You can assess your cat's weight by gently checking if you can feel its ribs if they are hard to find it may be overweight. If the ribs and backbone are prominent, then your cat may be underweight and ill. If in doubt, ask a vet or pet care specialist whether your cat is within its correct weight range.
This means that the average, healthy adult cat needs 150 – 240 calories or 45 calories per kilogram per day, while being fed in multiple mini meals. In the world of non-mouse cat food, 150 – 240 calories is roughly one small (85 g) can of wet food and 1/3 of a cup of dry food OR 1/3 – 2/3 of a cup of dry food only.
As a general average, if you are feeding a commercially produced high-quality dry food with a good quality protein source, then an indoor cat would be fed about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of food per day. This amount of quality food is approximately between 167–250 calories.
Evaluate Your Cat's Body Condition
If at an ideal body weight, you should be able to feel the ribs but not see them. There should be a slight waist evident when you look at your cat from above, if at an ideal weight. There should be flank folds present that do not jiggle or sway when your cat walks.
In general, you can feed an average-sized adult cat one 3-ounce can per 3 to 3½ pounds of body weight daily.
Cats can and should eat wet food every day because it agrees with the feline digestive system better than dry or semi-moist food. Wild cats hunt and eat bugs, rodents, and small birds.
As much as cats like to pretend they're always hungry, it's important not to overfeed them as it could make them poorly and eventually lead to medical complications.
It is better to slightly underfeed than to overfeed neonatal orphaned kittens. Kitten milk replacer should be the sole source of nutrition until 3-4 weeks of age at which time the weaning process may begin.
The Bottom Line. While Fancy Feast can be part of a balanced diet for your cat and provides complete nutrition, it may not be quite as fancy as the name suggests. As with any food, ensure the first few ingredients are high-quality, natural proteins like fish, chicken, or meat.
The correct calorie intake can be calculated using a formula worked out for basal metabolic rate with additional calories for stress and other health factors. For a normal healthy 9 lb cat, the right amount of food is about a half cup of regular dry food (ballpark 350 kcal per cup).
Cats should eat at least two meals each day, about 12 hours apart. But a breakfast, lunch, afternoon, dinner, and right before bed schedule is an equally great option. If more than 12 hours elapses between meals, the stomach can become hyperacidic causing nausea.
"If a cat can maintain his weight, free choice feeding is okay," says Dr. Kallfelz. Even dry food left out for your cat to free feed needs to be fresh, so be sure to provide new food each day. If free feeding doesn't work, you need to control how much they eat.
They must have meat to get the nutrients they require. While it's perfectly acceptable to feed your cat a commercial dry or wet food, you can offer variety in your feline's diet by feeding it cooked or raw, fresh meat.
The average cat should eat 4-6 ounces of canned food per day split between 2-3 meals but this is just a general guideline. One can of Fancy Feast is 3.5 ounces. When determining how much you should be feeding your cat once transitioned to canned food, keep it simple. Too fat-feed a little less.
The best way would be to monitor their weight. If they're gaining weight in the right places, that would be a good sign that they're eating what they need to be. And there is a body condition score, so your veterinarian can look at your kitten and see if they're underweight or at an appropriate weight.
A cat is a survivor. If he gets hungry enough yes (usually) he'll eat dry food even if he doesn't like it. But straight dry food is not always a good diet for a cat. And a hard switch to dry food will mess up his digestive system and health something fierce.
Yes, cats can eat eggs. Fully cooked eggs are a great nutritional treat for cats. Eggs are packed with nutrients, like amino acids, which are the building blocks to protein, and they're also highly digestible. Scrambled, boiled, however you choose to prepare them is fine.
Free-choice feeding encourages overeating, which can lead to excessive weight gain. Gaining too much weight will put your cat at risk for significant health problems such as osteoarthritis and diabetes mellitus.
If your cat is hungry all the time, it could be a sign of a serious health issue like hyperthyroidism, diabetes or cancer. This handy guide looks at possible causes of overeating, symptoms to look out for and what to do if you're concerned about your cat's feeding habits.
Mixing wet and dry cat food for a meal or feeding them at separate meals is a good way to give your cat the variety she not only wants, but also needs.