How much to feed a cat?

[Mme. Defarge]

I am the “mom” of 2 Snowshoe sisters. It’s a fairly large breed of domestic cat and I feed them each 1/2 can of Fancy Feast and 1/4 cup of Hill Science Diet weight control dry food twice a day. They are indoor cats and enjoy relaxing and napping during the day after a good night’s rest. My vet. says they are overweight and should cut back on their kibble.

It doesn’t seem to me that this is too much food but would appreciate other opinions.

[Polly Hennessey]

1. My Millie has always been a foodie. She was overweight.

I have managed to control the weight by feeding her small amounts during the day. In the morning she gets what I call her tidbits. A pinch 🤏 of dry kibble. At noon, I do the same. In the evening, she gets some kibble and three teaspoons of (small) wet food. During the day, I will give her a few bits of kibble if she is in the kitchen. She eats a specialized food for gastrointestinal problems. She had a bout of pancreatitis a year and 1/2 ago. Had an ultrasound done and she is ok now. I still feed her the special diet. She is nineteen years old. She is my wonderfully funny old lady. 💕🥰

[Nigrum Cattus]

2. No thats not alot

Try (1) whole can FF mixed w/dry once a day.
I've had cats for over 60 years and once a day seems to work well.
Also, some cats are just heavier than others, if they are sisters their
metabolism is similar, so that amount of food for a 15 pound cat
is not excessive.

[Mme. Defarge]

3. Most reassuring!

Gracie is 15 lbs. Katinka maybe slightly less.

[Nigrum Cattus]

5. Those are normal weights for big breeds -

The most important thing for cats is their kidneys. If their kidneys
are good then they are just big cats and can live a long time.

[iscooterliberally]

4. Maybe they need more exercise?

Mine are constantly eating. I leave a couple of bowls of kibble out. I feed them wet food in the morning and at night too. For the wet food I split a 5.5oz can among 3 cats. Mine are feral rescue indoor/outdoor cats so they get lots of exercise. They climb up on the roof go all over the place. We have a cat tree inside too that goes almost to the ceiling. I'll put some catnip on it and the two boys will go flying up and down the cat tree. Anyway, it's just a thought. Good luck with your girls!

[Mme. Defarge]

7. Merci!

[Faux pas]

6. All my cats

have been grazers. They were never overweight because they got plenty of outside exercise. My current Kitty Boy eats about a cup of nutrish inner health. He's a grazer also and gets good outdoor exercise and isn't overweight either

[Chicagogrl1]

8. I feed my 2 cats

1/4 C of Hills Perfect Weight twice daily. They are siblings and interestingly enough one is larger and a little overweight & the other one is small and perfect weight. Go figure.

[3catwoman3]

9. We have 4 cats. 2 12 yr olds who are not related (14 lb black-and-brown...

...male tabby and 7.5 lb tuxie female) and 2 yr old brother and sister Siamese (who are 11 and 8-ish pound respectively). They were mostly on kibble, and both boys were looking rather rotund.

We switched them to mostly canned food - Purina Pro-Plan. Everyone gets 1/4 can in the morning, an 1/8 of a can around 2 PM, a small scoop of kibble about 7 PM, and another 1/8 about 10 PM. We mix enough water in with each canned feeding to make a pretty loose slurry. Out vet approves of this as she says it not only fills them up more, it increases their water intake which is good because cats tend to not drink enough.

Both boys slimmed down in just a few weeks, the girls didn't lose any, and the vet is quite satisfied with everyone's weight.

[Mme. Defarge]

10. Very interesting!

Adding water to their canned food is something I’ll consider.