how many oz. of food? Raw food?

[harley's mom]

I think I read somewhere that a cat needs 1 oz of wet food for every pound that they weigh. Is this correct? Is this only if they are not eating dry? My cats weigh 14 and 18 pounds...they are healthy and the vet didn't put them on diets. So if they are each getting a little dry food every morning (1/4 cup per cat), how much wet food should they be getting?
We are going to try the Eagle Pack wet food...trying to go for the healthiest diet possible.

I've also been reading a lot about a raw diet and making your own cat food. Does anyone here make their own food? Do you have a good recipe? Have you seen a difference in your cat?

[OsnobunnieO]

I think its more like 1/2 an ounce per pound. Otherwise the average cat would eat around two cans of food a day.

I think everyone on a wet only diet feeds around a 5.5 or 6oz can per cat per day.

My cat is 11lbs. He gets 1/4 cup and 1/4 of a 5.5oz can in the morning, and another 1/4 can at night. In total a little less than 3oz wet and 1/4 cup dry per day.

[Annissa]

When my cat was 19 lbs., I fed him 9 oz every day. Since he's lost weight, he's down to 5.5 oz.

[Gudewife]

And from the other end of the spectrum: Assumpta gets about 3 oz. of wet food per day, and a scant Tablespoon of dry food (getting closer to 1/2 Tablespoon, actually...so about 10-12 kibbles) and a dental chew before bed. She weighs around 11-11.5 pounds, and it seemed like 3 oz was the tipping point for her to start slowly losing weight. I know that the Wellness manufacturer's recommendation is 6 oz of wet food for an 8-10 pound cat, but it is definitely a matter of observing how much food your cats seem to need.

[Sol]

I don't think it's safe to say that cats need x oz per pound body weight. A cats nutritional requirements and energy needs are so very individual. My two youngest females (1 and 3 years old) weigh about 6,6 lbs and they eat appr. 5,3 oz raw food a day. The oldest female (4 years old) weigh 7.7 lbs but id she eats more than 3,5 oz of food a day she becoms fat.

If you're interested in raw food I recommend these sites:

http://www.rawmeatybones.com
http://www.catnutrition.org
http://www.nekton.de/html/html_eng/nutrition.html
http://www.lowcarbluxury.com/atkins-cats.html
http://www.serve.com/BatonRouge/nutr.htm
http://www.holisticat.com/rawdiet.html#top

Some of them offer recipes. I don't use recipes anylonger.

I've seen a great deal of changes in my cats. The "used to be overweight" lady is almost back to her ideal weight. They have a more "pleasant" stool (doesn't smell), better coats and they have better teeth. I used to think they were in great shape, today I know I didn't know what I was talking about

[harley's mom]

wow! Thanks for the info...I will definatly be reading up on that!

[clarissa]

i've just switched my cat over to an all wet diet (pate style cans), and she eats just under a can a day, she's about 10 pounds. Normally when she poops, i bolt outta the room and come back 15 min later to clean it - now, i can barely smell a thing! Why does that happen?