Feeding a Sphynx
There is no single ideal feeding method. Get to know your cat’s needs, learn how to read labels, and choose an approach that works in your home.
© Agnieszka Mianowska · Aggio Cat*PL · aggiocat.pl
There is no single ideal way to feed a cat
No diet is best for every cat and every family. Consider the animal’s needs, the food’s composition and safety, and your household’s daily routine. A suitable diet should provide all the necessary nutrients in the right amounts.
Someone working from home will organise feeding differently from someone who is out for many hours. Wet food should not be left at room temperature for long, particularly in hot weather. Age and health also matter: kittens have different nutritional needs from adult cats, and illness requires an individually tailored diet.
Why do cats have particular requirements?
They need nutrients including taurine, arginine, appropriate fats and the active form of vitamin A. Their bodies use nutrients differently from dogs and humans. Muscle meat alone is therefore insufficient for a nutritionally complete diet, and human eating habits are not a good model for cats.
A Sphynx has no coat to protect it from heat loss. Maintaining a normal body temperature therefore requires more energy than it does for a coated cat in comparable conditions. How much additional food is needed depends on factors including room temperature, activity, age and body condition. Portions should therefore be adjusted individually by observing growth and body condition, rather than applying one multiplier to every Sphynx.
Where should you start?
Choose a complete food suitable for your cat’s life stage. For a growing kitten, look for food formulated for kittens. Then check the feeding instructions on the packaging and read how to use the feeding table. Watch how your cat tolerates the food and choose a feeding routine that works day to day in your home. The food should suit your cat, and preparing and serving it should be manageable for you.
The first days in a new home
Ask the breeder for the names of the foods currently used, approximate amounts and mealtimes. Keep the kitten’s familiar feeding routine at first. Moving home is already a major change, so avoid introducing several new flavours and treats straight away. If you want to change food, do so gradually, watching appetite, wellbeing and what is left in the litter tray.
Adult cats differ in size and build. One may weigh 4 kg and another 6 kg, and both may have a healthy body condition. Weight alone therefore does not establish whether a cat is overweight. Assess body fat and how easily the ribs can be felt. Changes in the same cat’s weight can complement these observations.
Wet food, dry food, mixed feeding or BARF? Advantages and limitations
Complete wet food
Advantages
- Contains plenty of water, so the cat also takes in water through food and may produce less concentrated urine.
- Usually contains less starch than dry food, although this depends on the individual recipe.
- A little water can be added if the cat readily eats the meal prepared this way.
- Makes it easier to give a probiotic or another recommended product, provided it can be mixed with food.
- A range of flavours and textures makes it easier to find food the cat enjoys.
Limitations
- Dries out and spoils more quickly in the bowl, especially in hot weather.
- Once opened, it needs refrigeration and must be used within the manufacturer’s stated time.
- Cannot be left out all day without a suitable cooling system.
- Usually costs more than dry food providing a similar number of calories.
Transfer the remaining food to a clean, sealable glass or food-safe plastic container and refrigerate it immediately. This helps preserve its flavour and smell. Use it within the time specified by the manufacturer.
Before serving, warm only the portion to room temperature. You can add a little warm water or place the bowl in a warm water bath. Mix thoroughly and check the temperature: the food must not be hot. Do not rewarm the entire supply each time.
Complete dry food
Advantages
- Easy to measure and serve in an ordinary bowl; no extra equipment is needed.
- Can remain in the bowl longer than wet food. A cat can return for a few pieces, including at night. Instead of waking us at 4:30 for a pouch, it can have a little kibble. We still need to keep the bowl clean, the food fresh and track the total amount eaten over 24 hours.
- Does not need refrigeration before serving, but an opened bag must be protected from moisture.
- Usually costs less than wet food providing a similar number of calories.
- Some cats enjoy its crunchy texture.
Limitations
- Contains little water, usually 6–12%, so it is worth paying attention to how much the cat drinks.
- A cat eating dry food may produce less urine, and its urine may be more concentrated than on a wet-food diet.
