2 cans a day too much?

[mingking]

I've just adopted a cat about a month ago and have been slowly figuring out what to feed him. He's 14.7lbs and 2 or 3 years old (the shelter is unsure of his exact age) and he LOOKS like a snowshoe cat (but again, I'm not sure). I've decided to stick with an all wet diet but I've found his food intake has increased this week. 

Before I could get away with feeding him one 6.0 oz can (cats in the kitchen) and 1 can of Fancy Feast. Now I have to add an extra half can to sometimes a whole can of FF. I know FF is only half the size of a 6 oz can so that means, I'm feeding my cat 12 oz a day (although, he'll leave a mouthful or so to dry up and for me to throw away during dinner). 

For the most part, I feed him 3 times a day:

6:30am - half of the 6 oz can

12:30-2pm: whole can of 3 oz FF

6-8pm: the rest of the 6 oz can

Around midnight, he'll bug me until I feed him (stepping on my face, leading me to the food bowl, etc.). I've tried to give him half a can of the FF at midnight but he would bug me until I gave him the rest.

I have also done a little googling and did the calculations several sites have recommended I do to find out the calorie intake of my cat. Most of the sites recommend I feed ~340 calories a day which DOES add up to 1 can of Cats in the Kitchen and 2 FF. He has been more active lately as well, so I'm thinking that might be a factor. 

But from googling, I see most people just feed their cats a can a day, so 2 cans seems really crazy to me. 

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

 

[bonepicker]

I have a large male cat who gets 3 oz am and 3 oz pm and a few pieces or dry orijen mid evening and 11 before bed (treat portions only) or Purebites freeze dried chicken treats. I also water down his wet food to make more filling and insure hydration

 

[lokhismom]

Remember Weruva Cats in the Kitchen is a low calorie food so he likely doesnt feel as full as he would eating something with more calories.  Maybe feed him something higher in calorie before bedtime so that he feels full? 

I'm going thru something similar with one of my kitties.  I feed about 7-9 oz a day.  I feed him 3 oz in morning. Another 3 oz when I return from work and 1.5 oz before bedtime.  Sometimes more in the morning or evening depending on how much he bothers me for more food. 

He's not overweight but I can see him getting there if I don't watch him.  I hope eventually I'll be able to cut down what I feed him as he gets a bit older.   He's plays a lot so I feel he's getting the exercise to hopefully work off some of the extra calories he may be getting. 

 

[lisahe]

 
Remember Weruva Cats in the Kitchen is a low calorie food so he likely doesnt feel as full as he would eating something with more calories.  Maybe feed him something higher in calorie before bedtime so that he feels full?

I agree wholeheartedly with both these points! I'd also suggest feeding a high-calorie food before bed, as late as possible; we feed our cats Nutro Natural Choice. That generally keeps them -- including our snowshoe! -- out of our faces in the morning.

Our snowshoe, BTW, is also a very active little piglet: she and her sister are two years old and much smaller than your cat (only about 7-8 pounds each) but eat nearly as much! They really work off the calories running and climbing around the house, though I do keep an eye on Edwina, the snowshoe, because she's such a hearty eater. So far so good. It may take a while for your cat to get settled into his routine -- for food and exercise -- since he's still new to your household.

 

[fluffybeard]

I have a 17lb male who is almost 2 and he eats 1 and 2/3 cans if NVI a day which adds up to about 360 calories, close to the reccomended 20 calories per pound for healthy weight cats. Big cats unfortunately just need more food! I'm just happy he is out of his growing like crazy older kitten phase. He was eating 3 of the big cans a day, which is 660 calories and he was lanky and slender as anything!

As long as he has a healthy body condition, I think it's probably not too much for a big 14 1/2 lb cat.

 

[2bcat]

Well, I think you're on the right track looking at calories.  In the end, if you use various different foods, they have different calorie density, so the only way to really know how much to feed is to try to figure out how many calories your cat needs and then feed based on how many calories are in the foods you are using.  I find this takes most of the ambiguity out of it (though not all!)  Going by cans or weights/volumes alone can end up with too much variation in the calorie intake, which in the end is the key number in how much food a cat needs.

If 14 pounds is at/near his ideal weight, then I could easily see 300 calories or so being the right amount.  I target about 150 calories a day for a cat who should weigh in the 7.5 lb range.  This is how you get to one can a day, a much smaller cat. ;-)  Although even a 9 or 10 pound cat only needs around 200 or so calories a day so they could still get by on one can in some cases.  I don't think one can ever cuts it for a 14+ pound cat unless he is needing to lose weight.

The Cats in the Kitchen cans max out at about 150 calories in a can for the larger 6 oz cans.  The highest is "Fowl Ball" I think, or at least the highest with no fish, but "Chicken Frick a Zee" is close.  Some of their other varieties are as low as 120 calories in a 6oz can!  They list all the calorie numbers on the Weruva web site.

If it helps, there are some canned foods that are more dense, getting upwards of 200 calories into a 5.5 oz or 6oz can.  But this is only more economical if the prices are similar.  Many of the denser cans are actually correspondingly more expensive, so it may not be any more economical.  Nature's Logic and Nature's Variety Instinct are usually pretty dense in their 5.5 oz cans for example, but whether it's more economical that way I'm not sure. 

I'm not too familiar with the calories in the Fancy Feast cans.  But if you're looking for something more economical, these may still work out ok price-wise even if you need to feed 3 a day.  It wouldn't be surprising to need that many given that they are only small cans and you have a larger cat. :-)

 

[felineempathy]

I'm not too familiar with the calories in the Fancy Feast cans.  But if you're looking for something more economical, these may still work out ok price-wise even if you need to feed 3 a day.  It wouldn't be surprising to need that many given that they are only small cans and you have a larger cat. :-)

As part of Shanoah's rotation, I feed her Fancy Feast Classics and Iams as cheaper options.  I didn't know the calories for the Fancy Feast Classics because it's not on their cans or their website so I asked them.

Fancy Feast Classic Chicken Feast 3oz: 91 calories

Fancy Feast Classic Turkey & Giblets Feast 3oz: 96 calories

Fancy Feast Classic Beef Feast 3oz: 93 calories

 

[mingking]

Thanks everyone! It's good to know that it's quite normal for the amount he eats. I think I'll definitely look into a more high calorie canned food to put into his meal plan soon. It just really baffled me that he was eating so much and it felt very sudden.

I like the suggestions and will look into the different canned foods some of you have recommended. Thank you so much! Any more replies or opinions would be appreciated  

 

[mingking]

Thank you! I like the suggestion to feed him more before bed.