Whether you are a new cat parent or had cats before, “how much should I feed my cat?” is among the baffling dilemmas you will face. There is no one simple answer to this question. How much food your cat needs depends on their age, activity level, metabolic rate, and maternal status.
How many of us find it hard to keep our hands off the cookie jar, even when we say we want to lose weight? We have continuously failed to feed ourselves healthily. It is, therefore, no wonder we make mistakes in feeding our cats.
And the question is not always about quantity. Nutritional quality also influences how much your cat should eat. All cat foods out there don’t exactly have the same nutritional content. A 100 grams portion of a nutritionally dense food may provide the same nutrients as 250 grams of cat food with a low nutritional density. The how much depends on the type.
In this article, we discuss how much you should feed your cat from multiple entry points.
Factors influencing how much you should feed your cat
There are multiple factors that you should consider when you contemplate the idea of how much should I feed my cat. These factors will assist you in determining the right quantity of foods that you should feed your cat.
Age
Kittens require more energy per pound of weight compared to adult or senior cats. This increased energy demand is because kittens are in constant growth and development. Accordingly, kittens require more food per pound of weight compared to adult cats.
A kitten would require around 40 Calories per pound of weight per day after weaning. On the other hand, an adult lean cat requires between 22 and 35 Calories per pound of weight per day. [1]
Let’s say you have a 250-grams can of cat food with nutritional labeling claiming 250 Calories per can. Then, each gram of cat food provides 1 Calorie. A 5-pound kitten requires 200 Calories per day (5-pound x 40 Calories/pound/day). That means you must give your cat 200 grams of canned cat food to help them meet their daily energy requirements.
If you have a 10-pound lean cat, then it will require 280 Calories daily. Considering the same can of cat food, you will need to feed them 280 grams to help them meet their daily energy needs.
Weight
A healthy cat weighs around 10 pounds. But this is not always the case as ‘normal’ depends on the breed. A lean ten-pound cat requires 280 Calories every day. On the other hand, an overweight cat of the same weight would need 240 Calories per day. [1] This is because overweight cats are less active, thus having lower energy expenditure.
You can use a body condition score to evaluate whether your cat is in the ideal weight range, underweight, or overweight. How much you feed your cat then requires revision according to where your cat falls in the body condition system.
Activity
If you want a happy and active cat and not one that is glued to the couch all day, it certainly comes with an increased caloric need. An active cat requires more food than a couch-bound one. That is why outdoor cats need more calories than in-house cats.
When deciding how much you should feed your cat, you should consider their level of activity. This consideration is vital because indoor confinement and being overweight are associated with an increased risk of diabetes. [2]
Cats with higher resting metabolic rates will also require more food than those with lower metabolic requirements. The difference in metabolic rate arises from interindividual differences in physiology.
Health
Just like humans, cats will have a unique nutritional requirement to heal and rehabilitate if they are sick or recovering from illness. In situations like this, you should modify your cat’s diet based on their current nutrient needs by consulting the vet. [3]
Medication can also alter the food intake of your cat. Some medication needs to be taken with food while others need to be taken on an empty stomach.
Maternal Status
Cats will also have an increased nutrient need when nursing. During pregnancy, you should feed your cat small portions but more frequently. After all, that tiny tummy of your furry little friend is has a kitten growing inside it.
During pregnancy and lactation, the energy requirement of your cat doubles to around 60 Calories per pound per day. [1]
Beware of Overfeeding
Obesity is among the significant health problems in cats. As cat parents, we are responsible for feeding our cats. This responsibility makes us the prime players in feline obesity management.
Feeding our cats too much is the major mistake we as cat owners make. We may think that fluffy cats are the most adorable. Who wouldn’t want to cuddle with a ball of fur? But excess feeding commonly leads to cat obesity, a risk factor for diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, cardiac problems, and urinary tract diseases. [4]
It is not all our fault though. Cats used to be hunters. And even after we tamed them, cats used to lead an active life. But now that we moved them to our living rooms, their lifestyle has become somewhat sedentary. This reduced activity has lowered their energy needs. However, we have failed to adjust our feeding habits during this transition. As a result, obesity has become one of the biggest health problems in cats.