- Many dry foods contain a substantial amount of carbohydrate, including starch. Starch helps give kibble its shape during manufacture. The amount depends on the recipe, so compare individual products.
- A small portion provides many calories, making overfeeding easy if food is not measured.
- Ordinary kibble does not replace dental care. Some specialist dental foods may support it.
Mixed feeding: wet and dry food
Advantages
- Wet food provides plenty of water, while dry food is convenient between meals.
- Makes feeding easier when household members work away from home.
- Offers the cat a choice of textures.
Limitations
- Calories from both food types must be counted, rather than feeding a full daily allowance of each.
- When a cat grazes constantly, it is harder to assess how much it actually eats and whether its appetite has changed.
- Not every cat tolerates frequent changes of flavour and recipe well.
Feeding breeding cats and feeding a neutered pet
At Aggio Cat*PL, our cats have constant access to food. Wet food forms the basis of their diet, with dry food available between meals and at night. We do not ration portions because our cats maintain a healthy body condition. However, our cats are entire breeding animals, and our females’ needs change with their reproductive cycle, pregnancy and lactation. These circumstances differ from those of an adult neutered pet. Our practice should therefore not automatically be applied to every cat; breeding animals can also become overweight if they eat more than they need.
BARF and other home-prepared diets
The idea behind BARF is to reflect the natural food of a cat that hunts small animals and eats them raw. By preparing mixtures of meat, offal, water and supplements, we aim to provide the nutrients a cat would obtain from eating such prey. A piece of meat alone, however, is not equivalent to a whole mouse or bird. A carefully formulated recipe is therefore essential.
Advantages
- We can select muscle meat intended for human consumption, commonly called ‘human grade’, and check its origin. We can choose particular cuts and the proportions of ingredients.
- A cat’s BARF diet is based on muscle meat, appropriately selected offal, supplements and water. Such a recipe does not require added starch.
- The high water content of meat helps provide water with the meal.
- We can select ingredients suited to an individual cat and exclude a protein source that causes an allergy. An elimination diet must still be properly balanced and planned so that the response to food can be assessed.
- If the cat digests the mixture well, it may leave less faeces in the litter tray. This depends on the particular recipe, rather than solely on whether the meat is raw.
- Less intense stool odour may be another benefit. This can make a noticeable difference for the owner, although the effect depends on the cat and the mixture’s composition.
- Preparation can be adapted to the cat’s preferences: mince everything or leave pieces of meat if the cat likes chewing them. Size and firmness should suit the cat’s abilities. BARF does not have to be minced.
Limitations
- Knowledge and accuracy are needed. Even a good calculator cannot prevent errors in proportions or supplements. If we do not want to formulate the diet ourselves, a qualified specialist can prepare a recipe.
- Before introducing BARF, discuss the cat’s health and any necessary blood tests with a veterinarian, including a blood count, biochemistry and selected mineral measurements. The scope and timing of follow-up are individual; the vet might schedule it after six months or sooner. Results help assess how the cat is doing on the diet but do not replace checking the recipe.
- Shopping, cutting or mincing, portioning and cleaning take time. Freezer space is also needed for prepared portions. Supplements must be measured accurately according to the recipe. With small batches, weighing tiny amounts precisely can be more difficult.
- Meat, equipment and supplements may involve a substantial initial expense. With just one cat, some supplements may expire before they are used up.
- Raw meat can contain pathogens even when it is intended for human consumption. The acidic environment of a cat’s stomach does not eliminate all infection risk.
At Aggio Cat*PL, we prepare mixtures for three or four weeks, no longer, so that an unintended mistake would not mean feeding an incorrectly formulated mixture for many months. This limits the time a potentially unbalanced mixture would be fed, although a shorter period alone does not guarantee safety. We therefore check the recipe before preparation and correct any error as soon as it is noticed.
