The ideal amount of food for your house cat
Cat feeding – small meals, but more often
Many domestic cats seem to suffer from hunger all the time. They eat a bit of dry food here, meow and demand their treat and the nice neighbor also has a fine snack on top. The somewhat strange eating habits of our house cats have a simple reason: If the cats live on their own and without a well-filled food bowl, there is only something to eat if Kitty was also lucky enough to hunt. Here a mouse, there a bird or another prey animal - the cat has ten to 20 mini meals spread over the day. Cats therefore eat as often as possible, and rather 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 of domestic cats is not infallible.
Nevertheless, there is nothing wrong with giving the cat its daily ration of dry food in the bowl so that it can eat its rations throughout the day as it wishes. However, in this case, you should calculate the amount of food the cat needs exactly and not offer your cat 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 food leftovers that have been spurned, as they can spoil quickly.
How much cat food does the cat need per day?
How much food your cat really needs per day depends on many factors:
- Age: A young cat at 6 months and with a high energy level needs a larger amount of food than a tomcat grandpa who spends the day sleeping on the couch.
- Attitude: Pure domestic cats that do not go on forays into nature have a lower calorie requirement.
- Castration: Neutered animals have a lower energy requirement, but greater hunger. Simply lowering the amount of food for neutered cats is not an optimal solution. To prevent neuters from becoming overweight, special food has been developed for them that satiates them well and covers their nutritional needs.
- Type of food: Dry food is higher in energy than wet food, so the amount of cat food required is correspondingly lower.
- Quality: Of high-quality food, your cat usually needs a smaller amount of food
The feeding recommendations for the cat from the manufacturer of the respective food provide an indication.
At a glance: Amount of food for your cat – table
A normally active cat needs around 65 grams per kilogram of body weight of wet food per day. Kittens in growth and lactating cats have a higher calorie requirement. If dry food is fed purely, the need is correspondingly lower: then only a quarter to a third of the amount per day should be put in the bowl. Many pet owners mix the feeding of dry and wet food. In this case, the respective amount of food must be adjusted. You can find corresponding cat food calculators on the Internet. You can also find helpful information in our "Nutritional advice for cats".
The following information in the table is to be understood as a guide and to be adapted:
|
Cat weight in kilograms
|
Guideline wet food in grams per day
|
|---|---|
|
up to 2 kg
|
up to 160 g
|
|
up to 3 kg
|
up to 210 g
|
|
up to 4 kg
|
up to 260 g
|
|
up to 5 kg
|
up to 320 g
|
|
up to 6 kg
|
up to 360 g
|
Important for pure dry feeding: Your kitty must have enough fresh water available, as dry food contains hardly any moisture. Many cats tend to take in too little water. Little tricks can help: Don't place the drinking bowl directly next to the food bowl and also encourage your cat to drink with an indoor fountain.