How to know how much to feed my cat?

tyllwyd

I'm getting very confused about what to feed the cat that sort-of lives with us. She's an elderly cat (about 10 years) and started off living across the road but they've now got about 15 cats and so this one has decided she likes our house better.


The problem is that she never eats a whole bowl of food - I've got a strong suspicion she's helping herself to food somewhere else. But when she leaves the food, it attracts the other neighbourhood cats, so anything left out gets eaten by someone else within the hour. We've already got a second cat (her son) who spends most of his time camped out on our doorstep. We've had to start feeding him too because he's very timid with other cats and I think he was struggling to get any food at his own home because he looked half-starved a couple of weeks ago. I'm trying to cut that down now that he looks a bit healthier, so that he doesn't rely on us too much.


But how on earth can I work out how much food 'our' cat needs to be offered?

GwylimT

If fed appropriate food cats will self regulate and not over eat. When were they last wormed?

SensibleSarah

It can be very difficult to tell if you're not sure where else she is being fed but the worming point made previously is a good one as a cat with worms will never be in top condition and the longer it goes untreated the more toll it takes. Another health consideration, especially given her age, is dental health. Cats who start a bowl of food (of adequate size) but give up fairly quickly can sometimes be experiencing significant pain if their teeth aren't in good shape.

Slinky

How much are you putting down as a 'whole bowl'? We split a sachet or a foil tray into two meals and still she will rarely eat it all. If I were to put a whole one down at one go, a lot of it would be wasted. Ours does have access to biscuits also.

Cats can be fussy creatures even when there is competition for food.

Feral_Moon

My cats always had a constant supply of food which they grazed on throughout the day. They never over ate and we're always a healthy weight, living well into their 20s.

Marmaduke123

tyllwyd wrote: »

The problem is that she never eats a whole bowl of food - I've got a strong suspicion she's helping herself to food somewhere else. But when she leaves the food, it attracts the other neighbourhood cats, so anything left out gets eaten by someone else within the hour.

I'm a bit confused. Is the cat actually living in the house with you, and you are feeding her inside the house, or are you feeding her outside? If the former, how do the neighbourhood cats get access to your cats food?

Ideally cats should be free fed, with access to food all times. They frequently just eat a few mouthfuls at a time, and will self regulate their food intake. You could try putting out a small amount of food several times a day if this isn't feasible.

tyllwyd

Thank you for all replies.


She's a healthy to chubby weight, so she looks as if she's getting plenty of food. She's quite an outdoor cat and we don't have a cat flap, so she's more of a visitor than a permanent fixture. We feed her indoors but just inside the door, so if the food is left there other cats try to sneak in to eat it (and my OH hates the smell of cat food so he puts it outside if she doesn't eat it). I've tried giving her small sachets of wet food rather than bigger ones, but she still rarely eats it all, and I don't think I've ever seen her go back to a half-eaten bowl of wet food, she only likes the gravy/jelly bit! There's usually some dry food in the bowl if it's inside.


It's pretty impossible for me to regulate, I guess, so I'll just have to muddle on.

PasturesNew

Years ago when we had one, the standard was "1 tin/day", which would be served up in about 3 separate sessions.

For an elderly cat that's probably also being fed elsewhere I'd probably be looking at providing 1/3rd of a can/day and see how it goes.

martinnathalie9

I always split the sachet in half and give my cat a little at a time. Generally we get through two sachets a day...