February 28th, 2011
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Before it is filled, a cat’s stomach is about the size of a quarter. There are different opinions on how to determine the quantity of food to give her. Some say a cat needs about two tbsp of food each meal; others say the average cat should eat the equivalent of 10 mice a day, with each mouse at 30 calories. For the average cat, half a can of food per meal is about right. However, you don’t really need to portion out a cat’s food because she will eat as much as she needs. So you can meet your cat’s needs by feeding her twice a day and giving her 15 minutes to eat her fill. Put down a little food and if she polishes that off, refill until she’s no longer interested.
Radio show host and pet expert Tracie Hotchner is the author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible. Click here to follow her on Twitter and be sure to check out her website. |
My cat has a hyperthyroid condition. He is on medication but still eats constantly and is boney/skinny. Is it harmful to feed him constantly?
Great tips! Keep in mind that cats fed a high-protein, nutrient dense food will need less of it to fill up. They’ll get lots of nutrition from less of a premium food.
Fine for the average cat, but some cats will eat and eat and eat. I have 1 overweight because of that. With 8 cats, I have to leave dry food down 24/7.
Because of my job, I free-feed my two cats. I feed one of them a high-quality canned food and leave a tray of dry food for whenever they want it. If I’m delayed for any reason from getting home from work (I am an OTR driver who works the Owl), I don’t want anyone at home going hungry.
I have a cat that I bottled -fed and now he will eat like crazy and then throw-up if I don’t push him away. With 12 other cats, its hard to put down just a little.
I read your article regarding how much a cat will eat. I usually would agree with what you said, but I have a tubby little cat named Maggie who will eat and eat. Before her meal she wants her treats (Halo Chicken Littles), then she drinks water and by then I am supposed to have her wet food ready in her bowl! This kitty can eat. Then each time I go into the kitchen she expects me to give her more treats! She definitely has me trained! She does cute little tricks to get me to give her the treats. So I guess not every cat knows when to stop.
My second cat, Milly, thankfully only eats during the 2 feedings.
My cat throws up his food now and then. He is a large Cat and would eat off and on all day long if I let him. I fill his bowl in the morning and then before bed. He gets up 2-3 times in the night to nibble. I tried to put him on a diet with a small portion of wet food mixed with dry but he became aggressive by wanting more and more so I went back to small portions of only dry 2 x daily. Can you give me some pointers please
Like some cat lovers here, 2x a day feeding does not work. When we first started ages ago when they were kitties, they couldn’t wait ’til we’re up in the morning to feed them, and once the feed (DRY food) is there, they’ll scarf it down fast and they get bloated and minutes later, the ingested food will expand in their stomach and before you know it, they’ll barf.
Talk about bulimia!
We’ve since resorted to the autofeed (not the timer ones) containers and they’ll eat, without scarfing it. These days we’ve made a COMBO of wet food in the a.m. hours ’til gone and the dry food in the usual autofeeder fashion and barfing is now only an occasional dilemma.
I TOTALLY DISAGREE!!!! My cat is always interested if I didn’t control my cats diet he would be overweight & unhealthy. I used to give him a can a day, not only was it becoming expensive, he was getting spoiled and expected it and would turn his nose up to the dry; I mean almost to the point he wouldn’t eat the dry unless he got that darn can! Well I took control and “weened” him off the wet food left the dry out and figured; oh he’ll it when he gets hungry enough. But on special occassions I’ll get him a can;ie birthdays, if its been months or just to suprise him only A”TRUE” pet lovers know what I mean Either that or i’m just a nut!
I feed eight cats outside, 2 cans and three cups of dry
food, twice daily. I have some fat cats. These are basically feral but now I can handle most of them. Five are rewired. I don’t want them to be hungry but I’m thinking maybe this is to much. A couple of them showed up last year skinny, dirty and dishevelied, now
they are fat and shiney. My inside cat sounds like Carol’s above. He is big, 22 lbs and thinks chow time
is any time. He is particular about canned foods. Spoiled?
Wow…that has to be some of the worst advice out there. That is so old school thinking especially considering there is an epidemic of obese cats, diabetic cats, and improper feeding going on in the United States.
So sorry to vigorously disagree!
Sheesh. I have one overweight cat–he’s a Bengal a big anyway–and I have always had food down 24/7. If I let the food run out, my Siamese will gorge as soon as I put food down and then barf. He weight 9.8 lbs and has for the last 8 years. I have never had a cat with diabetes. I have the feeling it’s caused by the type of food fed them, not the amount.
