How much should he eat?

My cat Buddy is 6 months old right now. He recently went to the vet and got a clean bill of health, he has had all his shots and has been dewormed.
I feed him 1 1/2 cans of wet food per day (1/2, 3 times a day). He eats Trader Joes premium food, which he seems to love. The problem is, no matter how much I feed him, he always crys for more, even if I give him more. Sometimes I will put a little dry food out for him, and when he is finished about 10 min later he crys for more. Every time I go into the kitchen he chases me expecting to be fed. He has even learned how to open the cupboard that I keep the food in and trys to get into his food. I swear I am feeding him well, because the Vet told me that he is gaining weight a little fast and that I need to cut his meals down to twice per day, and to limit the dry food. Do some cats just always want food even if they are not hungry? Buddy always crys for more, even after I just fed him. I feel bad, but if I let him he would be constantly at his bowl. I know he is just a kitten at 6 months, but he is already getting big around the tummy and the vet even told me to cut it down. Is 3 times per day 1/2 can the normal amount to feed him?? Should I follow the advise of 2 times a day. I don't know what to do. Any advice would be great!!!!

Gosh, that's a tough one. I really don't know but our nutrition guru should be around soon to help you out.

Our Bijou is a bit on the heavy side too. We free feed the dry food (but don't put out a lot) and I feed 1 can of wet per day and both cats eat that.


I guess I would go with what the vet says but as I said, someone with more knowledge than me should be here to help you soon.

Listen to your vet
How much does the kitty weigh??

Your vet has only your cat's best interest in mind. Put childproof locks on your cupboard, and let your cat cry. Feed him as the vet instructed, but be sure to feed him only when is not meowing. Even if just for a few seconds, then put the food down.

How much does your kitty weigh, and what canned food are you feeding? Most importantly, for his weight, what is the recommended amt of food per the label on the canned food and on the dry food?

If you can tell me that, I can better give you an opinion

There are experts here with much better insight than I may have to offer but my opinion is that a 6 month old kitten needs all the good nutrition he can get. They play hard and need the extra calories to burn. If he is a big-boned cat with a larger body structure, then he needs even more to compensate.

Cats, unlike humans, do not eat simply because food is available to them. They don't carry the emotional baggage we do that would cause them to use food as a pacifier. They work solely on instinct and your cat's body is obviously telling him to eat. Have you ruled out parasites or other medical issues? If you have, then if I were you, I would blast what the vet has to say and feed the poor thing if he wants food. At only 6 months old, he is still a growing boy!!

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

How much does your kitty weigh, and what canned food are you feeding? Most importantly, for his weight, what is the recommended amt of food per the label on the canned food and on the dry food?

If you can tell me that, I can better give you an opinion

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He is 7 lbs, Only a month ago he was 6 lbs, and the vet said he was gaining to fast. Height wise he is still a little smaller than my female 6 year old cat. The vet said he still has growing to do, but he is already getting a big tummy. The vet also said because he is neutered, he has a slower metabolism. He is an indoor cat, even though he is a kitten he is only active when I am playing with him. I am feeding him Trader Joes Premium cat food. It says 1 can per day for a 6-8 lb cat, twice that amount for kittens. The dry food says 1/4 cup to 3/4 of a cup 2 times for a cat up to 4 times for a kitten. I am only feeding the dry food if I go out for a long time, or just a little in the day. I am trying to stick to a mostly wet food diet per the vets advice, I just am not sure if I am giving enough since he always crys for more, and now the vet told me to cut his food from 3 times a day to only 2 times per day.

PS. I used to feed whiskas, then I stopped after reading numerous posts about how bad it is and I switched to Trader joes cat food after reading that it is a good quality food with no by products on that site catnutrition.org.

Originally Posted by MRod1

He is 7 lbs, Only a month ago he was 6 lbs, and the vet said he was gaining to fast. Height wise he is still a little smaller than my female 6 year old cat. The vet said he still has growing to do, but he is already getting a big tummy. The vet also said because he is neutered, he has a slower metabolism. He is an indoor cat, even though he is a kitten he is only active when I am playing with him. I am feeding him Trader Joes Premium cat food. It says 1 can per day for a 6-8 lb cat, twice that amount for kittens. The dry food says 1/4 cup to 3/4 of a cup 2 times for a cat up to 4 times for a kitten. I am only feeding the dry food if I go out for a long time, or just a little in the day. I am trying to stick to a mostly wet food diet per the vets advice, I just am not sure if I am giving enough since he always crys for more, and now the vet told me to cut his food from 3 times a day to only 2 times per day.

PS. I used to feed whiskas, then I stopped after reading numerous posts about how bad it is and I switched to Trader joes cat food after reading that it is a good quality food with no by products on that site catnutrition.org.

Click to expand...

This is simply what I would do...I take the crying as a mark of hunger, and consider he is still a growing kitten.

I would leave out say 1/4 cup of dry for him to munch on at night, and maybe 1/4 cup of dry for during the day, feed him 3x during the day with wet food - one can per meal. Increase his exercise...schedule a play session with a wand toy or a toss and fetch ball (i.e. crinkle balls or pom pom balls or ping pong for just chasing)...and keep an eye on him. He is still growing, and the exercise will reve up that metabolism a bit.

Use this chart so you can assess how chubby or not he is on your own between vet visits: click here If you feel he is getting fatter, cut back on the dry but add in a 4th meal of canned (btw, is this a 3 oz or 6 oz. can?)

Just my opinion, I'd really tinker with the above based on what you see/feel when assessing for weight, and based on his response - still crying, crying less.

Thanks for your advise, I can't stand seeing him cry. The can food is 5.5 oz. I am wondering if using the whiskas before could be part of the reason he was gaining weight too fast. Maybe things will be different now that I switched foods. I will continue feeding him wet 3 times and give him some dry during the day and night and see how things go. I saved the chart for reference. He does love chasing balls, he likes the soft ones cus he can pick them up with is mouth and paws. I will increase play time with his wand.

gaining weight too fast the vet says??? First thats subjective and second all cats are different. If from above you can discern his waist, if he doesnt have a pot belly, if he doesnt have trouble grooming himself, if he has a visible neck, then I wouldnt worry about him. For all you know you are doing harm by not providing enough food for him.

another thing you should try before doing anything else is mix in extra water into his wet food. This will fill him up more plus he is getting extra water, which will do no harm.

you said he is getting big around the belly, can you post a picture of him from top and side?