214.8Kcal/day for an 8 year old 10lbs cat?

1sep1969

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I feed my cat daily 1/2 of 3oz wet canned food (Wellness) (about 50.5Kcal) and 1/4 cup of Hill's prescription diet feline dental care t/d (dry food, maybe about 65Kcal). I also feed some daily treats. He weights 10lbs and will be 8 years old in a few months.

The vet says that because he is getting older and weights 10lbs, he should be consuming 214.8Kcal/day to maintain his weight. Prior to his latest vet visit, I was feeding same amount of wet canned food and about 1/8 cup of Hill's prescription diet feline dental care t/d. He was weighting 10lbs. When I increase the quantity of dry food, he still maintained 10lbs...

I've also read online that cats who weight 10lbs should consume 214.8Kcal/day, but I find it too much... I'm willing to increase the daily wet food consumption in order to reach 214.8Kcal/day, if I must, but I worry that he might gain weight. He has always been perfectly healthy.

What are your thoughts on this? Can he consume little and end up with health issues, even though he maintains the 10lbs weight and appears perfectly health on the outside, as is the case at the moment. Does it makes sense that a cat needs to consume more because he is getting older? 214.8Kcal/day for a 10lbs cat is reasonable? Should I instead increase it slowly and watch his weight?
 

daftcat75

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As cats get older, everything works a little less well than it used to including their digestion and their kidneys. For that reason alone, it would be better to increase calories as wet food. Dry food is harder to digest and it’s harder on the kidneys because it’s lower in moisture and thus dehydrating. You could perhaps keep dry food for the overnight if you want to keep your sleep. But I would try to reduce or eliminate it from the daytime. Hunger pangs are beneficial to digestion. They also help move ingested hair (from grooming) along to prevent it from coming back up as hairballs.

So back to the question.

Every cat’s metabolism, diet, and activity level is different. If he’s maintaining his weight, and as long as he is, you probably don’t have to weigh him more than once or twice a month, then keep feeding how much your feeding.

A lot of illnesses that more frequently show up in older cats (8 is a little young but probably not too young) have weight loss as a symptom. Even getting older, you should expect to increase the amount of protein you feed him to help him from becoming a skinny old cat.

More wet, less dry as he gets older. Monitor his weight. Be prepared to increase the amount (or the quality) you feed him. And if he starts to lose weight, either feed him more or if that doesn’t help, take him back to the vet. A lot of diseases that cause older cats to lose weight—IBD, diabetes, kidney disease, even cancer—are treatable if caught early enough.
 

LTS3

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The genera rule of thumb is roughly 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily. If 10 lbs is healthy for your cat, then he needs 200 to 250 calories daily. Some cats may need more or less. Adjust according to your cat's appetite and body weight and condition. Making sure the cat gets plenty of play time / exercise will burn off any extra unnecessary calories.

The dental dry food really does nothing for dental health despite what your vet says. It's fine to stop feeding it and to start a home dental care routine with your cat. Tooth brushing is best and not as difficult or scary as it may seem.
 
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