How Many Calories Should A 1 Year Old Cat Eat? Cats are among the most popular pets in the world, but they don’t need to eat what they want. In fact, if you allow your cat to consume too many calories from snacks and table scraps, you could seriously jeopardize his health. So how many calories should a 1-year-old cat eat? You’ll have to follow these guidelines for a healthy feline diet.
The daily calorie consumption of cats is dependent on their age, weight and the activity level. In general, the needs are the same for all cats—independent of their size and activity.
How Many Calories Should A 1 Year Old Cat Eat
Feeding your teenage cat can be difficult. Cats in this age range (from 7 months to 2 years) need enough calories to thrive because they are still developing. However, cats also undergo spaying or neutering at this age, which reduces their calorie needs.
So, while you want to promote healthy growth in your feline companion, you also don’t want to sow the seeds of obesity. Undoubtedly a challenging situation to be in! However, if you are aware of how these changes impact your young cat’s nutritional requirements, you should be able to give him the nourishment he needs to remain content and healthy.
Your Young Cat’s Energy Needs
A cat’s growth does not necessarily halt just because it has passed the kitten stage. Your cat will weigh around 6 pounds at the age of 6 months. Many babies will continue to develop until they are 18 months old, when they should weigh 8 to 10 pounds on average. The National Research Council advises increasing your cat’s daily caloric intake from 200 to 250–280 kcal throughout this time of growth. A large breed cat, like a Ragdoll or Maine Coon cat, may weigh 15 pounds when lean and require roughly 360 kilocalories per day.
A spayed or neutered cat will need less calories, and this is roughly the age when most cats will get the procedure.
A male cat who has been neutered requires 28% less calories per day, whereas a female cat who has been spayed requires 33% fewer calories per day. Within weeks of the operation, that decrease takes impact. Hormonal fluctuations can also cause an increase in appetite—not necessarily hunger, just a desire to eat more.
What To Feed Your Young Cat
Protein should always make up a large portion of a cat’s diet. For your teenage cat, 30% protein is undoubtedly acceptable. Given that cats are strict carnivores, meat is the best source of protein for them. But be careful not to consume too much organ meat. Vitamin A poisoning from excessive liver consumption can cause several skeletal abnormalities.
For your young cat up to the age of roughly a year, your best bet is to select one of the balanced feline diets that are labeled for growth—for instance, Blue Buffalo’s Healthy Growth kitten food, which contains taurine and DHA omegas to promote healthy growth and development. After that, he can transition to a diet like Dr. Tim’s Chase cat food, which is recognized as being balanced for all cat life stages.
Your cat may have developed some specific tastes in flavors and food varieties by this point. You can feed your cat canned food or dry food as long as there is an ample supply of fresh, clean water available.
You should speak with a veterinarian or animal nutritionist before attempting to feed your pet raw or using a homemade diet. You can’t just give your kitten a raw chicken leg every day!
When To Feed Your Young Cat
Cats thrive on numerous meals every day. It’s okay to eat two or three times every day. If you feed your cat in meals as opposed to free-freeding, which involves putting food out all day, you can precisely track how much your cat consumes. In addition, you’ll receive a prompt notification if he skips a meal.
Calculate how many calories your cat needs to consume by using the food label. On the box of most items, you can find the calories. It is recommended to start by weighing out your daily meals. You can feed exactly the right amount with that. The food can then be placed in a container after being weighed so that you can easily measure out 1/8 or 1/4 cup as needed.
Your teen cat may demand for a snack in between activities if he is one of those crazy teenagers who is constantly on the go. Keep these snacks in moderation, and check on his physical health once a week. He shouldn’t join the group of chubby cats, in your opinion. You can reserve a portion of your cat’s daily food to use as rewards and for training instead of giving him treats.
I did say training, I swear. Like dogs, cats can pick up tricks and perform them. Even cats can compete in agility events! The best time for your cat to begin his performing career is during adolescence.
When you return home from work in the evening, your cat may act wild or it may be that the cat is in need of extra activity. Use a food puzzle or game to serve him his meals as an easy approach to promote exercise. These are industrial goods that make your cat earn his food by working. They may use bits of dry food or food that had been frozen dried.
