# How many wet food pouches a day?



## Haunted (Apr 10, 2013)

For a kitten (3 months old) how many pouches of wet food would you give per day? 

Oscar was on dry only when I homed him, so I continued that for a while (so he wouldn't get an upset stomach) but slowly introduced wet food. Anyway, now he always leaves the dry and only eats the wet food, so how many pouches a day should be enough? Now he is leaving the dry, I want to ensure he is feeling full and having enough nutrition.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

As many as he wants.


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## pipje (Jun 29, 2011)

That's what I do as well-I have no idea how much I give but basically everytime his bowl is empty, I put in another 

Pouches are expensive though so I buy 200/400g tins of Catz Fine Food, MAC's, Power of Nature etc. (these are good brands with high meat content, better and cheaper than Royal Canin/Hill's etc. due to the larger size tins)


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

I could never afford pouches, especially for a kitten! They have hollow legs ha ha. 
Yup as othe poster says, feed as much as he wants


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## Haunted (Apr 10, 2013)

Thank you very much for your help.

So if I always made sure there was wet food down in his bowl, am I not at risk of him over-eating?


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## CharlieChaplin (Dec 30, 2012)

Try to have set feeding times, regular and often for a kitten. Don't leave wet food out for too long as it can go funny but try to get them to eat at set times.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I agree with Charlie Chaplin -- have set meal times for him, as this allows him to develop an appetite and look forward to his food. At 3 months old I would feed about 5 times a day, but if he asks *between meals* I would feed him then too.


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## wicket (Aug 22, 2012)

Haunted said:


> Thank you very much for your help.
> 
> So if I always made sure there was wet food down in his bowl, am I not at risk of him over-eating?


In short - no - at three months he is still growing so should be allowed as much as he wants - I currently have a five month old devon rex kitten who eats good quality wet as much as she wants about six-seven times a day - she out eats my 6kg moggie despite being a fraction of his size !


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## chomer (Apr 6, 2013)

We are getting 2 kittens in a few weeks. Either my wife or I will be at home for their first week to help them settle, but after that we will both be at work during the day.

Our plan is to give wet food before we go to work and then again when we return home. As much as I don't want to give them dry food, I don't see any option other than to leave some out to allow them to eat during the day.

Any better suggestions?


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## pipje (Jun 29, 2011)

It is actually possible to leave wet food out for a while. When I was working and also overnight, I would sometimes leave lots for them on a plate. They never did get sick. 

This is only anecdotal and based on my own experience, all my cats have access to food at all hours of the day and none are overweight. I imagine that since they know there is always food, they're less likely to gulp it all at one go/go mad about food.


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## CharlieChaplin (Dec 30, 2012)

chomer said:


> We are getting 2 kittens in a few weeks. Either my wife or I will be at home for their first week to help them settle, but after that we will both be at work during the day.
> 
> Our plan is to give wet food before we go to work and then again when we return home. As much as I don't want to give them dry food, I don't see any option other than to leave some out to allow them to eat during the day.
> 
> Any better suggestions?


How long during the day will you be out for? How old will they be? Hopefully not too young, as I don't think young kittens should be left on their own for long periods of time. Can someone pop home at lunch times? You perhaps could get an automatic timer food bowl. Sorry for all the questions  it's just it's individual to each cat!


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

It is better to avoid giving them dry food. 

Buy a couple of battery-operated autofeeders (amazon sells them) and put wet food in them timed to open at intervals whilst you are out. Some models of autofeeder have little freezer packs to go under the dishes to keep the food cool. 

Ensure they always have a bowl of tasty wet food at bedtime, as it will help them settle and sleep well during the night.


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## chomer (Apr 6, 2013)

CharlieChaplin said:


> How long during the day will you be out for? How old will they be? Hopefully not too young, as I don't think young kittens should be left on their own for long periods of time. Can someone pop home at lunch times? You perhaps could get an automatic timer food bowl. Sorry for all the questions  it's just it's individual to each cat!


We're picking up the kittens at 14 weeks and they'll be on their own during the day from 15 weeks. We leave for work about 7am and are back by 5pm.

Unfortunately we work too far from home to make coming home at lunch unrealistic.

I had thought about automatic feeders but my fear is if they miss the "feeding window" (e.g they could be asleep) they will not be able to eat anything until the next window.


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## wicket (Aug 22, 2012)

chomer said:


> We are getting 2 kittens in a few weeks. Either my wife or I will be at home for their first week to help them settle, but after that we will both be at work during the day.
> 
> Our plan is to give wet food before we go to work and then again when we return home. As much as I don't want to give them dry food, I don't see any option other than to leave some out to allow them to eat during the day.
> 
> Any better suggestions?


Automatic feeder - mine delivers 2 large wet meals on the odd days I am at work = if they are used to a feeding schedule they will look for food - I know my kitten does


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## Satori (Apr 7, 2013)

chomer said:


> We are getting 2 kittens in a few weeks. Either my wife or I will be at home for their first week to help them settle, but after that we will both be at work during the day.
> 
> Our plan is to give wet food before we go to work and then again when we return home. As much as I don't want to give them dry food, I don't see any option other than to leave some out to allow them to eat during the day.
> 
> Any better suggestions?


Damn good question that. I don't work, so I have the luxury of preparing their food fresh for each meal. I am considering doing some work though and I don't have a good solution yet. The obvious answer is an automated feeder with ice packs but I can't find a good one. They all seem to have plastic feeding compartments, even those that cost several hundred pounds.


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## CharlieChaplin (Dec 30, 2012)

I don't think automatic feeders close - but I may be wrong as I have never used one! If they don't close get a couple and set at different times? 

I've never owned kittens that young. So hopefully someone more knowledgable will come along and help you with this. If not - search the forum or start a new thread about what to do. loads of people here to help :thumbsup: they could get up to lots of mischief whilst you are out so long, so lots of advice from experienced owners will help you with your new bundles of joy!


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## ScruffyCat (Jun 7, 2013)

My cat Scruff is 4 months now. He has 2 packets of wet food a day and a constant supply if dry food.

Initially one of us would come home at lunch time for a feed and a bit of tlc but now he is that bit older we have an automatic feeder. I bought the digital staywell one from amazon. It was about £30 but its worth the money as, try as he might, scruff can't break into it. The noise of the lid opening doesn't scare him either. 

After scruff has been castrated 5-6 months, vet dependant, I will reduce his feeding times gradually down to 2 instead of the 4 with the same amount of food and again with a constant supply of dry food


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

You are right CC - autofeeders do not close, once they open they stay open. 

There are usually 2 dishes to a feeder, so one for each of your kittens OP. 

If you buy 2 feeders, you can set each feeder to open at different times, e.g. 11 am and 3 pm. 

Satori -- I have found the same -- all the feeders seem to have plastic dishes Not ideal I agree, as I much prefer to feed mine from ceramic dishes. But the autofeeders are so useful I put up with the plastic dishes.....


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## chomer (Apr 6, 2013)

I guess I misunderstood how the automatic feeders work - more than happy to give them a try now and avoid the need for dry food.

Thanks for the tips.


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