To ask how much you feed your cat

[Wiggles28]

Recently rehomed a three year old cat. He’s quite big (tall) and weighs around 4.5kg.

He seems to be constantly hungry! He currently wakes us up around 6am wanting breakfast (1/2 pouch), then has biscuits then another 1/2 pouch for dinner and then the same for supper. We’ve been giving him supper as at first he was waking us at 4am to be fed!

He’s active but not going outside yet.

How much do you feed your cat, and what?

Egg cup of food do mumsnet gets competitive under eat with their pets too now?

Mine is very skinny and long. He has 4 pouches a day, plus biscuits. And usually half a bowl of porridge if he sits with my daughter for breakfast.

Is dry food complete food or do they need wet food?

Errr you really should know this before choosing that diet Read the packet. If it says complete, it is. If it isn't your cat is seriously nutritionally deficient.

My cat is 20. He is now fed on demand.
He likes a constant choice of different foods 10 times a day and kicks off royally if this new rule isn't followed 😀

FFS what have I done wrong here? Fed my cat according to the packet instructions? I know the dry food is complete balanced cat food but this thread shows that everyone else here is feeding their cats pouches multiple times a day and k was shocked as I didn't think it would be as much as this.

My cat is perfectly healthy thank you very much.

3 pouches a day - tabby/oriental mix - gangly and greedy 4kg

two just have dry food - topped up daily and eaten when they want (part Norwegian Forest Cat and big moggy - around 5kg)

New boy has dry kitten food morning and topped up at night plus half a pouch of wet - he's diddy (was a stray)

We have 2 cats, One is young kitten and he is always hungry. If you touch the cat food cupboard he starts meowing and circling his bowl and he empties it. If we accidentally leave a bag of treats out he will rip the bag open and eat the lot. It happened once.

Our other cat rarely asks for food and will watch me put her dinner down, have a quick nibble then wander off, and will maybe finish it before her next bowl. She has been like that since she was kitten. They both get two pouches a day, one in the morning and one in the evening, They also have biscuits sitting out.

He could just be a food focused cat and doesn't know the routine yet.

My 3.5kg 10 year old female cat gets a handful dry food for breakfast and a full sachet for dinner

My little stray who is about 1 and ways about 3.2kg gets 2 servings of dry food a day about of small bowl , cant remember how much it said on the packet , i think its about 60gm

2 egg cups of dry food and she's not hungry? I'm guessing she goes outside then where she finds a nice fat juicy mouse to eat

She's an outdoor cat and often catches things, she doesn't eat mice but she loves a bird 🤭

Don't get me wrong she does yeowl for chicken if she sees the carcass but just eats her food slowly throughout the day. She doesn't scoff it like she's starving although her bowl is empty and she's waiting for her breakfast when we come down. She still wouldn't eat it all in one go. She's a grazer.

Maybe you're all misunderstanding my egg cup comment?? Fits 30g of dry food in it and she gets 2 per day.

@jomaIone you are feeding your cat the correct amount. A large proportion of cats in this country are over fed and it doesn’t do them any favours. You could switch one of the meals to a tin or pouch if you wish - cats can get dehydrated on an all-biscuit diet as they often don’t drink enough, so feeding some wet food can help with that. But your cat sounds absolutely fine - I look after a little cat who is fed the same amount and she is perfectly healthy.

A shocking number of cat food brands bulk up their food with grain and all sorts. It’s quite appalling how low the meat content can be, for animals that are true carnivores. It’s often an eye opener to look on the ingredients list.

@RandomMess

Get one of the water fountains on amazon or ebay for cats. Gives them running water which is generally what they like.

As for others, if your vet is happy with your cats weight, leave the feed alone.

My cat is a big cat (think he might be part maine coon) but he doesn't need a ton of food. Had another cat when I was a child that was massive too, slightly bigger than the one I have. He had a tin of food every day, half a tin for each meal and biscuits on top. He ate A LOT. Never moved though. Current cat is very energetic, he's like a dog.

They don't all eat the same. As long as they are healthy, they aren't over weight and the vet is happy, leave them alone.

@SudokuQueen they would only use the water fountain if you cleaned it completely every other day... same with a glass of water (ie left out for them) after 48 hours they refuse to drink it.

Mine is small - 3.5kg. He has unlimited dry food plus between 2-4 pouches a day depending how much he wants. I feed to demand as he has the metabolism I dream of

Both cats weigh approx. 4.25Kg they get 25g if dry for breakfast and 50g of wet for tea and nothing else. Both perfect weight, vast majority of cats are drastically over fed.
The average cat should weigh between a 4 -5Kg though some pedigrees are bigger and this is the correct amount of food - there are far too many fat cats out there.

My girl is 4kg and gets a pouch for breakfast and dinner plus biscuits through the day when she begs, she’s very food oriented. She also likes to hunt for a nice bird or mouse in the garden.

Unlimited supply of biscuits. Will only eat Morrison's own. I switched to tins from pouches so save money. Has 4/5 tablespoons 7ish then again before bed 10ish

1 pouch and 80g of biscuits. Royal Canin. I buy 3 times a year and it works out very very cheap.

This is his before and after rescue so I'm comfortable free feeding him. The vet would be happier if he was around 4kg but I don't think he will get there!

Don't all cats try and get you to feed them more anyway? Mine will make out like he's not been fed to get a second breakfast if someone gets up a bit later and he's already been fed. Plus he's master of the big-eyed "I'm a poor starving little kitty nobody has fed me" look, even ten minutes after he's had his dinner.

And no, he definitely doesn't have worms, he's wormed regularly, he's just a greedy bugger.

ClientQueen that is an amazing transformation

What weight was he in the first picture? My cat looks nothing like as thin as that but is probably the same weight or lower. Like us humans they carry weight differently.

We feed my old boy on demand. He's pretty set in his ways, so that equates to - full pouches at roughly 6am (or whenever we get up), between 10-11, massive nap, then 7 ish, then 9-10pm ish. If I'm working and back after midnight, I tend to leave him a pouch to keep him going through the night. He has dry food but he views this as an absolute last resort!

@jomaIone I believe around 2.5 so he's gained around a kg and his coat has completely changed all the melted butter he steals

Side on pic from before

Mine (about 4.5 kg) only gets one pouch a day - half in the morning, rest end of day. I see it as her treat, the dry food is her main sustenance. She is healthy.