Determining how much to feed your cat can be difficult, especially when you need to consider your cats age, weight, body type and exercise levels. In this guide we will explore the different recommended pouch intake as recommended by the major wet cat food brands on the market, and help you work out exactly how many pouches you should be feeding your cat.
How many pouches should I feed my cat?
Most cat food brands recommend that you should feed your cat between 2 and 4 pouches per day. This varies depending on the age, size and activity levels of your cat and whether you intend to feed your cat additional dry food or treats.
Our top rated wet food, Natures Menu, recommends 2 pouches for a 4kg cat – you can see why we rate it so highly in our complete wet cat food guide.
Last update on 2023-11-29
How many calories should my cat eat?
The recommended calorie intake of your cat varies according to its age and fitness levels. A growing kitten could need up to 275 calories per day to support their growth into an adult cat (to keep up with the energetic moods!) whereas adult cats should generally consume 200-300 calories per day, depending on their weight and activity levels.
If your cat is overweight or has been placed on a restricted calorie diet, it is likely that you will need to feed them 180-200 calories per day.
How many calories are in a pouch?
Pouches vary in size, with most containing between 70-120 grams of cat food, which means all cat foods also have varying calorie counts.
The easiest way to identify the calorie count of your cats food is to check the back of the food pouch, where all ingredients and details should be listed.
We have compiled the calorie and weight details of our favourite wet cat foods as mentioned in this guide. For the best kitten foods you can check out our guide here.
| Wet Food Pouch | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Natures Menu Adult Pouch | 100g | 94-101 per pouch |
| Scrumbles All Natural | 85g | 102 per pouch |
| Applaws Natural Cat Food | 70g | Unknown |
| Whiskas Poultry Selection 1+ | 100g | 76 per pouch |
| Felix Mixed Selection in Jelly | 100g | Unknown |
How many pouches do cat food brands recommend?
Every cat food contains a different set of ingredients and therefore each comes with different recommendations.
We have listed the recommended pouch intake as listed on each of the cat food brands that we recommend in our best wet cat food guide.
Natures Menu Adult Pouch Multipack
For a 3 year old cat weighing 4kg with an ideal body condition they recommend 188g of wet food daily – which would equate to approximately 2 pouches.
Fortunately, you can calculate the exact recommendations for your cat by using their handy calculator here.
Scrumbles All Natural Wet Cat Food
Depending on the size of your cat and its activity levels, they recommend serving between 2-3 pouches per day.
You can use their handy feeding guideline calculator to work out the exact requirements for your cat here.
Last update on 2023-11-29
Whiskas Cat Food Poultry Selection for 1 year+
For an average 4kg cat, Whiskas recommends feeding a pouch in the morning, a pouch in the evening and 15-20g of dry food in between.
If your cat is only eating wet food, they recommend feeding 3 pouches per day – depending on their eating schedule these can be split between 2-3 meals.
Whiskas provide a breakdown for different cat weights and meal schedules (depending on whether you intend to feed your cat dried food too).
Pouch feeding only:
- 3kg cat: 2 1/2 pouches per day
- 4kg cat: 3 pouches per day
- 5kg cat: 3 1/2 pouches per day
Pouch & dry food:
- 3kg cat: 1 1/2 pouches per day + 15g dry food
- 4kg cat: 2 pouches per day + 20g dry food
- 5kg cat: 2 1/2 pouches per day + 15g dry food
Last update on 2023-11-29
Sheba Fine Flakes in Jelly Poultry Collection for 1+ years
Sheba recommend that a 4 kg cat should be fed 3 pouches daily if they are eating wet food only.
Sheba recommend feeding a mix of 2 wet food pouches and 20g dry food if your cat is on a mixed diet.
How to weigh your cat
Most cat foods base the recommended calorie allowance on the weight of your cat. If you haven’t been to the vet recently, the best way to weigh your cat is to use the following:
- Place your cat in a cat carrier
- Place the cat carrier on the scales with your cat in it and register the weight
- Remove your cat from the cat carrier and weigh it on its own (or use the weight of the carrier as detailed in the user manual / product details)
- Subtract the weight of the cat carrier from the combined weight of the carrier and the cat
How to determine your cats body type
Most cat foods set their feeding instructions based on a lean body type, but what does that mean? We have detailed each body type below to help you distinguish.
Very thin: You will be easily able to see the ribs, spine and hip bones of your cat whilst being unable to feel any fat under the skin when you hold it.
Thin: You will be able to see the ribs, spine and hip bones when looking at your cat, and be able to feel very little fat when you hold it.
Ideal/lean: It should be hard to see the ribs, spine and hip bones, but they should be easily felt when you hold your cat.
Overweight: When you hold your cat it should be hard to feel the ribs, spine and hip bones and there should be a layer of fat on your cats belly and base of tail.
Obese: When you hold your cats it should be extremely difficult to feel the ribs, spine and hip bones of your cat under a thick layer of fat. You should be able to notice your cats tummy is closer to the floor when they walk.
Other things to consider
- Sometimes it can be difficult to feed your cat the required number of times per day. If this becomes a problem, you should consider using an automated cat feeder that will allow you to schedule meals throughout the day so that your cat doesn’t overeat in a single sitting.
- Most recommendations from cat food brands don’t include the likelihood that you may feed your cat treats or scraps throughout the day. Table scraps and treats are particularly high in calories and feeding your cat excess amounts could cause an increase in their weight.
- If you notice your cat putting on weight you should look to cut back on treats before reducing their balanced wet food meals. Check out our top tips if you have multiple pets on different weight control diets
