Your cat’s diet plays an important role in its well-being. If you feed your cat too much or too little, it will not remain optimally healthy. Likewise, a lack of nutrients can lead to a deficient cat, while an overabundance can cause obesity and all the problems that come with being overweight.
Finding the right amount of food for a cat can be tricky, especially for new cat owners. But in this article, you’ll find all the information you need about feeding frequency and amount so your cat can live their best life and take the guesswork out of the equation.
How often should you feed your cat?
This may seem like a simple question at first, but how would you answer if someone asked how often to feed a human? We all know that it depends greatly on several factors, such as age, size, and appetite. Cats are no different. They eat different amounts depending on similar characteristics, such as age, weight, breed, size, and more.
Younger cats need to be fed more often than adult cats. Growing cats need more food per pound of body weight than older cats. Instead of feeding all at once, it is better to divide it into several feedings throughout the day.
As your cat ages, he will need less food per pound of body weight, which means fewer feedings. Once your cat is an adult, two or three feedings per day will be sufficient, as long as your cat is getting all the nutrients it needs in those feedings.
Feeding schedule for cats
| Age of the cat | Weight of the cat | How much should you feed a cat per day? | Daily nutrition |
| Up to 1 week | 3–7 ounces | Cat food: 25–65 ml | 12 |
| 1–2 weeks | 5–14 ounces | Cat formula: 40–110 ml | 10–12 |
| 2–3 weeks | 12–16 ounces | Kitty Formula: 110–125 ml | 6–8 |
| 3–4 weeks | 1–1.5 pounds | 11 g dry food or 40 g wet food | 6–8 |
| 4–8 weeks | 1.3–2.6 pounds | 18 g dry food or 65 g wet food | 3–4 |
| 2–3 months | 2.2–4 pounds | 20 g–30 g dry food or 65 g–110 g wet food | 3–4 |
| 3–6 months | 3.5–7 pounds | 30 g–50 g dry food or 130 g–165 g wet food | 3–4 |
| 6–9 months | 6–10 pounds | 45 g–60 g dry food or 160 g–215 g wet food | 2–3 |
| 9–12 months | 7–15 pounds | 50 g–85 g dry food or 150 g–300 g wet food | 2–3 |
| 1–5 years | 8–20 pounds | 60 g–105 g dry food or 160 g–365 g wet food | 2–3 |
| 5–10 years | 8–20 pounds | 60 g–105 g dry food or 160 g–365 g wet food | 2–3 |
| 10+ years | 8–20 pounds | 60 g–105 g dry food or 160 g–365 g wet food | 2–4 |
Please note that this chart is only a rough guideline. The amount of food a cat consumes should be based on daily calories. Different cat foods have specific caloric densities per gram of product. Keeping track of a cat’s weight gain during growth and development and its body condition score during adulthood is the best way to know how much to feed a cat.
Source: https://www.catster.com/guides/how-much-should-you-feed-kittens/
Factors That Influence How Much to Feed Your Cat
As mentioned, many factors affect how much food your cat needs. Although younger cats eat more per pound of body weight, they eat less overall. Larger and heavier cats need more food. However, as a cat gets bigger, it can eat more at one time, so the frequency of feeding decreases, even though the total amount eaten continues to increase.
Another factor to consider is your cat’s current activity level. If your cat is sedentary and spends his time in comfortable areas of the house, he won’t need as much food as a cat that is always running around, playing, or spending a lot of time exploring the backyard.
You will also need to make adjustments for feeding wet versus dry food. While both are perfectly acceptable as long as they provide complete nutrition for your cat, they do not weigh the same. Wet food obviously weighs more, so you will need to feed your cat more of it in terms of weight. In terms of determining how much dry food to feed a cat, you will be feeding less in terms of weight, but it will seem like it has more volume in your cat’s bowl.
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Health Dangers of Obese Cats
Obesity is a major problem for domestic cats in North America. In fact, it is the most common of all preventable cat diseases. In America, approximately one-third of all cats are considered obese, with approximately half of all cats over the age of 5 considered overweight.
So, what problems will obesity cause for your cat? For starters, it will shorten your cat’s lifespan. Obese cats have an increased mortality rate that is 2.8 times higher than cats at a healthy body weight.
And if that’s not enough, obesity also makes your cat more susceptible to other diseases that can reduce his quality of life and shorten his lifespan.
Cats that are obese are at greater risk for diseases such as:
- Urinary bladder stones
- Arthrosis
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Cancer
- Complications of anesthesia
It’s not just obesity that’s bad for your cat. Obese cats that stop eating can have it even worse. When an obese cat stops eating or loses weight too quickly, they often develop a condition called hepatic lipidosis, a liver disease that can be life-threatening.
Overweight cats have a much harder time fighting off infectious diseases because their bodies are already in poor health, meaning the diseases are more likely to be serious or even fatal.
Monitoring your cat’s diet
When cats are stressed or sick, they are often very good at hiding it. Some of the most obvious signs to look for are changes in their eating habits. These can also be an indication of how your cat is responding to their eating routine, so you can make the necessary changes.
If your kitten eats in the middle of the night, there is nothing to worry about. Kittens have small stomachs, so their food should be divided into many smaller meals. It is difficult for them to go 8-12 hours without a meal, so it is perfectly fine for a kitten to look for a snack during the night. However, adult cats should be accustomed to a certain feeding schedule and should not eat in the middle of the night. If your adult cat starts to exhibit this behavior, it could be a sign of another underlying problem.
If your cat licks his litter box clean every time you feed him, he may not be eating enough. However, you need more evidence to know for sure. Instead of guessing, learn how a cat’s body feels so you can judge his weight. Feel his ribs for good coverage and weigh your cat to make sure he’s a healthy weight.
Veterinarians have developed a system called body condition scoring. This system evaluates a cat’s body shape from above and from the side, and how easy or difficult it is to feel the ribs. This system helps to place a cat’s body on a scale of 1-9. Cats with an ideal body weight are in the middle of the scale, at number 5. Underweight cats can range from 1-3, with 1 being emaciated or extremely underweight. Obese cats are placed at number 9, and a range of 7-8 is considered overweight. Using the body condition score with the guidance of a veterinarian is the best way to evaluate and determine how to manage your cat’s diet.
Conclusion
There are no hard and fast rules about how often and how much to feed a cat. Many factors play a role in determining how much to feed a cat, including the cat’s age, breed, size, weight, activity level, and more. However, there are some general guidelines you should follow to ensure your cat is getting the right amount of nutrition.
If you have any questions or are unsure whether you are feeding your cat too much or too little, or whether he/she is at a healthy weight, consult your veterinarian. He/she can help you understand the basic rules for your cat.
Main image: New Africa, Shutterstock