Feeding Amount For Small-boned Cat

[snini]

My kitty was malnourished as child and is now looking good at 3.2kg at 9 months old, and I assume she will never pass 3.5kg.

My new "Smilla Kitten" wetfood label says that for a cat that is expected to become 5kg adult, give 320-350g at the age of 7-12 months.

How do I adjust this for my little kitty?

 

[lisahe]

Some kittens keep growing and developing -- and staying very active, too! -- well after they turn 12 months (and even, sometimes, up to two years!) old so I'd say you can keep feeding her as much as she wants. Unless, of course, she's a kitten who eats too much and then vomits. (This is not uncommon in kitties who were malnourished when very young. We have a cat who will do this if she's not fed small meals. She's now about six years old and is still insecure about her food.)

I'm sure someone else will give you some numbers but math's not my strong point when feeding cats! I just tend to look at whether they're gaining or losing weight, and watch to see how active they are. Which means that I'd keep feeding the kitten but make sure she's not getting too big in the wrong places.

What is your kitty's name?

 

[Kieka]

At 9 months old she is probably still growing and should be fed as a kitten still. If she is 3.2kg at 9 months she could still surpass the 4kg mark. My girls final weight is in the 3.4kg to 3.6kg range (she puts on weight in the winter, and she is skinny enough that my vet doesn't want her weight any lower than 3.2kg). At 9 months she was only 2.3kg.

Cats can be surprising sizes and outside of purebreds it is hard to assume their adult size. Keep feeding her to grow by offering a high protein, moderate fat and low carb diet without limiting her too much right now. Once she gets to the 12-18 months range then start looking for an adult diet option. I honestly would stay far away from any food marketed towards specific breeds or sizes, they are often filled with cheap fillers your cat doesn't need.

 

[abyeb]

Here’s a helpful article: How Much Food Should I Feed My Cat?

At 9 months old, she is still a kitten, and could have a lot more growing left to do. The usual recommendation for cats less than a year old is free-feeding, to ensure that they get all the nutrients that they need to grow into a healthy adult cat. This works well unless she’s a “scarf ‘n barf” type cat, in which case you’ll probably have to scheduled meals. Keep feeding her kitten food, or food labeled for “all life stages”. You could also ask your vet for nutrition advice.

 

[snini]

can keep feeding her as much as she wants

Her name is Sofi

The reason I'm holding back on free feeding is that she has been spayed, and so has problems regulating her appetite, no?

 

[mizzely]

Being spayed doesn't automatically predispose them to overeating. She doesn't necessarily need to be free fed but you can see how much she'll eat in a sitting and kind of go from there.

 

[Kieka]

Her name is SofiView attachment 272660

The reason I'm holding back on free feeding is that she has been spayed, and so has problems regulating her appetite, no?

She adorable.....as to the appitite, not really.

Spaying and neutering has a minimal impact on metabolic function. It tends to be overstated and over compensated for. My girl was spayed at 6 months and it hasn't slowed her down or caused her to gain weight, she's now almost 4 years old. At her last vet appointment I was actually told to feed her more because she was getting to be too skinny.

Just pay attention to your cats body condition and mointor calories should she start to get chunky. Even then it is mointoring calories not necessarily changing the food.

 

[abyeb]

She’s so pretty! Since she’s still a kitten, I don’t think you need to worry about her overeating at the moment- she’s probably still growing. Once she reaches a year of age, you can look to transition her to meal feeding, if you’d like. Of course, I would follow your vet’s advice; they’ll know Sofi’s nutritional needs.

 

[m3rma1d]

Please feed that cute little gal whatever she wants right now. She's not a small boned cat, she's a kitten. She may end up being petite or bigger, hard to say. But for her brain development she should be allowed to eat all she wants right now.

 

[lisahe]

Sofi's very cute! And yes, just keep feeding her. She reminds me of how thin our cats were when we adopted them. It took a long time -- months and months -- for them to fill out.

Since you're feeding her wet food, snini , you could feed her like we fed our cats: lots of small meals throughout the day if you're around. If Sofi seems nervous (insecure) about getting more food, the frequent small meals might help ease that fear, too. Even five years later, that's how we still feed our cats. It works very well for them.

 

[ailish]

I am not a cat expert by any means. However, I have learned that feeding cats calories rather than random amounts is the key to good feeding and control of what's going on. Cat food can vary widely as to calorie count per given amount, so the only way to really know what you are feeding is to feed numbers of calories. I also find that the amounts suggested on the cans are WAAAAAY out of line with what I have been feeding.

When I got Ailish she had had kittens, probably from her first heat, was small due to that, was underweight on top of it, and did not have a very good coat. I was able to increase her weight to a healthy weight without going overboard and the coat improved. She is 3 1/2 now, is maintaining weight in the middle of what the vet considers her healthy range, and I can make adjustments because I know how many calories she is getting. It's not a great amount of work once you figure out your target number of calories and how much of each food will get you there.

An added advantage is that you are less likely to fall for the "I am a starving kitty and you haven't fed me in days" routine, because you know when you fed her and that she got her usual amount.