Diet Advice

[patti511]

Hi! Seems I always have a problem. Thank you all for the great advice. My 2+ year old female bengal, Sheena, weighs 16 lbs. and is fairly big-boned. I had her to the vet for a check up recently and was told not to let her gain any more weight. Ideally she should be about 12 pounds. She eats 1/3 of a can of Tiki chicken in the a.m. (approx. 50 cal.) and 1/4 of a can of Nature's Variety (approx. 55 calories), plus a tablespoon of dry Instinct Ultimate Protein on top of each meal. She's very inactive. This calorie intake is hardly anything....she is constantly hungry and not losing weight. I occasionally give her a couple of 2 calorie treats because she is constantly annoying me for food. She is always hungry. When I Google how many calories cats should eat per pound of body weight, the answers range from 20 - 35 calories! She would be a whale if I gave her that much!
Any suggestions??

 

[patti511]

The NV is in the evening for dinner (I didn't mention that).

 

[Kieka]

Did you used to feed her a different amount?

What is her body condition?

fat-cat-scale.png

• Kieka
• Feb 1, 2017
• 3

 

[StefanZ]

I see this diet doesnt contain much carbos? Observe carbos are more fattening than fats. Cat body knows how to handle extra fats but doesnt know about extra carbos - these go directly into body fat. IF you use a low fat variation be sure its more proteins instead, not more carbos as is common.

 

[Norachan]

That seems hardly any calories for a cat of that size. If you are sure that you have calculated her body weight and the amount that you feed her correctly there maybe some health reason for her constant hunger and weight gain.

Did the vet do any blood work? Hypothyroidism is extremely rare in cats, but it could explain the weight gain and the inactivity. Diabetes is more common. Did the vet check for that?

 

[lisahe]

All the responses in this thread have great suggestions but Norachan 's especially struck me: I, too, wonder if there's some sort of underlying health issue. It seems unusual for a cat that age to be so inactive. She's eating so few calories, almost all of which are protein or fat, as StefanZ recommended, that diabetes would seem unlikely but you never know. Has your cat ever had blood work done? It's very helpful to do that for young cats, both to find signs of disease early on and to use as a baseline as the cat gets older.

Eating so few calories for her size, I even almost wonder if that's contributed to her inactivity, making a sort of vicious circle because she doesn't feel very energetic. (Can that happen? I don't know but metabolisms can do strange things.) Like Kieka , I wonder how long has she been on such a low-calorie diet. How long has she been this inactive?

I'm glad Kieka posted a body condition chart. Where does your cat fall on that chart, patti511 ? Do you have a photo of her that shows her from the side or from the top, like in the chart? Finally, what is your cat's name?

 

[orange&white]

I think it could just come down to genetics. My senior has lost from 16.5 to 14.25 pounds, but it has taken a full year and I've had to drop his calories to 130-135 per day of zero-carbohydrate, very low fat foods. He'll be thirteen next month. I've owned him since 7 months and he has been the least active cat I've ever had.

It's concerning that your cat is overweight at such a young age. Tangent was fit at 12.5-13.0 lbs until he was around 3 years old, then started showing a propensity to gain weight. Get bloodwork and urinalysis at her annual exams. If everything comes out all right, then her metabolism is such that she just can't eat much.

She will get a little more active if you can get a pound or two off her. Make her walk a little bit at least, if you can't get her to play with toys. You may have to walk around the house for 10 minutes holding her food plate so she'll follow you.

For the begging, resist the urge to give in and give her treats. When I cut Tangent's calories, he started meowing for food, seemingly constantly. That's understandable; he was used to more calories. Instead of food, I told him "Oh, I love you too," and picked him up for a hug, or "Want to play with the toy?," and waved a feather toy around. He eventually figured out that meowing wasn't getting him extra food. Now, when I'm in the kitchen, he sits quietly by his empty saucer and stares at me forlornly, but at least the meowing stopped.

Good luck with her diet. Do get the bloodwork and urinalysis done if you haven't already to rule out any underlying medical conditions.

 

[StefanZ]

Yes, doing the bloodworks be sure they check up also the thyroidea (spelling) hormones. After all its fairly easy condition to cure, once its known for sure.

 

[maggie101]

Hi! Seems I always have a problem. Thank you all for the great advice. My 2+ year old female bengal, Sheena, weighs 16 lbs. and is fairly big-boned. I had her to the vet for a check up recently and was told not to let her gain any more weight. Ideally she should be about 12 pounds. She eats 1/3 of a can of Tiki chicken in the a.m. (approx. 50 cal.) and 1/4 of a can of Nature's Variety (approx. 55 calories), plus a tablespoon of dry Instinct Ultimate Protein on top of each meal. She's very inactive. This calorie intake is hardly anything....she is constantly hungry and not losing weight. I occasionally give her a couple of 2 calorie treats because she is constantly annoying me for food. She is always hungry. When I Google how many calories cats should eat per pound of body weight, the answers range from 20 - 35 calories! She would be a whale if I gave her that much!
Any suggestions??

Can you put her in a harness and take her for a walk?

 

[patti511]

Did you used to feed her a different amount?

What is her body condition?

fat-cat-scale.png

• Kieka
• Feb 1, 2017
• 3

I would say she's most like #4. I used to feed her more than I do now, but the vet said to not let her gain any more, so I cut back on some calories.

 

[patti511]

I see this diet doesnt contain much carbos? Observe carbos are more fattening than fats. Cat body knows how to handle extra fats but doesnt know about extra carbos - these go directly into body fat. IF you use a low fat variation be sure its more proteins instead, not more carbos as is common.

She gets no carbs, really. Just the few treats in between meals. The food his high protein.

 

[patti511]

That seems hardly any calories for a cat of that size. If you are sure that you have calculated her body weight and the amount that you feed her correctly there maybe some health reason for her constant hunger and weight gain.

Did the vet do any blood work? Hypothyroidism is extremely rare in cats, but it could explain the weight gain and the inactivity. Diabetes is more common. Did the vet check for that?

I will make an appt for blood work. I feel that I'm not feeding her enough for her size. I go to a strictly feline vet and she did not suggest blood work or testing.

 

[StefanZ]

My guess is she began with ruling out the easy and common solutions, before she went on with the more rare and more costly.
Nice she does think on the cat owners money pocket too. Not all vets do so.

I will make an appt for blood work. I feel that I'm not feeding her enough for her size. I go to a strictly feline vet and she did not suggest blood work or testing.

 

[di and bob]

If she LOOKS fine, no sagging belly, etc, it could be she is fine. I've had several 16 pound cats and they were a little 'fluffy' but not obese, and turned out fine. She is a big breed cat with big bones, so that really doesn't seem out of line. There are many lo-cal foods and treats out there now, she may be so inactive because she is not getting enough to eat. If she bugs you for food, offer her low cal treats, such as thin sliced turkey breast, or other deli sliced meats. Try to get her more active, a cardboard scratcher sprinkled with catnip really gets them going, kickeroo to get her to bunny kick. If it was me, I'd go by how she looks to me, vets are human and don't know everything!