Ready-made mixtures and your own recipe
At Aggio Cat*PL, we favour preparing our own mixtures using a checked recipe that accounts for our cats’ ages, body condition and health. Ready-made raw cat foods are available, but ‘BARF’ on a label does not tell us whether a product is complete or suitable for an individual animal. I do not recommend buying mixtures without checking their nutritional balance, ingredient origins, and production and quality-control information. If the manufacturer does not provide these details, we have no basis for assessing the product. Choosing a mixture for a kitten or an unwell cat requires particular care.
BARF is not simply raw meat: it is a diet formulated to provide all the necessary nutrients. A calculator helps with the arithmetic but does not replace the knowledge required to formulate a recipe. Raw food can be a source of infection for both the cat and household members, and freezing does not remove all risk. This is especially relevant in homes with young children, pregnant people, older adults or people with weakened immune systems.
What if we do not want to feed raw meat? A home-prepared diet using cooked meat, commonly called ‘cooked BARF’ or BACF, is another option. It may suit people concerned about raw-food risks, or situations where a vet advises against raw feeding because of the cat’s health. This diet requires a separately calculated recipe that accounts for cooking, with appropriate supplements. Do not cook a ready-prepared BARF mixture that already contains supplements. In a cooked diet, prepare the meat according to the recipe and add supplements after cooling, following their instructions.
Feeding a kitten after neutering
Kittens leaving Aggio Cat*PL are already neutered but are still growing rapidly. They need complete kitten food and enough energy for development. We do not restrict a kitten’s food simply because it has been neutered. At the cattery, we provide free access to food while monitoring growth, appetite and body condition. This is our feeding approach, rather than a universal recommendation for every kitten.
A growing kitten needs enough food
At our cattery, kittens receive five wet-food meals a day and have access to dry food between them, including at night. They can therefore return for small amounts without having to wait hungry until morning. We do not encourage them to eat an extra portion. We ensure they have enough for healthy growth, adjusting the amount to each kitten’s development and condition.
Look at body condition, not just weight
Observe your kitten’s body shape and check how easily its ribs can be felt, taking its build and developmental stage into account. A prominent tummy in a Sphynx does not necessarily mean excess weight. Between ten and twelve months of age, as growth slows, it is worth looking particularly carefully at body condition. If a kitten starts gaining too much fat earlier, do not wait to adjust portions.
If your cat is gaining too much fat, adjust portions and feeding times
If your kitten starts accumulating too much fat, discuss the amount and type of food with your veterinarian so it still receives everything needed for growth. Meal frequency can also be adapted to the cat’s needs and household routine, although frequent small meals are usually worth maintaining. An automatic feeder may help.
© Agnieszka Mianowska · Aggio Cat*PL · aggiocat.pl
How can you read a food label without being misled by advertising?
Read the full ingredients list, check which cats the food is intended for, and review the feeding instructions. An appealing name or the first ingredient on the list is not enough to assess a product. If the description is vague and does not explain what the food contains, ask the manufacturer for details.
Consider all the plant ingredients
Take a simplified example: a label lists 30% meat, 20% potatoes, 15% potato flakes and 10% potato starch. Meat is the largest single ingredient, but the listed potato ingredients together make up 45%. Read the entire list rather than stopping at the first item. This is an arithmetic example, not a description of a particular food. Such a list does not by itself prove deception, and without percentages we cannot calculate the exact proportions.
‘With duck’ does not mean ‘only duck’
Check how much of the named ingredient is present and which other protein sources the food contains. A product ‘with duck’ may also contain meat from other animals. This is especially important if your cat must avoid a particular protein.
Look for the words ‘complete food’
Complete food provides the necessary nutrients in amounts appropriate for the stated life stage. Complementary foods, treats or meat alone should not replace the main food unless the overall diet has been properly balanced. When comparing wet and dry foods, remember that their water contents differ.
The FEDIAF 2025 guidelines set out recommended nutrient levels for complete foods, depending on factors including the cat’s life stage. They help assess whether a food is properly balanced. They are not, however, a quality certificate for an individual product.
