While the specifics vary from brand to brand and between different types of canned food, as a very rough guideline, a 3-ounce can of cat food has around 70 to 100 calories, so the average adult cat would need to eat two or three cans of food per day.
In general, you can feed an average-sized adult cat one 3-ounce can per 3 to 3½ pounds of body weight daily. You should adjust this amount depending on whether you also feed your cat dry kibble. Your veterinarian may also recommend feeding more or less wet food depending on your cat's weight, health and other factors.
How Many Cans of Cat Food per Day for a Kitten? For kittens, due to their small size, most cat parents opt to use one 3-ounce can of kitten food. Make sure to look for a recipe designed for kittens, as kittens have vastly different nutritional needs than adult cats.
Many cats will not eat if their food is placed too close to their toilet site or something which frightens them. You can assess your cat's weight by gently checking if you can feel its ribs if they are hard to find it may be overweight. If the ribs and backbone are prominent, then your cat may be underweight and ill.
Evaluate Your Cat's Body Condition
If at an ideal body weight, you should be able to feel the ribs but not see them. There should be a slight waist evident when you look at your cat from above, if at an ideal weight. There should be flank folds present that do not jiggle or sway when your cat walks.
As a general guide, a small 4kg cat will require between 135-180 calories per day, which equates to around 130-205g of wet cat food, however, this will vary depending on the brand and type of food you choose.
Cats can and should eat wet food every day because it agrees with the feline digestive system better than dry or semi-moist food. Wild cats hunt and eat bugs, rodents, and small birds.
For canned food, you should feed as much as the kitten will eat, ideally in four or at least 3 meals per day until the kitten gets to be four months old. From four to six months old, you'd feed roughly 2/3 of a 3-oz. can per pound of body weight per day, and from six months to a year, about half a 3-oz.
Feed 1 can per 3 to 3-1/2 pounds of body weight daily. Divide into 3 or more meals. Continue to adjust as needed to maintain your kitten in ideal body condition and avoid excess weight gain. Refrigerate unused portion.
The Bottom Line. While Fancy Feast can be part of a balanced diet for your cat and provides complete nutrition, it may not be quite as fancy as the name suggests. As with any food, ensure the first few ingredients are high-quality, natural proteins like fish, chicken, or meat.
If you are feeding your kitten both dry and canned foods, then twice a day canned feedings are sufficient. If they're only eating canned food, they should be fed four times daily.
That said, the general rule that I stick by is approximately 1/4 cup of dry food twice a day for adult cats, and approximately 1/4-1/2 can of canned food (grueled with more water) as a snack. Kittens typically require feedings 3-4x/day; consider weaning them to an adult cat food around 6-8 months of age.
If you open a can of wet cat food and you only use half, keep the other half in the fridge and cover it securely.
But, in general, cats do best when they eat multiple smaller meals throughout the day—two at a minimum, but more might be better. The math that you just performed can help inform your decision. In the example that we've used, the cat should be eating 3 1/3 cans per day.
The extra moisture found in wet cat food does not cause diarrhea. In fact, dry food often causes diarrhea because of all the extra fillers that the food contains compared to wet cat food. Feeding too much wet food per meal can cause soft stools because a cat has a short digestive tract.
Many wet foods come in three-ounce cans and recommend feeding approximately one can a day for every three to three and a half pounds of body weight. However, brands vary. A happy, healthy cat will maintain a good weight and stay active.
But as a rule, a healthy cat with normal daily activity needs approximately 15 to 20 grams of dry food per kilogram of body weight. The amount of wet cat food that is recommended is 1/2 or 1 can per day.
A can of wet food is about 70–80% water. So if your cat is eating wet food, which is highly recommended, they might get between 3.85–4.4 ounces of water from a single can (an average 5.5 ounce can).
The fluid requirement of a cat
An adult cat needs between 50 ml and 70 ml fluid per kilo body weight every day. So if your cat weighs 4 kg, for example, then she should drink between 200 ml and 280 ml per day.
If the cat eats wet food, the correct dose of food is about 40 grams per kilo of body weight, for example an animal that weighs 4 kg should eat 160 grams of treats per day. However it should be specified that in the cat's diet there cannot be only wet, but this must constitute at most 20% of the total.