How much wet food do you put out at each meal?

waddle

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My cats are 11-12 and 15 yo. Until recently, they’ve eaten kibble almost exclusively. I’m transitioning over to feeding them more wet.

I’ve been putting out a 2.8 oz pouch or a 3 oz can, once or twice a day, and always have kibble available too. Is a 5.5 oz can for them to share too much at one time? Obviously if they don't eat that much and I end up throwing it away, I'll put less out, but I am wondering if that's just too much at a time in general?
 

DreamerRose

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Yes, you can feed too much, and then they throw it up. Bad news. But mine rarely vomit wet food - it's just the dry, which they will gobble down and then regurgitate. One 3-oz can or half a 5.5-oz can is fine but not too much for an adult cat. That's what I feed mine. Lily tends to be a little porky, so I feed her less dry food.
 

maggie101

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My cats eat different amounts
Peaches almost 3/4 can 5.5 oz can,Maggie a whole can,coco 3/4 can
7,9,and 8 pds
8,7,and 6 yrs old
 
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waddle

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They would be sharing the 5.5 oz can, not each having their own, so it sounds like that’s fine?
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. That all depends on the calorie count of the 5.5 can. Just using Feeby's canned food as an example, her 5.5 can is 168 calories, which may be on the low side of some of the different foods available. But, just using that amount, each cat would be getting around 85 calories in canned food. That alone is likely not enough food for them. Do you have any idea how much dry food they are eating in addition to the canned? Do you know how many calories they were eating before you started this change?

Although the amount of calories required to sustain weight varies by cat, a general guide says about 20-25 calories per each pound of body weight. Because your cats are older and probably less active, I would use the lower number. So, if one of your cats weighs 9 pounds, theoretically s/he should be able to sustain that weight on about 180 calories a day.

Your best bet is to know how much they weigh and how many calories they have eaten in the past - so you can determine a ball park of what is normal for them. The other things to consider is that dry is typically higher in calories due to the carbohydrate content, while canned usually contains less calories because of less carbohydrates. This is all based, of course, on what ingredients are in the foods. Canned is generally also more filling, so in the long run you might find they will eat a little less because of this.

If you don't want to go through all of this, then try feeding them what you think they will eat in a day, and then weigh them once a week to see if they are losing, gaining, or maintaining their weight. And, then adjust accordingly.

Feeby who is 15+ yo and pretty sedentary eats around 3/4 of a can a day, and rarely if ever eats the dry I leave out for her. But, she does get a bite or two of human meat/fish most every day. She weighs around 14 pounds, and her caloric intake is around 250 calories a day. Because she stays in that weight range, I believe her calories per pound is more around 17 - lower than the general guide.

Sorry for such a long response. Either way, you do need to monitor their weight.!
 
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waddle

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Thank you feebysowner. In three weeks I will be back to my normal work schedule, and will not be able to feed them wet at lunch every day. They don’t seem to overeat the kibble, so I will put out a 5.5 oz can once or twice a day, along with having kibble available, and see how it goes. One of them could stand to lose a little weight but the other shouldn’t so I’ll keep a close eye on them.
 
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