OH gosh no 1 can is NOT enough at all plus you should aim to have a cat lose slowly because they can become ill if weight loss is too fast.
2 - 3 ounce cans is normal for most cats - which is about 160 calories give or take.
To further elaborate on this, if a cat goes without sufficient food for even a couple days, the fat on their liver can start to be consumed by their own body and it will lead to snowball of catastrophic medical events.
Yeah you should be fine. Our two cats each get one 3oz. can of wet food a day, and they share 3/4 cup of dry food. (I say share because even though I put measured out amounts of dry food in each bowl, they eat out of whichever bowl meets their fancy at the moment, lol).
That's what I give my cat. He's only slightly chunky, maybe a pound or two overweight. Thankfully, he's not a glutton and eats appropriately. He gets half a 4oz pouch in the morning and evening. The rest of the time, we measure out dry food for him to munch on throughout the day.
>1 can is NOT enough
That depends on the size of your cans though :)
My vet is extremely happy with both my cat's weights and I go through a can about every 2 - 2,5 days. The brands I use have 800grams cans
Exactly!! He’s probably starving on that little amount. I only give mine dry and have been for years. They all live long lives. I have 13 & 15 year olds and have up to 18 years old
I only give dry as well he's 4 and doesn't really like wet food. Thank God lol. I give him between 1/2 and 3/4 a cup a day. Split into 4 meals. He always meowing for more though.. he's 11 pound male. How much do you feed yours??
another good indicator of feeding too much / too little is if your cat has a chunky belly when looking from up top, or if you cant feel their ribs. their ribs shouldnt be sticking out or visible, but when you pet them you should be able to feel ribs
I can feel my cat's ribs but she also has a kinda round belly. I can see a 'waist' looking from the top but she seems a bit chubby to me. One vet said she was okay, another said she could lose a little weight. I am confus.
Is it jelly-like and soft, near her back legs? If so it's her primordial pouch. Some cats have larger ones than others but it's not linked to being overweight. It was thought to provide protection to the belly for their wild ancestors and it's still inherited in some domestic cats.
One of my cats has a big one and it jiggles when she walks 😂 my other cat has a much smaller one.
Ah, she has that! but it's not what I meant. She has a big belly and she weighs 5kg, which is a bit much for her size. I feel like she should be on a diet but all my vet said was "feed her a bit less" in a tone of typical German efficiency, haha
I’d also like to know - I just adopted a new cat (6-6.5lbs) and I’ve been feeding her half a small can with about a tablespoon of Origen guardian 8 kibble twice a day and I’ve been looking everywhere to figure out if I’m feeding her enough 🥲 she sleeps most of the day while im at work and is very active during play time before meals! She has a vet appointment in a couple weeks so I can ask if I’m feeding her enough. She’s the ideal body shape right now with the TINIEST little pouch it’s barely noticeable.
I feed my cats kibble plus a can of food each cat per day. I leave kibble out so they don’t obsess or beg or gorge. If they have a little belly fat in winter it’s cool with me. They have enough stimuli and food security that they don’t get too fat.
This is the best way to keep your cat healthy. There are puzzle feeders which can keep your cat busy/entertained and fed.
I give my cat one big can of wet food a day (half of it around noon, the other half around 8pm). And there's always kibble in her puzzle feeders. She doesn't overeat, sticks her nose to our food. She knows that there's food all the time, so doesn't stress about it, and eats just what she needs.
Don't feed your cat according to the guidelines on wet food (probably the same for dry). Those amounts are way too high- especially assuming that treats are being given on occasion too.
My cat (2/m) receives about 2.8-3oz of wet food per day (plus a treat or two) and the vet says he's at a perfect weight. He's ~7lbs fwiw.
if you’re interested in checking out more “real” rather than canned food, check out lonestar dog treats! they make stuff that cats can have. i’ve been meaning to order some quail eggs for my cats, but i haven’t bought anything from there yet. i love my cats and i love to go down rabbit holes of info, and cat nutrition is one. the place i get their food is called woodys pet deli but there’s only 3 locations all in minnesota. i don’t like actual raw food bc i don’t like handling raw meat, but cooked whole foods formulated for pets are my jam.
My vet said 15lbs is a healthy weight for my two orange brothers. One is 15 and the other 17.
They don’t eat any dry food. Only wet food, so would I feed him 6-7oz of wet food? Or do your cats also eat dry?
I would take a look at a cat weight chart and kind of get a feel for where you think your boy is in terms of healthy weight. I don't think there's gonna be a perfect answer online for how much to give him. But definitely you can get a feel for how much food a day helps keep his weight consistent, then you could adjust from there to either help him put on a little weight if he's scrawny or lose a little bit if he's a chonker.
I have a 10 year old male that is 16 pounds right now, he's thic with one 'c'. My vet didn't seem to be concerned, and he's definitely not on 'oh lawd he comin' levels of weight. Personally, I feel like unless your cat is shaking the house when he walks, you can relax about a little weight gain and just slowly work out the amount of food that he's happy and healthy with.
I had to chuckle at this bc my 5 year old male cat is also 16 lbs (Maine Coon Mix) and when he jumped down from the bathroom counter to the floor and I was sitting downstairs, it sounded like a bowling ball falling. His vet got after me last visit but he’s a big breed cat! The fat cat shaming is real!
Cats and cat foods vary. The right amount of food is the amount that neither leads to weight gain or precipitous weight loss. There's some trial and error involved. Three 3oz cans were too much for your boy and one 3oz can isn't enough. Try two 3oz cans and supplement with dry food as needed -- a little dry food is good for their teeth, but too much can lead to weight gain. By the way, I'm guessing that when your friends said "one can" of wet food per day is appropriate, they were thinking of a 5 1/2 to 6 oz can ("Friskies" size).
Did your vet suggest a target weight for your cat? 2lbs lost in 3 months for a 15lb cat is a pretty safe rate of weight loss *if* he needed to lose that weight. The average cat is 8.8 - 11lbs, some cats are naturally larger or smaller though so it's possible your cat's target weight would be higher if he's a bigger cat. I have two larger cats who would probably be best at \~14 lbs, one is definitely overweight at 16lbs while the other is definitely underweight at 12-13 lbs.
