How much food is enough for a cat?

If your cat is getting pudgy, dial back the food a little and promote a bit more exercise. Photo: freepik

Cats are just like us in that they enjoy nice food and they’re not always very sensible about their portion control.

There is no exact formula over what to feed a cat. To work it out, you need to take into account various issues including life stage, level of activity, the size of the cat and the quality of the food you give them.

Typically, little kittens are very active and growing but have small tummies. They need lots of small meals and quite a lot of calories.

Adult cats need two to four meals a day. A rule of thumb is that old cats who are less active may need smaller portions than a young active cat.

However, an old cat may need more little meals, especially if they have digestive or teeth issues.

A sensible way to plan it is to figure out what your pet needs every day and to divide it up into set specific meals. Check the food packets, talk to your vet and hit Google for details.

We offer wet food for breakfast and over two dinners. Over the day, each cat gets about 150g of high-quality wet food each. As this is less than the vet recommended 200g-250g each, we put out biscuits too. We fill up the bowls when they ask, so they nibble when they’re peckish.

To make sure we’re hitting the spot, we also check out cats from above to make sure they aren’t too fat or too thin.

From the top, you should see a sleek silhouette with a slight indent around the hips. If you’re seeing a bulging chonky cat, dial back the food a tiny bit and promote a bit more exercise.

If you have questions, talk to your vet.