Am I feeding enough

[catnamedpanda]

I recently moved and there are a few places here that sell commercial raw. I have been a slacker and put the kitties back on good quality wet while everything was crazy in my life. I found a nice pet store that actually only sells grain free foods. They also sell raw and we're very nice there. They sent me home with a sample of nature's variety raw chicken to try and see if the kitties will like raw in that form. Well they liked it which I figured they would, I was worried Boo might not like it because he is the picky one, and has never been fed raw.

Well my question is the amount they helped me figure out there seems off. Boo is 10 years old and 11lbs. They say I should feed him 3oz a day. He has been eating it for a few days and seem to leave a tiny bit behind so he does not seem like he is hungry for more.

They told I need to feed Penelope and Delilah 2.5 oz because they are younger and more active. The girls are 9 months old and between 3.5 and 4 pounds.

It seems odd to me that Boo is so much bigger and only needs a tiny bit more. How much would you all suggest I feed them.

 

[Willowy]

The recommended amount for adult cats is 2%-3% of body weight. Which, for an 11-pound cat, would be 3.52 oz-5.28 oz. So I think 3 ounces is a little low. I'd try 4 ounces and see how that goes. Although some cats need less (slow metabolism?) so if he doesn't eat more than the 3 ounces I wouldn't worry. I would give him the choice, though.

Kittens will eat 2-3 times that amount, although at 9 months that should be tapering off, but then they're still so tiny so maybe not. At any rate, 6% of 4 pounds would be 3.84 oz. I'd probably try 3 or 4 ounces for the girls, if they consistently leave any you can cut back.

 

[catnamedpanda]

Ok that sounds a lot better to me. The girls are bottomless pits still. I still wonder if they are going to grow more. At what point should I consider them full grown and their appetites to start to level off? Maybe I have permi-kittens and they will always eat like bottomless pits. :lol3:

 

[ldg]

Well, energy burn and metabolism definitely play a role. I have a 14 pound kitty that eats 3.2 ounces of raw food a day - and he's fairly active compared to my other older kitties (he's five years old). ..though I am feeding boneless, so if you adjust for the weight of bones, the bone-in equivalent would be about 3.5 or so ounces daily. My 7 and 8 pound kitties (9 and 8 years old, respectively) eat 3 ounces of food a day (adjusted for bone-in, that would be 3.3 or so ounces).

Given the girls are still kittens, if they WANT more, I'd let them eat more. I wouldn't be surprised to see them eat 6 (or more? :dk: ) ounces. I also wouldn't be surprised if they only need 4 - 5 ounces. I would be a little surprised if they only eat 3 ounces of food a day, but it's possible.

 

[catnamedpanda]

Oh I am sure they can easily eat 6 or more ounces in a day. I gave them 2oz for their morning meal, and they readily ate all of that. I guess it wouldn't hurt to just increase how much they get ay each meal until they are eating what they want.

 

[ldg]

Yeah - the general rule of thumb is to let kittens eat as much as they want. Even at nine months, they're still kittens. (But such tiny ones! ). I really don't know when it levels off or needs to be cut back....

 

[catnamedpanda]

I had it pretty figured out that they ate about 5.5-6oz of wet.

 

[ldg]

Well that shouldn't cost an arm and a leg! :lol3:

 

[catnamedpanda]

Well Boo has decided to boy cott the raw. I am going to go pick up a different protein tomorrow. I hear rabbit is usually a hit.

 

[ldg]

Are you mixing it into whatever canned food he was eating before? Because transitioning a 10 year old can be a bit of a trick. :lol3: It's best to introduce it very slowly, one protein at a time, mixing just a little bit into whatever they were eating, and slowly increasing the amount. To get my (all older kitties) eating 100% raw, I had to use "enticement toppers" - things like freeze dried chicken or freeze dried beef or chicken liver crumbled or powdered over the top of the food. Fortiflora can also be a good topper. But especially with older kitties, it can be a process..... and it just takes patience.

 

[catnamedpanda]

He was eating it no problem in the beginning only leaving behind a little. I upped how much I was offering and then suddenly he does not want any. I tried mixing it with wet and he still won't touch it. He would not even touch plain wet until an hour latter. I guess he decided to be difficult after all.

 

[ldg]

Ah! Were you feeding him the same protein? I found that mine get (got) bored of the same thing, and I had to switch up the protein I was feeding them pretty much every couple of days at the outside. It's usually recommended NOT to switch up like that when introducing raw, but if they won't eat it then....

