How much should a kitten eat per meal?

sweetleo

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Hey all. Recently I had to switch my 7 month old kitten onto an all wet diet that is chicken-free. I am only on an all wet diet right now because I haven’t found a kibble that is working for him yet, although all wet seems to be ideal for kitties so it’s not the worst thing. I’m currently feeding instinct’s rabbits pate which is 80 calories per 3 oz can. I would have loved to get him on a kitten specific food so the calories were higher, but we are having trouble getting him on something that doesn’t give him diarrhea and this has been working. I read that for his weight (7, maybe even 8 lbs right now) I’ll need to be feeding somewhere around 400-450 calories. Before I was just doing about 1/4 cup of kibble with 2-3 cans a day, but now that I’m switching to all wet it seems like I’d need to have him eating 4-5 cans per day. I’m only able to feed him 3 times a day, so he’d need to be eating 5.5 oz a sitting. That seems like a lot for his little stomach. Is this ok to do? Also, is that an accurate number for calories? Seems like he’s been gaining weight on less. I’ve also read that you can get away with feeding less on higher quality foods, but I’m not confident about that either. Thanks!
 

mrsgreenjeens

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At this age, you can probably get away with feeding about 30 calories per pound of cat, so if he's 8 pounds, that would be 240 calories per day. If he's extremely active, you might bump that up a bit, but not all that much.
 

maggie101

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Hey all. Recently I had to switch my 7 month old kitten onto an all wet diet that is chicken-free. I am only on an all wet diet right now because I haven’t found a kibble that is working for him yet, although all wet seems to be ideal for kitties so it’s not the worst thing. I’m currently feeding instinct’s rabbits pate which is 80 calories per 3 oz can. I would have loved to get him on a kitten specific food so the calories were higher, but we are having trouble getting him on something that doesn’t give him diarrhea and this has been working. I read that for his weight (7, maybe even 8 lbs right now) I’ll need to be feeding somewhere around 400-450 calories. Before I was just doing about 1/4 cup of kibble with 2-3 cans a day, but now that I’m switching to all wet it seems like I’d need to have him eating 4-5 cans per day. I’m only able to feed him 3 times a day, so he’d need to be eating 5.5 oz a sitting. That seems like a lot for his little stomach. Is this ok to do? Also, is that an accurate number for calories? Seems like he’s been gaining weight on less. I’ve also read that you can get away with feeding less on higher quality foods, but I’m not confident about that either. Thanks!
If you compare kitten food to adult there really is no difference
 

tabbytom

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Hey all. Recently I had to switch my 7 month old kitten onto an all wet diet that is chicken-free.
At this age, he's still very much a kitten and he's going through a phase called 'Growth Spurt' where he'll and to eat more than usual and this will last though till he's around 1 1/2 years old. After that, his food intake will taper off.

If he's an indoor cat and is active, he needs roughly around 250 - 300 calories per day. Non active, 200 - 250 calories per day 9rough guide). The label on the can should indicate how many calories there are in the can.

You can slowly transit him over to adult's food or feed him food labeled 'For All Life Stages'. My boy is on food labeled 'For All Life Stages' since he was 3 weeks old till now. He's coming to be 6 year old soon.

Also at 7 months old, all his adult teeth are in.

It's ok that cats are a little pudgy or slim. As long as you can feel his ribs (not boney) when you run your fingers on the side of his body.

Here's a guide to see if your cat is underweight or overweight.
Q2FPH.jpg
 
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sweetleo

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At this age, he's still very much a kitten and he's going through a phase called 'Growth Spurt' where he'll and to eat more than usual and this will last though till he's around 1 1/2 years old. After that, his food intake will taper off.

If he's an indoor cat and is active, he needs roughly around 250 - 300 calories per day. Non active, 200 - 250 calories per day 9rough guide). The label on the can should indicate how many calories there are in the can.

You can slowly transit him over to adult's food or feed him food labeled 'For All Life Stages'. My boy is on food labeled 'For All Life Stages' since he was 3 weeks old till now. He's coming to be 6 year old soon.

Also at 7 months old, all his adult teeth are in.

It's ok that cats are a little pudgy or slim. As long as you can feel his ribs (not boney) when you run your fingers on the side of his body.

Here's a guide to see if your cat is underweight or overweight.
View attachment 398944
Thank you all for the replies. It seems like he’s eating just enough calories. This is what he looks like. I feel like sometimes he looks too thin but not sure. 663628F9-11FD-43B6-9708-AED5033D17F6.jpeg
 

tabbytom

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This is what he looks like.
This is normal looking just as what mrsgreenjeens mrsgreenjeens mentioned.

Cats need daily calories to keep up with their energy and not look fatter or fleshier to indicate right amount of food taken. If your cat is very active or active, he'll be on the lean side and if he does not play and exercise, then definitely he'll put on weight and that weight is unhealthy. Just like us hoomans, sportsman and couch potato.

So don't worry.
 

GuyandCat

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Just read the labels. I have a new kitten and found most kitten foods actually had less Protein and Fat then the Regular cat food. The lady at the store said she just fed her kittens quality cat food cause the kitten formula had less of what the kitten needed. I have only had my Kitten less then a month now. I am a First time cat owner and I have learnt a lot from this site and from reading cat things in general. But I was really shocked on what is really in commercial cat foods. The specialty foods. A food for fur. A food for eyes, coat teeth. How bout make a Top quality food and these things will be addressed.
I asked a few people at work this week if they have a cat or kitten. I was asking in regards to the food they feed them. More then half said they had no clue what the brand was even. I'm to the point after reading some of the brands and ingredients in cat foods that it's hard to know who to Trust. So what I was told about feeding my (GUY) kitten, was to feed him Just More of a quality Cat food. :)
 
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