Does any ones cat eat 300 calories / day??? (8 - 10 Pounds Indoors)

[michele spontak]

I will be happy if my cat eats a full can of food per day. I heard a recorded add from my Vet when I was on hold saying if I have questions about nutritional needs to ask, so I did. They returned my message saying that my cat needs about 300 calories a day. Charlie was 11 pounds and now he is about 8.5. I syringe feed him Hills K/D Diet up to a full large can if possible per day. He always has Hills K/D Dry food available too if he wishes to munch. He has been diagnosed with CKD so his appetite can get low. He gets Sub Qs daily too. I am extremely concerned now, because I do not know if he ever had 300 calories a day. I have 3 other cats who also have access to food round the clock and I do not see them eating 300 calories a day. I am almost certain of this.

Before, I was really happy if we could cat a can a day. I would love to give more, but he won't eat it. He does not act hungry. He is 13 years old and diagnosed with CKD. He is syringe fed due to what appears to be a Uremic Ulcer on the roof of his mouth. So he gets fed around the ulcer and seems to have a much better time eating that way. It is not very difficult and I don't even really have to hold him. I just place him on the bed facing me and I sit on the floor. I squirt bite by bite until finished. And he seems really content.

I have no idea how I could get him to eat 300 calories a day though. Somewhere it was estimated that at 8.5 pounds what he is he should have at least 170. Now, I am shocked to hear 300. I am trying to encourage him to eat all he is able, but I think 300 calories may be the equivalent of 2 large cans of food? I am not sure if I have ever seen he or any other cat eat that an have had cats all my life. Am I missing something? If so, what is it? If he needs 300 calories a day and will not eat that, is there anything I can do? I feel so skeptical because I have not seen a cat eat that much at all. They are pretty stationary and live indoors. Does anyone's cat eat that much? How many cans for instance or cups of dry food is that? He and all the other cats do have access to food all day if they want it, by the way and I don't think any of them consume nearly 300 calories. Any thoughts, advice, experience, opinions, anything will help please????

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. The general rule of thumb is about 20-25 calories per each pound of body weight - for a typical cat. How much does the vet think Charlie should weigh? If you take the low side of the calorie range, an 8.5 lb cat theoretically could consume about 170 calories per day to maintain that weight (8.5 x 20). On the high side it would be about 210 calories (8.5 x 25). On that same note, a cat that eats 300 calories per day would then weigh somewhere between 12 and 15 pounds (300/25 and 300/20). Dry vs. canned food plays some of a role. just because canned usually doesn't contain as many carbohydrates, which - just like humans - can cause weight gain/retention, because the body readily stores the 'excess' carbohydrates.

Before Feeby (15+ yo) put herself on a diet, she did eat 300 or more calories a day - she once weighed nearly 17 pounds. Now, she is hovering around 14.0 - 14.5 pounds and seems to be able to maintain that weight with about 250 calories per day. But, she is also very, very, very sedentary. I figure she expends around 17 calories per pound of body weight.

I don't know much about kidney issues, and maybe they play a role in it - that will have to be for someone else with experience to answer that part. But, for the general weight issue, if he isn't steadily losing weight, and 8.5 pounds is an OK weight for him, between 170-210 calories would seem to be appropriate to me.

You might just for the heck of it try to measure what your other cats are eating - if for no other reason than curiosity.

 

[kittenmittens84]

The very general recommendations for adult cats to maintain weight are 21-34 calories per pound per day. For an average 9 lb cat that would come out to 190 to 315 calories per day. Looking at body condition (google cat body condition chart to find a visual) is the best place to start when figuring out how much a cat should be eating, as the ideal amount depends on weight, build, and activity level and won’t be the same for every cat. When Charlie was 11 pounds was that a good weight for him or was he overweight? If that was a healthy weight for him and now he’s 2.5 lbs lighter he’ll need more calories per pound to try to gain some weight back.

My cat eats about 350 calories per day to maintain his weight. He’s 12 lbs and looks healthy at that weight, so that’s 29 ish calories per pound. For him it comes out to 3 3 oz cans of pate per day, plus a pre-bedtime snack of ~1/8 of a cup of dr elseys dry food. However he’s also just over a year old and super active, for a senior cat who’s ill their calorie needs will be different.

If I were you I would first get an accurate weight for Charlie, and then try to estimate his body condition. If he’s too thin, up his food intake a little bit and monitor him to see if that’s a better amount for him. If he’s not too thin, just keep doing the same thing and weigh him periodically. You definitely don’t want him to lose weight while he’s sick either.