Carbohydrates should also be considered in the context of the whole diet. Cats do not require dietary carbohydrate as an essential nutrient, but they can digest appropriately processed starch. Its presence alone therefore does not make a food unsuitable.
Supplements: when are they needed?
A healthy cat eating an appropriate complete food does not routinely need added vitamins, minerals, calcium or taurine ‘just in case’. Excesses can also be harmful and upset the diet’s nutrient ratios. If a supplement is needed, choose the product and amount with your veterinarian, taking the cat’s existing diet into account.
In a home-prepared diet, required supplements are part of the recipe, rather than optional enhancements. Nutritional balancing is best discussed with a veterinarian working in nutrition or an appropriately qualified feline nutrition specialist. Use the products specified in the recipe and follow the stated amounts and proportions. Do not substitute or omit supplements without recalculating the whole recipe. This applies to both BARF and cooked meals.
A natural eating pattern: little and often
Cats naturally hunt small prey. Each catch provides a small amount of food, so their natural pattern consists of frequent small meals spread over 24 hours. At home, it is worth allowing a similar eating pattern. There is no single compulsory number of meals for every cat, however. Adapt feeding times to the animal and the household’s daily life.
You can offer several wet-food meals and leave a suitable amount of dry food in an ordinary bowl between them. The total amount must match the cat’s daily needs. An automatic feeder can help divide portions between set times but is not essential. Puzzle feeders and food-search games let cats track, search for and obtain food. Meals then also provide an activity that meets their natural needs.
How much food should you give?
Start with the feeding table on the particular food’s packaging and read its headings. Tables are not all arranged in the same way. Some kitten recommendations use age and expected adult weight. In such a table, for a five-month-old kitten expected to reach about 4 kg, select five months and the expected 4 kg, rather than its current weight, for example 2.7 kg. Other manufacturers use age and current kitten weight. Follow the description of the specific table; if you are unsure what adult weight to expect, ask the breeder or veterinarian.
An allowance labelled ‘daily’ covers the whole 24 hours, rather than one meal or only the period from morning to evening. Divide it into frequent small portions, including at night. Cats may be active after dark and around dawn and may need a meal then. Treat packaging recommendations as a starting point and adjust the amount to growth and body condition.
For foods formulated for Sphynx cats, the manufacturer may already allow for the breed’s higher energy needs. Do not automatically increase every recommended portion by 20%. A Sphynx may need more calories, but no single percentage increase suits every cat.
With mixed feeding, remember that both wet and dry food provide calories. Do not give a full daily allowance of both at once. Check the manufacturer’s guidance on combining them or compare the calorie information on their labels. Include treats and other additions too.
For this calculation alone, assume that the daily food allowance should provide 240 kcal. If wet food contains 100 kcal per 100 g, then 160 g provides 160 kcal. The remaining 80 kcal can be supplied by 20 g of dry food containing 400 kcal per 100 g. This is an example of calculating amounts of two foods, not a ready-made portion for every Sphynx or kitten. Always base calculations on the calorie content of the foods used and your cat’s needs.
Several cats at home: separate feeding places
Kittens at our cattery eat together. After moving to a home with another cat, however, it is worth giving them separate feeding places, ideally out of sight of each other. Cats are happy to check whether the other bowl contains something tastier, just in case. Two bowls side by side do not always provide a peaceful setting: one cat may guard the food while the other feels insecure.
Hydration matters throughout life
Cats can concentrate their urine strongly and obtain some of their water from food. Wet food can substantially increase dietary water intake even when a cat rarely drinks from a bowl. A little extra water can also be added if the cat readily eats the meal prepared this way.
At Aggio Cat*PL, we do not soak dry food. We serve it dry and provide water through food mainly by offering wet food, sometimes with a little added water. A healthy cat that manages kibble well does not need it soaked. If a veterinarian recommends a different consistency for a particular health problem, we follow that advice. Whatever the feeding method, cats should always have access to fresh water.
How can you tell whether a food suits your cat?
What can the litter tray tell you?
