20.05.2022

Cat eating you out of house and home? A Maine Coon feeding chart is the answer!

Maine Coons are large cats, and a large appetite comes with the territory.

Whether they are growing up or already mature, you should expect Maine Coons to have a voracious desire for food—necessary to keep their energy levels topped up for all the hunting and playing they typically indulge in. 

Overfeeding your Maine Coon is a worry, though. All too easily, Maine Coons can go from lithe hunters to couch potatoes through eating too much of the wrong type of food.

Whether your Maine Coon eats predominantly wet, semi-moist, raw, dry, or homemade food, get the feeding amounts or the ingredients wrong, and you could have a weight problem that can only be sorted with a rigorous diet and enforced exercise.

How to avoid this problem? Read on and check out our Maine Coon feeding chart to keep your tiger slim and trim!

“What do you mean, I just inadvertently ate your dinner?”

Source: Pixabay

What are the basics of Maine Coon eating habits?

Maine Coons, although bigger than normal cats, follow the same rules as every breed—whether British Shorthair, Siamese, Sphynx, Siberian, or Savannah—namely:

1. More exercise means a higher caloric requirement
2. Not all calories are equal
3. Weight gain through bad eating habits is a vicious circle

More exercise means a higher caloric requirement

The more active your Maine Coon is, the more energy you will need to provide in every meal. Ideally, this does not necessarily mean increasing the feeding amounts served but rather should involve providing the most energy-dense nutrition possible.

All calories are not equal

Cats can get their calories from several sources, but the one to avoid is carbohydrates. Carbs provide large quantities of fast-release energy but are quickly converted into fatty cells for storage if they remain unused.

Too many carbs in your Maine Coon’s diet can quickly lead to weight gain—the healthier alternatives for energy delivery are animal protein and animal fat.

Weight gain through bad eating habits is a vicious circle

Not only do carbs quickly lead to the pounds being piled on, but they can also have a detrimental effect on your Maine Coon’s blood sugar regulation. Carbs flood a cat’s body with sugar that has to be brought under control through the release of insulin from the pancreas.

If your feline spends too long having to deal with too much sugar, you could precipitate:

• Acute pancreatitis
• Chronic diabetes

While diabetes can be managed with insulin injections and regulated food intake, the better approach is to avoid the problem—and other diet-related health issues—in the first place.

Sugar rushes from eating too many carbs are also usually followed by a slump, during which your Maine Coon will not want to move. The circle is complete—more sugar equals less verve, less verve equals less movement, and less movement equals higher fat amounts being deposited.

“Feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed meeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

Source: Pixabay

How much do Maine Coon cats eat?

Maine Coons should eat enough of the right food to stay naturally active, venture outdoors, and regulate their weight through exercise.

An adult Maine Coon needs between 24 and 35 calories per 500 g of body weight, depending on their activity level. With an average adult Maine Coon weighing between 3.6 kg and 8.5 kg, this translates to the following caloric amounts required:

The amount these numbers represent in actual food servings will depend on the ingredients and energy density of the diet you choose. The label on your food should give you an indication of the correct feeding amounts.

Maine Coon kitten feeding guide

Maine Coon kittens need huge amounts of energy to grow healthily. This generally means large amounts of food, but you should remember that kittens have tiny stomachs and immature digestive tracts. Huge portions eaten at one sitting can easily lead to gastrointestinal problems, such as:

• Diarrhoea 
• Food sensitivity
• Nausea or vomiting
• Poor nutrient absorption

Any of these are serious issues as Maine Coon kittens need to develop at a steady rate to ensure health in later life.

You should err on the side of “more is better” with Maine Coon kittens, but the basic caloric needs from weaning up to their fully grown weight at adulthood are:

If in doubt, you can be comfortable feeding your Maine Coon kitten whenever the headbutts and meowing start—Maine Coons can go through several growth spurts, and judging exactly when these are taking place is nearly impossible.

“Maybe if I hide in this bowl, the human will fill it with food!”

Source: Pixabay

What is the optimum Maine Coon diet?

The quality of the food you serve is as important—if not more so—than the quantity.

Maine Coons, like all cat breeds, are obligate carnivores, meaning their bodies have evolved to get the nutrients they need from:

1. Animal protein
2. Animal fat

Animal protein

Meat or fish is the order of the day for Maine Coons as they are the only protein sources that deliver all the amino acids—like taurine—a cat needs.

