How much does your cat eat in one sitting?

mrw5641

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Hi all

Instead of using the automatic feeder, I gave my cat his 4 TBSP's of dry food and when he finishes that I will give him some wet food.

Does your cat usually eat them right away or kind of nibble at it and go back and forth?
 

di and bob

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Hard food they usually nibble at several times a day. I have three kinda chubby cats and I leave weight reduction out for them and feed them i packet of Whiskas Purrfectly chicken and two small cans of Fancy feast a day. These small amounts are split amongst the three so they don't eat much at a time. If I give them more they just leave it. They leave crumbs as it is.
 
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mrw5641

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So typically it is normal they don't eat the 4 tbsps at one time and they eat it throughout the day.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. When Feeby ate only dry food, I left out a bowl of it (~ 12 tbsps) and she would graze on it all day long, and never actually finish it all. Now that she is fed canned only, she will spend about 2-3 hours eating 3 oz, which is about 6 tbsps, for her first meal of the day. She'll eat a few bites, take a break and then eat some more, and repeat, repeat, repeat. After that, she can spend several hours eating the next 2-3 oz she gets later in the day.

My previous cats were mostly given dry only, and never ate any significant amount at one time.

I don't know what other people do, but you might want to feed your cat wet food first, and then leave out some dry for him to graze on later.
 
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mrw5641

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FeebysOwner FeebysOwner thanks and I agree, I was worried he wasn't eating enough but the vet and the chewy vet (free if you have autoship) said he is fine if he doesn't eat it all.

He isn't losing any weight and the problem he is in prescription food trial so I can't give him anything else. I am sure he would lose weight absurdly fast if he was just eating wet
 

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Feeby was on prescription urinary care dry food for years. I decided to add some of the same food, but in canned versions. She never lost weight by adding the canned version as well as leaving out the dry. If they have both dry and canned in the prescription food you are trialing, that might be an option too! But, I will tell you, Feeby eventually decided she liked the canned much better than the dry and pretty much transitioned herself from dry to all canned.
 

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I feed raw (so I can’t leave it out for long), so my cats generally eat their full portion (100 grams (3.5 oz) in the morning, 50 (1.7 oz) in the early afternoon, and 50 (1.7 oz) a couple hours before bed) in one sitting, or within the couple minutes I tend to leave it out. If they ever have leftovers, I don’t leave ‘em out as Juma will often overeat, so I just put anything left back in the fridge once both of them has left their bowl. Mine are also large cats — one is 6kg and growing, the other is 8kg and grown.
If you’re concerned about your cat grazing, and would prefer set mealtimes, though, there are definitely ways to gradually move your cat over in that direction.
 
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mrw5641

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I am giving him the set amount for the day (4tbsp and 4 tbsp) pm before sleep

THink that would work?
 

Maurey

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If he eats most of that throughout the day, and he’s not having any issues on it, I wouldn’t change anything — cats do hate change. I’d only suggest transitioning if he has any indication of issues w/ diabetes — set mealtimes mean that your cat will have a more species appropriate blood sugar curve, which can help in insulin-free management of the condition :>

If you want to encourage your kitty to eat more in a sitting, rather than graze, you can gradually start limiting when you leave food available. If you do it gradually enough, most cats will learn and transition without any issues.
 

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FeebysOwner FeebysOwner did she lose a lot of weight?
Yes, she did. But, she was also very overweight (18 pounds) so for her it was a good thing. Her situation is complicated by the fact that she was also diagnosed with hyperthyroidism a while back, so some of her weight loss likely had to do with that as well. The big thing is to gauge how many calories your cat needs to sustain his weight. I use the gauge of 20 calories per pound of body weight. So, in Feeby's case if she eats around 250 or so calories a day she can maintain her current weight.

I am giving him the set amount for the day (4tbsp and 4 tbsp) pm before sleep
THink that would work?
How many calories is that, and does that include any wet you are feeding him? What does he weigh? How old is he?
 
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mrw5641

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Well from what the vet told me 170k/cal to 200 is fine if he isn't losing weight drastically where we would have a problem

He is 5 and weights 14.7 lbs,
 

Mrsty1203

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I adopted recently a 4 year old cat and she’s a bit on the heavy side. I’m trying to slowly get her off dry food which she nibbles all day. Giving her less and less of that and more wet food 3 x a day. I give her about 3 oz. of wet and she eats most of it... then nibbles the rest for a while until I pick it up after about 30 minutes. If she can’t seem to wait till next feeding I give her around 2 Tablespoons of dry.
 

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Wow! Since he is younger than Feeby - he might need more than 20 calories per pound as younger cats tend to burn calories at a faster rate than older cats. So, at 20 - 25 calories per pound, your cat should probably be eating around 294 - 367 calories per day. An immediate drop to 200 calories per day is quite a bit, so you need to keep an eye on his weight - weighing him at least once a week to see how much he might be losing.

Do you have any idea how many calories he was eating before you started him on the prescription food?
 
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mrw5641

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FeebysOwner FeebysOwner He has been eating approx. 200 for a while now (he was never eating near 294) obviously some days more and some days less than 200 and he hasn't lost any weight,,, well .5 LBS since December he was 15.0 now he ranges from 14.5 to 14.7.

I have a hard time getting him to run around but I have started making him jump over boxes to get in and out of the bedroom (trying to get him to do this about 20 x a day). I also put his food on his condo but it is also on the floor where his feeder is as well.

It is scattered around.
 

FeebysOwner

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And, another wow! Cats vary, so he must a really low metabolism. That and dry foods (even weight reduction ones) contain more carbohydrates/fat so it is more readily stored in the body rather than 'burned off'. Wet food generally runs less in carbohydrates/fats, and more in protein, so the body better utilizes the food.

As I said, Feeby needs to eat about 250 calories a day to maintain her weight (12.5) and she is 16+ yo and very inactive. But, maybe the difference is in the type of food since all she eats is canned, so there is a much less fat content.

If the goal is weight loss, .5 lb in 3 months is maybe a bit slow, but that is OK if he continues to lose weight over time. Another general rule of thumb is that a cat shouldn't really lose any more than a pound a month (just to let you know).
 
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mrw5641

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Agreed, thanks for chatting. The goal is to lose weight, but he is on Royal Canin HP and Rayne Clinical ONLY until we figure out if he has a food allergy. If he doesn't I am going to talk to the vet derm about (since that is where he went) on wet food that is good.

The problem with having only 2 foods, is having only 2 foods so the variety is off. When he first got the Rayne he ate it up for a week now he is like whaat is this food you give me everyday and he will then eat the dry

Varity is key!
 

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i feed graycie half a 3.5 oz can of wet per feeding or quarter can of the bigger 5 oz cans anytime i fed or tried to feed larger servings she pukes it all(tried the more smaller frequent feedings during the day same results) up so she gets canned for breakfast and dinner along with dry food she can graze anytime she wants be nice to find a dry food that doesnt expand when wet thats grain free and good quality :lol: basically its two golf ball sized portions of canned twice a day with day out at all times = no puke to clean
 
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