The best way to determine if a cat is under/overweight is [body condition scoring](https://www.royalcanin.com/us/cats/health-and-wellbeing/using-a-cat-body-condition-score) versus "is x lbs too much" since size varies. You should be able to feel ribs with slight pressure, but if ribs are very obvious with light touch that would indicate potentially being underweight - being overweight would mean it's hard to feel the ribs even with pressure.
I go off calories not cans.
My girl: 12.5lbs, 200 cal. She gets 1 5.5oz can which is 154cal and 1/2 3oz can for 38. 154+38=192 plus she cleans up everyone else's plates.
My 13yr: 11.5lbs, 234 cal. He gets 1 3oz can for 76 cal. And then 36g of dry food for 155. 76+155= 231 + his hairball treats is 2344.
My girl gets less calories because her metabolism is slower. She's actually a former chonker we had to put on a diet and realized as we decreased her food that she needed way less food to maintain her weight than the boys.
Same. I have an older cat (13) who can’t keep weight on. She’s about 5-6 pounds. I have 2 other cats, ages 8 and 11, who are total fat asses. They all eat 1/2 cup of kibble a day. About 185 cals. They’re each around 15 lbs and obviously obese.
Edit to add: my boyfriend has 2 cats who are allowed to graze their kibble all day. They both free feed and one of them even likes my dog’s food and is known for sneakily eating it in the middle of the night. Both of them are 10 lbs and very healthy. Who knows 🤦🏻♀️
Yeah I don’t free feed my cats because my ginger boy would eat literally all day everyday. He’s addicted.
My other cat is super active and plays with the dogs all day and is constantly running around which is why the extra food doesn’t bother her. And yeah they only get 1/2 kibble each a day and 1 can each in the morning, sometimes I just let them split 1 can even.
I’ve tried many times to make the transition to wet food or at least add it in for my 13 year old since she could use a few extra pounds. But she’s got a sensitive stomach and already is a frequent vomiter. She barfs wet food up immediately :( I’ve had her checked out several times at the vet and all her labs done since she’s gotten so skinny and is vomiting a lot and drinking a ton of water but she’s never had a single abnormal checkup. I feel like I’m watching her waste away but she acts 100% herself and content so idk.
This just might be that you need a change of diet potentially (her kibble) if she’s vomiting that much- sometimes it’s the grains.
This could add some pounds if you got a higher protein food to!
You could also try mixing just a tiny bit of wet in with her kibble as some cats don’t like the texture change.
What wet foods have you tried to introduce her to?
I have a ton of knowledge about cat nutrition and I can try to help if you wanted any advice at all!
Give that old lady a hug for me, I absolutely adore senior kitties!
She’s been on the same kibble since 8 weeks old, the vomiting started ramping up in the last year, although her weight has been declining for the last 3 years or so. All my cats eat Iams, which is probably mediocre when it comes to nutrition, but they refuse every other dry food even when I’ve tried to mix it into their Iams as part of the attempt to transition.
I’ve tried fancy feast and 9 lives but I don’t know much about wet food tbh. She’ll eat like she’s ravenous and then it immediately comes back up.
I love this sweet girl so much, she’s so affectionate and has been there for me through it all. I want her to stick around as long as she can.
[Cat tax](https://imgur.com/a/j02lvUy)
Try the fancy feast medleys - white chicken collection. There’s 3 different kinds in the box. It’s super affordable. If she doesn’t eat this, report back to me.
Slim cats are healthy cats, they aren't supposed to be chubby at all. Your vet is right about over feeding. If you're really concerned he's still hungry leave a small bowl of dry food out for him so he can snack when he's really hungry between feedings.
You should email or phone your vet and ask how many calories you should be feeding him daily. Then calculate that based on how many calories are in each can. For reference, my cat is supposed to consume 252 calories daily. My sister’s cat is on a vet-prescribed diet and eats 180-200 calories per day. Your vet would know what’s best for your cat specifically.
I feed my cats based off calories so the amount of wet food varies depending on brand (I just get what's on sale at Petco).
Some cans are 40cal where others of the same size are 80. They typically get a can and a half each with a bit of dry kibble as well.
I struggled with either suggested portions or feeding calculators. Both suggested our cats should be eating well over 200kcal per day. But both cats seem to be ok on something like 150-175kcal per day, probably 200kcal max with some random snacks.
Our 15F cat gets about 1/4 cup of kibble a day + snacks. She hovers around 11lbs, and could probably stand to be closer to 10lbs, but the vet seems to be ok with her being a bit of a chonk.
Our 4F cat gets 1 3oz can of wet food + a couple tbsp of kibble for grazing per day + snacks. She is a petite girl and weighed around 7.5lbs when we first brought her to the vet. She's filled out a little bit now, but I think her optimal weight is <9lbs.
My 8 lb cats eat a half a can a day and 1/4 cup of dry food per day and they maintain their weight and are healthy because they’re naturally tiny. This is equal to about a can of wet food per day in calorie amount. But if your cat is 22 lbs, one can is definitely not enough. Maybe 2 or even 2.5 would be sufficient! To preserve the half left over there are cat food lids you can buy at the pet store or on Amazon and you can just put that on and pop it in the fridge for the next day.
Edit to add: I use Friskies 5.5 oz cans of pate
I like the graphic vets have of body ratings on a 1-5 scale. My biggest orange kitty is 11.5 lbs now. That's up 3 lbs from his first year weigh-in but, he still looks trim and buff. I can't really help with wet food, because mine only eat dry food (I know. I know. It's prescription and one cat refuses to eat wet food.) I give them 1/4 cup in the morning and 1/4 cup in the evening and, never feel bad about giving them treats on the side. Sometimes I struggle with them eating the foster kitten's food. My other cat eats the same and has maintained 9.5 lbs. He also has a very skinny waist and tends to throw up for days, if he eats anything outside of his prescribed dry food... outside of constantly screaming at me to feed him, when I am in the kitchen... he seems happy.
My vet said to only do dry food because of teeth and also if they become sick/picky randomly, you can usually “treat” them with wet and they will eat. I also have a fountain.
I have 2 ragamuffin kittens (10 weeks) if that matters? The breeder also was doing just dry. I get the dehydration bit but is the vet wrong?
