How much raw food should I feed my cat, and how often?
How much raw food a cat should eat is one of the most common questions we get. There is no exact number that suits every cat, because appetite, metabolism, activity level, age, season and overall health all play a role. There are, however, some very good starting points.
How much should an adult cat eat?
As a general guide, adult cats eating a balanced raw diet will usually eat around 2 to 4% of their body weight per day. For many healthy adult cats, around 3% is a good place to start.
For example, a 5 kg cat eating 3% of its body weight per day would eat:
5 kg x 3% = 150 gm per day
That is a starting point, not a rule. Some cats will need more and some will need less. A very active cat may eat more, a less active cat may eat less, and some cats eat a little less in summer and a little more in winter. The most important thing is to watch the cat in front of you.
Does the 150 gm include the water?
Yes. The daily amount refers to the finished food, meaning the meat, Raw Meow Mix and water combined. This is where many people get caught out, because the amount of water you add changes the weight of the food without changing the nutrition in it.
A standard batch
For Adult and Low Raw Meow Mix, our standard recipe is 45 gm of muscle meat, 3 gm of Raw Meow Mix and 12 ml of water, which makes 60 gm of finished food.
Scaled up to a 1 kg batch, that’s 1 kg of meat, 67 gm of Raw Meow Mix and approx. 270 ml of water. This makes approx. 1.34 kg of finished food, and at 150 gm a day the batch lasts approx. 9 days.
A saucy batch
Some cats love their food extra saucy. If you add approx. 700 ml of water instead of 270 ml, you now have approx. 1.77 kg of finished food.
That doesn’t mean more meals. The meat and Raw Meow Mix are exactly the same, you’ve only added water. The batch should still last approx. 9 days, so your cat’s daily amount goes up to approx. 200 gm.
| Standard batch | Saucy batch | |
|---|---|---|
| Muscle meat | 1 kg | 1 kg |
| Raw Meow Mix (Adult/Low) | 67 gm | 67 gm |
| Water | approx. 270 ml | approx. 700 ml |
| Finished food | approx. 1.34 kg | approx. 1.77 kg |
| Batch lasts | approx. 9 days | approx. 9 days |
| Daily amount | 150 gm | approx. 200 gm |
The extra weight is water, not extra nutrition. Our feeding calculator uses a middle value for water, so if you add a lot more or a lot less, adjust the daily amount to match. If your cat loves saucy meals, that’s absolutely fine. Just remember you’re feeding by the batch, not by the gram.
Feeding a kitten? Kitten Raw Meow Mix uses a different dose: 3.6 gm per 45 gm of meat, which is 80 gm per 1 kg. The water principle is the same.
How do you know if you are feeding enough?
Ask yourself whether your cat is eating at least around 2% of their body weight each day, whether they are active and bright, maintaining a healthy weight, toileting normally, and have clear, bright eyes. If the answer to any of these is no, it is worth looking more closely at what is going on.
How often should you feed?
Cats are built to eat multiple small meals, not one giant meal and not a bowl of food left out all day. Feeding smaller meals across the day is much more natural for them and usually works far better than grazing. As a general guide, try to feed at least 3 meals a day, and more if you can.
That doesn’t mean meals have to be perfectly spaced or follow a rigid schedule, so work with your day. A routine might look something like early morning, before work, after work, evening and before bed. The exact timing matters less than the overall pattern of offering regular small meals.
Feed the cat in front of you
Guidelines are helpful, but they are still only guidelines. Some cats are naturally bigger eaters and some are not. Some are highly food motivated while others are much more casual, and some need a bit more to hold condition while others gain weight easily.
Remember too that these numbers are for a balanced raw diet. Cats eating commercial diets higher in carbohydrates often eat differently, because they are not getting the same type of nutrition from the food.
Your job is not to force your cat into a formula. Start with the guideline, then adjust based on body condition, appetite and energy levels.
Feeding kittens
Kittens are completely different. They are growing rapidly and need much more food relative to body weight than an adult cat, anywhere from 5 to 10% of their body weight per day of finished food, depending on age and stage of growth.
Kittens should be fed as much as they want, as often as they want, within reason. Growth spurts will often mean they suddenly eat a lot more, then back off a bit again later, and that is normal. A simple way to start is to offer a portion and see what happens. If they eat it all and are still looking for more, offer more. If they leave some behind, pop it in the fridge and offer it later. Over time, you will learn their normal appetite.
As a general guide, kittens should be fed at least 5 times a day, and more if they are hungry. That should continue until adulthood, which is around 12 months for most cats and closer to 2 years for larger breeds. If a kitten stops eating for more than 12 hours, that is not something to ignore.
The bottom line
Use the percentages as a starting point, not a rigid rule. For adults, start around 2 to 4% of body weight per day. For kittens, expect more, often 5 to 10%, with frequent meals and appetite-led feeding. Both figures refer to finished food, so if you add extra water, adjust the daily amount so the batch still lasts the same number of days.
Above all, feed the cat in front of you. A healthy raw fed cat should be maintaining good weight, good energy, normal toileting and overall good condition, and that tells you far more than obsessing over exact grams ever will.