Those who feed wet (or wet and dry): how much of a can do you give for a meal?

[KittyFriday]

Friday is approximately 10 years old and about 11 lbs. According to the vet he could lose a pound but he's not obese, just a little chunky. He was raised on dry food and I've been working wet into his diet. Our issue is that I started out giving him half a can and he wouldn't finish it, so it would just go bad. Last night I gave 1/3 of a can and that was too much apparently. Is 1/4 reasonable? Do I just feed smaller amounts and offer more if he still seems hungry?

Right now I'm doing dry in the morning and wet at night because it's just easier to do that as a routine.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
These articles may help;

How Much Food Should I Feed My Cat? [Answered] - TheCatSite

Have you ever wondered just how much food you should be feeding your cat? Let's say you know which cat food you want to feed, whether dry, canned, homemade cooked, or raw. How much of it should be made available to your cat on a daily basis? Overfeeding is a constant worry for many cat […]

thecatsite.com

Transitioning Your Cat From Kibble To A New Type Of Food - TheCatSite

I want my kitties to eat a healthier diet, and I’m ready to go! What’s next? Free-fed kibble eaters are usually nibblers. The very first step is to begin feeding timed meals. For free-fed nibblers, you cannot just pull up the kibble, they need to learn how to eat “meals.” This process is...

thecatsite.com

 

[daftcat75]

If he hasn't been fed wet regularly before, you're both better off starting low and slow (small amounts offered more frequently) until his gut catches up to the new food. I don't know what size can you're referring to. 1/4 to 1/3 of a 3 oz can is a good place to start (about an ounce or 28 grams if you have a food scale.) Some cats, especially older cats, may never eat more than an ounce and half (42 grams) without regurgitating from eating too much. This is the challenge of wet food. Feeding enough to satisfy small stomachs. The answer, of course, is multiple meals. Wet food can be more challenging to feed (finding the right food and correct amounts.) But it will be worth it for his gut health and his kidneys in the long run.

 

[MissClouseau]

Not all wet foods are the same calorie. My Hima eats Pro Plan Delicate canned food, and Gourmet Gold turkey. Both are from Purina but Pro Plan is higher calorie. On the box it says 2-3 cans a day, for Gourmet GOld it says 4 cans a day. This is if you feed only with them. So the calorie amount must be twice more for Pro Plan.

My Hima eats 40 grams at most at one sitting. She eats two cans of wet food, the rest is dry food. She doesn't overeat so I usually just fill the plate if she finishes her food. (At night that is. I don't give much dry food during the say so she will eat her wet foods.) She eats minimum four meals a day. Usually more.

I suggest weighing your kitty on the same scale the same day every week. Preferably in the morning. This will help how much food works for your cat. It's normal to be hungry more or less on different days so personally I don't like giving the exact same amount of food every day but obviously for weight loss there should be a limit for the day.

 

[KarenKat]

Olive eats 1/4 of a 5.5 oz can (Rawz or Fromm) and about 1/2 of a 3 oz can. It averages out to about 50 kcal per meal, for 4 meals. Her lunch portion is more like 1/3 of a 3 oz can.

Gohan is more used to dry food and he had trouble for a few months eating enough at one time. We added a fourth meal for that reason. Over time he learned to eat what we gave him, though, and he’s been eating 2.4 - 2.6 oz of Caru brand stews. These come in cartons, and are a little lower calorie than a pate.

 

[She's a witch]

I feed 1/4 of 5.5oz can pet cat four times a day (twice in the morning, twice at night), sometimes I add another portion if they are more active in the evening. I mostly use high calorie food so basically they eat one big can a day. As other cats in this thread, my girl won’t eat more than this portion at one seating. They don’t eat dry at all

 

[KittyFriday]

Thank you all! He's a fast eater with his dry food so I'm going to get him a slow feed bowl for that. I'd like to transition him to primarily eating wet - I don't think we can do exclusively wet as my parents watch him when I leave town on occasion and I think that might be too complicated for them to navigate. I'll start with small portions and go from there and I'll be sure to monitor weight too. Wet is just a little trickier because if it sits too long it goes bad, unlike dry.

 

[daftcat75]

Thank you all! He's a fast eater with his dry food so I'm going to get him a slow feed bowl for that. I'd like to transition him to primarily eating wet - I don't think we can do exclusively wet as my parents watch him when I leave town on occasion and I think that might be too complicated for them to navigate. I'll start with small portions and go from there and I'll be sure to monitor weight too. Wet is just a little trickier because if it sits too long it goes bad, unlike dry.

Pate can sit out all day. It just gets dried out. Other textures might be more problematic to sit out for very long. You can also get something like the SureFeed bowl which has a cover that slides open when the cat approaches and closes when he leaves. This will keep wet food fresh longer.

 

[She's a witch]

Thank you all! He's a fast eater with his dry food so I'm going to get him a slow feed bowl for that. I'd like to transition him to primarily eating wet - I don't think we can do exclusively wet as my parents watch him when I leave town on occasion and I think that might be too complicated for them to navigate. I'll start with small portions and go from there and I'll be sure to monitor weight too. Wet is just a little trickier because if it sits too long it goes bad, unlike dry.

Dry goes bad too, but it’s less visible. It’s really prone to bacteria, mould and other nasty stuff, especially when some wetness is added, and usually is through cat saliva. Personally I leave wet for hours, and don’t worry about it. My boy eats it just fine, but my girl normally eats only freshly offered portion (unless it’s in a sealed bowl, then she has no problem going back to it).

 

[maggiedemi]

Mine get dry in the morning, wet at night. They split a 5.5oz can which equals 1/3 cup each. It can be left out for at least 3 hours, maybe longer.

 

[catapault]

My 9 year old boys (neutered) each get two 3-ounce cans of Fancy Feast pate per day. If we are home they get four servings, 1/2 can per cat per day. I add about a Tablespoon of water at each feeding. And they gobble it down / clean their plates very quickly.

If we are away the woman who comes to feed cats, clean litter pan, bring in mail etc comes twice a day so the cats each get an entire 3-ounce can at that time.

No dry food at all.

 

[kittenmittens84]

If you’re having trouble figuring out how much to feed him, you could also try calling your vet’s office and asking how many calories per lb they recommend feeding for a cat in his situation. Then you can work backwards looking at the calorie counts on the cans you feed him.

My little guy gets one 3 oz can 3 times a day, but he’s also 10 months old and super high energy.

 

[Artistwolf]

I think it very much depends on your cat. My two (2 year olds) each get one 5.5 oz can in the evening plus their dry food in the mornings. They’re indoor-outdoor though and one of them, at least, is more toward the skinny side than anything. So, how active your cat is would definitely effect it. I feel like my cats eat a lot, but they seem to need it.

 

[Bel]

For me when I transition my cats from food to food I start off slowly. Usually a tablespoon to start. My vet usually suggests giving cats 7 to 10 days to adjust.
On the regular though I give my cats 1/2 a can of wet food 5.5. oz 3 times a day. They usually also get a few treats too.
Sometimes if they have tummy aches or aren't as hungry I give me 1/4 5.5. per feeding 6 times a day. This is usually what works best for us.