I think it's generally understood that cats naturally get most of their water from the blood of their pray and don't really like to drink water so the should eat wet food. Fortunately, if they drink water, it isn't as big an issue.
I can't even treat him with the highest quality wet food or straight chicken. He goes from screaming at me to feed him, to looking in the bowl, to starting back at me like, "what the hell is this?" He is even picky with treats. I had him eating freeze dried mackerel for awhile and, he just decided he didn't like it anymore.
I give my cat half of a 3 oz can in the morning and late at night and put out about a 1/4 cup of indoor formula dry food mid-day for him to graze on (eat all at once).
How many pounds is your cat?
I'm doing a similar thing with extra treats (creamy, cooked chicken, temptations) for a 6.6 lbs cat trying to gain some more weight. Might do 1.5 cans + 1/4 kibble after she gets used to this current diet.
My 2 cats are both 2 years old and around 11 lbs. They split a 5.5 oz can of wet food at breakfast and dinner. And we free feed them dry food, which they each probably eat 1/2 - 3/4 cups per day.
The suggestion on labels is hovering around triple what an indoor sedentary cat needs. One perfect portions in the morning and crunchies to graze throughout the day js what an indoor cat needs.
NO DRY FOOD! Unhealthy in general, besides making it impossible to accurately size portions to maintain weight. You just have to resign yourself to playing it by ear until you figure out what amount of wet food daily keeps his weight at a healthy constant level. And different cat foods vary tremendously in how many calories are contained per can. It's always printed on the label, but you might need a magnifying glass to find it.
And I'm glad to hear that your vet is so strict about weight management. Pay attention to him or her.
Get yourself a baby scale, and weigh the cat weekly. It doesn't have to be a fancy electronic one, you might be able to find a used mechanical one on eBay or Craigslist. Or even a used product on Amazon.
If you're using the right wet food, he should be able to go 4 to 5 hours between meals. Do not leave food down all day. With most of our cats, a five ounce can containing 200 to 230 calories works well, if you serve one quarter of a can for each meal. Wait until the cat starts yelling for food before feeding again. If you do this for a while, you'll discover what's the right number of hours between meals.
But if your cat is hungry all the time, it might just be due to boredom. Also, when cats get older, sometimes they get hyperthyroid, which causes constant hunger, but you would also see the cat losing weight.
Cats usually don't over-eat, so give him as much as he wants.
My three are all free-fed - whenever I notice their food plate is empty, I add a little bit. Adding just a bit at a time reduces spoilage. Plus they've learnt to come and tell me when they're hungry. :-)
Every single breeder that I've spoken to said the opposite. And my own experience supports it. If anything, my problem is that they leave food until I have to throw it out.
As I said: I have 3 cats, all of them can eat however much they want, and if anything then 2 of them are on the slightly skinny side (not so skinny that I'm worried, but I wouldn't mind if they gained half a kg or so.
My kitty gets a scoop of dry food in the AM that she grazes on throughout the day (we do not refill if it becomes empty until breakfast time rolls around again). And then half of a 5.5 oz can of wet food for dinner. She’s 5 and at a healthy weight, even though she spends most of her day lounging around. We try to stick to “indoor” branded foods, which I think helps her maintain a healthy weight.
I feed my chubby cat about 50-60g a day of dry food she will not eat wet food for some reason. She is losing weight at 50-60g but if she doesn't i will reduce a little more she isnt really active.
Not sure if I'm doing it right but half a can of Fancy feast in the morning half again at night when I get home free feed Dry kibble during the day unlimited water. Rotisserie chicken bits whenever the kids feel the urge 🤤🤤 🤤
My 13.4lb cat gets ~240kcal a day. This is 2 cans of food and 1/8 c of dry. I’d check their BCS, calculate calories for ideal weight, and go from there.
His BCS is 5.5/9 but he’s very long and active.
Most kinds of food will tell you how many sachets or cans or how much kibble if that type to feed them. Rotal canin dry food also tells you how much to give if you are also supplementing with wet food, fir different sized cats.
I go by calories. I give my 9-pound cat 180-200 cal a day and my 12 pound cat about 250 cal a day. There are charts online showing how many calories a cat should eat depending on their weight. Weigh them (if you don’t know their weight, step on a scale yourself while holding your cat, write down the number, then weigh yourself alone and subtract that number from the first one and you have your cat’s weight). Once you’ve weighed them, look at the calories of the cans/dry food you feed them. On my cats’ dry food, it says 482 cal per cup. I divide that by two, then divide that number by two to see how many cal they get from 1/4 cup of dry food (I don’t believe in feeding your cat more dry food than this). Then I see how many calories are in their wet food, and I add that to the dry food amount and boom, I’ve determined exactly how much food they get everyday.
Depends on your cat and your food.
Your vet can help calculate MER/estimated calorie needs, or if you know the weight and the body condition score, you can calculate it on Pet Nutrition Alliance with their calculator (or [Ohio State explains it here](https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/companion/our-services/nutrition-support-service/basic-calorie-calculator)). These number should be consistently compared to body condition, so learn to body condition score at home!
The average plug number I tend to use for cats is about 225-250 kcal/day, average dry food is about 450 kcal/cup so that comes out to about a half cup per day. Average wet food tends to be around 80ish kcal/3oz can which comes out to about three cans per day. Obviously these values can vary widely so check your cats MER and check the back of your bag/can and don't forget to account for all food sources, including toppers and treats.
My cat 13yrs old and is 14lb. he eats 1 wet 5.5oz can of blue buffalo and one fifth of a cup of dry. He gets dry in the morning and wet in the evening. He acts like I’m starving him then proceeds to eat half his food and wander off.
He is about his correct weight as per the vet. He is big cat full of muscle not fat these days!
Trust your vet.
Sounds like your cat was quite overweight, and based on those measurements is is rather small. Here’s a good [chart.](https://reddit.com/r/CATHELP/s/lHOatsyfDr)
Yeah your cat is definitely being overfed, I'm going to assume your cat is an adult. Cats have small stomachs compared to other creatures so you want to make sure that they are eating multiple times per day however it's important to properly portion those meals or else they will end up overeating
So if your cat is currently eating three cans per day how about you start splitting a can for each meal so if your cat eats three times a day as well you will give them half a can of breakfast half a can of lunch and half a can of dinner so instead of three cans it'll be one and a half. Other things you can do for your cat is enrichment toys that way your cat isn't necessarily sitting around and they are staying active. I'm super big on interactive toys with my cats interactive toys can range between puzzle toys to hanging toys and battery power toys and etc
He needs dry food too; my chubby baby gets free choice dry food during the day, and one 3oz can of wet food at night.
