How Many Grams Go Food Should I Feed My Cats To Maintain 9lbs?

[jinxthecat]

Both my cats are roughly the same height, and while one of them is able to maintain their approximate 9 pound weight- and they look healthy with that weight- my other cat is a little too hefty. She's about 14 pounds now, and while it's not too heavy yet, I'd like to bring it back down before it becomes an actual issue. How many grams should I feed them both every day? thank you!

 

[orange&white]

No one can really answer that except to say, "As many grams that will keep them from becoming too fat or too thin".

Just like people, every cat's metabolism and genetics are unique, so some can eat more and stay trim and some you have to count their calories.

You have good instincts to cut back calories on your 14 pound cat. A scale to regularly weigh them is a good investment, and keeping a chart of calorie intake is a good idea.

If you have a cat who is overweight, you need to feed scheduled meal times and not leave food out available in between.

 

[tabbytom]

Hello jinxthecat , are your kitties spayed/neutered and indoors? Do they have enough exercise each day?

I agree with orange&white mentioned, it's not how many grams a day but how many calories are needed a day. If your kitties are indoors cats, they need roughly around 250 calories a day from wet food and not dry food and no free feeding of or snacks with dry food.

As for the heavier one, play more often with her till she pants and that will be enough exercise for her each day.

 

[lalagimp]

I asked the manufacturer for a gram conversion of their feeding portions and they provided. I said "you're telling me on the website that the daily suggested allowance is 5/8 cup, but I would like to know what this is in grams."
I fed the boys in grams until we got them off kibble. They never could regulate their own weight so we had to stay on top of it. I think 5/8 cup averaged 60-65 grams and 1/2 cup was 55-60 grams, depending on the food.
The kibble I just put the girls on is much more dense at over 500 calories per cup so it says with their weight they actually only need 1/3 -1/2 cup per day.

 

[xcourtney3]

Try this NUTRITIONAL CALCULATOR FOR CATS

 

[kttn]

if it helps, i got my cat down to 10lbs by following the 20 cal per lb rule. she's maintaining perfectly on 200 cals a day.

 

[foxden]

There is a very good article about feeding cats here A Scientific Take On Cat Nutrition By Dr. Rachel Boltz

Most cat food manufacturers have calories listed per kilo on the nutrition information on their web pages. From that, you should be able to calculate the weight of food in grams needed to give your kitties the appropriate amount of food. The number I see a lot is 20 calories per pound per day.
For your 9 pound kitty, that is 180 calories per day

If the calories per kilogram is listed as 3500 kcal/ kg, then 1 gram of food has 3.5 kcal. 180/3.5 is a bit more than 51, and that would mean the 9 pound kitty would need 51 g food per day to maintain its weight. That does not seem like a lot of food, but it will vary for each food.

There are other articles and threads about getting cats to loose weight. These start with determining the amount of food and calories your cat eats every day. You calculate calories from that amount and reduce the calories in a measured way.

Perhaps a member with more experience in food intake and calorie counting could help as well.