Hi Everybody! I just LOVE when the feeding topic gets everybody energized! There are a few different issues raised here so let me first urge you all to go to my website http://www.TheCatBible.com and read some of the lengthy blogs and Q&A’s on the topic of cats being true obligate carnivores who should eat ONLY a meat-based diet with no more than 10% carbohydrate content. They also should NOT be grazing and eating continuously- their short digestive tracts and the fact that they are hunters whose bodies are built for feast and then rest is essential to feeding them correctly. The dry food industry has us all brain washed into thinking otherwise. Once you create a “kitty crack” addict – they will have non-stop cravings for unhealthy carbs (dry food, any dry food) and need to be re-educated about having 2 satisfying wet meals a day. For TERRI who is a truck driver this can be a challenge- someone to come in and give a second wet meal would be great, but my website also has answers for this particular situation. For MIKE and other feral cat feeders, dry is usually the most economical and practical way to go- those cats would starve otherwise. For CAROL and ROBIN who are feeding a huge family of cats, wet feeding requires large cans of food, paper plates (if you don’t want to wash 12 saucers!) and teaching patience at feeding time. Again, if you’d check out the huge amount of free advice on my website- or call into CAT CHAT ANY Wednesday night I can help you solve your individual situation. And BETH, your apologies are certainly accepted for your strong feelings, but it’s so important to me that you come to understand that cats cannot get fat on wet food fed in two meals a day – they will actually lose weight. It’s the constant snacking on highly processed carbs that their bodies are not designed to digest that causes obesity, diabetes, kidney problems and a host of others. TONI: It’s such a shame your cat was able to become an ex-kitty-crack user and then you got him back on it. BERNADETTE you are right about how well Maggie has trained you to give her Halo Liv-a-Littles! The truth is that if she only eats protein snacks and wet foods, and no dry at all, she will eventually settle into the 8-10 lb. range and be very healthy. Many compulsive eating cats have gotten that way from carbohydrate addiction and once they get an all-protein diet, with only 2 meals a day, they eventually chill out. Remember that you can always use a fishing pole toy instead of giving a treat!
I have two male cats, both of which are on exclusively canned food. The younger one, Tim, has never had dry food, but the older cat, Ben, was on a dry diet until four years ago.
Changing Ben to high protein canned food was absolutely the best thing that I have ever done for his health. Before the switch, he was developing urinary tract blockages that required thousands of dollars in treatments, and he weighed an whopping 18lbs. I wasn’t over-feeding him; he would get 1/2 cup of kibble once per day, which was what the vet suggested, but the weight was still piling on. Even on the special veterinary formula dry diet, Ben continued to have urinary tract problems. When I changed him over to wet, high protein food, his urinary tract issues all but vanished (he has had one incident in the past four years, whereas in the year prior to the switch, he had three in one year!) He has also dropped from an 18lb fatso to a lean, muscular 13lb athlete. My younger cat is also amazingly healthy, and weighs a perfect 8lbs.
I feed each cat 1/2 of a 5.5oz can twice daily. Two cans of cat food per day costs me a bit less than $3, so feeding my cats for a year costs me about $1,000. Considering that ONE incident of urinary blockage could easily put me back double that amount in veterinary bills, I consider that money well spent.
What everyone seems to be forgetting is that cats come in different sizes just like people. Smallest cat is 8 and weighs 5 lbs. Largest is 4 and weighs 16 lbs. He’s not that much overweight, he’s just one very big cat. I feed them dry food that’s low in carbs. No corn, wheat or soy in them. I mix 4 different brands so they each get what they want. KC gets 2 wet feedings a day with Benefiber and probiotics. He has IBS. Bunny, the smallest gets Hills I/D twice a day. She’s had chronic diarrhea from birth. The only time she’s free of it is during the summer when she gets mice, rats and gophers. After all, a cat is a carnivore. We tried the frozen, raw foods, and none of them would eat it. Not even the dog. Raccoons loved it when we gave it to them. Yes, Bunny spends most of her time outside. No highways and it’s a very small town. Can’t have her in because of the continual dripping. And yes, she is under veterinary care. We try everything possible to stop this problem, but in 8 years haven’t found anything buy fresh killed rodents that stopped the runs.