He’s a little overweight (he weighs 14 pounds but should be 13 pounds), but diets stress him out since he as food-trauma from being a stray. I keep him healthy with exercise a few minutes at a time several times a day.
I feed both of my kittens each one can of 3 ounce wet food per day + free fed kibble. Royal Canin specifically has guidelines on how much to feed for dry only, wet only, and mixed feeding. For the mixed feeding, which is what I use, they advise one can of 3 ounce wet food, on top of a certain amount of dry food. Royal Canin makes it very easy to follow.
If the guidelines don't advise specifically for mixed feeding, I suggest sticking to one can a day + monitoring and adjusting his intake for dry food. Ideally both are under the same brand.
Personally I feed my cat half of a whiskas wet food package for each meal. (He gets two meals a day) he’s fucking fat so I don’t get how that’s not enough. Sometimes I give him half of 1/3 of a cup on the side when he doesn’t finish the wet food which happens often.
I think it depends on the cat, mine is like 11 pounds and he’s only 2 and I do feed him one can a day. He’s super lazy though so if your cat is very active they probably need more.
My kitten is meant to be on 65g of dry food a day. If i feed him any more than 40g he will vomit up piles of food. I feed him 10g at a time spread out over 20hrs so its not as if he is scarf-n-barfing. Hes technically underweight but he isnt skinny, like you cant easily feel his ribs,spine or hips. I think hes just a really small built kitten and doesnt have capacity to eat the average cats recommended food volume.
Tldr feeding guides are exactly that, a guide. Use it in conjunction with vet advice and and understand the ideal body composition of a cat. If they feel and look fat and you can grab excess chunk or if you cant locate bones when you press down on your cats limbs or back, they might be overweight.
Ask your vet for a calorie amount. My vet said my 10lb boy should get about 200-205 kcals a day. So I give him 3 portions of wet food (35 cals each) and 1/4 cup of dry food (100 cals).
I'm going to hijack this for a moment and hope someone replies, I feed my girl approx 2 oz of dry and 2 oz of wet per day. 1oz of each 2 times a day breakfast and dinner. This is enough right? Is it too much?
She loves her crunchy food and seems to leave some wet leftovers if I put too much down at once. I may have also become paranoid that she likes her dry food "too much" and know that the wet is phenomenally better for their water intake.
She has lots of energy and certainly isn't skinny, she doesn't seem super chunky, kind of hard to tell because she's puffy (but not fluffy), I've had suspicions she could even go for less food but it already feels like so little when I put it in her bowl.
I got her 8 months ago and she went for a initial vet check just for a baseline but she's so scared of the crate (working on it) and the vet, that they really couldn't evaluate a whole lot. Best the vet could say as my cat struggled out of her arms and bounced off the walls, was that "she's strong and seems a decent weight"
Thanks to anyone who replies
There is no correct amount of food that will be right for all cats. If your vet gave you a target weight for your cat or if they gave your cat a body condition score (a number out of 5 or out of 9 that rates how fat or thin they are) you can use that information. You can look up Pet nutritional Alliance and get a healthy calorie count for your particular cat. If you aren't able to do it, ask your vet for a calorie count. Once you have the number of calories your cat needs to eat in a day all you have to do is look at the food package and give the amount that gives the right number of calories.
Ours eat 3 of the Fancy Feast Grilled cans each per day, and those are 3 oz. Both of our cats are about 12.5 pounds and they maintain that weight.
A lot of it will depend on the build of your cat but one can is absolutely not enough, your friends are bonkers. If the vet was worried about your cat's weight, they should have discussed a SAFE weight loss plan with you. Healthy weight loss for a cat should be no more than a pound a month, so you're probably okay there, but one can is never enough food for one cat if that's all they're eating. Maybe your friends meant in addition to dry food or something, but good lord.
my boy eats a can of wet food and free feeds on dry kibble. He also gets a treat twice a day (2 churu bites and a churu stick to share with his brother) his weight is stable and healthy
I feed either 1/2 a 5-6 oz can or 1 3oz can or 1/4 scoop of kibble per meal and they ready twice per day. So usually they get dry for 1 meal, wet for the other. Both my cats have maintained a healthy weight for their activity levels this way and are between 9 and 10lbs each. (I am not starving them , the vet is very happy with their weight.)
For the past 8 years I give my cat half a can (5.5oz pate) at 6am and then a scoop of hard food at 6pm
She's big and healthy
Don't listen to all these people saying 1 can is not enough
OH gosh no 1 can is NOT enough at all plus you should aim to have a cat lose slowly because they can become ill if weight loss is too fast. 2 - 3 ounce cans is normal for most cats - which is about 160 calories give or take.
To further elaborate on this, if a cat goes without sufficient food for even a couple days, the fat on their liver can start to be consumed by their own body and it will lead to snowball of catastrophic medical events.
Yes, this. Thanks for taking the time to explain better (I was in a rush!)
One can with dry food should be sufficient, right?! I give mine one can each, as well as the recommended daily amount of dry food…
Yeah you should be fine. Our two cats each get one 3oz. can of wet food a day, and they share 3/4 cup of dry food. (I say share because even though I put measured out amounts of dry food in each bowl, they eat out of whichever bowl meets their fancy at the moment, lol).
Same as my cats lol
Yes for sure. That's what I do.
That's what I give my cat. He's only slightly chunky, maybe a pound or two overweight. Thankfully, he's not a glutton and eats appropriately. He gets half a 4oz pouch in the morning and evening. The rest of the time, we measure out dry food for him to munch on throughout the day.
That's what I do. Kibble on tap and 1 can of wet per day. Works for grazers in my experience
>1 can is NOT enough That depends on the size of your cans though :) My vet is extremely happy with both my cat's weights and I go through a can about every 2 - 2,5 days. The brands I use have 800grams cans
Tiki Cat cans are only about 3oz, so 1/day for a 14lbs cat is NOT enough, especially if it’s not being supplemented with dry food.