Watch appetite, energy, body condition and skin, as well as what is left in the litter tray. Looser stools or constipation may follow a food change that was too rapid or occur when the recipe does not suit the cat. For some cats, too much offal in a mixture can be a problem. Not every change in bowel movements is diet-related, however, and stool appearance alone does not reveal everything about nutritional value.
Introduce a new food gradually, usually over several days to about a week, and longer for sensitive cats. Avoid changing several things at once, as this makes it harder to identify the cause of a reaction.
Regular bowel movements without a marked increase or decrease in frequency, together with well-formed, firm stools, are a good sign that the food suits the cat.
The Royal Canin faecal scoring scale can help. A score of 2.5 describes firm, formed, slightly moist stools, identified as ideal on that scale. Very hard or overly loose stools may signal a problem. The scale supports observation but does not diagnose disease or assess food quality.
| Score | Stool consistency |
|---|---|
1 | Very hard, dry and crumbly. |
2 | Hard and formed, with distinct cracks. |
2.5 | Firm, formed and slightly moist. |
3 | Soft and moist, but still retaining its shape. |
4 | Very soft, wet and poorly formed. |
5 | Liquid and watery. |
Small differences in stool consistency do not necessarily indicate illness. Persistent changes and any accompanying concerning symptoms matter more.
Source: Royal Canin (2020). Fecal Scoring System for Cats. Descriptions based on the source. My own diagrams show consistency, not colour.
View Royal Canin’s scale with schematic drawings.
Contact your veterinarian if your cat has diarrhoea, vomiting, loss of appetite or reduced wellbeing. A sudden or persistent change in stools also needs advice, particularly if there is blood or weakness. Repeated food changes can make the cause harder to identify.
Meat as an addition to complete food
When feeding a complete food, meat can provide a little variety. There is no universal rule, however, that replacing two or three meals a week with meat will always preserve nutritional balance. Portion sizes, calories and the proportion of the total diet they represent all matter. Count the calories from added meat too. If meat is to replace a larger share of complete food, the whole diet must be properly balanced, ideally with a feline nutrition specialist’s help.
If your cat enjoys chewing, you can offer boneless beef cut into pieces suited to its abilities. To encourage chewing, choose a somewhat firmer cut rather than tender fillet. Always adapt firmness to dental health and how the cat manages the food. Meat should be fresh and of good quality. Chewing engages the jaw muscles, but such a meal does not replace oral hygiene.
Raw meat can transmit pathogens. Freezing in a domestic freezer does not eliminate all pathogens, so thawed meat requires the same care as fresh meat. Cooking reduces infection risk but does not, by itself, make a meat meal nutritionally complete.
Basic safety
Do not give your cat bones, especially cooked bones, or leftovers containing onion, garlic or chives. Keep chocolate, alcohol and caffeinated drinks out of reach. Treats do not replace complete meals. When offering pieces of meat, stay nearby and adjust their size to the cat’s abilities.
© Agnieszka Mianowska · Aggio Cat*PL · aggiocat.pl
Further information
- FEDIAF (2025). Nutritional Guidelines for Complete and Complementary Pet Food for Cats and Dogs. September 2025 edition. Recommended nutrient levels.
- AAFP (2018). Feline Feeding Programs: Addressing Behavioral Needs to Improve Feline Health and Wellbeing. Small meals and peaceful feeding locations.
- AAHA/AAFP (2021). Feline Life Stage Guidelines: Nutrition and Weight. Kittens. Kitten nutrition and prevention of excess weight.
- WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee (2021). Raw Meat Based Diets for Pets. Nutritional balancing and safety of raw diets.
Additional information on supplements: AAFCO (n.d.). Supplements. Guidance on dietary supplements; this is not a source of European nutritional standards.
The feeding approaches I describe are based on my own experience at Aggio Cat*PL. They are not a universal feeding plan: each cat’s needs should be assessed individually.
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Author: Agnieszka Mianowska · Aggio Cat*PL
© Aggio Cat*PL
© Agnieszka Mianowska · Aggio Cat*PL · aggiocat.pl