A cat forum. CatBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » CatBanter forum » Cat Newsgroups » Cat health & behaviour
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Am I feeding enough?



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old November 12th 04, 02:39 PM
---MIKE---
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Am I feeding enough?

Amber is a good sized cat and is a bit plump. Tiger is gigantic
(possible Maine Coon). He weighed in at 25 pounds at his last vet visit
in June. The vet said he should lose some weight. I am feeding one 5.5
ounce can of Wellness for the two cats in the morning and again in the
late afternoon. They get a small amount of dry Wellness at noon and
again at bedtime. Both cats are inside only and are not very active -
sleeping a lot. They appear to have lost some weight but are not skinny
by any means. Am I giving them enough to eat?


---MIKE---

  #2  
Old November 12th 04, 05:59 PM
Mary
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"---MIKE---" wrote in message
...
Amber is a good sized cat and is a bit plump. Tiger is gigantic
(possible Maine Coon). He weighed in at 25 pounds at his last vet visit
in June. The vet said he should lose some weight. I am feeding one 5.5
ounce can of Wellness for the two cats in the morning and again in the
late afternoon. They get a small amount of dry Wellness at noon and
again at bedtime. Both cats are inside only and are not very active -
sleeping a lot. They appear to have lost some weight but are not skinny
by any means. Am I giving them enough to eat?



I have been feeding my two females (age 5, 7 lbs, and age 10 and OH MY GOD
pounds)
half a three-ounce can of food twelve hours apart plus half a cup of dry for
the fat one
and unlimited dry for the skinny one. (They essentially live in different
parts of the house
and someone is usually here so it is hard for the fat one to sneak the
skinny one's food.)
These are active cats, and this is clearly enough for them.


  #3  
Old November 13th 04, 02:47 PM
---MIKE---
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

I posted this yesterday but it got buried before I could get any
meaningful responses so this is to bring it to the top.


---MIKE---

  #5  
Old November 15th 04, 09:48 PM
Rene
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

(Meghan Noecker) wrote in message ...
On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 08:39:04 -0500,

(---MIKE---) wrote:

Amber is a good sized cat and is a bit plump. Tiger is gigantic
(possible Maine Coon). He weighed in at 25 pounds at his last vet visit
in June. The vet said he should lose some weight. I am feeding one 5.5
ounce can of Wellness for the two cats in the morning and again in the
late afternoon. They get a small amount of dry Wellness at noon and
again at bedtime. Both cats are inside only and are not very active -
sleeping a lot. They appear to have lost some weight but are not skinny
by any means. Am I giving them enough to eat?


Have you asked your vet to give you an idea of what each cat should
get? If the large cat is naturally a large cat, then it should have
more food, but how much depends on what his ideal weight should be.
Also, you want to try to cut the calories in such a way that it
doesn't seem so small to the cats. And add in some exercise to help
burn off some calories.


[snip]

You might want to explore other options instead of just relying on
your vet. I did that for three years, and my cat ended up *gaining*
five pounds instead of losing any weight. (I was talked into buying
prescription food.) There are lots of great people here who are very
educated in feline nutrition, and Megan the cat lady's web site at
thecatlady.org has good info too.

I'm not knocking anyone's vet, don't get me wrong. I just would not
use a vet as your only nutrition source. Not all are thoroughly
educated in feline nutrition.

Rene
  #6  
Old November 15th 04, 10:22 PM
Steve Crane
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

(---MIKE---) wrote in message ...
Amber is a good sized cat and is a bit plump. Tiger is gigantic
(possible Maine Coon). He weighed in at 25 pounds at his last vet visit
in June. The vet said he should lose some weight. I am feeding one 5.5
ounce can of Wellness for the two cats in the morning and again in the
late afternoon. They get a small amount of dry Wellness at noon and
again at bedtime. Both cats are inside only and are not very active -
sleeping a lot. They appear to have lost some weight but are not skinny
by any means. Am I giving them enough to eat?


---MIKE---


Absent knowing exactly how much each cat is getting it's impossible to
tell, but it is possible to give you some guidlines.

