How much to feed a cat.?

As I've mentioned before, our stray Henry is pretty big. He's a
long-haired cat, so he looks even bigger than he really is, but he is
overweight. http://frontpage.visi.com/~blink/images/Henry%20005.jpg
(to give scale, each tile that he's laying on is about 14 inches)

Because of his isolation in our current quarantine set-up, it's
possible to control his diet without starving the other cats (if they
all lived together right now, he'd just eat all their food).

He's about 17 pounds right now. It might be hard to tell from the
photo, but I'd classify him as "fairly overweight", not "morbidly
obese", but also not "a little chubby".

How can I determine how much to feed him? We're giving him about a 1/2
cup of Science Diet adult dry food, plus a 1/4 cup of wet treat-food
(organic, kitty health food from our local co-op).

I'm afraid part of his weight issues have to do with inactivity. He
may actually be depressed - another reason we thought he'd be a good
addition, since he was very playful outside, and we pictured him
chasing Louis happily through the house. He's pretty sedentary now as
a solitary cat - though he loves a paper bag. =)

How can I figure out how much to feed him?

His size, together with his long coat, have proved troublesome in his,
er, butt-hygiene, which is a severe irritation to all of us. =P

Thanks for any info.

BLink

"Brian Link" wrote in message
...
As I've mentioned before, our stray Henry is pretty big. He's a
long-haired cat, so he looks even bigger than he really is, but he is
overweight. http://frontpage.visi.com/~blink/images/Henry%20005.jpg
(to give scale, each tile that he's laying on is about 14 inches)

Because of his isolation in our current quarantine set-up, it's
possible to control his diet without starving the other cats (if they
all lived together right now, he'd just eat all their food).

He's about 17 pounds right now. It might be hard to tell from the
photo, but I'd classify him as "fairly overweight", not "morbidly
obese", but also not "a little chubby".

How can I determine how much to feed him? We're giving him about a 1/2
cup of Science Diet adult dry food, plus a 1/4 cup of wet treat-food
(organic, kitty health food from our local co-op).

I'm afraid part of his weight issues have to do with inactivity. He
may actually be depressed - another reason we thought he'd be a good
addition, since he was very playful outside, and we pictured him
chasing Louis happily through the house. He's pretty sedentary now as
a solitary cat - though he loves a paper bag. =)

How can I figure out how much to feed him?

His size, together with his long coat, have proved troublesome in his,
er, butt-hygiene, which is a severe irritation to all of us. =P

Thanks for any info.


Better call Megan. She's the expert and she only works via
telephone.

Brian Link wrote:
As I've mentioned before, our stray Henry is pretty big. He's a
long-haired cat, so he looks even bigger than he really is, but he is
overweight. http://frontpage.visi.com/~blink/images/Henry%20005.jpg

Talk with your vet. It may not be how much you are feeding him - but
what you are feeding him. He doesn't look grossly overweight to me -
and personally, I like my older cats a bit on the chubby side in case
of illness.

-L.

Mary wrote:

Better call Megan. She's the expert and she only works via
telephone.

I'd have to disagree. Megan isn't an expert. She is a shill for
Wellness and is a Hill's Hater. That's about it. What are her
qualifications, anyway?

gaubster2 wrote:
Mary wrote:

Better call Megan. She's the expert and she only works via
telephone.

I'd have to disagree. Megan isn't an expert. She is a shill for
Wellness and is a Hill's Hater. That's about it. What are her
qualifications, anyway?

Mr G, the threshold setting on your Sarcasm module is too low.
Recalibrate.

S.