Other Factors To Consider
It’s crucial to keep an eye on your cat to make sure he isn’t struggling to maintain his weight at this stage of life. A young cat who is extremely active, especially if he spends time outside, may simply require more calories each day. Most outdoor cats are supposed to consume eight to ten mice each day, and a mouse is said to have 30 to 35 kcal. However, they first burn a lot of calories catching those mice.
A cat that spends time outside runs the risk of getting tapeworms from fleas or the mice he eats. Your cat will lose nutrients due to tapeworms. Tapeworms can be identified by owners by spotting the roughly rice-sized segments on new feces in the litter box or by spotting dried rice-like segments near the tail. The tapeworm infection will be treated with medication from your veterinarian, but if your cat picks up more fleas or keeps on hunting, he will reinfest himself.
It’s possible for young cats to still retain some internal parasites from their time as kittens. A young cat who struggles to maintain his weight should constantly have a fecal check done.
Your cat will enjoy his or her adolescence. He’ll be animated, entertaining, and hilarious. He will run around and explore, but he will also come to cuddle with you when it’s calm. Feed to his energy needs and maintain top condition as he develops into an adult size.
How Many Calories Should A 1 Year Old Cat Eat?
They typically attain their adult weight, which is currently between 8 and 10 pounds, after 18 months. Since most newborns begin to develop at a young age, they should be 12 months old by then. The National Research Council suggests giving your cat up to 250–280 kilocalories (kcal) each day after this stage of growth.
How Much Should A Cat Eat At One Years Old?
Bottom line: Kittens should be fed three times a day while adult cats can eat twice as much food as younger cats each day after they reach about one year of age. Since their bodies are accustomed to such feeding, the majority of cats can only need to be fed once each day.
What Amount Of Calories Does A Cat Need At One Year Old?
How much food does your cat need, given their diet? Depending on your cat’s weight, there are recommendations between 24 and 35 calories per day per pound that are most appropriate for the position of professional.
How many calories need should a house cat consume?
An indoor cat may typically maintain weight with 20 calories per pound. A typical outdoor-only cat should weigh between 35 and 45 pounds if it wants to maintain its shape. It comes down to indoor cats versus outdoor cats if you’re a cat. Depending on their weight, indoor cats eat calories at different rates throughout the day.
How Much Does A 12 Month Old Cat Eat?
| Age | Approximate Weight | Amount to Feed |
| 10 months | 7.5 – 8.5 pounds | 60-65 calories per pound of bodyweight per day |
| 11 months | 8 – 9 pounds | 60-65 calories per pound of bodyweight per day |
| 12 months | 8 – 9.5 pounds | 60-65 calories per pound of bodyweight per day |
How Much Cat Food Should A 1 Year Old Cat Eat?
Every day, at least 1/3 to 1/2 cup of a high-quality dry treat with a high-quality protein must be given; other dry goods often supply less than 1/3 cup. A cup of high-quality nourishment weighing eight ounces provides about 500 calories. It is essential that the food contain a lot of protein.
Measuring the Food for Your Cat
It is crucial to use the right measuring cup when weighing out food for your cat. Why should you, as a cat owner, care about this? It matters because the many different empty containers individuals typically use to scoop their cat’s kibble aren’t the “cups” we physicians (and the back of the pet food bags) are talking about when it comes to their weight and general health. This is especially problematic if a cat owner uses an extra-large coffee cup variety and feeds their cat the recommended number of cups per pet food bag.
How Much Cat Food to Measure with a Digital Scale
The scale doesn’t lie, as physicians are wont to say. Because of this, it is more accurate to measure your cat’s food by weight as opposed to volume. Even though using a measuring cup is helpful, we can occasionally underestimate how much is in the cup when we eyeball it. Additionally, how much food really fits in a measuring cup depends on the size of the dry kibble. However, if you are aware of the recommended feeding weight for your cat, using a digital scale will allow you to be precise each time.
A kitchen scale can be used, or you might want to think about using a portable digital pet food scale, like the one from Petfusion that is displayed below. This scale makes it simpler to measure weight quickly or when you’re on the go.
The number of calories per kilogram that should be given on the package of your cat’s food will enable you to estimate the right weight to feed your cat based on its daily caloric requirements.
