Raw feeding, how much is enough?

[nihki]

Hi there! I've been raw feeding my 6 year old cat for a few months now. He's a bit overweight, but he's already lost about a pound which is pretty nice I think! I read on different sites to feed the cats based on the healthy weight you're aiming at for them. I started out feeding him 205g a day of food (150g before the water is added). Now I feed him 180g a day (125g before the water is added). I also have a 10 week old kitten that I've been feeding the same amount, 180g a day. I'm pretty sure my older cat is alright, he's always been the type to eat and eat even though he's obviously not hungry. He used to have dry food to graze on all day, and thus he is overweight.

The thing I'm worried about is, does the growing kitten need more food? He acts like he's starving every time the 3rd cat in the house is fed (2 family house and the 3rd cat belongs to the other people, and she gets fed whenever she comes inside the house and wants food, yet she's a really healthy looking weight! No fat on that girl's body!). I was just wondering if maybe because he's growing he just needs more food than a fullgrown cat 3 times the size of him? 

If anyone's had young kittens on raw I'd love to hear how much they ate!

 

[cicoccabim]

The kitten should be allowed to eat as much as it wants, 4-5 times a day. When it it turns 4-5 months you can decrease the number of feeding times for the kitten to 3-4. And keep track of the body fat. if he/she gains fat then you need to limit the amount of food.  Kittens can eat enormous amounts of food....... they need it as they grow! 

I feed my cat 2% of her body weight, for neutered cats that´s a good point to start. I add water to her food as well- and that keeps her weight to a perfect level. Normal range for neutered adult cats is 2-5% of the body weight. Decrease the amount of food for the cat that needs to lose weight, gradually- until the perfect weight is obtained.

 

[nihki]

Would it be alright to supplement the kittens diet with a good quality complete kitten moist food? I found one that is 70% chicken and seems to have the proper vitamins and what not that are needed. It's just the bags of food I prepared of raw were specifically portioned out so 1 bag is a whole days portion for the 2 cats (240g of meat before water and supplements are added). Feeding the kitten extra raw food will mess up the system I have. Plus it's really hard to give food to the kitten while my older cat (who is a MAJOR piggy) sits there and watches and begs!

 

[cicoccabim]

If the wet food is complete food, than it would be OK. Be sure that the food claims to be complete, though....

And when you are preparing raw next time you can go all raw.  

I have a cat that never seems to be full.... know the begging!

 

[nihki]

The food does say complete and seems to be complete upon reviewing the ingredients. I feed it now to the kitten between his first and second raw meal and again between the second and third meal!