How to feed your indoor cat correctly for optimal health and wellbeing

Feeding your indoor cat correctly is crucial for their health and overall quality of life. Especially cats that live indoors without outdoor access depend on a balanced, needs-based diet. This guide explains how to feed your indoor cat correctly, ensuring a healthy diet - with many tips on choosing food, changing food, increasing acceptance and suitable snacks for indoor cats.

Essential nutrition for indoor cats - what your indoor cat needs 

Cats are carnivores and therefore rely on protein-rich, animal-based food. In nature, they would go hunting several times a day and catch small mammals such as mice, but also birds and insects. They consume their prey with "skin and hair", although it can happen that certain parts, such as the digestive tract, are left uneaten. This basic need has not changed to this day, even if your indoor cat lives indoor. For the correct nutrition of your indoor cat, nutrients such as taurine, high-quality proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals are important, while carbohydrates should play only a minor role. In addition to these important nutrients, the moisture content of the meal should also be considered, if you want to feed your indoor cat correctly. Ensuring your indoor cat receives the correct nutrients and sufficient moisture is key to healthy feeding.

Choosing between wet and dry food for your indoor cat  

Owners often wonder, whether wet or dry food is best for feeding their indoor cat to ensure the cat is fed correctly and stays healthy. It is important to understand that the food quality - i.e., the processed raw materials and the manufacturing method - is decisive in answering this question. Since most conventional dry foods for indoor cats are extruded, we will also refer to these here, while further down in the guide we will discuss good alternatives to conventional extruded food. 

Generally, the benefits of dry food for indoor cats include easy portioning and the convenience of not requiring refrigeration once opened. This allows you to leave it accessible so your cat can graze throughout the day. The lower price and smaller quantity of food required compared to wet food are also reasons why owners choose dry food for indoor cats. Unfortunately, many extruded dry foods for indoor cats contain high levels of carbohydrates, synthetic additives such as artificial vitamins, flavour enhancers or preservatives, and often a meat content that is too low for cats. These factors combined with the expansion that all extruded foods undergo, can have a negative impact on the health of indoor cats.

The advantages of wet food for indoor cats, on the other hand, are that wet food for indoor cats contains more meat, less carbohydrates, and a higher moisture content. It is therefore a more natural type of food, supporting the cat's hydration and helping to prevent urinary tract diseases. Wet food is, however, sensitive to temperature and should be refrigerated after opening. If left out for too long, it can dry out and many cats will then refuse to eat it. Caution is also needed with wet food for indoor cats; many manufacturers use vague labelling in a “closed declaration”, which can hide what is actually processed in the food. Ingredients that should not appear in high-quality cat food, such as hidden sugars or meat imitations made from cereal or soy protein can thus be included. Always choose wet food with clear labelling and natural ingredients to ensure your indoor cat´s health.

In summary, while there are many advantages to feeding a cat dry food, these benefits only apply if the food is not extruded. The ease of portioning, storage, the possibility of leaving the food out throughout the day and, of course, the price difference are relevant advantages – but they must not come at the expense of the cat's health, as is the case with conventional extruded food. Overall, wet food is generally the better choice, as it provides essential hydration and supports the health of indoor cats. Like their desert-dwelling ancestors, cats naturally obtain most of their moisture from their prey, which highlights the importance of feeding wet food to indoor cats.

However, even with wet food, the composition and raw materials are important. Check that wet food contains high quality meat rather than meat imitates (pressed meat pieces that look like real meat but are made from meat and by-products, cereal- or soy protein, binders and water) to ensure proper nutrition for your indoor cat. To feed your indoor cat correctly, examine the food composition carefully. If the manufacturer does not clearly state what is included in the food, this is a warning sign, whether it is wet or dry food. Always choose products with transparent ingredient lists to guarantee your cat´s healthy nutrition.

How to identify premium natural food for indoor cats 

High-quality cat food is natural and free of unnecessary synthetic additives such as artificial vitamins, preservatives, colourings or flavourings – as with Felins Plus®.

Ensure high meat content to meet your indoor cat´s nutritional needs and feed your indoor cat properly. Transparent labelling is crucial because if the manufacturer does not clearly indicate what he processes in the product, there is usually a reason for this. Avoid products with high-carbs, hidden sugars, and low-quality by-products like roots, shells, feathers or fur. These should not be present in premium cat food for indoor cats. 

Feed your indoor cat mainly natural wet food, for example Felins Plus® Complete Tinned Meals, for the balanced nutrition of your indoor cat. 

