pia home, a healthy cat, I had no clue how much to feed her, but I knew I shouldn't feed her like I fed Pearl in her old age, so I pretty much just go with the recommended amount by Primal and Nature's variety for a small, moderately active indoor cat like her, which is 4 of the little 1oz patties (or roughly 160 calories a day).

My dad and I were comparing cat feeding notes, and he was like "What!? That doesn't seem like enough!" He has a cat of similar build and age to Pia, but she's nearly twice the size (not fat, just a big kitty).

I tried to keep in mind, first, that his cat is much bigger than mine, and second, that he feeds wet food, and I know that wet food usually isn't quite as dense as raw, so you do have to feed a bit more of it.

I still spent the night looking up calorie guidelines because I was afraid I wasn't feeding her enough! I mean, her weight has been stable and she never begs (she's really not all that food motivated -- she doesn't care until I put the bowl down), but it does look like such a small amount.

But then I thought about seeing videos of feeding time for big cats, and it usually seems like they get a pretty small amount too. But raw food is dense in nutrients, so they don't need a lot. Cats don't need mountains of food. Their stomachs don't even stretch all that much. So it might look like a small amount of food to me, but it's got everything it needs, and that's all the cat cares about.

It's so easy to over-feed a cat. We want them to be happy so much that it's tempting to overfill their bowl.

Both of our cats split a 5.5 oz can  of varying wet foods in the mornings (or one 3 oz can each of Fancy Feast when I offer that one).  Evenings are 1/4 cup of high quality kibble such as Orijen (current).  

Casper was somewhat overweight when we got him, and Cocoa, was fairly underweight.  Casper has lost a couple of pounds over the past 3 years and Cocoa, in one year gained a few (which she needed badly).  

Both finish their breakfast every day unless they aren't thrilled with the offering.  Kibble at dinner they both tend to graze on throughout the evening but by morning it's long gone. 

We feed 2x a day. The few times they ask in between meals, I feel they really are genuinely hungry and will either split a small can between them of the wet food, or give them both about 1/8th cup of the kibble.  Or, a few pieces of treats which are solely pure protein.  Both have been maintaining their current weights and for the most part are not hocking me for additional meals.  Casper is about 14 pounds or so right now (he's always been on the larger side) and Cocoa, I believe, is about 10 pounds - up from just barely 7 when we got her.  

I sure hope my kitten turns out to be an average cat who only eats one 5.5 oz. can a day! Currently he's a 7 month old greedy pig who eats about 3 ½ 5.5 oz. cans a day.

Here he is, asking for more food!

If that isn't the epitome of poor pathetic starving me poses, I don't know what is

sivyaleah said:

If that isn't the epitome of poor pathetic starving me poses, I don't know what is:lol3:

Click to expand...

And THAT look is why so many kitties end up with more ... cushion ... than they should have!

Wow - WHAT a look! He's got it perfected! :lol3:

My cats range in age from 7 years to almost 12 years. They range in size from 7 pounds to 14 pounds. And my 14 pound cat eats *almost* as little food as my 7 pound cat.

And that illustrates SO well how each cat is unique, and just how very, very hard it can be to find the "right" amount of food they need.

Oh my, that sad little face would be tough to resist!  

LDG said:

And THAT look is why so many kitties end up with more ... cushion ... than they should have!

Click to expand...

That reminds me of this vid of the hungry fat cat:

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

Now that cat is a master manipulator!

Our three young healthy cats split a 5.5 oz can in the morning and another one at night.  I put out 1/4 cup of dry in each of their bowls in the morning and they can free-feed during the day, though it's rare they eat all the dry. They're all active, and all maintain a healthy weight.   I get home from work mid-afternoon, and sometimes if they act like they're starving to death LOL, I'll split a 3 oz can between the three of them for an afternoon snack.  We never have done treats with these three.

The other four cats all have health problems and so far are still underweight--I try to feed them multiple small meals during the day and basically give them as much as they want.