Need help with kitten nutrition

okay so I have a 6 month old maine coon neutered male kitten. He is almost 8 lbs which I figured to be normal for his breed but I'm starting to fear he's getting pudgy. His tummy has a lot of extra skin and he has a nice amount of meat between his skin and rib cage. Not a lot to where I can't feel his ribs so im thinking it's healthy but I don't know. I heard I need to feed him 3 times a day but he barely eats 2 times a day. I feed him half a cup of dry purina one in the morning and half a cup of the same at dinner time. Sometimes he doesn't eat all of it though and leaves the rest till the next day. He's gaining so much weight so fast but eating so little. I don't want him to get overweight but I don't want to incorrectly feed him either. He doesn't beg for food that much. he runs into the kitchen when I open the pantry sometimes but I think it's because he wants treats. I don't feed him a lot of treats either so it's not like he's used to them. Not sure if I'm doing anything wrong or not. I'm afraid to feed him wet food and have that be the only thing he wants after the first can. Tips would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

This is the teenage stage when they usually need the most calories. So I wouldn't worry about his weight yet. He might be bulking up for a growth spurt. I don't know which Purina One formula he's eating, but the chicken and turkey kind has about 450 calories per cup. Most neutered adult cats need around 25 calories per pound per day, so a cup a day might be a bit much for him, even considering the increased caloric needs of his age. So he may just be self-regulating.

Canned food is actually healthier for cats, and can aid in proper weight management. Even one meal of canned food a day would help him get more moisture. Check out this website for more info: www.catinfo.org

I agree that canned food would be better for him. With the right choice of canned he'll be getting less carbs, which may help keep weight under control (don't feed weight control formulas, though). There are people on this forum that have cats who prefer wet/refuse dry, and they are considered lucky.

Kittens eat like a horse. I feed kits as much as they can put away and a wide variety of food. I am a huge fan of feeding raw chicken necks as they are the best for good teeth. Raw meat ( resist mushing food let em gnaw) canned kitten food fish egg a little ceg. No cheese or milk of any variety ever. Mine used to chomp through 8 chicken necks in one go I thought I was raising a great Dane! I never use dry food as a good, am anti processed food I give a little as treats.