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My 9-month-old indoor cat is getting fat. How should I feed her?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 9 months and 17 days old

After some quick advice on feeding my cat. She's 9 months old and getting fat already. She's an indoor & cat run only cat. We currently feed her dry food (kibble) that's labelled for kittens under 1 year, which we keep topped up in her bowl continually, and cooked chicken/lamb hearts/kidneys twice a day. Should we change the kitten food to adult indoor cat food instead? Do we need to stop having dry food in her bowl all the time? She's an otherwise healthy, happy cat. Thanks, Ali.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on July 18th, 2019

Hi Ali! Thanks for using Pet Coach! I suggest you take her off the kitten food. Kitten food is very high in calories. I know that bag is labeled for up to one year but I usually recommend that kittens switch to adult food at 7-8 months of age. So, yes, adult indoor food would be indicated here. Also, do not just keep the bowl full - measure out the daily amount she needs based on the recommendations on the bag of food you are feeding; split into multiple small meals. Feed her to her ideal weight and not her current weight. Example: if she is 12 pounds and should be 9 pounds then use the feeding recommendation for a 9 pound cat. Always feed to the low end of the range the bag gives you especially since you are giving hearts and kidneys as well. You can also refer to this article for more tips: ( https://www.petcoach.co/article/are-you-feeding-your-cat-wrong/ ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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