How much does your cat eat a day?

[Daisychain67]

My cat is 3. He’s always been a very hungry cat and was eating 3 pouches a day, morning afternoon and night, plus biscuits in between. He will also eat any food that is in the bin or left on the side or steals food off my daughter’s plate when she’s eating. My neighbour texted me to say he’d stolen a whole steak from her kitchen that she was about to cook.

I can’t really afford the 3 pouches a day so have cut him down to half a pouch in the morning, afternoon and night plus his biscuits. But because of how much he loves food I feel like this isn’t enough.

How much does your cat eat a day?

You're going to get a whole load of different answers.
For example I have 2 cats. One eats about 1.5 pouches a day because she's absolutely tiny. She'll have a few extra biscuits but not lots. The other eats nearly a tin a day and would eat his sister's and anything else put Infront of him because he's a greedy get!

We give ours the complete hard whiskas food in the morning and a pouch of soft food in the early evening. However he is always making a terrible noise for more food, however our vet is adamant about not over feeding. He’s not overweight and not skinny either. He does get very thirsty so water is available all the time. The complete hard food is better for them, especially as they get older, like ours who is 15. It helps to keep their teeth clean.

We have two six-year-old male cats, neutered. They have a handful of grain-free kibble twice a day and that's it, but they hunt a lot, so they make up the rest of their diet in rats. They're both on the fatsome side, as cats tend to get at that age, because they spend 90% of the time asleep.

One pouch at breakfast, another one at 6pm, but he has dry biscuits (Go Cat) always available in his bowl.

How many pouches will mostly depend on his size so how heavy is he? Although if he was hungry on 3 full pouches a day and you've halved that amount then maybe you need to have a serious think about whether you should rehome him. Deliberately underfeeding an animal is abuse.

Ours eat about 3 pouches a day each, plus dry food left out, plus anything they can steal from us, plus anything they catch.
Outdoor cats, none are overweight.

Mine have two pouches a day each plus put a very small amount of dried on a lick mat a couple of times a day.

mine get a bit heavy in the winter as they are fair weather cats, but tend to lose it in the summer when they are out exercising more and not whingeing for snacks.

I volunteer in a rehoming centre and unless the cat has special dietary needs such as being very thin, over weight or ill, they get a large handful of dried AM and a pouch PM. They are obviously in a pen during their stay so
not very active and maintain a good weight.

I have 2 cats. They have a tin of good quality food each in the morning, then share one in the evening, plus kibble available all day that I top up every morning. I used to give them a tin each in the evening but it was never all eaten, hence my cutting it down to the shared tin. It partly depends on which food you're feeding. Some are more nutrient dense than others, so are more filling. If you feed these types of food, your cat usually needs less in terms of volume, but they usually cost more per portion.

About 3 pouches a day plus a small scoop of kibble first thing in the morning. She shows no interest in our food. She’s a bit fat.

I’m pretty sure you will say you can’t afford it as you’ve cut his food down, but he would probably be better on a higher meat content food which should leave them feeling fuller. My boy is about 5kg and has 1-2 sachets a day plus biscuits (no interest in human food) he has just gone off wet food a bit recently

I have 2, a fat girl and a massive boy. They have dry food down at all times then get one pouch each morning and night. Boy picks at his, girl eats everything she can and still complains.

3 pouches seems like a lot but to reduce your cat's food because you can't afford it feels very unkind. I know a cat is 'just' a cat, but would you halve your child's food?

We have three neutered males - they get 1.5 pouches each a day (split into three meals), plus biscuits with breakfast, crunchies with dinner and a mid afternoon snack of lick-e-lix or cat soup.

They're all healthy weights and go outside.

She's not a big eater. She consumes about a teacup sized bowl of dry food per day (Perfect Fit Chicken 1+).
She'll also have about 10 Dreamies a day.
She doesn't like wet food, or actual chicken/fish.

Mine has one pouch in the morning and a small scoop of dry food late afternoon. She’s still overweight and permanently starving. It drives me mad. In the winter she just lies inside sleeping 24/7.
In the summer she’s out a lot and hunts.

Please tell me how 1.5 pouches a day plus biscuits plus whatever other food he finds is animal abuse? 😂😂😂

All cats are not the same! My dcat is offered 2 pouches of wet food per day. Eats 1 - 2. Has 2 types of biscuit available at all times. She's not a big eater and quite small. Not interested in eating human food Some cats are just much hungrier.

My cats have 3 pouches a day each plus biscuits. I think that’s normal. Why or earth do people get pets they can’t afford to feed properly?!

If your cat is so hungry that it’s desperately trying to steal food, then I would say yes, it is animal abuse.

1.5 pouches is nowhere near enough for good size cat. Especially if you are buying whiskers/felix or similar, which are filled with non digestible rubbish. If you are going to ration his food, at least make sure that it is good quality and has a high meat content.

My cat says she has never once been fed. Not ever. She is but skin and bone and she survives on dust and dreams. A poor gutter kitty, unloved and quite starved.

Have you had him tested for hyperthyroidism? That creates insatiable hunger and can be relieved through regular medication (which needs a vet visit for a blood test and the drugs are expensive I'm afraid). I couldn't leave an animal being constantly hungry without checking whether it's a medical reason.

Animals vary in their food needs and it depends a lot on if they are a naturally big cat or more petite. I have a 7kg big cat who actually doesn't eat much at all now he is an adult, and mainly prefers dry food. Previous cats were huge eaters and like yours loved human food and would steal it given the chance.

You can't just cut the amount you are feedng because you can't afford it. If he's overweight and needs to go on a diet that's diffierent. Taking on an animal means accepting the respsonsbility to provide sufficient food and vet care according to their needs, not yours. But how would you feel if someone else restricted your own or your children's food intake and said "that's enough, you don't need any more food, its too expensive"? Because this is no different. It is indeed selfish and cruel if you are deliberately leaving him hungry and miserable soley for financial reasons.

Edited to add: if you are feeding him cheap low quality food then that won't be helping, it's lke eating McDonalds all the time. Higher protein food keeps them fuller for longer. You can also buy special food designed to make them feel full on less calries - Royal Canin do one called Satiety. But good quality cat food is a good start (at least 70% protein). .I use Catz finefood tins and Carnilove dry.

Some cats are just scroungers - you could feed them every hour and they’d still be trying to steal off your plate and climbing in your bins.

1.5 pouches a day plus biscuits is fine for most domestic cats.

2 x 80g tins of wet. No dry

400g tin of good quality wet food daily (Cosima from Zooplus), plus a small bowl of dry food, plus snacks like dreamies and a cat stick or two daily. Cat is 8kg and a bit fat, but also just large!

Oh and he’s 7kg

It's not that hard to work out how much you need to feed your cat. If you know the cats weight (which is probably on your cat's vaccination certificate or your vet will know it from their last check-up) check the side of the car food box and it'll say how much to feed a cat of that weight.

I agree with TemporaryCatSlave's post and would echo it.