How to safely reduce morning feedings for my 11-month-old cat?

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!

if your cat is of normal weight and gets enough exercise, you can leave it at that. If you prefer to feed individual meals (2-3 times a day) you should slowly transition to wet/canned food and slowly reduce the dry food. Wet food overall is better for your cat, especially when a cat gets older. It contains less carbohydrates (cats are obligatory carnivores, so mainly need protein, not carbs), lessens the chance of your cat becoming a diabetic, and ensures that your cat gets more moisture with its food rather than having to drink more. If you feed canned food, stick with pate-type food, as cats tend to only lick off the gravy in chunky type foods. They prefer the ground mouse approach :D

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.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! At 10 months of age, Toby can be fed twice daily. If he isn't finishing the food then I recommend offering less. Obesity in cats is a huge problem. If he is self regulating that is a good thing. I would decrease the amount from the pouches or cut out the dry, whatever you prefer. I hope this helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I recommend meal feeding as this prevents obesity which is a huge health problem in cats. I would feed him twice daily. If he finds this terrible then split his total volume in to 3 meals. Good luck!

Most cats only need to eat around 3/4-1 cup of food daily (1 cup= 1 can). So if you are feeding him more than this, you are likely putting too much in the bowl. Also split up the daily meal into two so that the leftover food isn’t sitting there getting stale. Most cats graze anyway, this is normal. However if you are already doing those things then you do have the choice to relinquish ownership of Wilkie. This is a hard decision to make when considering giving up a pet. Which is why when you adopt a pet you have to assume full responsibility for them, even when they are not perfect. However, if you feel it is detrimental to his health for him to remain with you and have a good no-kill shelter or home for him to go to, then adopting him to a more suitable forever home can be considered. Here is a website link too that may help you with tips to try and build the bond you have with Wilkie if you do decide to keep him. Indoorpet.osu.edu Jacksongalaxy.com Best of luck in deciding how to best care for Wilkie moving forward. Take care.

The exact amount of calories that a cat needs certainly depends on their weight and activity level, but will tend to decrease slightly when a cat reaches an adult age. So, that might be why Baluu is eating less canned food than he used to. If he did not used to eat the dry food along with the canned food, then that would also account for why he is eating less canned food. In general, we usually recommend about 5 ounces of canned food for each 10 pounds of body weight if they are not eating any dry food. Based on that, it sounds like Baluu is eating a sufficient amount since he is also eating some dry food. If it seems like Baluu is losing weight, then I would recommend having your veterinarian examine him to make sure there isn't something going on internally. Otherwise, I would suspect that his metabolism is just slowing down a little and he doesn't need as much food as he did when he was younger. Some cats really desire some variety in their food, and it sounds like Baluu is one of those cats. Good luck! I hope that answered your questions. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.