So did you get the NV rabbit? I think mine loved it so much because of the pork fat in it. :lol3: They love just plain ground whole rabbit now - but it took a while to get there.

 

[catnamedpanda]

I ended up with lamb. Boo cleared his bowl and loved it. I think I am just going to have to change proteins up every few days at least. So far no digestive upsets so that's good.

 

[ldg]

Oh that's great! :bigthumb: Even better if they want the switch-up, and it's not upsetting their tummies. :lol3: :cross:

 

[catnamedpanda]

Yes I am very thankful for no tummy upsets. Even though I still am curious is Penelope has something going on. Even before the raw her poop has become very dry and rock hard. I actually took her to the vet because she has been holding her tail curled between her legs even to the point of pottying on it, not wanting to play, eating like she is starved, and the hard poop. The vet said she was fine and was just acting off because of some earmites she found. Penelope was so angry and aggressive there which is very unlike her, but that is another story.

 

[ldg]

Well, the very hard dry poop, if it's difficult to pass, is painful - sounds like maybe she's constipated? Have you tried giving her a teaspoon or two of plain (canned) pumpkin (not pie filling LOL, just pumpkin)? That's usually a quick, safe, fix for constipation. :nod: May take a couple of days. For adult cats, you can give three teaspoons a day - I don't think that amount would be harmful to her, but it might be too much (though all that would cause is soft poop). (FYI, you can buy an ice cube tray, and freeze whatever portion of the can you don't end up using. When they're frozen, dump them in a baggie for future use, if necessary).

 

[catnamedpanda]

She doesn't seem to have a hard time passing them and has them regularly. I have found them just outside the box a few times though. But the fact she has them everyday I didn't think constipation. Can't hurt to try the pumpkin and see if it improves. Is it possible to be constipated but have a bowl movement everyday?

 

[ldg]

Oh, if she's pooping every day and not straining, then doesn't sound like there's an issue. I was just concerned by the description of her holding her tail between her legs to the point of pooping on it. Hope it was just the ear mites!

 

[catnamedpanda]

The ear mites were treated at the vet on Wednesday. She got revolution for them. I have never seen her scratch at her ears but the vet saw them in there, so they must have been caught early. But she still keeps her tail between her legs, something the vet really seemed to dismiss like I was making a big deal out of nothing. Not to mention Penelope made it very clear that she did not like this vet, or she just really does not feel like herself because she was hissing, growling, and attacking the vet. I have never seen her act like that at the vet ever. I told her that was not normal behavior from Penelope and again she just told me she was grumpy because of earmites.

 

[hersheys mom]

Well my question is the amount they helped me figure out there seems off. Boo is 10 years old and 11lbs. They say I should feed him 3oz a day. He has been eating it for a few days and seem to leave a tiny bit behind so he does not seem like he is hungry for more.

They told I need to feed Penelope and Delilah 2.5 oz because they are younger and more active. The girls are 9 months old and between 3.5 and 4 pounds.

It seems odd to me that Boo is so much bigger and only needs a tiny bit more. How much would you all suggest I feed them.

I recently started feeding raw, and with the help of the ladies on this list I now make my own food. My feral cat eats raw, she weighs about 9 lbs. and gets 6 oz, 2 oz three times a day. She is 1 year old and is an active cat as my other cat, the Tortie, chases her all over the house most of the day. The Tortie is a bully. The Tortie is also a food monger. When I first adopted her, she screamed for food 24/7, was on the counters, in the sink, on the stove, etc. looking for food. Two weeks of one-on-one training and now she sits and waits for her meal at meal time. She is also 9 lbs, which her vet considers too much, but she is not on raw, she eats the cheap food and kibble (because she refuses to eat anything else). She now gets 6 oz a day, and is slowly being converted to raw. When the bag of kibble is gone, there will be no more free feeding and no more kibble.

As for how much to feed, it is hard to say. I first felt like I was starving my cats, I mean, 2 oz servings look SO small. But they seem fine, they are not losing weight. I do notice, however, when it is meal time both cats jump up and cry like they haven't eaten in a week. Personally, I am a newbie on the list, and still learning about raw feeding, but 3 oz for an 11 lb cat sounds like too small an amount to me. Before she passed, my 17 yr old Burmese was a perfect 7.5 lbs (she was a small cat for a Burmese) and she at more than 3 oz a day, along with free feed kibble. I guess it varies with the cat. You could wait and see if your Boo starts losing weight, but I would bring Boo up to 4 oz now.