Animal protein is needed for:

• Energy
• Muscle build
• Skin and coat health
• Organ maintenance

When choosing the correct food for your Maine Coon, you should look for products that feature meat or fish as the first ingredient. The most efficient animal proteins used in cat food are:

• Chicken (raw or cooked)
• Beef
• Pork, ham, or bacon
• Liver
• Salmon
• Tuna
• Mackerel
• Prawns

If you spot a product that lists vegetable or plant proteins anywhere on the ingredients list, it’s best to avoid it. Vegetable proteins are frequently used as cheaper alternatives to meat or fish, bulking up the product and reducing costs to the manufacturer. The most commonly used vegetable proteins are:

• Soya
• Wheat
• Corn or sweetcorn
• Peas
• Rice
• Carrots

The presence of any of these means that the meat content is lower. The result is that your cat will have to:

• Eat more to cover amino acid requirements
• Cope with the carbs that many vegetables contain
• Potentially get supplementary minerals, vitamins, and macronutrients in the form of product additives

Animal fat

Besides being an excellent secondary source of energy, animal fat delivers essential fatty acids, such as:

• Arachidonic acid
• Linoleic acid
• Omega-3 and omega-6 acids

These are vital for maintaining cell membrane structure and can have a beneficial effect on your Maine Coon’s inflammatory healing processes.

Animal fat in high-quality cat jelly or gravy also tastes great to cats, which is important since the most nutritious food is useless if your Maine Coon doesn’t like eating it.

A guide to recognising high-quality cat food 

The ingredients list and the guaranteed analysis can tell you whether or not the food you’re looking at is good. The signs to look for in the ingredients list are:

• A small number of ingredients—If each ingredient is clearly identifiable and not hidden behind terms like “meat (at least 4% xxx flavour variant),” this suggests that the product’s formula is not likely to change from week to week. Your Maine Coon shouldn’t suddenly go off a product that was initially devoured with gusto
• No artificial additives—All the nutrients cats require are present in the right quantities in good, meat-based products. Additives are an indication that the basic product is not of a high enough quality to satisfy a cat’s nutritional needs
• No grain, cereals, or vegetables—Good cat food doesn’t require bulking up or enriching with ingredients cats cannot easily metabolise
• The guaranteed analysis should bear out what the ingredients list claims, and you should look for the following values:

What to feed a Maine Coon? Untamed!

Feeding your Maine Coon well is a huge responsibility—Untamed is here to give you exactly what your feline needs!

With a range of tasty recipes, Untamed delivers the healthiest nutrition for Maine Coons in a form they will go wild about—even if they normally turn their nose up at wet food.

All our products are:

1. Packed with animal protein
2. Produced ethically
3. Formulated by vets

Packed with animal protein

With twice as much of the best cuts of meat or fish as other commercial cat foods, Untamed is tasty and healthy enough for even the fussiest or most sensitive of Maine Coons.

Whether your Maine Coon is a kitten, a pregnant female, a podgy neutered male, or a senior feline suffering gum problems, tooth loss, and weight decline, Untamed can keep them healthy and happy.

Produced ethically

Untamed is committed to the health of our planet, as well as that of your cat. As an organisation, we:

• Only source from cruelty-free, sustainable suppliers
• Ensure our packaging is 100% recyclable
• Operate on a carbon-neutral basis throughout our supply chain

Formulated by vets

Every Untamed meal is formulated to give your Maine Coon the best of the best.

The high protein levels and healthy ingredients in Untamed also tackle many of the most common ailments cats suffer from, such as:

• Digestive health
• Urinary tract infections (UTIs), like cystitis and bladder stones
• Shedding and hairballs

Untamed contains no known allergens and is the healthiest, most natural way to feed your Maine Coon for life—regardless of their age, activity level, food sensitivities, or temperament.

Don’t simply take our word for it, though—try Untamed and see the effect on your Maine Coon for yourself!

Everything your Maine Coon could possibly ask for!

Image (c) Untamed

Get Untamed delivered and solve your Maine Coon feeding woes!

Feeding your Maine Coon healthily with our tailor-made cat food couldn’t be easier—all you have to do is:

1. Tell us all about your Maine Coon
2. Select 12 meals you’d like to receive
3. Order a trial pack online

Your custom-made trial pack will be with you in short order, and your Maine Coon can start exploring Untamed’s sensational taste right away. We’ll make sure you don’t run out of it, so your journey towards health and fitness can continue.

The happy Maine Coon parents who have already made the switch to our cat food subscription tell us you should look for: