cat food portions

[mandymurphy]

how many calories per day should a healthy cat who is 2 years old receive? i am afraid of over feeding him. is one 5 ounce can of chunk white tuna per day enough?

[opus88]

oh that is so good of you to try mandy!!! I sure hope daddy will allow you to give this poor darling a home, there are so many unwanted kitties that desperately need to be loved and cared for.tell your parents that fleas can be easily and cheaply treated.......good luck honey and let us know how you make out.
since you can't afford cat food I guess the best thing you can do is feed him meat, chicken,pork,beef....most any boneless meat, cats are carnivores. this isn't giving him a balanced diet but hopefully he is still catching some mice too.....remember no tuna

[mandymurphy]

it was a cat that comes into our yard sometimes. i feel sorry for it and give it what i can, we dont have a cat so i thought tuna would be nice for him. my parents wont let me keep him because he has fleas. what else can i give this poor animal thats safe? i dont have any money for cat food because im just a kid; im hoping if my dad see's him he will fall in love with thise poor cat as i did and let him in our family.

[nancyjac]

Caloric and nutritional requirements are based on weight and metabolic rate, not age, though generally speaking, age is somewhat a factor of metabolic rate.  So there is no standard for caloric intake.  Kittens generally need a high caloric intake because they have a very high metabolic rate and are still growing.  It can vary widely in adult cats based on size and activity level.  Fortunately, most cats are pretty good about instinctively knowing  how much they need to eat assuming they are given a nutritionally balanced diet.  But feeding nothing but tuna is far from being nutritionally balanced, so you cat is likely to overeat in an attempt to get the nutrition that is lacking.  And as Opus said, the high mercury content is very harmful to your cat when fed daily over a long period of time.  A little bit once in a while as a treat is fine, but it definitely should not be your cat's primary diet.

[AnnieBrooke]

Ditto that comment.  Don't feed a cat a pure protein, without a balance of other things like carbs and greens and all, which is what cat food is carefully formulated to provide, and ESPECIALLY don't feed them tuna.  Once my vet told me "People think of feeding a cat and they think of tuna and milk, and neither thing is good for a cat."

[opus88]

hi mandy, the minimum daily requirement is 50 cals....but that is min..
an adult cat needs approx. 12 oz of can food per day, so I think you are way underfeeding.
also can I say that people tuna if thats what you are feeding is very harmful to a cat. we humans weigh a great deal more and can absorb the high mercury content of canned tuna a cat CANNOT....please buy your kitty some canned CAT food. and not human food as this doesn't fulfil their nutritional needs either, your kitty will soon become very ill.
my best ♥Opus