calories, carbs, fat

msserena

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Hi there!

I started researching cat food a few years ago & learned about moisture, protein amounts & carb content & what canned food should have & what it shouldn't have.

I started my cats off on Natures Variety Instinct, all flavors & then someone told me it's high in fat so I then bought Weruva (non fish varieties) & mixed a little NV with the whole can of Weruva. After years of this, I wanted to find a less expensive alternative so I got rid of the Weruva & switched to Soulistic. Whole can Soulistic with a little NV mixed in. I also need to explain that I'm staying with my family & it's a plant nightmare in their house, if my kitties bellies aren't full, they go munching on plants. So there's always food available.

One cat out of my three is a tub gut. I started feeding raw food last month & so every morning I fix a plate of meat. I also fix another plate of meat in the evening & then open a can of food for over night. Usually there's a little food left over in the am, no one eats it all.

I would like for my little fatty to lose a little weight so I've been researching calories & fat content. Here is where I'm having trouble. Before I was told that food under 10% (dm) carbs is best. Now people are telling me I need to pay attention to calories. But then there's the fat too. I'm getting very confused. Can you please explain what someone should be looking at?

Thank you
 

dr rachel

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There is no simple answer to your question. It is not percentage of nutrients that affect weight loss, it is calories.  Fat is important in that it is very calorie dense, which is why low fat diets  generally accelerate weight loss. But again, if you eat more calories per day then you burn (regardless of what foods you eat) --weight gain occurs.  Ask your vet to estimate how many calories you cat should eat per day to reach an ideal body weight .  Find out what your cat's ideal body weight is, then feed toward that weight.  You vet should be able to tell you how many calories to feed per day, then you can check the foods you feed to see how many calories are in a can of food.  Raw foods are harder to quantitate but tables are available that list calories per ounce of most meats.  You can divide the total daily calories required into as many meals through the day as you like, trying to not exceed or substantially underfed daily calorie intact.
 
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