Big Kitty With A Big Appetite

penny alexander

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I have a big beautiful orange/cream rescue from Kuwait. He made the trip all the way to a rescue in TX and I was the lucky one to take him home. I've had him for about a year. He's four years old, very healthy....has never had a health issue and seems very happy. However...he is a regular chow hound! He LOVES Fancy Feast but I've heard it's not good for him. I've tried Wellness (expensive...and he eats a lot) and also...getting afraid for his weight....put him on a weight control wet food from the vet...Royal Caanin. He eventually turned up his nose to that. I've returned to the Fancy Feast...he doesn't like the Trout...won't touch it. I've just read on here to stay away from the fish and that the chicken classic is the best Fancy Feast to give. My big question is...HOW MUCH should he be eating? If he does not get two 3oz cans a day...one in the AM...one in the PM....he's grumpy, whiny and actually takes to smacking me when I walk by him! (He sits on the counter staring at me.) I'm just afraid this is way too much food for him per day. He weighs about 15/16 lbs. I leave indoor dry food out for him but he doesn't touch it.
I want to keep him healthy! Any advice??
 

KarenKat

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It's my understanding that the amount of calories in the food is more important than the number of oz. I think I've seen the guideline is 20-30 kcal per pound (depending on activity level) for weight maintenance. Which would mean you should be feeding at least 300 kcal per day. I think the 3oz chicken Fancy Feast is about 100 kcal? So you maybe should feed him 3 cans and then reduce by 10% if he is overweight. Cats losing weight too quickly can be dangerous for their health.

For what it's worth, I also read a comment from Jackson Galaxy that "diet" cat foods are not attractive to cats and it's better to reduce their calorie intake to help them lose weight. Also, adding a lot of active play sessions with him would increase his activity level.

Can we see a photo of your big boy? What's his name?
 

lisahe

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It sounds like you're already off to a good start by feeding him canned food! Fancy Feast Classics, the pates, are very decent foods with no carby fillers, so there's nothing wrong with sticking with those. Wellness foods tend to vary: we feed our cats some Wellness Core pates but stay away from their other foods since most of them (like certain Core foods, too, unfortunately) have vegetable-based fillers that cats can't really process well. To borrow from our vet, it's meat that cats need, not grains, potato, peas, or carrots. She'd also tell you to stay away from the fish. And tell you that the best way to put a cat on a diet is to feed only wet food and ditch the dry. I'll add that indoor dry food can be particularly bad because it's often more carby than "regular" food. Your cat's doing himself a favor by not eating it! (I wish our previous cat had done us the same favor -- we didn't know the hazards of dry food when we had her and, unfortunately, she loved it.)

I'm not good on daily calories to feed a cat but typical estimates are around 20-25 per pound of cat for maintenance and something a little less for slow weight loss. (Just as I was typing that, KarenKat KarenKat covered that point plus a problem with diet foods, to which I'll add that alleged diet foods are often carbier than regular foods, too!) Of course this is a "your results may vary" situation because some cats are far more active than others.

Welcome to The Cat Site and yes, please do post a photo! :)
 

duckpond

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My son has 4 girls, they weigh about 8 lbs each. Each of them get 2 cans of fancy feast classics per day, one can in the am and one in the pm. I would honestly be afraid to feed any cat less than two cans of fancy feast classics daily. Your guy i would think would need closer to 3, maybe 2 and a half?
 

2BSH

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My cats get way more than 6 ounces of food per day. They are 12&1/2 pounds and 10 pounds. They eat around 10 ounces of wet food per day (approx. 250 to 270 calories daily). If all I gave them was 2 cans of fancy feast they would meow the house down. Is your cat over weight at all? It's not all about the weight how is his body condition? Look up cat body condition charts. Those are a better indicator of your cat's "weight status".
 