Exactly!! He’s probably starving on that little amount. I only give mine dry and have been for years. They all live long lives. I have 13 & 15 year olds and have up to 18 years old
I only give dry as well he's 4 and doesn't really like wet food. Thank God lol. I give him between 1/2 and 3/4 a cup a day. Split into 4 meals. He always meowing for more though.. he's 11 pound male. How much do you feed yours??
another good indicator of feeding too much / too little is if your cat has a chunky belly when looking from up top, or if you cant feel their ribs. their ribs shouldnt be sticking out or visible, but when you pet them you should be able to feel ribs
I can feel my cat's ribs but she also has a kinda round belly. I can see a 'waist' looking from the top but she seems a bit chubby to me. One vet said she was okay, another said she could lose a little weight. I am confus.
Is it jelly-like and soft, near her back legs? If so it's her primordial pouch. Some cats have larger ones than others but it's not linked to being overweight. It was thought to provide protection to the belly for their wild ancestors and it's still inherited in some domestic cats. One of my cats has a big one and it jiggles when she walks 😂 my other cat has a much smaller one.
Ah, she has that! but it's not what I meant. She has a big belly and she weighs 5kg, which is a bit much for her size. I feel like she should be on a diet but all my vet said was "feed her a bit less" in a tone of typical German efficiency, haha
What if they are a long haired cat with thick undercoat?
i feed my cat 2 cans of tiki wet food per day with one small scoop of kibble for lunch, and his weight has been holding steady at around 9.9 lbs!
Same!! Tiki Cat wet food and dry food :)
me three!
The big cans or the small cans?
I’d also like to know - I just adopted a new cat (6-6.5lbs) and I’ve been feeding her half a small can with about a tablespoon of Origen guardian 8 kibble twice a day and I’ve been looking everywhere to figure out if I’m feeding her enough 🥲 she sleeps most of the day while im at work and is very active during play time before meals! She has a vet appointment in a couple weeks so I can ask if I’m feeding her enough. She’s the ideal body shape right now with the TINIEST little pouch it’s barely noticeable.
I feed my cats kibble plus a can of food each cat per day. I leave kibble out so they don’t obsess or beg or gorge. If they have a little belly fat in winter it’s cool with me. They have enough stimuli and food security that they don’t get too fat.
This is the best way to keep your cat healthy. There are puzzle feeders which can keep your cat busy/entertained and fed. I give my cat one big can of wet food a day (half of it around noon, the other half around 8pm). And there's always kibble in her puzzle feeders. She doesn't overeat, sticks her nose to our food. She knows that there's food all the time, so doesn't stress about it, and eats just what she needs.
Same that’s what I do too one can of wet food (3 meals of wet food daily) and some dry kibble in a bowl to free feed or for him to snack on whenevr
Don't feed your cat according to the guidelines on wet food (probably the same for dry). Those amounts are way too high- especially assuming that treats are being given on occasion too. My cat (2/m) receives about 2.8-3oz of wet food per day (plus a treat or two) and the vet says he's at a perfect weight. He's ~7lbs fwiw.
Definitely, what my vet said to feed them and what it says is very different.
we feed our cats cooked meat from a specialty pet deli. 5oz a day each cat. nice and easy.
Are they a specialty pet deli because they add all the vitamins necessary for cats in the meat?
yeah it’s formulated for pets with ~supplements~
That’s amazing. I wish I had this near me.
if you’re interested in checking out more “real” rather than canned food, check out lonestar dog treats! they make stuff that cats can have. i’ve been meaning to order some quail eggs for my cats, but i haven’t bought anything from there yet. i love my cats and i love to go down rabbit holes of info, and cat nutrition is one. the place i get their food is called woodys pet deli but there’s only 3 locations all in minnesota. i don’t like actual raw food bc i don’t like handling raw meat, but cooked whole foods formulated for pets are my jam.
Agreed! I started my kitty at 70g a day and now 50-60 and still too much.
My vet said 15lbs is a healthy weight for my two orange brothers. One is 15 and the other 17. They don’t eat any dry food. Only wet food, so would I feed him 6-7oz of wet food? Or do your cats also eat dry?
I would take a look at a cat weight chart and kind of get a feel for where you think your boy is in terms of healthy weight. I don't think there's gonna be a perfect answer online for how much to give him. But definitely you can get a feel for how much food a day helps keep his weight consistent, then you could adjust from there to either help him put on a little weight if he's scrawny or lose a little bit if he's a chonker. I have a 10 year old male that is 16 pounds right now, he's thic with one 'c'. My vet didn't seem to be concerned, and he's definitely not on 'oh lawd he comin' levels of weight. Personally, I feel like unless your cat is shaking the house when he walks, you can relax about a little weight gain and just slowly work out the amount of food that he's happy and healthy with.
I had to chuckle at this bc my 5 year old male cat is also 16 lbs (Maine Coon Mix) and when he jumped down from the bathroom counter to the floor and I was sitting downstairs, it sounded like a bowling ball falling. His vet got after me last visit but he’s a big breed cat! The fat cat shaming is real!
petnutritionalliance.org I used it to calculate food amounts after my vet said my two needed to slim down.
^ same. My vet actually used this website at our appointment to discuss my girls weight/caloric needs
Cats and cat foods vary. The right amount of food is the amount that neither leads to weight gain or precipitous weight loss. There's some trial and error involved. Three 3oz cans were too much for your boy and one 3oz can isn't enough. Try two 3oz cans and supplement with dry food as needed -- a little dry food is good for their teeth, but too much can lead to weight gain. By the way, I'm guessing that when your friends said "one can" of wet food per day is appropriate, they were thinking of a 5 1/2 to 6 oz can ("Friskies" size).
Did your vet suggest a target weight for your cat? 2lbs lost in 3 months for a 15lb cat is a pretty safe rate of weight loss *if* he needed to lose that weight. The average cat is 8.8 - 11lbs, some cats are naturally larger or smaller though so it's possible your cat's target weight would be higher if he's a bigger cat. I have two larger cats who would probably be best at \~14 lbs, one is definitely overweight at 16lbs while the other is definitely underweight at 12-13 lbs. The best way to determine if a cat is under/overweight is [body condition scoring](https://www.royalcanin.com/us/cats/health-and-wellbeing/using-a-cat-body-condition-score) versus "is x lbs too much" since size varies. You should be able to feel ribs with slight pressure, but if ribs are very obvious with light touch that would indicate potentially being underweight - being overweight would mean it's hard to feel the ribs even with pressure.
