Timed meals beat a bottomless bowl for almost every adult cat: 10 minutes to eat, then the bowl comes up. Free feeding fits 3 groups only — kittens under 6 months, cats recovering from illness, and cats that hold a body condition score of 5 out of 9 on their own. For everyone else the bowl stays down 10 minutes, 3 to 4 times a day, and the daily ration is weighed in grams. A 4 kg cat needs 200 to 240 kcal; a bowl that is never empty quietly delivers 260 to 300.
What free feeding costs in grams
Start from the ration, not the scoop. Resting energy is 70 times body weight in kg to the power 0.75: 198 kcal at 4 kg, 234 at 5 kg, 268 at 6 kg. Add 10 to 20 percent for normal activity, so a 4 kg cat lands at 200 to 240 kcal, which is 53 to 63 g of dry food at 3.8 kcal per g or 200 to 240 g of wet food at 1 kcal per g.
Free-fed cats overshoot that by 15 to 25 percent in most homes I hear about, which is 40 to 80 extra kcal a day, or 8 to 15 g of dry food. At 60 extra kcal a day, a cat banks 420 kcal a week. One kilogram of body fat is worth roughly 7,700 kcal, so the surplus adds 1 kg in about 18 weeks, and 2 kg in 8 to 9 months. That is the whole mechanism behind the 50 to 60 percent of clinic cats that nutritionists describe as overweight or obese; free-fed cats are over-represented in that group.
The 10-minute bowl rule
Put the weighed meal down, set a timer for 10 minutes, then remove whatever is left and note the grams. Most cats finish 90 percent of a meal in the first 4 minutes. A cat that walks away at minute 3 and comes back at minute 40 is grazing, and grazing is the behaviour that puts weight on. Wet food should not sit out longer than 30 minutes at 22 to 25 C; dry food left down for 6 hours loses palatability as surface fat oxidizes, and a bowl topped up all day never empties.
Hunger between meals is normal and not a reason to break the rule. A cat that screams at 15:00 for 3 days is usually on a 2-meal schedule that puts 100 percent of the ration into 2 sittings; go to 4 meals of 25 percent each and the gap falls under 6 hours. If the cat refuses the bowl entirely, cut the portion by 20 percent for 2 days, then restore it — a smaller meal gets eaten, a full one gets judged.
4 to 6 meals on a timer
Adults do well on 4 meals: 06:00, 11:00, 17:00 and 22:00, each holding 25 percent of the day, so 12 to 15 g of dry or 50 to 60 g of wet per meal at 4 kg. Kittens under 6 months need 4 to 6 smaller meals because their stomach holds about 15 to 20 mL per kg; a 1.5 kg kitten at 8 weeks eats 6 times a day. From 6 to 12 months, drop to 3 or 4. A timer with 4 to 6 compartments costs 30 to 90 dollars and removes the 05:30 wake-up call within about a week.
Rotate the compartments and wash the tray every 2 to 3 days; dried wet food in a plastic tray is a bacterial plate. For a cat on wet food only, an ice pack under the tray keeps 50 to 60 g servings under 8 C for 4 to 6 hours.
Portions by cat and household
| Cat | kcal/day | Meals | Dry g per meal | Pickup window | Cost per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 kg adult, indoor | 160-190 | 4 | 10-12 | 10 min | 12-18 USD dry |
| 4 kg adult, indoor | 200-240 | 4 | 12-15 | 10 min | 14-22 USD dry |
| 5 kg adult, active | 235-285 | 4 | 15-18 | 10 min | 18-26 USD dry |
| 4 kg on wet food | 200-240 | 4 | 50-60 g wet | 30 min | 80-120 USD wet |
| 1.5 kg kitten, 8 weeks | 110-140 | 6 | 5-7 | 15 min | 10-16 USD dry |
| 6 kg cat, 1 kg to lose | 190-210 | 4 | 12-14 | 10 min | 14-22 USD dry |
Costs assume 3.8 kcal per g dry food at 6 to 8 dollars per kg and wet food at 1.1 to 1.5 dollars per 85 g can. A wet-food household spends 5 to 7 times what a dry-food household spends on the same calories, which is why many owners split 50/50 — see the cost tool for regional price bands.