You should feed your healthy adult cat between 20 and 35 Calories per pound per day to meet their energy needs. To make sure you are feeding your cat the right Calories, you can use the body condition score. You should continuously assess your cat’s body condition to ensure your cat is neither too thin nor too heavy. You should then adjust their diet if their body condition is anything but regular.
Feeding frequency
The proper feeding of your cat is not just a question of ‘how much?’ but also ‘how often?’.
You can feed your cats their daily allocated food portions in different ways. The choice depends on your cat’s feeding habits and your lifestyle.
Free feeding is one option. In free feeding, you give your cat their daily dose all at once, and your cat chooses when to eat. Free feeding is ideal when your cat can regulate their consumption and aliquot the food several times during the day. But if your cat has the habit of eating all the food at once, free feeding is not a suitable approach. [5]
Prescheduled feeding is another alternative. In this approach, you divide the daily dietary requirement of your cat into a designated time. This feeding scheme can be beneficial for you to notice any behavioral changes as they happen. Scheduled feeding should start only after your cat transitions from a kitten to a young ball of fur.
A kitten should be fed at least three times a day. Once they reach one year, you can reduce the feeding frequency to two. The time in between meals should not exceed 12 hours to prevent nausea triggered by gastric hyperacidity. [6]
A combination feeding is the other alternative. In combination feeding, you give your cat wet foods once or twice a day accompanied by free feeding of dry feline food. This approach requires care as it can often lead to overfeeding and obesity. It is therefore vital to actively monitor your feline partner’s daily food intake.
Dry Food Vs. Wet Food
Cats have a low thirst drive. They are not exactly a fan of voluntary water intake. And since their urine is very concentrated, the reduced water intake can lead to urinary tract problems. Regularly feeding them dry food can also aggravate this problem.
Moisture-rich cat foods (canned foods) can offer a solution to this problem. Canned foods are three-fourths water, while dry foods contain one-tenth. Wet food alone, however, should not be considered an ample source of water. [7]
That doesn’t mean cats shouldn’t eat dry food at all. If nutritionally adequate and supplemented with sufficient water, dry food can provide your cat with its nutritional need. Dry food is also good for feline dental health and can be integrated with food puzzles to help your cat get in some exercise while eating.
Dry food is tempting to many cat owners because of its lower cost. In addition, it can be left out for a long time without spoiling. Dry cat foods are carbohydrate-rich and are mostly offered in a free feeding form. As a result, cats consuming predominantly dry food are more susceptible to diabetes than those who mainly take wet foods. [8]
Wet cat food’s advantage over dry cat food is its high-water content. Wet cat food is also more palatable to your cat because of its flavor and aroma. Wet food, however, is not as rich in calories as dry food provided the same weight.
Given that both wet and dry food have their advantage, a mix and match approach may be ideal for your cat. However, you should maintain a caloric balance. Compared to a strictly dry food diet, a mix and match approach would lower your cat’s carbohydrate intake.
In addition to commercial wet and dry cat foods, homemade raw and cooked cat foods are becoming popular these days. Unless designed properly, homemade cat foods can cause malnutrition in your cat. It is also difficult to know how many calories your cat gets from homemade cat food. This challenge is a result of inconsistencies in the design and making of homemade cat foods.
In conclusion
The nutritional composition of each cat food is different. And the nutritional requirement of each cat is influenced by several internal and external factors. Appropriately feeding your cat will therefore require consideration of multiple factors.
Now that you have information on how much you should feed your cat, you should pay extra attention to the nutritional labeling of cat foods.
Most cat foods contain a feeding guide. But these feeding guides are not customized to every cat’s specific nutritional need. And the topic is too sensitive to trust everything cat food manufacturers say. After all, food manufacturers are not exactly unbiased in this topic.
You can determine how much your cat should eat by using their weight, caloric need, the caloric content of the cat food, and the body condition score.
You should actively adjust your cat’s food intake based on where they fall on the body composition score. And actively monitoring their eating habits will let you know if you need to make any changes.
