A 2011 study by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) found that more than 50 percent of cats were obese or overweight. So, what is happening that predisposes our domestic felines to a life of sedentary obesity? The answer is multifactorial but to simplify, just remember this: any individual mammal will gain body weight if it consumes more calories than it burns as fuel for energy.
The brand of food being fed also makes a difference. A dense, high quality dry cat food will contain more nutrients by weight than a low-quality food, and thus require smaller portions to deliver the same amount of nutrition.
Source: Catster, July 10, 2018. Link.
Portioning out the food will keep cats from overeating. Free choice feeding is one of the top contributors to feline obesity.
Also see: How Much to Feed Your Cat, AskTheCatDoctor. Link.
No one knows “how much to feed your cat” or anyone else’s cat.
INSIGHTS: These two references expose the conundrum of managing obesity in cats. With an average of more than two cats per cat household, the multi-cat factor is even more perplexing. Still, the information on variances in cat foods and the guidelines for how much to feed will be helpful to cat owners and the animal health pros who serve them.