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Raw food quantity

nakeyblue

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Jul 12, 2020
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Hi guys! I feel silly because I can't wrap my head around how much raw food to give. Blue has been eating canned wet food and we are transitioning to raw. For the canned wet food, I understand that they recommend 1 can for every 3-3.5 lbs. For the raw food, I assumed it was the same but the package says 8 oz is enough to feed an adult cat for about 2 days. Can someone please tell me how to calculate this? Thank you!! I searched on here and I couldn't find this question answered.
 

Sheldon13

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It’s anywhere from 2-4% of the cat’s body weight per day (usually split into 2-3 meals). This is very dependent on the individual cat’s body condition.


Love and Sphynx ~ It’s all you need
 

nakeyblue

Lairian
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Jul 12, 2020
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I was seeing this online and I was like how is 2-4% of body weight enough?!? BUT I was not converting the percentage of body weight from pounds to ounces. :0 It all makes sense now. Thank you!!!
 

nakeyblue

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I was seeing this online and I was like how is 2-4% of body weight enough?!? BUT I was not converting the percentage of body weight from pounds to ounces. :0 It all makes sense now. Thank you!!!
 

Tamson

Lairian
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Aug 23, 2020
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I feed canned and raw and I never weigh or measure out anything. I just feed 4 times a day as much as all 5 cats want. One is still a kitten and the other 4 could use to put on a little weight. I figured as long as they are not overweight I just feed whatever they want at each meal. Makes things easier then worrying about measurements.
 

Condo commando

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Forget the 2-4% if you ask me. ESPECIALLY if you're feeding a kitten.

I have 3 adults. The least that any of mine eat is 4% and the most is 6%. The one that eats 6% is longer, taller and more active than the one that eats 4%. So it's just like humans, how much you weigh and how active you are makes a difference. Kittens eat a LOT more than that and they're growing so you'd be constantly revising the amount of food. The easiest thing to do with a kitten is feed them 4 times a day, as much as they can put down in 15 minutes and then take the bowl away. You can save the unused portion in the refrigerator for the next meal. If you have to go to work or stuff like that, you can leave some food in a timed feeder.

Once they've reached their full size, you can calculate a set amount of food. Do yourself a favor and don't try this when they're growing.

Oh and one last thing, when you calculate food for your full grown cat, go by calories. We tend to talk in terms of ounces because it's easy, but really it's calories that matter. If your cat was hungry after every meal but you don't want him/her to gain weight, you'd look for a food that is lower in calories. Then you can give the same amount of calories but more food and hopefully he/she would be full.
 
Last edited:

nakeyblue

Lairian
Joined
Jul 12, 2020
Messages
52
Points
39
I feed canned and raw and I never weigh or measure out anything. I just feed 4 times a day as much as all 5 cats want. One is still a kitten and the other 4 could use to put on a little weight. I figured as long as they are not overweight I just feed whatever they want at each meal. Makes things easier then worrying about measuremen
Forget the 2-4% if you ask me. ESPECIALLY if you're feeding a kitten.

I have 3 adults. The least that any of mine eat is 4% and the most is 6%. The one that eats 6% is longer, taller and more active than the one that eats 4%. So it's just like humans, how much you weigh and how active you are makes a difference. Kittens eat a LOT more than that and they're growing so you'd be constantly revising the amount of food. The easiest thing to do with a kitten is feed them 4 times a day, as much as they can put down in 15 minutes and then take the bowl away. You can save the unused portion in the refrigerator for the next meal. If you have to go to work or stuff like that, you can leave some food in a timed feeder.

Once they've reached their full size, you can calculate a set amount of food. Do yourself a favor and don't try this when they're growing.

Oh and one last thing, when you calculate food for your full grown cat, go by calories. We tend to talk in terms of ounces because it's easy, but really it's calories that matter. If your cat was hungry after every meal but you don't want him/her to gain weight, you'd look for a food that is lower in calories. Then you can give the same amount of calories but more food and hopefully he/she would be full.
this is so helpful!!!! thank you. question- did you ever mix dry and raw food for kittens? i know lots of people say not to and i understand why. our breeder does it for kittens and hasnt had any problems. Blossom has been pooping normally and everything. I was thinking maybe at night to leave it out for her? so that its after her dinner and she has some time to digest before getting her raw for breakfast. do you have experience mixing the two?
 

Condo commando

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@nakeyblue I never mix kibble and raw. If you wanted to feed kibble, wait at least 2 hours after they finished their raw food to put down the kibble. That people do something and the cat doesn't get sick is just like not everyone that has unprotected sex gets pregnant, not every smoker gets lung cancer, etc.
 

Condo commando

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@nakeyblue it should also be said, the kibble should run out well before morning. Kibble is slow to digest so I'd want them to finish the kibble a good 4 hours before it was time for their morning raw food. I know they can be a pain and wake us up when they're hungry, so you have to time it so they don't wake you before your alarm goes off. But don't make it so there's food left in the bowl because then they can wake up and eat kibble and then it's not good to feed raw right away.

It's always easier with adults; they actually sleep thru the night imagine that lolol.
 

nakeyblue

Lairian
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Jul 12, 2020
Messages
52
Points
39
@nakeyblue it should also be said, the kibble should run out well before morning. Kibble is slow to digest so I'd want them to finish the kibble a good 4 hours before it was time for their morning raw food. I know they can be a pain and wake us up when they're hungry, so you have to time it so they don't wake you before your alarm goes off. But don't make it so there's food left in the bowl because then they can wake up and eat kibble and then it's not good to feed raw right away.

It's always easier with adults; they actually sleep thru the night imagine that lolol.
absolutely! thanks so much :)
 
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