Automatic Cat Feeder with Portion Control: Grams per Portion

How much food is one portion?

About 6 to 10 grams of kibble on most feeders here. Portions are measured by volume, so the weight depends on your food's size and shape. PETLIBRO says a portion is 10.4 to 20 ml, depending on the model.

What each brand says about its portions:

• VOLUAS Automatic Feeder 4 L: about 6 to 7 g. VOLUAS says a portion is a setting, not a fixed weight.
• IMIPAW 6-Meal Feeder: about 7 to 9 g per serving.
• oneisall H1-C: about 7 g per bowl; four portions made 29 g in oneisall's own check.
• Vacqueen 3-cat feeder: about 8 to 10 g, varying with the kibble.
• Pawsync Smart Pet Feeder: about 9.1 g. The app can set custom gram amounts, and a scale under the bowl tracks what's eaten.
• PETLIBRO Granary Smart Feeder, PETKIT Fresh Element Solo and oneisall's 5 L for two cats: about 10 g per portion.
• HoneyGuardian SF35: about 10 g, but actual weight can vary by 2 to 3 g.
• PawsPik: the smallest setting is 1/8 cup, about 10 g, and portions may vary by up to 10%.

PETLIBRO's button-set 3 L Granary uses the same 20 ml portion. Neakasa's Riko serves 1 to 15 g within 1 g, but only freeze-dried food.

How much should my cat eat each day?

There's no single number; your vet sets it. The AAHA's 2021 guidelines say a feeding plan should name the diet, amount, meal frequency and treat allowance. For weight loss, vets base the calories on the cat's ideal weight, then adjust.

Cornell's Feline Health Center says to ask your vet to help set your cat's ideal body weight. It suggests treats stay within 10 to 15% of daily calories, and AAHA puts all extras at 10% or less.

On meal count, Cornell says once or twice a day suits most adult cats, and kittens do best on three meals until six months. The AAFP recommends splitting the daily allowance into several small meals across 24 hours.

How do I turn the vet's target into portions?

Weigh the food rather than trusting the scoop. Tufts veterinary nutritionists say measuring by volume often leads to under- or overfeeding. Cats need small amounts, which are hard to measure that way.

1. Get a daily target in grams

   Ask your vet for a daily amount of your cat's food. Tufts suggests converting calories to grams using the calories per gram on the bag.

2. Weigh ten portions

   Dispense ten portions, weigh them on a kitchen scale and divide by ten. That is your real portion weight with your kibble.

3. Divide and schedule

   Divide the daily grams by the portion weight. Spread those portions across the day's meals.

4. Recheck with your vet

   AAHA suggests weigh-ins 4 to 8 weeks apart, with portions adjusted as needed.

Will an automatic feeder help my cat lose weight?

It can, alongside a vet-set plan. In a 2022 study, 23 overweight cats in multi-cat homes followed a weight-loss plan for up to six months. In that study, cats fed from a pet-separating automatic feeder were more likely to reach a healthy body condition than cats fed from bowls.

• With the feeder at six meals a day, 83.2% reached the target body condition score. At two meals it was 40%, and none of the bowl-fed cats did.
• Six meals a day didn't make weight loss faster than two.
• Owners found the plan easier with the feeders and reported fewer of some food-seeking behaviours.

The AAHA guidelines also call automated feeders useful to control food access and amount. To compare that with a gravity feeder, see gravity vs automatic feeders.

In a multi-cat home, the study's feeder kept each cat to its own food. Hybrids such as PawsPik and PETLIBRO's One RFID dispense timed meals and open only for one paired cat, so each cat needs its own.

See feeders that open only for registered cats (7 feeders)