My overweight cat eats dry food. What and how much should I feed?

Thanks for more information! Wet food has fewer calories that dry food due to the higher moisture content, so I'd recommend wet food for Snowball. Do not free feed, give him food twice a day at set times, and feed him according to the instructions on the can of food. No treats at all and no human food. I see he's an older boy, so he may not be into playing, but you can look at trying to get him more active with some toys. I hope this helps!

The best plan would be to weigh your cat and use the info on the packets to work out her daily intake if she was on just try or just wet food. If you give her half of the wet amount and half of the dry it will work out as a daily ration. I would leave the dry out for her then feed the wet nice and fresh once or twice a day.

Check the labels on your cat foods and see if it gives you a calorie count. Most good pet foods will have that information. Calculate how many calories are in 1/3 of the dry food and compare that amount to the canned food to get an idea of the right amount to feed him to maintain his weight. If you aren't fond of math (like me!) a less precise method is to simply keep an eye on his weight and adjust the amount you feed accordingly. When you run your hands over his body, if the ribs can be felt with light pressure then he's a good weight. If you have to really feel around to tell where his ribs are, he could lose a little weight, and if the bones are felt with no pressure at all, he should get fed a little more.

Any complete weight reduction food from companies like Royal Canin, Hills Science Diet or Purina would be suitable. You should also not free-feed your kitty but feed him twice a day according to the instructions on the bag.

Hello. Just for convenience, most folks just leave a bowl of food out for cats to graze on throughout the day. But if Maximus is overweight, or trending toward being overweight, you will need to control the amount of food he consumes in a day or place him on a metabolic weight control diet. As I see it, cats seem to get hungry, 10 minutes after I turn off the light for bed, so having some available will help me sleep all night. If Maximus is more considerate, & you do not mind feeding when he asks for food, you can certainly do this. Ideally, I would calculate the proper amount he needs daily based on what your bag of food recommends & divide this into 3 feedings, morning, noon or early evening, & the remaining amount for snacking overnight. Remember, if you are feeding for an ideal weight, or for Maximus to lose a little weight you will feed for that weight. In other words, follow the food amount recommendations for a 10 or 12-pound cat if he needs to lose a couple of pounds. Just divide the total daily amount into 3 separate meals. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

The best way to maintain his weight at 12 lbs is to measure his food and count the calories. A typical 12 lb cat should eat about 230 calories total in a day. Look at the calorie content of the food your vet prescribed and feed based on the calories per cup or per can. It is probably fine to switch to urinary care with weight management but you should check with your vet first since it is prescription diet. I would also recommend asking your vet about feeding some canned urinary food as most cats with crystals should be fed canned food, too.

Hello, depending on her lifestyle, indoor only cats should be fed atleast twice daily. This can be a variety of dry and wet food and should not exceed more than 1 cup of dry food per day or more than 1 can per day. There may be differences depending on how many calories each food contains so it is hard to determine this. Your kitten should be consuming around 201 Kcal per day. Hope this helps and best of luck.