Assuming Intact Cats
5kg (11 pounds) needs 334 kcals per day
7kg (15.4 pounds) needs 430 kcals per day
8kg (17.6 pounds) needs 476 kcals per day
9kg (19.8 pounds) needs 520 kcals per day
10kg (22 pounds) needs 562 kcals per day

Assuming Nuetered cats
5kg (11 pounds) needs 284 kcals per day
7kg (15.4 pounds) needs 366 kcals per day
8kg (17.6 pounds) needs 404 kcals per day
9kg (19.8 pounds) needs 442 kcals per day
10kg (22 pounds) needs 478 kcals per day

If you take the target weight and determine how many kcals you need to
feed the cat to acheive that target weight you can do the math and
work from there. Wellness web site probably give you the kcals per can
for the canned foods and kcals per kg for the dry foods.

All of this is of course subject highly to individual animals who may
be more or less active than other individual animals. The best test of
all is to look at the cats, feel for ribs, feel for fat deposition at
the base of the tail etc.
  #8  
Old November 16th 04, 08:36 AM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Steve Crane posted the following misinformation:

Assuming Nuetered cats
5kg (11 pounds) needs 284 kcals per day
7kg (15.4 pounds) needs 366 kcals per day
8kg (17.6 pounds) needs 404 kcals per day
9kg (19.8 pounds) needs 442 kcals per day
10kg (22 pounds) needs 478 kcals per day

Anyone following your advice will be looking at an incredibly obese cat
in a short amount of time. Regardles of where you got your "information"
these calorie requirements far exceed what cats need to maintain weight.
A reasonable general rule is to feed 15 calories per pound to maintain
weight on an indoor cat with an average activity level. For example,
Rene's cat Tucker, who is on a weight loss plan and had been losing
weight slowly, but consistently, plateaued at a little over 19 pounds
eating strict portions and, at that point, receiving about 170 calories
total (1 5.5 oz can of Wellness) per day. We've now cut his food back
slightly by about 15 calories and he is again losing weight. If he was
fed according to your recommendations he would be eating more than
double what his actual requirement is and be fatter than he was when he
was fed according to what his vet recommended, which was also wrong. My
own cats (24) are fed on this basis and maintain weight on 15 calories
per pound and some even a little less. The calorie advice I have seen
from you and several places on the internet is extremely erroneous and
it would be of benefit to you to start getting some knowledge from "real
life" and real experience instead of relying on what Hills, etc. tells
you.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray


  #10  
Old November 16th 04, 08:28 PM
Rene
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

f
I'm not knocking anyone's vet, don't get me wrong. I just would not
use a vet as your only nutrition source. Not all are thoroughly
educated in feline nutrition.


I definitely agree with that. But a vet would be the ideal person to
determine the ideal weight for the cat in question.


When it comes to a diet, you need a food that the cat likes that is
lower in calorie so that the cat still feels satisfied, yet gets fewer
calories. You might also see if there are any "snacks" or "fillers"
that you can feed that would help the cat feel full. I use a filler
for my dog, but I don't know what would work for cats.


Meghan,

I agree that, before starting any diet, the place to start is your
vet's office. In some cases, your cat may have a medical condition
that causes weight gain or loss. After that's clear, your vet can give
an ideal weight.

The problem I was alluding to is that some vets, when asked about
food, are quick to mention what's on their shelves for sale. These
foods may not work for your cat. I've found that canned food, though
lower in calories, is more filling than the prescription dry I was
feeding.

To make the canned even more filling, I add a tablespoon or two of
water and stir. I also give treats of fresh or fresh frozen catnip. I
suppose you could give cats carrots or green beans (like they do as
fillers for dogs), but not many cats may eat them.

Rene
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
What is REALLY in your pet's food? catsdogs Cat health & behaviour 2 May 12th 04 05:57 AM
free feeding VS fixed feeding Amy Cat health & behaviour 58 February 26th 04 03:30 AM
Feeding time! Lois Reay Cat anecdotes 4 October 15th 03 12:09 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 08:51 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 CatBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.