Dry Food Feeding Guide for Cats

While many dry cat foods provide nutritionally balanced meals for your cat, it is important that you understand your cat’s needs and the nutrients offered by dry food so that you can feed it properly. This includes knowing when, how much and how often to feed your cat. According to petplace.com, one in four cats is overweight, so it may be helpful for cat owners to review the important aspects of dry cat food feeding.

  1. Nutrients

    • Most health-conscious cat owners are concerned about the individual ingredients in dry cat food. However, according to an article on WebMD, owners should actually focus their attention on nutrients rather than ingredients. Cats require nutrients from each major food group--protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and water. Because cats are strict carnivores, they do best when served foods that contain high levels of protein and few carbohydrates. In fact, cats will die if they are fed a vegetarian diet. Fortunately, most high-quality commercial cat foods meet these nutritional needs.

    Caloric Needs

    • As a general rule of thumb, cats need about 30 calories per day for each pound of body weight. Based on this, a seven pound cat would require 210 calories to maintain a healthy weight. (Keep in mind that these caloric requirements will be different for cats that are pregnant, nursing, breeding, elderly or under one year of age.) The calories in each brand of cat food may vary somewhat, but most brands have about 300 calories in one cup of dry food. Use this information to determine how much you should feed your cat daily. For example, the seven pound cat that needs 210 calories would eat a little under two thirds of a cup of dry food daily.

    When to Feed

    • Some owners prefer to make dry cat food available to their cat throughout the day. While this system is not advisable for overweight cats, it may be suitable for cats that maintain a healthy weight. If you leave dry food out for your cat all the time, keep an eye on her to make sure her weight remains steady. As long as she does not become overweight, it’s no problem to leave food out for her throughout the day. If she does gain weight, or if your cat is already overweight, consider feeding her once in the morning and once at night.

    Changing Food

    • Changing your cat’s diet can often cause stomach irritation. If you wish to switch your cat to a different food, begin by adding a small amount of the new food to each serving of your cat’s usual food. Over the span of a week or more, increase the amount of the new food a little more each day, until your cat has been switched completely. Don’t be alarmed if her stomach is upset for a few days, as this occurs commonly among cats when their food has changed.

    Storing Food

    • Store your cat’s dry food in a cool, dry place. Only buy about a month’s worth of cat food at a time, as it may spoil after this.