Multi-cat households: weigh, separate, count
The one-bowl system fails with 2 or more cats. In a 2-cat home the dominant cat typically takes 60 to 70 percent of a shared bowl, so a 4 kg cat and a 5 kg cat fed together get roughly 265 and 175 kcal instead of 220 and 260. The thin cat loses 200 to 300 g over 3 months while the other gains it.
Fix it with numbers. Weigh each cat monthly on a baby scale with 10 g resolution; a 4 kg cat should not move more than 100 g in either direction. Feed in 2 separate rooms 3 metres apart, or use a microchip feeder, 150 to 250 dollars each, which opens only for the registered chip. Total the household ration — 220 plus 260 equals 480 kcal — then split it per cat and never top up a shared bowl. In a 3-cat home, 3 fixed stations and 3 bowls is cheaper than 1 microchip feeder and works as well.
Body condition is the real scoreboard
Weigh monthly and score body condition every 4 weeks on the 1 to 9 scale: ribs felt with light pressure at 5, a visible waist from above, and a 1 to 2 cm abdominal fat pad. A cat 10 percent over ideal weight sits at 6 and is already 2 to 3 times more likely to develop diabetes and arthritis. Loss should run 0.5 to 1 percent of body weight a week — 20 to 40 g a week for a 4 kg cat — and never faster than 1.5 percent, because rapid loss in an overweight cat can trigger hepatic lipidosis. A full plan with gram targets is in the weight loss feeding plan.
Dry, wet, and the grain-free detour
Form matters more than the label. Dry food at 6 to 10 percent moisture pushes a cat to drink, and most cats take 40 to 60 mL per kg a day at best. Two wet meals of 60 g each supply 100 to 110 mL of water inside the food, which is the cheapest hydration fix there is. Grain-free changes nothing about calories: a grain-free kibble still runs 3.6 to 4.2 kcal per g, and the potato or pea that replaces the grain brings the same energy — the details sit in the grain-free myth.
Set it up in 6 days
- Weigh the cat and compute the ration: 70 × kg^0.75, then 1.0 to 1.2 times that in kcal.
- Divide into 4 equal meals, weigh each in grams on a kitchen scale with 1 g steps.
- Set a 10-minute timer, lift the bowl, and log leftovers for 3 days.
- Move to 4 fixed times, add a 4-compartment timer if you are out at midday.
- In a multi-cat home, add a second room and a second bowl before you change any food.
- Re-weigh in 14 days; adjust the ration by 10 percent up or down, not by 30.
Frequently asked
Can I leave dry food out for my cat all day if she stays slim?
A slim cat at body condition score 5 can handle a measured amount left down, but measure it: 53 to 63 g of dry food for a 4 kg cat, no refills until the next day. The risk is that a full bowl removes the feedback loop, so weight creeps up 100 to 200 g over a season without anyone noticing. Weigh the cat monthly on a baby scale; if it moves more than 100 g, switch to 4 timed meals with a 10-minute pickup.
How do I feed 3 cats different amounts without one stealing?
Separate the space, not just the bowls. Three feeding stations 3 metres apart in different rooms, each with a weighed portion, and a person or timer that puts all three down at the same moment. Owners with a slow or thin cat usually need a microchip feeder at 150 to 250 dollars, since a shared bowl hands 60 to 70 percent of the food to the dominant cat. Weigh each cat monthly to confirm the split is working.
Is 2 meals a day enough for an adult cat?
It is enough calories but a poor pattern for most cats, because 2 sittings push 50 percent of the ration into one stomach load and stretch the overnight gap to 12 hours or more. Four meals of 25 percent each, spaced 5 to 6 hours, keeps the gap under 6 hours and reduces both gulping and 04:00 begging. Cats with a history of vomiting after meals do noticeably better on 4.