HOW MUCH DRY FOOD should my kitty eat?

Question

George is 7-8 months old and much heavier and more solid than our 5yo cat. He weighs 11 lbs. He eats at least twice what she does (he eats a at least a cup a day & 1/2 a can of tuna cat food :) That's the highlight of his day). We just went through a bag of cat food in a week that pre-George would have lasted six weeks!

I bought the adult weight maintenance formula cat food so he gets the nutrients without too much fat...

Is that unusual for a fairly active cat to be eating that much?

P.S. This cat was a stray--we don't know for how long. We're told that might affect his eating habits. Maybe he's eating so much because for so long he had to eat whatever food he found whenever he found it...

Cat Mom x 2

I feed him Purina One Weight Maintenance Formula.

Thanks, guys. I always dump the cat food into an air-tight kitty-proof container & throw away the bag. But your advice led me to Purina's site, which says George needs 3/4-1 cup per day.

Answer 1

Hi there...most bags indicate the appropriate servings to give a day, however most commercial grade cat foods contain corn, corn meal which are fillers (carbohydrates) that bind the dry food together as a way of keeping foods lasting longer. Try finding cat food products which are devoid of these ingedients. The first ingredients should show chicken, chicken meal, etc. Most show the first ingredients as corn on the ingredient labels. IAMs, Science Diet, Purina, Whiskas, Friskies ...all have corn listed as the main ingredient. Cats who eat these tend to always feel hungry because the carbs don't metabolize fast enough and cats are obligate carnivores so they need a diet devoid of these types of carbs. Products such as Innova EVO, Nature's Variety Prairie, Felidae, etc are premium brands. Most cats who eat these find that they do not eat to eat as much because their appetite is better satiated.

Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine of how often to feed cats: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/news/feed.htm
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/feedcats.html

Answer 2

George won't be at complete maturity until he's about 2. Two of mine topped out at about 1 1/2 years old. My 9 month old looks bigger every time I look at him. Most adult cats should eat 1/2 cup of dry food (or less) per day. The canned food you give every day should decrease the amount of dry you put down. For a 7-8 month old cat to weigh 11 lbs isn't bad. If you can still feel his ribs underneath a slight coating of fat, he should be ok. If he's very active, he will need more calories than a more sedentary one. Over the next 6 months or so, he'll start to calm down more and will require less calories than when he was an active, growing kitten. Start to slowly cut the food back. And if you have any concerns about his weight, call your vet. There's no fee for asking a question on the phone. =)

Answer 3

Your CATS should eat 0 dry foods. It was a lesson I learned the hard way.
Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s health
Contrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat.
Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingrdiant a muscle meat like chicken or meal or other things?
http://www.catinfo.org/#Learn_How_To_Read_a_Pet_Food_Ingredient_Label
Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i’s and a host of other problems. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms
The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process them. Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food but in
Dry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and don't use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive.
You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn't have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all. Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck? http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bpo_ch4a.php

Please read about cat nutrition.
http://www.newdestiny.us/nutritionbasics.html
http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.htm
http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm#Dry_Food_vs_Canned_Food.__Which_is_reall

Answer 4

Most bags of pet food have instructions that have you overfeeding your pets. An adult cat doesn't need any more than 1/2 cup of dry food a day total. I would gradually cut back on what you are feeding George. Overfeeding leads to overweight cats. Overweight cats can develop diabetes, airway issues, joint issues and urinary tract issues...especially males. Many strays become overeaters. I think that there is a behavioral component to that. The way to keep George the most healthy is by not overfeeding. Hope this helped.

Answer 5

Ideally, none.

Canned food is much better than dry food. Especially if you feed a high quality, grain free canned food (such as Wellness or Innova).

Cats are obligate carnivores and should eat a diet of MEAT—not grains and by-products. Read the ingredients on a bag of dry food, that will tell you which food is better (hint: corn should not be a part of a cat's diet).

The three key negative issues associated with dry food are:
1) type of protein - too high in plant-based versus animal-based proteins
2) carbohydrate load is too high
3) water content is too low

I used to believe that dry food was better. Then I spent a fortune on vet bills treating my cats for diabetes, CRF, and other health issues that could have been avoided if I had been feeding them a better diet. On dry food only, they both needed dental cleanings by the age of four, and one of my cats had to have 4 teeth removed when he was only 3 years old! (So much for the claim that "dry food is better for their teeth"!)

If you feel you must feed dry food, choose a GRAIN FREE food like Serengeti or Wellness Core.

Please read the links on feline nutrition that I've provided, I think you'll find them to be very helpful. (The first two are written by vets.)

There are also single-ingredient, freeze dried treats (like Pogos rabbit treats and Whole Life chicken treats) that are a great low-carb treat option.

My Siamese (who I rescued as a starving stray) was completely food obsessed. He ate (gulped) every meal as if he was still worried about where his next meal would come from. He never lost the "starving stray" mentality, and apparently that is quite common. I constantly battled to try to keep his weight down as a result. (Unfortunately the "diet" dry foods are very high in carbs, and he became diabetic.)

Congrats on your rescue and good luck with him.

Answer 6

Since he's been a stray, he probably has the mentality that he should eat everything he can while it's available. Our cat was a stray, and we pretty much regulate how much he gets to eat, and when, because he would eat himself sick if we left out a bunch of food. Try not to let your kitty get too heavy -- 11 pounds is a good size. Many cats will gorge themselves if allowed. You might talk to your vet about his eating habits and see what they say.

Answer 7

With the newer types of insulin these days, diabetic diets aren't necessarily as restrictive as they used to be. Read here https://tr.im/KfVg2
As with any medicine or diet change, you should discuss it with your doctor. Fruits, both fresh and dried, have a natural sugar in them that will raise blood sugar levels, so be careful about eating too much. Not sure about the nuts. Moderation is always the key. I've been diabetic for 18 years and just recently changed insulin types. I love it because it gives me more freedom in when and what I eat.

Answer 8

Read the recommended dosage on the bag.