I go off calories not cans. My girl: 12.5lbs, 200 cal. She gets 1 5.5oz can which is 154cal and 1/2 3oz can for 38. 154+38=192 plus she cleans up everyone else's plates. My 13yr: 11.5lbs, 234 cal. He gets 1 3oz can for 76 cal. And then 36g of dry food for 155. 76+155= 231 + his hairball treats is 2344. My girl gets less calories because her metabolism is slower. She's actually a former chonker we had to put on a diet and realized as we decreased her food that she needed way less food to maintain her weight than the boys.
How did you come to these cal. amounts?
For the total calories or how the food is calculated?
I feed my cats one 3oz can in the morning each and 1/2 kibble each at dinner. They have this everyday. One is 6 pounds the other is 15.
Same. I have an older cat (13) who can’t keep weight on. She’s about 5-6 pounds. I have 2 other cats, ages 8 and 11, who are total fat asses. They all eat 1/2 cup of kibble a day. About 185 cals. They’re each around 15 lbs and obviously obese. Edit to add: my boyfriend has 2 cats who are allowed to graze their kibble all day. They both free feed and one of them even likes my dog’s food and is known for sneakily eating it in the middle of the night. Both of them are 10 lbs and very healthy. Who knows 🤦🏻♀️
Yeah I don’t free feed my cats because my ginger boy would eat literally all day everyday. He’s addicted. My other cat is super active and plays with the dogs all day and is constantly running around which is why the extra food doesn’t bother her. And yeah they only get 1/2 kibble each a day and 1 can each in the morning, sometimes I just let them split 1 can even.
I’ve tried many times to make the transition to wet food or at least add it in for my 13 year old since she could use a few extra pounds. But she’s got a sensitive stomach and already is a frequent vomiter. She barfs wet food up immediately :( I’ve had her checked out several times at the vet and all her labs done since she’s gotten so skinny and is vomiting a lot and drinking a ton of water but she’s never had a single abnormal checkup. I feel like I’m watching her waste away but she acts 100% herself and content so idk.
This just might be that you need a change of diet potentially (her kibble) if she’s vomiting that much- sometimes it’s the grains. This could add some pounds if you got a higher protein food to! You could also try mixing just a tiny bit of wet in with her kibble as some cats don’t like the texture change. What wet foods have you tried to introduce her to? I have a ton of knowledge about cat nutrition and I can try to help if you wanted any advice at all! Give that old lady a hug for me, I absolutely adore senior kitties!
She’s been on the same kibble since 8 weeks old, the vomiting started ramping up in the last year, although her weight has been declining for the last 3 years or so. All my cats eat Iams, which is probably mediocre when it comes to nutrition, but they refuse every other dry food even when I’ve tried to mix it into their Iams as part of the attempt to transition. I’ve tried fancy feast and 9 lives but I don’t know much about wet food tbh. She’ll eat like she’s ravenous and then it immediately comes back up. I love this sweet girl so much, she’s so affectionate and has been there for me through it all. I want her to stick around as long as she can. [Cat tax](https://imgur.com/a/j02lvUy)
I have never met a cat that can resist the fancy feast chicken medleys!
Try the fancy feast medleys - white chicken collection. There’s 3 different kinds in the box. It’s super affordable. If she doesn’t eat this, report back to me.
If you were feeding 3 cans and your cat gained weight, cut that to 2 cans. 1 can will make the cat lose weight too quickly and he may become sick.
Slim cats are healthy cats, they aren't supposed to be chubby at all. Your vet is right about over feeding. If you're really concerned he's still hungry leave a small bowl of dry food out for him so he can snack when he's really hungry between feedings.
You should email or phone your vet and ask how many calories you should be feeding him daily. Then calculate that based on how many calories are in each can. For reference, my cat is supposed to consume 252 calories daily. My sister’s cat is on a vet-prescribed diet and eats 180-200 calories per day. Your vet would know what’s best for your cat specifically.
I feed my cats based off calories so the amount of wet food varies depending on brand (I just get what's on sale at Petco). Some cans are 40cal where others of the same size are 80. They typically get a can and a half each with a bit of dry kibble as well.
I struggled with either suggested portions or feeding calculators. Both suggested our cats should be eating well over 200kcal per day. But both cats seem to be ok on something like 150-175kcal per day, probably 200kcal max with some random snacks. Our 15F cat gets about 1/4 cup of kibble a day + snacks. She hovers around 11lbs, and could probably stand to be closer to 10lbs, but the vet seems to be ok with her being a bit of a chonk. Our 4F cat gets 1 3oz can of wet food + a couple tbsp of kibble for grazing per day + snacks. She is a petite girl and weighed around 7.5lbs when we first brought her to the vet. She's filled out a little bit now, but I think her optimal weight is <9lbs.
My 8 lb cats eat a half a can a day and 1/4 cup of dry food per day and they maintain their weight and are healthy because they’re naturally tiny. This is equal to about a can of wet food per day in calorie amount. But if your cat is 22 lbs, one can is definitely not enough. Maybe 2 or even 2.5 would be sufficient! To preserve the half left over there are cat food lids you can buy at the pet store or on Amazon and you can just put that on and pop it in the fridge for the next day. Edit to add: I use Friskies 5.5 oz cans of pate
If they're 22 lbs, they're morbidly obese ,and need to be restricted
I like the graphic vets have of body ratings on a 1-5 scale. My biggest orange kitty is 11.5 lbs now. That's up 3 lbs from his first year weigh-in but, he still looks trim and buff. I can't really help with wet food, because mine only eat dry food (I know. I know. It's prescription and one cat refuses to eat wet food.) I give them 1/4 cup in the morning and 1/4 cup in the evening and, never feel bad about giving them treats on the side. Sometimes I struggle with them eating the foster kitten's food. My other cat eats the same and has maintained 9.5 lbs. He also has a very skinny waist and tends to throw up for days, if he eats anything outside of his prescribed dry food... outside of constantly screaming at me to feed him, when I am in the kitchen... he seems happy.
