How much cat food?
Each cat needs a different energy dose, which means that the daily amount of food for a cat depends on the individual and its lifestyle. Usually, the label of dry food, which should be very well-balanced and wholesome, contains all the information needed to determine how much food we should prepare for our cat. More information on choosing dry food can be found in the article What dry food to choose.
How to calculate the amount of cat food
The daily amount of dry cat food should be selected in accordance with the table on the label of a given product. In advance, we need to know the weight and age of our cat. If you have a small kitten in the growth phase, you should weigh it regularly and give the amount of food according to the portion on the label. If we take into account the basic parameters, the activity and lifestyle of our pet should be taken into account. Very active cats will need more daily food, the same goes for cats that go outside, take slow walks around the area. Thus, , lazy cats should reduce their food dose.
If we already take into account the dose of a cat meal according to the table on the package, observation should be implemented. If the cat is gaining weight, we should reduce the food dose, while if the cat is losing weight, the food supply must be increased.
You should also remember that when feeding your pet with dry food, your pet should always have access to fresh water. Cats are lazy animals, so it is worth placing several bowls of water in different places in the apartment. This is crucial to ensure adequate hydration of the body, which affects the proper functioning of the kidneys in cats.
Continuous access to a meal
It is becoming more and more common to serve a meal according to ad li bitum< span class="s1">, i.e. continuous access to the meal. This is a great solution for pet owners. Due to the fact that cats are pets that sleep most of the day and feed up to several times a day, the method of continuous access to food is a good solution, especially for owners who are away from home for part of the day due to work. Then the cat sets its own feeding times, doses itself the amount of food, and most importantly, does not ask for food.
This method will not necessarily work for spayed and neutered females. Cats after castration or sterilization have a reduced metabolism, which may be associated with too much fat deposits caused by too much food during the day and a small amount of exercise.
Finally, remember that when choosing a meal based on dry food, refer to the table on the product label. Once we have determined the appropriate nutritional dose during the day, we should implement observation and see if the amount of food is appropriate for our pet. If the pet is getting fat, reduce the amount of dry food, and if you see that the amount of food is too small and the cat is too thin, slowly reduce the amount of food served.