1CatOverTheLine

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He LOVES Fancy Feast but I've heard it's not good for him.
P penny alexander - When my Dad's Siamese was just shy of six years old, he tried Fancy Feast for her, and she loved it, and ate virtually nothing else thereafter. Sadly, she died just twenty-four years later. She saw a veterinarian once - for her spay surgery, and her initial vaccinations, and otherwise lived a Life wholly devoid of medical issues.

I have eleven currently, and they go through 33 cans a day (they like Medleys best, so that's what they get), and I've fed Fancy Feast almost exclusively for three dozen years. I have two who just passed 21 years of age, and have had one at twenty-six, one at twenty-four, and quite a number between 20 and 22.

 
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penny alexander

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It's my understanding that the amount of calories in the food is more important than the number of oz. I think I've seen the guideline is 20-30 kcal per pound (depending on activity level) for weight maintenance. Which would mean you should be feeding at least 300 kcal per day. I think the 3oz chicken Fancy Feast is about 100 kcal? So you maybe should feed him 3 cans and then reduce by 10% if he is overweight. Cats losing weight too quickly can be dangerous for their health.

For what it's worth, I also read a comment from Jackson Galaxy that "diet" cat foods are not attractive to cats and it's better to reduce their calorie intake to help them lose weight. Also, adding a lot of active play sessions with him would increase his activity level.

Can we see a photo of your big boy? What's his name?
 
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penny alexander

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Pinkle Purr is his name. It’s from an AA Milne poem. I realize the cat in the poem was a “black leopard”.... but I’ve always wanted to name a cat Pinkle Purr... and with his red/cream coloring he qualifies. I call him “Pinkie” a lot.
 

Furballsmom

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Oh my heavens what a FACE!!!!
I'm so glad that cat and you found each other!!

Here's what some people (including myself) see as a problem with Fancy Feast. It has an additive that is practically arbitrary and definitely controversial which is menadione bisulfate (synthetic Vitamin K3). It has a Material Safety Data Sheet that states it causes liver and other organ damage with prolonged use. At what quantity that happens and at what time mark, isn't clear. I'm not sure when the company began to add this.

This brand of food also has gluten, starches and artificial colors, and byproducts. Some people feel strongly against these, I'm not all that soap-boxy about them.

With all that said, the food that your cat eats is the very best food, bar none.

My Guy is between 13 and 14 pounds and I tried just about everything under the sun to get him to switch and was only partially successful. So, he gets one of the small cans of fancy feast in the morning. The rest of the day is spent doing my best to get other foods into his system to offset the menadione and try to provide support for his liver, so there will be a pouch of Merrick Backcountry or Tikicat, Pet Pride, Natural Balance, along with some dry food that's not a Purina brand, some treats, a pouch of Delectables or other brothy thing.
 

laura mae

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What a great looking cat with a perfect name. He doesn't really look overweight. Is he pudgy, or can you make out his ribs when you pet him? He's fuzzy so I can't really tell what's fur and what's kitty.

It's hard to find similarly priced food to Fancy Feast, particularly the pates. And actually if he's 12-15 pounds and he seems NOT pudgy he's probably the appropriate weight for his size. My opinion is that 3 3oz cans seems like the amount to feed him.

My cats like Wellness too and Merricks. One kitty gets freeze dried Primal or NW Naturals to supplement his food for calories. Since it's freeze dried and you don't use it until you prepare it with the warm water, it might be worth supplementing with that. Fed exclusively, one bag would probably last a week.

So you could try mixing some varieties of other cans to supplement Fancy Feast without worrying about him gaining weight.
 

orange&white

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He is sooooo adorable!!! :dizzycat:

It is hard to tell because of his fur if he is overweight or not. He looks like he has a heavy bone structure judging by his face, which would make 15-16 pounds a good healthy weight.

You should be able to feel his ribs under a layer of muscle if he's in good shape.

I have no opinion either way about Fancy Feast, but do think any wet diet is healthier than kibble.

I would just weigh him at minimum monthly and slightly adjust his calories when needed, if he seems to be trending toward weight gain or loss.
 
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