Emma Jones
Most cats love being able to eat small meals several times a day. That’s why it’s important to know the right amount of food for your velvet paw. How much-wet food can you put in the bowl? What should be considered with mixed feeding? Feeding your cat correctly isn’t difficult if you follow a few tips.
Cat feeding – small meals, but more often
Many house cats seem to suffer from constant hunger. They eat a bit of dry food here, meowing and demanding their treats and the nice neighbor also gives them a nice snack on top. There is a simple reason for the somewhat strange eating habits of our house cats: If the kitties live on their own and without a well-filled bowl, there is only something to eat if Kitty was lucky enough to hunt. A mouse here, a bird there, or another prey animal – the cat eats ten to 20 mini-meals throughout the day. So cats eat as often as they can, and in smaller portions. However, the conclusion that cats only eat as much as they really need turns out to be a fairy tale: the feeling of satiety in house cats is not infallible.
However, there is nothing wrong with giving the cat its daily ration of dry food in its bowl so that it can eat its rations at will throughout the day. In this case, however, you should calculate the amount of food the cat needs to eat and not offer your velvet paw any additional food.
If you – or your pet – prefers wet food, you should divide the food over several smaller meals. The cat should be fed at least two to three times a day; You should always dispose of leftover food that you have left behind, as it can spoil quickly.
The feeding recommendations for the cat from the manufacturer of the respective food provide a clue.
At a glance: amount of food for your cat – table
A normally active cat needs around 65 grams of wet food per kilogram of body weight per day. Growing kittens and lactating cats have higher calorie needs. When feeding only dry food, the need is correspondingly lower: Then only a quarter to a third of the amount per day should be in the bowl. Many pet owners mix feeding of dry and wet food. In this case, the respective amount of feed must be adjusted. You can find corresponding cat feed calculators on the Internet. You can also find helpful information in our “Nutritional Advice for Cats”.