Feeding a cat properly is more complicated than you might think. While it’s tempting to toss a cup or two of dry food in her bowl whenever she fusses for a snack, this can lead to health problems down the line. The type and amount of food you give your cat will depend on a number of factors. The cat’s age and weight will dictate the quantity of food and her state of health will have an impact on the type of food it’s safe to give her. To avoid under or overfeeding your pet, you should know how much food she needs. You also need to know what kind of food will be best for your cat’s health.
How much dry food should I feed my cat? Around 15 g of dry food per 450 g in body-weight. An average cat should have around 4/5ths of a cup of dry food per day. Note that wet food is significantly preferable to dry.
If you’ve recently adopted a cat or your cat’s dietary needs have changed, you probably have a lot of questions.
- How much dry food should a cat eat every day?
- Is it safe to free-feed a cat?
- Is dry food good or bad for urinary health?
- Is wet food better than dry food?
- What should you look for when choosing a brand of dry food for your cat?
Maybe you’re looking for a cat feeding guide – wet and dry. Keep reading to find out more about how much food your cat needs, what type of food is the best, and how often you should feed her.
How much dry food should I feed my cat?
The average cat requires around 30 calories per 450 g (1 lb) of body-weight. A cup of dry cat food weighs between 120-130 g and contains between 300 to 500 calories depending on the brand. Most brands these days offer information as to how many calories the food contains. Some manufacturers also put a chart on their packaging now, explaining the right amount of food based on an animal’s age and weight. You can often find more details about portion sizes and daily food allowances on the manufacturer’s website.
In general, I prefer to avoid dry food. I generally feed my cats a good-quality wet food. I do give kibble if I’m going to be out for the day and want to leave them a snack in their feeder, or as a filler for treat balls and other puzzle toys; for their main diet, though, I prefer wet food from cans or pouches. Wet food contributes useful fluid to the cat’s diet. Wet food tends to be more nutritious than dry food, which is often stuffed full of inferior ingredients: soy, grains and other things that aren’t really very good for cats.
With all that said, there’s nothing terribly wrong with dry food if your cat is in good health and you make sure she gets plenty of water. It’s particularly important to choose a good quality food with a high level of protein and no grain fillers. Look for a well-formulated dry food with a high protein content (at least 30 per cent), low fat (under 15 per cent) and enriched with additional nutrients. Among the most important of these is taurine, which is vital for neurological and visual health
If your cat suffers from urinary tract issues, you need to be particularly careful about the dry food you choose. Fortunately, there are specially formulated dry foods that are made to support a cat’s renal and urinary function.
Some people choose dry food because they can free-feed their cats without worrying about food poisoning. Unlike wet food, dry food can be left out for some time without the risk that it will go sour. Unless you have an especially sensible kitty who is inclined to pace meals, however, this is generally a bad idea. Cats with unlimited food access will tend to overeat and then beg for more food. In the short term, this can lead to nausea and vomiting. In the longer term, free-feeding can result in obesity and ill-health.
Cat feeding Guide – Wet and Dry
It’s very common for people to offer both wet and dry food to their cats. In many cases, wet food is used to make up the bulk of the cat’s nutrition while dry food is used for a variety or as treats and snacks. This is how I personally feed my cats: they get wet food twice a day (more if I have a kitten or a large, active cat to feed), with a little dry food in their treat balls or as a reward if they’re training a new skill.
In other cases, you may want to give dry food because you’re away from home during your cat’s usual feeding times because you’ve been prescribed a dry food by your veterinarian or as a cost-cutting measure. Another reason I like to give my cats a little dry food from time to time is dental health. Alongside regular weekly tooth-brushing, a little crunchy kibble keeps their teeth in good shape.
Wet and dry food usually contains a different number of calories. You will need to look up the energy content of the brand you wish to feed your cat to determine how many calories each portion contains. Foods formulated for kittens and young cats tend to be higher in calories while products aimed at senior kitties are often lower-calorie recipes.
As well as their age, cats have different caloric and nutritional needs depending on their weight and other factors. A strapping seven-kilo British Shorthair lad with no weight issues will need more food than a small but obese domestic kitty at a similar weight. If your cat is on the hefty side, you may want to select an over-the-counter weight reduction recipe. If your cat’s problem is severe, your vet may prescribe a special diet to help get her back down to a healthier weight. Very roughly, I would suggest feeding one half of a large can (or a single small can) two to three times a day, plus a few additional snacks; this should be enough for an average cat in decent health.
If you decide to feed dry food alongside wet food, you will need to adjust the amount of each to make sure you’re not overfeeding or underfeeding your pet. For example, if you feed your cat wet food in the evenings but put out a portion of dry food in the morning before work, you might leave two-thirds of a cup of dry food for breakfast and then make up the rest of your cat’s daily calories with half a can of wet food. Make sure that the total calories are not over or under your cat’s recommended daily intake.
If you want to leave a larger portion of dry food out but you have an immoderate eater, you can use a slow-feeding dish or an automatic feeder with a timer if you’ll be away for more than one meal. Choose a sturdy, reliable model as cats are remarkably good at tipping over or raiding automated feeders to get at the kibble.
Mixing wet and dry cat food
There are a number of reasons you might want to mix wet and dry food for your cat. Adding dry food to wet food can have various benefits. One is simply that it can create a variety for your cat and make her food more palatable. I’ve stirred a handful of my cats’ favourite kibble when a particular brand of salmon-flavoured food didn’t meet with their approval — they happily accepted the “upgraded” recipe and I didn’t have to let the wet food go to waste. I’ve also done the kibble trick when a cat I was minding became picky about her meals due to separation anxiety; she didn’t like being without her humans and went off her food. Varying her wet food a with a topping of kibble seemed to make her feel cared-for and got her eating normally again.