How much food should my kitten eat?

Question

He is about 16 weeks old. Currently we are refilling his dish like 3 times a day (he eats a 3# bag a week) and he gets tuna juice on his dish at least 3 times a week and a pouch of wet food nearly every day... We have had him for almost two months and he has tripled in size.. he isn't fat (in fact he is very lean and LONG) Is he just going to be a big cat? When should I worry that I am feeding him too much? When do you know that a cat is fat?

Answer 1

This is an important growing time for kittens. I currently have 3 indoor cats (my kids). Two of them are 4 years old. Since I got them at 8 weeks old, they have been on a set schedule. I put 1 scoop of dry food when I notice the bowl is empty, about 1/4 cup size. Also, every day at the same time, whether it's at the same time you have dinner or not, make sure it's the same time or close to it, give him the wet food that you notice is his "favorite". This will control his diet, and give him something to look forward to every day. He will eventually learn that the dry food is there to nibble on all day and he won't go through so much. And remember, he's a MALE, he will eat more to try to become bigger to be able to defend himself, this is what cats do in the wild.

Answer 2

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RE:
How much food should my kitten eat?
He is about 16 weeks old. Currently we are refilling his dish like 3 times a day (he eats a 3# bag a week) and he gets tuna juice on his dish at least 3 times a week and a pouch of wet food nearly every day... We have had him for almost two months and he has tripled in size.. he isn't fat (in...

Answer 3

we have a 3 month old kitten as well. we feed her when she asks for it. she meows once in the morning 15 minutes after waking up, once in the late afternoon after her nap, and once at night abt an hour or two before she goes to sleep. we dont feed her according to time. we feed her when she is hungry.

you may want to cut down on the wet food pouch as it contains more preservatives. vets always advise dry food or pellets. im not sure what cat it is or it size. so i cant tell if he's fat or not. kittens do grow fast. so dont worry. keep a lookout for her activeness. cats become slower lazier and less active when they are stuffed full and if they are fat. so let it slow down on food and it gets more active. i dont know the science or biology behind this. im just saying from experience. this kitten is the 4th generation member since my late first cat.

Answer 4

No - he is a baby. So he requires nutrition and the food he is eating. I would feed him as much as he will eat. Sounds like he is doing good too. He will slow down on eating when he is bigger. If he has a 'tummy' as in it is big and he has a 'belly' of fat, and distinguished 'waist' line (my vet told me this for my cats) then he may be overweight. Don't cut back on his food too rapidly if you feel he is overweight...do it gradually and gently. Think of him as your baby! If he is playing and has energy, that is a good sign. Please make sure he has fresh water changed daily! Enjoy him!

Additionally, many people here state that soft food is 'bad' for cats. It is not bad. I feed my cats Natural Balance cat food, both wet and dry. I started out feeding them only the dry as kittens but they weren't eating enough. So a visit to the vets office was in order. One of my cats has an autoimmune issue, so she gets crystals in her urine if her diet is too 'dry'. The canned food provides moisture. I give mine 'tuna water' as a treat. It is just the water from the tuna can as a treat on occasion. Canned food isn't bad, just make sure it doesn't contain the fillers that one person wrote about.

Answer 5

a kitten should eat 4 meals a day but dont give him a lot of food, very little amount of food.

Answer 6

Our 8 month old kitten eats CONSTANTLY. He also is lean and long, so we just let him go ahead and eat what he wants. I figure he's like a teenager. Growing fast and burning alot of energy.

Answer 7

Hi there...kittens require a bit of protein as they are quite active. Here's a feeding guideline by Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine for Feline Health on how much to feed a cat: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/news/feed.htm

Another helpful article about feeding by Cornell: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/feedcats.html

Please also consider reading about the dangers about tuna: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AuPMAB1J1pyi.JVbkt4tnKXty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20070111170528AAiAKat

Answer 8

if you keep your cats food dish full they will eat till they are full and not overeat. if you keep letting it get empty they will think they need to eat it all or there may not be more. i have always let my cats have a full bowl of dry food and only a tiny bit of tuna as a treat each night. wet food is not good for their teeth and not healthy either. it can cause plaque build up and has lots of fillers. your kitten is young and growing and is going to eat a lot during that time but dont run the habit of continually refilling a dish or you will have a fat cat. a fully grown cat eats about 1/2 cup of food a day or less of dry food. offset that with wet food if you are feeding wet also.

Answer 9

Free feed the dry food while he is growing, but cut out the extra calories of tuna and pouched food. He's lean and eating alot because he's a growing kitty.

Answer 10

wow! Sounds like he will be a good size kitty. Dont feed him anymore than you are cuz then you will be feeding him too much. I would give him food twice a day.