How much is too much food for a kitten?

I am wondering how much I should feed my kitten. I have read a bunch that says as much as he can eat or up to double what a cat of his weight would need.... but I think he is eating ALOT. We have three cats- mom and two of her kittens; Bub, Bear and Penny. Bub chunked out on kitten kibble after she stopped nursing the kids so we don't free feed anymore. We feed wet twice a day and a measured amount of dry at bedtime. They each have their own dish (we are so proud that it only took a few months to get them to only eat out of their own dish!)  The kittens are 5 months and the vet believes Bub is only about a year and a half.  Bub ( 11 lbs - up from 4.5 lbs the week she gave birth) gets 5 oz a day plus a 1/3 cup of meow mix dry kibble, Penny (weighs 5 lbs 4 oz) eats 6 oz a day plus a little kibble.

  The boy kitten, Bear, is the one who has us concerned. Currently he weighs 8.5 lbs ( we weigh weekly)  and he is eating 4 oz wet friskies in the morning and evening ( so 8 oz total) and a 1/2 cup dry meow mix (plus most of his sister's) at bedtime. By my calculations that is enough for a 14 lb cat... but a kitten can have up to double what a cat gets, right? Could we actually feed him 12 oz a day plus the 1/2 cup of dry and not be over feeding him?! We are also starting to wonder how we are supposed to bring him down to an adult diet once he reaches a year. 

Thank you for your help folks! My husband and I are so unsure of how to take care of our little darlings and this site has been a lifeline for all the crazy question we come up with

I have always gone by calories per pound for feeding kittens/cats but there are also other factors to consider, more importantly WHAT you are feeding. But, usually it is 30 calories per pound for kittens - and for adult cats lean and healthy 20 calories. For weight loss - even 15 calories per pound. I will see what I can dig up for you and list the links below. Kittens do require more calories than adults. Sounds like you are doing a great job !!!!! I am sure others will tune in here soon and offer up some other suggestions.


A great article on what to feed - http://www.thecatsite.com/a/choosing-the-right-food-for-your-cat

This one is packed full of great nutritional information for felines - http://www.catinfo.org/

http://dels.nas.edu/resources/stati...d-on-reports/booklets/cat_nutrition_final.pdf

First, I hope they're all spayed/neutered or the ladies will soon be "chunking up" for another reason .

And, yeah, teenage boys eat a LOT. I wouldn't worry about his intake until he's 9-12 months or so. Or if he starts getting fat. Also, Meow Mix is very low-quality, almost no meat in it, so you might consider switching to something meatier. Even Purina Cat Chow would be better, might make it so he needs less food.

Feralvr- I had seen those links... I didn't do the calculations on calories yet because everything I saw had calorie ranges just like the food ranges. I'll have to do those calculations when I get a chance.

Willowy- The mom, Bub, was fixed as soon as we could wean the kittens and the kids have appointments this week. The vet wouldn't do them before they were 5 months. We just bought a big bag of the meow mix... but we'll have to shop around for the next bag to find something better for them. We are in a tight spot because we really didn't plan on having cats until Bub adopted us by having her kitties on our patio We have been trying to keep costs down and we figured Meow Mix was such a big name that is would be good for them even though it was cheaper. We really just feed them the dry because Bub and  Bear always want more food...  it is a bed time snack and an easy way to keep them used to dry food for when we have to ask neighbors to feed them. 

As for really cheap but halfway decent dry foods, if you have a Costco membership, their Kirkland brand is good, and actually cheaper per pound than most grocery store foods. Cat Chow Naturals is another good one, costs about the same as regular Cat Chow but is sometimes harder to find. Purina ONE is decent. Basically, avoid artifical colors and look for meat first on the ingredient list.

The worst name-brand dry foods are Kit 'n' Kaboodle and Alley Cat. But Meow Mix is only a teensy step up.

There was a very short time that our older boy ate like a real hoss:  +/- 6-8ozs - for about 6wks.  He was around 8mos old though.  I'm sure it was a combination of growth, being adopted & going on all wet all at the same time.

Our 4mo old, true to form in a growth spurt, actually gained 1lb in 4wks feeding him all wet.  If he even whimpers towards the cabinet I pull out a 3oz can of something even if he only eats 1/2.

We are feeding a mixture of Instinct Lamb & Chicken, as well as FF pates and Friskies pates.  They also get 1/2 cup/each of the EVO chicken/turkey kibble.   They will both snack on this kibble over a 6-8hr span.

We seem to have planed out at:

Si (older) - 3.5 to 4oz wet per day w/a half cup kibble snack.  Si weighs in at 13lbs.  Even tho the vet said he was just a big boy, I am trying to slowly get a full pound off him so his waist is more pronounced.

Monty (younger) - 4 to 6.5oz wet per day w/a half cup kibble.  Monty weighs in at 8lbs.  Being a high energy kitten I won't really start watching his intake until about 10mos.

Willowy- That is interesting about the Kirkland brand! I swear by their allergy medication for myself... it works better than any brand name for me We will have to try that out once this Meow Mix bag is gone.

Blue Bird- I hope Bear is going through a growth spurt like yours, and I  hope he gets over it soon... He put on 5 oz in the last week alone. It is interesting how he is so much bigger than his little sister... 8 1/2 lbs to 5 1/2 lbs is a big difference- at least in my eyes! Bear still has a waist though so its not just chunk.  BTW, I saw Si and Monty's page- it is a very nice story! Bub and Penny are both black, although they do have little specks of white on their bellies.

   This photo is a few months old but you can still see that Bear (gray) is bigger than Penny. 

Oh, yeah, if you have a Costco membership, the Kirkland brand is really the best you'll get for the money. It's a little low in protein (which shouldn't be a big problem since you're feeding mainly canned), but is otherwise very good, as far as a dry food goes. No corn, wheat, or soy, no artificial colors, chicken and chicken meal as the first ingredients, etc. Oh, and no fish---that can be a big thing for some cats. And only about $18 for 25 pounds---which sounds like it costs more than the grocery store brands but when you consider they only come in 16-pound bags it comes out to be about the same. I feed my cats mostly canned Friskies but when they do get dry it's Kirkland .

Willowy said:

Oh, yeah, if you have a Costco membership, the Kirkland brand is really the best you'll get for the money. It's a little low in protein (which shouldn't be a big problem since you're feeding mainly canned), but is otherwise very good, as far as a dry food goes. .

Click to expand...

I agree that Kirkland "anything" pet is a good choice. Their pet foods are well respected, highly rated plus the cost is excellent in comparison. Good suggestion!!!