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How much canned food for an average size cat?

16 years ago

I'm used to leaving dry food out for the cats with occasional feedings of canned. But one of them hangs out in my room a lot and loves canned food, so I thought I'd put some out for him at night and again during the day. Can you tell me the right amount, more or less?

Thanks!

Susan

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Comments (6)

lexie1397
16 years ago
your can should have feeding guidelines on the label. Based on what I've seen most of them are approximately half a can. if there's no instructions, talk with the store you purchase it from. (although I think all commercial pet food requires feeding instructions).

If your cat is getting only wet food, be sure to check his teeth regularly for buildup that could cause health issues later. I'm sure you check them all anyway, but just in case!
laurief_gw
16 years ago
Feeding the "right" amount of any type of food to any animal is basically trial and error. Some animals are more active or have higher metabolism rates, so they require more food. Some animals are less active or have slow metabolism rates, and they require less food. In any case, you'll feed less of a calorie-rich food than you will a food with low-quality ingredients. If you're feeding both dry and canned, you may need to regulate the amount of each if your cat is prone to overeating.

The feeding guideline on the food container is only a starting point. The only truly valid answer to your question is to keep a close eye on your cat's weight and adjust the amount you're feeding if his weight doesn't hold steady. Some cats can maintain proper weight being free-fed. Many cats will overeat and become obese if allowed to do so.

Laurie
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alisande
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the input. Princeton, the cat in question, spends the night in my room. I give him one can at bedtime, and it's pretty much gone by morning. I was wondering how much more to offer during day, but I'll do the trial and error thing. Not much danger of obesity at the moment, since Princeton lost weight after the arrival of Annie the calico, whom I'm certain he thinks of as Mean Annie, or Annie the Horrible. One of the reasons he spends so much time in my bedroom is to get away from Annie. He seems happier since I gave him exclusive access to my bed.
Rudebekia
16 years ago
I split one small can of Fancy Feast between the two cats every morning. I tried hard at one point to get them to eat better quality wet food, but could not do so. So I limit them to the one can. Then they have good quality dry food (Wellness) down all day.
livvysmom
16 years ago
My boy is average (13lbs) and eats 1/2 can (3 oz can) in the am and half at night. Sometimes he scarfs it all down, other times he comes back later to finish.

He also has dry (Nutro) food available at all times.
sue36
16 years ago
The breeder told us to feed our Ragdoll 1/2 a small can of wet per day, giving it to him at night. Yeah, right. He can easily put away 1 1/2 cans per day, PLUS dry food.

He's currently about 6 1/2 pounds at almost 4 months. Our current method is to leave him with only dry food when we leave the house, forcing him to eat the dry food since there is no one to beg to. I'm hoping this is a growth spurt that will calm down. I've never had a "food focused" cat (where you have to monitor for obesity).

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