About your cat wanting food in the middle of the night...if she hasn't been to the vet lately, take her. An increase in hunger, not sleeping, eating more and not gaining weight (is she?) could be a thyroid problem. It's not fatal but it needs treatment.
If it's not that, has she been more active than usual? Maybe she just needs more food during the day.
As for how much to feed them...my cat is runty...he's 9 lbs but slightly overweight, probably should be around 7 or 8, and he eats 1/2 cup of food a day and that suits him just fine. Make sure your cat gets quality food, most of the stuff you buy at the grocery store is SHIT. If the first ingredient is corn ANYTHING, don't buy it. Cats don't live on corn in the wild, so do the math. If you feed them that, it's essentially the same thing as eating cereal for every meal. You get vitamins and whatnot, but you're hungry again an hour later. Canned food is good once in a while for a treat, but not a steady diet of it. Most of it is really fatty.
It should say on the bag/can how much to feed your cat, however much she weighs, so start with that, and adjust if she still seems hungry and isn't getting fat.
If after all that, she still cries at night, ignore her. I had to do that to my cat...as soon as he started crying, he got picked up, moved out the bedroom, placed in the hallway and the door was shut. A few weeks of that and he realized crying in my room got him tossed out, and crying at the door didn't do any good. Now, he comes in and crashes on my bed, and usually waits until I get up for his food.
If it's not that, has she been more active than usual? Maybe she just needs more food during the day.
As for how much to feed them...my cat is runty...he's 9 lbs but slightly overweight, probably should be around 7 or 8, and he eats 1/2 cup of food a day and that suits him just fine. Make sure your cat gets quality food, most of the stuff you buy at the grocery store is SHIT. If the first ingredient is corn ANYTHING, don't buy it. Cats don't live on corn in the wild, so do the math. If you feed them that, it's essentially the same thing as eating cereal for every meal. You get vitamins and whatnot, but you're hungry again an hour later. Canned food is good once in a while for a treat, but not a steady diet of it. Most of it is really fatty.
It should say on the bag/can how much to feed your cat, however much she weighs, so start with that, and adjust if she still seems hungry and isn't getting fat.
If after all that, she still cries at night, ignore her. I had to do that to my cat...as soon as he started crying, he got picked up, moved out the bedroom, placed in the hallway and the door was shut. A few weeks of that and he realized crying in my room got him tossed out, and crying at the door didn't do any good. Now, he comes in and crashes on my bed, and usually waits until I get up for his food.
