How much to feed cats?

kendalls_cave

I have two cats - females aged 3. They are quite small cats. I feed them two cans of whiskers every day ( so a tin each basically) and biscuits are always there
I said this to a friend who told me i was feeling them TOO much. I do feed them when they ask, but I don't think a tin each a day is excessive.. what do others think?

Tigsteroonie

I have no idea what the recommended quantity is, but I feed 2 cans daily to my 4 cats (1 can morning, 1 can night, split between the 4 food bowls), with biscuits and water always there.

In terms of deciding whether your feeding regime is excessive, I ask - do they leave some untouched that you have to throw away? If so, you're probably overfeeding!

ailuro2

I got a real ticking off from my vet many years ago for leaving brekkies out all the time. He said they were either to be weighed out and given as food, or to be given two or three bits a day as a treat, but not to leave them out AND feed wet food.:o

mirrorimage0

hiya, i aske dthe same question a few months ago, heres the link to the replies i got, hope it helps. x
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=827807

UKTigerlily

The ideal food for a cat is two mice per day (Obviously not ideal for us!) but that sort of size. Mine gets 2x 100g pouches a day, so half of what yours get & this is perfect for her. I think 400g per cat *is* too much, but a quick call to your vets receptionist will help (What I did when I was unsure!)

MayGirl

Mine gets 1 pouch a day and has dry whiskas out to munch on too, along with fresh water daily. He's a house-cat so doesn't work it off as much, but he seems happy with this!

lostinrates

I would look at your cats.

are they overweight? are they underweight? Are they just right.

My cats are litter sisters, one is slightly larger than the other, and keeps condition better. she eats very little most days, in can equivalent I'd say maximum a third of a can. Her sister on the otherhand, is a different kettle of fish, and eats whenever she can and as muc as she is offered and if anything is slightly on the lean side.

Use the recommendatons as guidlines to be applied to your individual pets. If you are not sure about their weight/condition why not book an appointmnt ith your vet's nurse. (slightly cheaper than the vet and often run weight manangement clinics or happy to advise on this.)

ajb69

Silly question - are they fat? If you want the help of an objective opinion, here's a chart:

http://us.iams.com/iams/en_US/jsp/IAMS_Page.jsp?pageID=A&articleID=333

(Although please ignore any feeding recommendations - not only is this website self-interested, but I would never buy IAMS/Eukanuba due to their exceptionally high usage of unnecessary animal-testing. Most pet food is tested on animals, granted, but IAMS is by far and away the most prolific and amoral offender. Right, soapbox away...!)

We feed our six two and a half pouches a day each, with no dried food. We have one overweight cat, two thin cats and three middling-ones. So it's all down to the cat and their metabolism :-)

Personal opinion, based on nothing more than prejudice - you could probably cut them down to 1 tin a day with no harm (and it would be money-saving ). A very active cat (or a cat with a dodgy thyroid gland) may be able to eat more; but a heavily or persistently overweight cat will suffer from a much higher risk of diabetes and cystitis, not to mention cancer and kidney failure - just like a human.

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MissMuppet

When I last took my cat to the vet he had the onset of gingivitis which the vet said wet food sometimes caused, he actually told me not to feed wet food at all and feed him a special dental diet. Ok some people said that the vet was just after my money but the cats teeth are now in much better condition.

As far as quantities go, Alfie has a small bowl of dry food a day (he never eats it all) and I feed him a small amount of wet food in the morning as he's used to the routine.

The vet also mentioned he was a little overweight, so I weighed him when I got home and he was 5.5kg, he's now just 5kg and that's about the right weight.

kendalls_cave

Thanks for the replies. well the cats a definitely not overweight in fact one is very lean. If I feed them less they ask for more. They are very active cats - spend most of the time out doors. But compared to people here they are eating more. Maybe it's cos they are still young?

MissMuppet

As long as they're not overweight I don't see a problem, if they're out a lot they will be burning it off... I wouldn't worry.