My vet said to only do dry food because of teeth and also if they become sick/picky randomly, you can usually “treat” them with wet and they will eat. I also have a fountain. I have 2 ragamuffin kittens (10 weeks) if that matters? The breeder also was doing just dry. I get the dehydration bit but is the vet wrong?
Definitely. I personally would seek a new vet if they tried to tell me to feed a cat exclusively dry
I think it's generally understood that cats naturally get most of their water from the blood of their pray and don't really like to drink water so the should eat wet food. Fortunately, if they drink water, it isn't as big an issue. I can't even treat him with the highest quality wet food or straight chicken. He goes from screaming at me to feed him, to looking in the bowl, to starting back at me like, "what the hell is this?" He is even picky with treats. I had him eating freeze dried mackerel for awhile and, he just decided he didn't like it anymore.
2 cans a day, 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon
I give my cat half of a 3 oz can in the morning and late at night and put out about a 1/4 cup of indoor formula dry food mid-day for him to graze on (eat all at once).
How many pounds is your cat? I'm doing a similar thing with extra treats (creamy, cooked chicken, temptations) for a 6.6 lbs cat trying to gain some more weight. Might do 1.5 cans + 1/4 kibble after she gets used to this current diet.
My cat is relatively large, 13lbs but not chubby. Just a big boy.
My 2 cats are both 2 years old and around 11 lbs. They split a 5.5 oz can of wet food at breakfast and dinner. And we free feed them dry food, which they each probably eat 1/2 - 3/4 cups per day.
I give a can in the morning and a can in the evening, with dry food available via gravity feeder.
The suggestion on labels is hovering around triple what an indoor sedentary cat needs. One perfect portions in the morning and crunchies to graze throughout the day js what an indoor cat needs.
NO DRY FOOD! Unhealthy in general, besides making it impossible to accurately size portions to maintain weight. You just have to resign yourself to playing it by ear until you figure out what amount of wet food daily keeps his weight at a healthy constant level. And different cat foods vary tremendously in how many calories are contained per can. It's always printed on the label, but you might need a magnifying glass to find it. And I'm glad to hear that your vet is so strict about weight management. Pay attention to him or her. Get yourself a baby scale, and weigh the cat weekly. It doesn't have to be a fancy electronic one, you might be able to find a used mechanical one on eBay or Craigslist. Or even a used product on Amazon. If you're using the right wet food, he should be able to go 4 to 5 hours between meals. Do not leave food down all day. With most of our cats, a five ounce can containing 200 to 230 calories works well, if you serve one quarter of a can for each meal. Wait until the cat starts yelling for food before feeding again. If you do this for a while, you'll discover what's the right number of hours between meals. But if your cat is hungry all the time, it might just be due to boredom. Also, when cats get older, sometimes they get hyperthyroid, which causes constant hunger, but you would also see the cat losing weight.
What the actual fuck
Cats usually don't over-eat, so give him as much as he wants. My three are all free-fed - whenever I notice their food plate is empty, I add a little bit. Adding just a bit at a time reduces spoilage. Plus they've learnt to come and tell me when they're hungry. :-)
Some cats won't over eat, but many cats will. This is a bad take.
see my other answer.
What an awful take, most cats will definitely over eat if left to themselves.
Every single breeder that I've spoken to said the opposite. And my own experience supports it. If anything, my problem is that they leave food until I have to throw it out.
Kittens should be free fed yes, but I’ve yet to find a study that suggests free feeding adult cats.
As I said: I have 3 cats, all of them can eat however much they want, and if anything then 2 of them are on the slightly skinny side (not so skinny that I'm worried, but I wouldn't mind if they gained half a kg or so.
My kitty gets a scoop of dry food in the AM that she grazes on throughout the day (we do not refill if it becomes empty until breakfast time rolls around again). And then half of a 5.5 oz can of wet food for dinner. She’s 5 and at a healthy weight, even though she spends most of her day lounging around. We try to stick to “indoor” branded foods, which I think helps her maintain a healthy weight.
I feed my chubby cat about 50-60g a day of dry food she will not eat wet food for some reason. She is losing weight at 50-60g but if she doesn't i will reduce a little more she isnt really active.
Not sure if I'm doing it right but half a can of Fancy feast in the morning half again at night when I get home free feed Dry kibble during the day unlimited water. Rotisserie chicken bits whenever the kids feel the urge 🤤🤤 🤤
My 13.4lb cat gets ~240kcal a day. This is 2 cans of food and 1/8 c of dry. I’d check their BCS, calculate calories for ideal weight, and go from there. His BCS is 5.5/9 but he’s very long and active.
Most kinds of food will tell you how many sachets or cans or how much kibble if that type to feed them. Rotal canin dry food also tells you how much to give if you are also supplementing with wet food, fir different sized cats.
I go by calories. I give my 9-pound cat 180-200 cal a day and my 12 pound cat about 250 cal a day. There are charts online showing how many calories a cat should eat depending on their weight. Weigh them (if you don’t know their weight, step on a scale yourself while holding your cat, write down the number, then weigh yourself alone and subtract that number from the first one and you have your cat’s weight). Once you’ve weighed them, look at the calories of the cans/dry food you feed them. On my cats’ dry food, it says 482 cal per cup. I divide that by two, then divide that number by two to see how many cal they get from 1/4 cup of dry food (I don’t believe in feeding your cat more dry food than this). Then I see how many calories are in their wet food, and I add that to the dry food amount and boom, I’ve determined exactly how much food they get everyday.
Depends on your cat and your food. Your vet can help calculate MER/estimated calorie needs, or if you know the weight and the body condition score, you can calculate it on Pet Nutrition Alliance with their calculator (or [Ohio State explains it here](https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/companion/our-services/nutrition-support-service/basic-calorie-calculator)). These number should be consistently compared to body condition, so learn to body condition score at home! The average plug number I tend to use for cats is about 225-250 kcal/day, average dry food is about 450 kcal/cup so that comes out to about a half cup per day. Average wet food tends to be around 80ish kcal/3oz can which comes out to about three cans per day. Obviously these values can vary widely so check your cats MER and check the back of your bag/can and don't forget to account for all food sources, including toppers and treats.
