How much should my cat be eating

My almost 9 month old kitten is always whinging for food. I feel like she is getting enough but I'm not sure because of the way she meows for food and stands at the pantry, or is it just a habit thing she knows where it's kept so she wants it?
Currently she is getting a handful of dry when my husband wakes for work at 5.30am, I then feed her a half pouch of wet before I leave at 8am, then she gets a handful dry when he gets home at 3.30pm, the second half of wet for dinner 6.30pm and finally another handful dry right before bed about 9.30pm.
Is this too much.. not enough?!! Keeping in mind she is quite a petite cat always has been and vet seems to think she always will be. Vet has also said she is proportioned and not at all under weight for her tiny size. I was also thinking of cutting her back once she was 1 year old... I'm thinking maybe not now!

Kittens can be free fed dry food. I keep dry out all day long. Then you can keep your schedule on the wet. Kittens are really active and grow very fast even at this age so she may still be hungry. I also have noticed that they tend to be grazers then meals. 

Thanks for the advice I might try that. I just know when I have given her a bowl of dry she will just eat the entire thing and not graze!! So it's hard to know

It's ok I know from what most say on here you can't over feed a kitten. I have a mom and a kitten so I keep about a cup or two of dry out all day and give them wet three to four times a day. 

Yeah I think it'll just be a game of try it and see what keeps her happy haha!

That is how it is. It took a lot of wasted money and almost a year to figure out Lil Bit prefers Fancy Feast grilled and Friskies Pate. The only treats they like is Temptations but they will sit on command for them. I wish I could teach them to fetch. 

Yeah Lexi is proving very different to my precious cat! Nothing she does or likes is anything like him!

Yes, kittens can be fed as much as they'll eat. Whinging cats can be a challenge! All things considered, I'd probably try adding more wet food rather than more dry food since wet food tends to have more meat-based protein--I like the idea of @Louann Jude's method of feeding wet food three or four times a day with the supplemental dry food on hand.

And, yes, it sure can take some time and effort to figure out the best way to feed a cat! Since Louann Jude mentioned grazing v. meals: we switched our cats to meals and I'm very glad we did because otherwise one cat, the one who has more of a tendency to overeat and gain weight, would eat all the other cat's food! It's worked out very well because it slowed down the fast eater a little and sped up the slow eater a lot.
I once had a cat who was a fantastic fetcher! The funny thing is that I never taught her: she just started doing it on her own, with a favorite toy. One of our cats now seems to almost have potential for fetching, hmm, maybe that's a winter project!

Yes I do think she is cat who needs meals rather than the opportunity to graze... Because it wouldn't be grazing it would be bingeing! Might just give her a little more and see if it shuts her up lol!

rachleigh said:

Yes I do think she is cat who needs meals rather than the opportunity to graze... Because it wouldn't be grazing it would be bingeing! Might just give her a little more and see if it shuts her up lol!

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Yes, that's like our Edwina: if we feed her too much at once, she'll eat it very fast and regurgitate it. Just lovely to find! I admit I was skeptical that meals would work for our two but it's worked out very, very well and kept them both at ideal weights, particularly because meals also make it easier to feed only wet food.

I guess I have just been lucky and haven't had a cat that will gorge it's self to the point of throwing up after. I have always fostered kittens and because of this site fed them the way I describe dry kibble out 24/7 and 3-4 wet meals and snacks with treats. They eat around 7, 1, 5 and before bed some treats. And sometimes if I wake up around three or four in the morning I will either fill up the bowl or give them a can. They will let me know which one they want. 

Just my experience with mine is wet food keeps them full longer than dry. And if I had the money I would feed raw. From time to time I do. I will give them chicken and turkey. They love it and when they have a meal of that they wont beg for more for a long time.  

Louann Jude said:

 
I guess I have just been lucky and haven't had a cat that will gorge it's self to the point of throwing up after. I have always fostered kittens and because of this site fed them the way I describe dry kibble out 24/7 and 3-4 wet meals and snacks with treats. They eat around 7, 1, 5 and before bed some treats. And sometimes if I wake up around three or four in the morning I will either fill up the bowl or give them a can. They will let me know which one they want. 

Just my experience with mine is wet food keeps them full longer than dry. And if I had the money I would feed raw. From time to time I do. I will give them chicken and turkey. They love it and when they have a meal of that they wont beg for more for a long time.  

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That's wonderful that you foster kittens so much! It sounds like you have a good feeding system for them.

Our cat who "scarfs and barfs" was severely underfed when we adopted her: she'd been in a household with too many cats (it sounded like a minor hoarding situation) and still seems to have a bit of food anxiety, though that seems to have abated significantly. I think the combination of somewhat set mealtimes and feeding our two cats (who are littermates) separately has been what's helped. 

And yes about wet food! We feed a lot of commercial raw food, plus one homecooked meal a day and one canned meal a day and that combination also keeps our cats from begging... unless, that is, I'm way behind schedule or shortchanged them a bit on a previous meal!

LisaHE said:

That's wonderful that you foster kittens so much! It sounds like you have a good feeding system for them.

Our cat who "scarfs and barfs" was severely underfed when we adopted her: she'd been in a household with too many cats (it sounded like a minor hoarding situation) and still seems to have a bit of food anxiety, though that seems to have abated significantly. I think the combination of somewhat set mealtimes and feeding our two cats (who are littermates) separately has been what's helped. 