Why It’s Important to Measure Your Cat’s Food
Why is it crucial to measure your pet’s food? It’s crucial because pet obesity rates in the US (and many other nations, as well) have genuinely exploded to epidemic levels. Obesity in animals is a factor in various medical conditions like osteoarthritis or diabetes in cats. And while overfeeding a pet their regular diet isn’t the only cause, it is undoubtedly a significant one and is frequently the most changeable.
Measuring your cat’s food has enormous benefits. Your cat will be considerably healthier, for starters. Your veterinarian will find it easier to inspect animals that are at their appropriate body weight, and blood tests will yield more reliable findings.
In addition, weight is a factor in many flea and tick preventative treatments. Not only do you need to take less medicine (which is great for kitties!) though you also make savings.
Others are based on your pet’s optimum body weight, while some medications are depending on your pet’s specific weight due to how they are distributed throughout the body. The optimal weight of your pet must be assumed by the veterinarian if it is overweight or obese. In order to be safe, they might use a weight that is a little bit higher than what your pet actually needs to be healthy. This may significantly affect how much medicine costs. Heartworm protection and flea/tick protection are typically less expensive for lighter individuals. If your cat is on the cusp of two distinct sizes, a mere handful of pounds can determine which dose they receive.
General Feeding Guidelines for Different Ages of Cats
How Often Should You Feed a Pregnant or Nursing Cat?
Due to the demand on their bodies for nutrients, I suggest leaving food out at all times. Make sure you are providing enough calories for the increase in metabolism they are experiencing during pregnancy and nursing.
How Often Should You Feed a Kitten?
Because of the nutrient requirements for growth and high energy demand, leave food out at all times for kittens up to six months old. You should only feed kittens a diet specifically formulated for them so that they are getting the proper amounts of vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients. Kitten-specific food is designed to be nutrient-dense. This allows them to get the needed nutrients and calories in smaller amounts.
How Often Should You Feed an Adolescent Cat?
For cats between the age of six months to one year old, I suggest feeding at least twice daily — but again monitor total calories for the day.
How Often Should You Feed an Adult Cat?
For adult cats over one-year-old, in most cases feeding at least twice daily is ideal. But if need be, once daily is acceptable. This can be impacted by certain health issues, such as diabetes, where it is critical that a cat eats prior to receiving insulin.
How Often Should You Feed a Senior Cat?
Cats are considered to be “senior” at seven years old. The frequency of meals will be based on health status, but again I would suggest at least twice daily feeding and monitoring for any weight gain in case you need to reduce total daily calories.
Tips for Putting Your Cat on a Diet
Some cats will drive you insane if you cut their food back. They act as if they are starving all the time. This is one reason to make sure that any cutbacks on amounts of food are slow and steady.
You can start by cutting back on your cat’s food by a ½ to 1 tablespoon each meal. This will be, on average, a 15 to 30 calorie reduction. Give the cutback about two to three weeks before doing additional reductions in food. Each continued reduction amount will be dependent on how much more weight your cat needs to lose.
If cutting calories is a bit harder for some, then you need to help your cat lose weight by burning more calories each day. Exercise your cat. I know, you think I am crazy! I know we can’t make our cats do anything since they are the ones in control, but still try.
Here are a few suggestions that may help:
- Get them to follow you from room to room (up and down stairs is best)
- Playing with toys
- Chasing a laser pointer
- Purchase a cat exercise wheel
- Build your own DIY cat condo for them to explore
- Teach your cat to walk with a leash and harness
- Feed them with interactive puzzle feeders
- Make an obstacle course to get to their food bowl unless they suffer from arthritis
- Hide interactive “hunting” toys in different spots every day. Searching increases activity, like with these “mice-like bowls” featured in the video below.
What’s a Healthy Rate of Weight Loss for a Cat?
Cats must either expend more calories or consume less calories in order to lose weight, just like people. Your cat shouldn’t lose more than half a pound per month. Therefore, even if your cat needs to drop a lot of weight—say, 10 pounds—do not accelerate the procedure. Losing weight takes time. Everyone dislikes going on a diet, including cats, therefore if you try to speed up the process, your cat will become irritable.