How Much wet Food Should my 2 7lbs cats get in a day?

I have two cats, both 7 pounds, and i feel like one of them eats too much wet food, I don't want her getting fat! Both cats get Friskies wet food in the morning and at night, and have a constant supply of water and blue buffalo dry food. Both are around a year and a half old, how much wet food should they get in total, each day?

Seven pounds is less than average weight for cats. However, like with people, weight alone isn't a measure of body condition, as cats can be longer/shorter from nose to tail or have longer/shorter legs. It also depends on breed. For example, an 8 pound Singapura cat could be very overweight (these cats usually weigh 4-6 lbs) while a 24 pound Maine Coon could be perfectly healthy (male Maine Coons are typically 20-24 lbs). This is all because of fbmi (feline body mass index), which is used to determine if a cat's weight is in a healthy range. I attached a link to a chart that you can use to determine your cat's bmi.

From your description, it sounds like your cats get scheduled wetfood portions, but are constantly able to feed on dry food. Is this correct? Generally, free feeding is not a good strategy for most cats. Cats have adapted to want to eat as much as possible when they can because, in the wild, they don't know when their next meal will be. It's the same with our indoor cats, given a constant supply of food will make them tempted to "graze", so to speak, and get way more food than they need. So, if your cats are overweight, I'd say that it's probably from the free fed dry food rather than from the scheduled wet food.

Wet food is better for cats in general because it contains more moisture which will reduce cats' appetite. Also, dry food contains many preservatives and the kibble is sprayed with oil before it is packed. So, if your cats' bmi is too high, sticking to wet food would be the way to go.

As for how much to feed your cat, do not simply read the "instructions" on the food. Remember, cat food companies are businesses and they want to optimize profit by increasing the amount of food you buy. My Charlie, for example (12 lbs, but with a long, athletic build), the vet told us the amount to feed him, which ended up being half the amount reccommended on the food package for a cat of his size.

So, as for exactly how much to feed your cats, I'd talk to a vet. But what I'd reccommend checking out the fbmi chart, and possibly even eliminating dry food in their diets all together (if your vet says it's okay.

I forgot to tell you that my cat is also a year and a half. H

http://He has settled in at 9 and 3/4 lb which my vet is ok with.

I feed my cats a 3 oz can each, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Before I go to bed they each get about 1/4 cup of dry for snacking. If feeding friskies, I think most people feed one can a day per cat. I would suggest you measure out the dry food instead of keeping it filled all the time.

JinxTheCat said:

I have two cats, both 7 pounds, and i feel like one of them eats too much wet food, I don't want her getting fat! Both cats get Friskies wet food in the morning and at night, and have a constant supply of water and blue buffalo dry food. Both are around a year and a half old, how much wet food should they get in total, each day?

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Hello JinxTheCat, here's a recent discussion on how much food/calories needed per day for your cat :-

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/334852/how-to-calorie-count-am-i-overfeeding-my-cat