And yes about wet food! We feed a lot of commercial raw food, plus one homecooked meal a day and one canned meal a day and that combination also keeps our cats from begging... unless, that is, I'm way behind schedule or shortchanged them a bit on a previous meal! :lol3:

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Yes that sounds very similar to Lexi she was a stray and then taken in by, although a lovely woman, she had 20 cats! So her whole little life I think she either wasn't sure when her next meal would be or had to fight to get any! So it's probably just instilled in her now the poor little doll! So when she gets fed she scoffs it down, not knowing when or how much food she'll get next. I'm sure she'll learn eventually that in this loving home she gets fed everyday!

rachleigh said:

Yes that sounds very similar to Lexi she was a stray and then taken in by, although a lovely woman, she had 20 cats! So her whole little life I think she either wasn't sure when her next meal would be or had to fight to get any! So it's probably just instilled in her now the poor little doll! So when she gets fed she scoffs it down, not knowing when or how much food she'll get next. I'm sure she'll learn eventually that in this loving home she gets fed everyday!

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How long has she been with you? It really can take a long time for them to learn they'll get fed regularly.

We adopted Edwina in December 2013 and only in the last several months have I noticed her truly slowing down on her eating. There are certain foods that we don't feed much any more (or only in limited quantities) because she eats them so fast but, for the most part, she's doing remarkably well at controlling herself.

And she really is a doll! (She's the cat on the right in my avatar photo.) She's very affectionate and even sleeps by my feet most nights.

Do you have photos of your cats? (Cat photos are always very popular on this site! )

LisaHE said:

How long has she been with you? It really can take a long time for them to learn they'll get fed regularly.

We adopted Edwina in December 2013 and only in the last several months have I noticed her truly slowing down on her eating. There are certain foods that we don't feed much any more (or only in limited quantities) because she eats them so fast but, for the most part, she's doing remarkably well at controlling herself.

And she really is a doll! (She's the cat on the right in my avatar photo.) She's very affectionate and even sleeps by my feet most nights.

Do you have photos of your cats? (Cat photos are always very popular on this site! )

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She's been with us since she was about 5 months (she's now 9 months) and was with the other woman from about 4 weeks, her mother abandoned her and her siblings in a big storm
But she's a beautifully natured girl, very snuggly and quite shy but she knows who her humans are and is quite playful and outgoing around us... Just still a bit shy when visitors are around. She's also very well behaved, no scratching furniture or carpets or jumping on kitchen benches! So her eating is the only thing we need to get sorted! Lol

This Lexi, she's a gorgeous girl and very petite! Only 2.5kgs but vet said she is perfectly healthy just small

This is my other big boy Max, he is 10. He still lives with my parents, when I moved out a year a go I thought it best to leave him where he is comfortable. He's too old and set in his ways to be moved, and where we moved to he would need to be inside at all times... He wouldn't of liked that very much! So I visit him at my parents house.

Yes that is probably the reason the poor baby eats that way. That is so sad. The most I have had at one time is seven and at the moment I have six. I have Lil Bit who is 15 months and I have her 16 week old kitten Sweet Pea. They are in their forever homes. I hope. Lil Bit is having bad behavior issues that if she keeps hissing and scratching at my babies 3 &4, I will have to let them adopt her out. I think she would be better suited for a home with an older couple as an only pet. Then the new fosters are Pepè, Sylvester, Willow and Precious who I am still wondering her sex. I am 80% sure she is a girl. They are three weeks.


Lil Bit


Sweet Pea at about 10 weeks                                                                                                                           Pepè


Willow


This was them when I got them on Sunday. They look so much better now. 

Oh they're all gorgeous!! I think Lexi is best suited as an only cat. She didn't really cope well with the other cats she used to live with and would just hide most of the day. She seems much more outgoing and happy on her own with us!

rachleigh said:

Oh they're all gorgeous!! I think Lexi is best suited as an only cat. She didn't really cope well with the other cats she used to live with and would just hide most of the day. She seems much more outgoing and happy on her own with us!

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Our previous cat's vet told us cats generally prefer to be only cats... or at least that they're far social and pack-oriented than dogs. We certainly found that was true with that cat: when we had to have her companion cat (we adopted them together) put to sleep, she never seemed the slightest bit sorry, lonely, or mournful, she just seemed glad to get all the attention. The other cat had bullied her a fair bit, always pushing her out of chairs and laps, so I can't say that I blame her. The two we have now are littermates who had a "we love each other tag" on their cage at the shelter: they do get along very well. They often groom each other but they sometimes have minor brawls, too!

Yes she's a precious little thing! If whinging for food is her only flaw then I'm happy haha! But yes she definitely seems perfectly happy being an only cat and lapping up all our our attention. Being so shy and timid I think the other cats dominated over her a fair bit. She has come out of her shell a lot more being with us on her own. Although quiet she has quite the personality!
Max is the complete opposite to her so it took me a while to adjust to her! He's a big Tom cat who isnt overly affectionate or friendly and scratches anything he can get his claws into lol. He loves us... But from afar. So to now have Lexi who wants to snuggle up in your lap and sleep with you every night is a pleasant change! She is that well behaved that she sleeps all night! 10pm till 5.30am when my husband gets up. No middle of the night kitty olympics like old max loves to do!

I love what I do. I actually started last year. It has helped me so much in so many area's. But it also feeds that mothering side of me so that's why I like the bottle babies. I love seeing personalities develop. I also get to "own' several different cats at once and when it's time help find them homes. 

Lil Bit was a hard one from the beginning. She was six weeks old and God she cried. She doesn't like nobody including me. She allows me to feed her and from time to time I get to give her scratches under her chin. She will sleep close to us at night but when morning comes she goes and hides until the kids go to bed. Sweet Pea was actually sick in the pic. She is my talking love bug. She will talk up a storm and forces herself in your lap. She also loves to attack. She is more accepting of other cats and children but I am afraid Lil Bits personality will rub off on her.