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I adopted a 12-year-old Siamese, Chris, a while back who weighed 17 lbs. Since I've had him, I've switched his diet entirely to wet food from the dry food his previous family gave him, and he's come down to 15.5 lbs. My vet says he should be at 10 to 11 lbs, and so I've now been reducing Chris's food intake.
Before September 5, 2017, he was getting about 8.25 ounces of high-quality, grain-free, wet food per day. I reduced this to 7.5 ounces, saw a weight loss from 15.5 lbs to 15.3 lbs over two weeks. This amounts to about 5 ounces lost over two weeks. I then waited a week to ensure his weight was steady and decreased his food to 6 ounces per day (two 3 oz cans spread out into three meals) on October 6, 2017. Two weeks later he had lost another few ounces to reach 15.1 lbs. I kept him on two 3 oz cans, but when I weighed him yesterday he was back to 15.3 lbs.
I do have a second cat, but they both eat their food in one sitting, and so I don't believe Chris is getting an extra meal anywhere. Overall, I'm just concerned that cutting his food down to 6 oz per day, from 8.25, hasn't resulted in a more significant decrease. My understanding was that cats can and should lose about 1 lb a month, and Chris, at less than 200 calories per day, is maintaining his 15 lb weight.
He is sedentary, for the most part. He doesn't run around, but he plays, and he goes for walks outside. Should I be decreasing his food to 4.5 oz per day, which would amount to about 120 calories per day? At what point have I tipped into decreasing his food too much?
Thanks for the help!
Before September 5, 2017, he was getting about 8.25 ounces of high-quality, grain-free, wet food per day. I reduced this to 7.5 ounces, saw a weight loss from 15.5 lbs to 15.3 lbs over two weeks. This amounts to about 5 ounces lost over two weeks. I then waited a week to ensure his weight was steady and decreased his food to 6 ounces per day (two 3 oz cans spread out into three meals) on October 6, 2017. Two weeks later he had lost another few ounces to reach 15.1 lbs. I kept him on two 3 oz cans, but when I weighed him yesterday he was back to 15.3 lbs.
I do have a second cat, but they both eat their food in one sitting, and so I don't believe Chris is getting an extra meal anywhere. Overall, I'm just concerned that cutting his food down to 6 oz per day, from 8.25, hasn't resulted in a more significant decrease. My understanding was that cats can and should lose about 1 lb a month, and Chris, at less than 200 calories per day, is maintaining his 15 lb weight.
He is sedentary, for the most part. He doesn't run around, but he plays, and he goes for walks outside. Should I be decreasing his food to 4.5 oz per day, which would amount to about 120 calories per day? At what point have I tipped into decreasing his food too much?
Thanks for the help!
). I'd want to make absolutely certain that Chris was only getting his own portion of food before reducing further. 