Natural wet food options for indoor cats – Felins Plus® Complete Tinned Meals 

Felins Plus® Complete Meals deliver balanced nutrition with high-quality meat, fish, fibre, minerals, taurine and eggshell powder, ensuring your indoor cat´s dietary needs are fully met. A high meat content, specifically tailored to cats, provides all necessary nutrients your indoor cat needs. Different varieties provide variety in taste – making it easy to feed your indoor cat properly.

Adjusting diet for special needs – how to feed an indoor cat with allergies or other health conditions

You may need to modify your indoor cat´s diet to meet specific nutritional or health requirements. Adjusting portion sizes, limiting treats, or adding natural supplements can help tailor meals to your indoor cat´s needs. 

For cats with special dietary needs, consult our experts to create a feeding plan that supports the health of your indoor cat.  
 

How to transition your indoor cat to new food 

The first step in feeding indoor cats correctly is switching to natural-based cat food, such as Felins Plus® Complete Tinned Meals. 

Changing the diet of indoor cats is not a problem in itself: ideally, present the new food in a separate bowl or gradually mix smalls amounts into the old food. However, as a cat owner, you probably know best that this is easier said than done – because some cats may initially refuse the switch, especially if they are not used to natural food. 

Feeding frequency and portion sizes for indoor cats 

In the wild, a cat would hunt approximately every two hours. They spend a large part of the day hunting or engaging in hunting-like behaviour such as stalking, chasing or killing. Not every hunt is successful, but wild cats typically eat multiple small meals throughout the day, reflecting their natural hunting behaviour. 

For owners, it is usually not possible to feed their cat this often, at least if the food is not freely accessible at all times. Many indoor cats tend to become overweight if food is freely available. Nevertheless, it is natural for a cat to eat several small meals daily. To feed your indoor cat correctly, try to take this into account as much as possible. At least 2-3 "main meals" should be provided daily, with several play sessions where the cat can "hunt" for small meals or snacks. These are not only important for the nutrition of indoor cats, but also keep them busy and active, preventing behavioural problems. 

The appropriate amount of food for indoor cats depends on their age, weight, and activity level. As a rule of thumb for adult indoor cats: cats need approx. 25-30g of meat per kg of body weight per day, depending on their activity level. This recommendation comes from the cat BARF diet, but cannot be applied 1:1 to other types of food, as these usually contain more than just meat and have different compositions. 

How much food is right? Our feeding recommendation for indoor cats 

Kittens can eat as much as they like from our Felins Plus® Complete Tinned Meals. From the age of 6 months, they should be fed approx. 5% of their body weight per day of Felins Plus® Complete Tinned Meals; for older cats and seniors, this should be between 3.5-5% of their body weight.

Feeding examples for Felins Plus® Complete Tinned Meals: 

Combining wet and dry food for balanced indoor cat nutrition 

If you want to combine dry food, we recommend our Felins Plus® Poultry & Fish Dry Food. As a cold-pressed dry food for indoor cats, it is unique because, unlike conventional extruded foods, it does not swell at all. Nevertheless, 80% of the daily ration should come from natural wet food, and a maximum of 20% can come from our natural cold-pressed dry, to ensure the cat always receives sufficient fluids. 

Feeding examples for Felins Plus® Poultry & Fish:

*In addition to the daily wet food portion.

Best treats and snacks for indoor cats 

Many different snacks are suitable to reward your indoor cat. The decisive factors are your cat's preferences and, of course, the occasion. For example, to reward good behaviour during training, small snacks, such as individual pellets of our Felins Plus® Poultry & Fish, are better than large snacks. If you want your cat to be occupied for longer, the snack should be a little larger. For occasional special meals to pamper your cat, we recommend our Felins Plus® Chicken Mousse.

It is important to ensure that the snacks for indoor cats do not contain artificial preservatives or colourings, and of course no hidden sugars. Air-dried meat or fish, 100% natural – this is what makes up the perfect snack for your indoor cat. 

How to improve your indoor cat’s drinking behavior

It is not unusual for cats to drink little. As former desert animals, they are adapted to absorb fluids via their prey. Therefore, it is essential that they primarily eat wet food. 

If you are concerned that your cat drinks too little, there are several ways to motivate them to drink or increase fluid intake:

• You can mix a bit of water to your indoor cat's meals.
• You can mix supplements such as Felins Plus® Salmon Oil or Felins Plus® Full-cream Goat’s Milk Powder into the drinking water, to make it more appealing for your cat.
• Try different drinking vessels made of clay, ceramic or porcelain – your cat may prefer to drink from a glass rather than a bowl.
• Provide water in different places around the home, even in different bowls – your cat may prefer to drink from an elevated position or near by the window.
• You can set up a drinking fountain for cats.