How many ounces raw meat should I give my cat?

[dwdanby]

I'm wondering how to determine how many ounces of raw meat I should give my cat.

She is one year old, healthy spayed female, 9lbs, been on raw diet for six months. I make 5lbs chicken and 1lb pork (I add Alnutrin and liver powder). Put it in a muffin tin to freeze, each muffin is about three ounces. If I feed her more than four chopped pieces she throws it up, so I feed four pieces 3-4 times a day. I think she needs a little more.

How should I calculate how much to give her?

 

[Jabzilla]

I'm wondering how to determine how many ounces of raw meat I should give my cat.

She is one year old, healthy spayed female, 9lbs, been on raw diet for six months. I make 5lbs chicken and 1lb pork (I add Alnutrin and liver powder). Put it in a muffin tin to freeze, each muffin is about three ounces. If I feed her more than four chopped pieces she throws it up, so I feed four pieces 3-4 times a day. I think she needs a little more.

How should I calculate how much to give her?

Hey,
There are online calorie calculators for cats but I find that they give results that are way off. For my cats, I use a formulation sheet from Raw Fed and Nerdy. It has their calorie requirements on there so I know how much food to give them. Without doing something like that, a simple way is to just see how her body condition score is. If you can feel her ribs the same way you can feel your knuckles then she’s too thin and would need more food. If you can’t feel her ribs, then she’s too fat and needs less. If your cat seems like she’s still hungry, you can offer her a larger amount of food and keep track of her weight and body score.

 

[sophie1]

SImple rule of thumb: 2-4% of ideal body weight. More if younger active cat, less if sedentary cat.

From there, you keep track of the cat's weight and body habitus. If they are getting fat, feed less. etc. If you're not sure if your cat is at ideal weight or not, your vet can tell you. When I was starting out as a new cat owner, poor Charlie got chubby because I stuck with the 4% rule, but turns out he needed much less. I cut him back to 3.75 oz per day (and he's a BIG boy!) and he's been fine ever since.

 

[iPappy]

Are you feeding the food cold? Sarah will throw up cold food occasionally but if it's room temp, she's fine.

 

[dwdanby]

Are you feeding the food cold? Sarah will throw up cold food occasionally but if it's room temp, she's fine.

that is a very good point. thank you. it is from the fridge. i will try giving it a quick nuke. thx!

 

[Jabzilla]

that is a very good point. thank you. it is from the fridge. i will try giving it a quick nuke. thx!

Remember not to microwave food if it contains bones.

 

[iPappy]

Yes, to warm it just put the container or bag of food into a dish of warm water. It should come to room temp within a few minutes