How much to feed my kitten

by Jon Olson
(Saint Paul, MN)

I've been feeding my kitten as much as she wants for the first few months. Now she is about six months old and is getting a little fat. I started to actually read what it says on the side of the bag of Science Diet. The daily feeding guide says I should be giving her less than a half cup total per day. Is this right or does it mean per feeding? It says "daily" feeding guide, but that seems like so little. My vet said that it was ok to put her on adult food now, even though the bag says not until one year old. The vet also said that she wouldn't want to eat as much now because the kitten food tastes better and that's why she ate all the time. The kitten food also has more fat in it.

So for the last couple of weeks, I've been feeding her only 1/4 cup of the adult food twice a day. She only weighs about 7 lbs and the bag says that is the right amount even for a 10 lb cat. She constantly acts like she is starving now and isn't quite as affectionate anymore. 1/2 cup per day does seem like nothing and I feel guilty. Should I give in to her and feed her more? I don't want her to get fat, but I want her to be happy. lol

Answer by Kate
I would suggest mixing a wet and dry food togeather to give your cat a bit of variety in the diet it also helps with hydration. As a guide we feed our cat those little pouches of wet food and she gets through about two of those a day with a little dry mixed in. we feed her little amounts throughout the day to keep her topped up other wise she would eat it all in one go and still want more (cats can be greedy too)
The amount you are feeding does sound not quite enough. Dry increasing the amount gradullay and see if her weight increases and that she doesn't appear hungrey.
Those gidelines on a packet are only guidelines and as long as you don't feed too much, increasing the amount will be fine.

best wishes Kate

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