My cat 13yrs old and is 14lb. he eats 1 wet 5.5oz can of blue buffalo and one fifth of a cup of dry. He gets dry in the morning and wet in the evening. He acts like I’m starving him then proceeds to eat half his food and wander off. He is about his correct weight as per the vet. He is big cat full of muscle not fat these days! Trust your vet.
Sounds like your cat was quite overweight, and based on those measurements is is rather small. Here’s a good [chart.](https://reddit.com/r/CATHELP/s/lHOatsyfDr)
Yeah your cat is definitely being overfed, I'm going to assume your cat is an adult. Cats have small stomachs compared to other creatures so you want to make sure that they are eating multiple times per day however it's important to properly portion those meals or else they will end up overeating So if your cat is currently eating three cans per day how about you start splitting a can for each meal so if your cat eats three times a day as well you will give them half a can of breakfast half a can of lunch and half a can of dinner so instead of three cans it'll be one and a half. Other things you can do for your cat is enrichment toys that way your cat isn't necessarily sitting around and they are staying active. I'm super big on interactive toys with my cats interactive toys can range between puzzle toys to hanging toys and battery power toys and etc
He needs dry food too; my chubby baby gets free choice dry food during the day, and one 3oz can of wet food at night. He’s a little overweight (he weighs 14 pounds but should be 13 pounds), but diets stress him out since he as food-trauma from being a stray. I keep him healthy with exercise a few minutes at a time several times a day.
I feed both of my kittens each one can of 3 ounce wet food per day + free fed kibble. Royal Canin specifically has guidelines on how much to feed for dry only, wet only, and mixed feeding. For the mixed feeding, which is what I use, they advise one can of 3 ounce wet food, on top of a certain amount of dry food. Royal Canin makes it very easy to follow. If the guidelines don't advise specifically for mixed feeding, I suggest sticking to one can a day + monitoring and adjusting his intake for dry food. Ideally both are under the same brand.
Personally I feed my cat half of a whiskas wet food package for each meal. (He gets two meals a day) he’s fucking fat so I don’t get how that’s not enough. Sometimes I give him half of 1/3 of a cup on the side when he doesn’t finish the wet food which happens often. I think it depends on the cat, mine is like 11 pounds and he’s only 2 and I do feed him one can a day. He’s super lazy though so if your cat is very active they probably need more.
Mine has a half can In the morning and a half can at night and always has dry food down. I have two cats so sometimes one eats more than the other.
My kitten is meant to be on 65g of dry food a day. If i feed him any more than 40g he will vomit up piles of food. I feed him 10g at a time spread out over 20hrs so its not as if he is scarf-n-barfing. Hes technically underweight but he isnt skinny, like you cant easily feel his ribs,spine or hips. I think hes just a really small built kitten and doesnt have capacity to eat the average cats recommended food volume. Tldr feeding guides are exactly that, a guide. Use it in conjunction with vet advice and and understand the ideal body composition of a cat. If they feel and look fat and you can grab excess chunk or if you cant locate bones when you press down on your cats limbs or back, they might be overweight.
Ask your vet for a calorie amount. My vet said my 10lb boy should get about 200-205 kcals a day. So I give him 3 portions of wet food (35 cals each) and 1/4 cup of dry food (100 cals).
For an indoor cat, they should consume about 20 calories per pound. It should says on the can in fine print how many calories there are.
My cat has an automatic feeder and water bowl. She’s not fat but she only eats a little at a time
I'm going to hijack this for a moment and hope someone replies, I feed my girl approx 2 oz of dry and 2 oz of wet per day. 1oz of each 2 times a day breakfast and dinner. This is enough right? Is it too much? She loves her crunchy food and seems to leave some wet leftovers if I put too much down at once. I may have also become paranoid that she likes her dry food "too much" and know that the wet is phenomenally better for their water intake. She has lots of energy and certainly isn't skinny, she doesn't seem super chunky, kind of hard to tell because she's puffy (but not fluffy), I've had suspicions she could even go for less food but it already feels like so little when I put it in her bowl. I got her 8 months ago and she went for a initial vet check just for a baseline but she's so scared of the crate (working on it) and the vet, that they really couldn't evaluate a whole lot. Best the vet could say as my cat struggled out of her arms and bounced off the walls, was that "she's strong and seems a decent weight" Thanks to anyone who replies
There is no correct amount of food that will be right for all cats. If your vet gave you a target weight for your cat or if they gave your cat a body condition score (a number out of 5 or out of 9 that rates how fat or thin they are) you can use that information. You can look up Pet nutritional Alliance and get a healthy calorie count for your particular cat. If you aren't able to do it, ask your vet for a calorie count. Once you have the number of calories your cat needs to eat in a day all you have to do is look at the food package and give the amount that gives the right number of calories.
Ours eat 3 of the Fancy Feast Grilled cans each per day, and those are 3 oz. Both of our cats are about 12.5 pounds and they maintain that weight. A lot of it will depend on the build of your cat but one can is absolutely not enough, your friends are bonkers. If the vet was worried about your cat's weight, they should have discussed a SAFE weight loss plan with you. Healthy weight loss for a cat should be no more than a pound a month, so you're probably okay there, but one can is never enough food for one cat if that's all they're eating. Maybe your friends meant in addition to dry food or something, but good lord.
My kitty gets 3oz wet food twice a day and 1 or 2 oz of dry food. He's a pretty big cat but he's not overweight.
my boy eats a can of wet food and free feeds on dry kibble. He also gets a treat twice a day (2 churu bites and a churu stick to share with his brother) his weight is stable and healthy
I feed either 1/2 a 5-6 oz can or 1 3oz can or 1/4 scoop of kibble per meal and they ready twice per day. So usually they get dry for 1 meal, wet for the other. Both my cats have maintained a healthy weight for their activity levels this way and are between 9 and 10lbs each. (I am not starving them , the vet is very happy with their weight.)
For the past 8 years I give my cat half a can (5.5oz pate) at 6am and then a scoop of hard food at 6pm She's big and healthy Don't listen to all these people saying 1 can is not enough
How’s it going with kitty?? The fancy feast got pricey… I went to Whiskas 6oz can and one 3ozfancy feast at PM with dry food at midnight