 

[*kara*]

Not mine. She just turned 4 in March, indoor only, pretty much a professional napper. She is on a diet to lose 1-2lbs (she is down just over 1lb so time to adjust again), but she eats about 165cals per day. Half is from wet food, half from dry. I do know that 180cals/day will put weight on her.

 

[jeannem]

Suki it 7 1/2 pounds and eats 1/3 cup kibble over a 24 hour period about.
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[EmersonandEvie]

Not mine. I actually wish Emerson would eat more. He is pushing 16lbs but is a LONG, LEAN boy. Not a shred of fat anywhere on him. If I give him more dry food or wet food than he wants. he simply will not eat it. He should be eating about 300 calories a day but he sits right around 225-250 cal/day. I even tried to break it into 3 feedings and he will still walk away from his hard food if he has had enough.

 

[sivyaleah]

Our year old Maine Coon typically eats somewhere between 275 - 300 calories a day. She's a very svelte 9.85 lbs currently which is according to my vet, not enough. I've had to keep a spreadsheet on everything she eats because she actually lost weight around her 10th - 11th month. Some times she goes as high as 350, but other days I struggle to get her to eat enough to get to the 250. It's not like she won't eat - she does but she isn't the type of cat to come and ask for her meals at all. So I'm very regimented about when I feed her and have noticed in keeping the sheet that feeding her later in the morning and later at night results in the best eating habits for her. I'm almost guaranteed that if I wait until 7am for breakfast, and around 9pm for her dinner that she'll eat the entire pouch (she like Merrick's Backcountry pouches best). That's 160ish calories right there.

She always has kibble out since she's still young, and eats no more than 2 ounces of that a day - so another 80-100 calories there too. Inbetween she does get an afternoon snack which she may or may not eat but interestingly I've found if I hand feed it to her she thinks its a treat (which never gets turned down) and I can usually get another 20-40 calories into her this way. She also gets treats throughout the day that are pure protein which adds in another 10-20 calories.

So on the low end, about 270 but again, it's not enough as she is pretty thin (not sick looking thin, but she's kind of boney).

our other older cat, is the complete opposite. She's 11 and while she eats in total maybe 5.5 ounces a day of Fancy Feast almost always (her preference) and almost NO kibble (her preference) she's way too heavy at 13 lbs so that 200ish calories is clearly too much for a chubby sedentary cat but, on the other hand it seems like so little and she asks for food several times a day so she's clearly hungry.

Keeping a chart for a while, again, was helpful to notice patterns and keep track. Kind of tedious, but worth it.

 

[verna davies]

One of mine eats 200/220 cals per day and weights 10.5 lbs,the other eats 300 cals per day and weights 9lb, neither are active. I think like humans it has to do with their metabolism. You can only try to get him to eat as much as he wants but you could try feeding him small amounts more often to see if that will increase his intake.

 

[Kieka]

Link is right around 300 calories a day but he is a hyperactive 14 pound cat. When he was on crate rest I reduced his calories to 250 to keep him from gaining weight. One of the few times I was glad he isn't food focused or food driven, he didn't get upset with the reduction Other times it is really annoying to have a cat I can't bribe with treats most of the time.

 

[cataholic07]

It really depends on a person's cat really. A cat who has a small frame and who should only be 5-7lbs will need far less calories then a big boned tall cat. Like I have 2 full brother cats, Fynn is taller then his brother so he requires more food then his short stockier brother Jethro. Jet does have a wide frame to but he tends to look fat more quicker then his brother lol. Fynn sometimes can look super skinny depending on his energy level that day. So you have to go based on structural size of the cat as well as energy level.

You can check out this list of wet food that is for kidney care to see if there are some higher calorie content that he would eat. The small amount listed is smaller then what it actually is. Like nature's logic beef is 225 calories per can. I think that's one of the higher ones. But if you give him ones that are higher in calorie content then he won't need to eat as much.
http://www.felinecrf.org/canned_food_usa.htm#therapeutic_kidney_foods


I just monitor my cat's not weight but how they feel. If I can feel too much fat then I limit how much I give, if I can easily feel the spine they get more, sometimes even treats to help. My cats are 20 months old and 9 months old so their weight goes up and down like a yoyo because their energy levels seem to vary lol. It is very important to ensure your cat is at a healthy weight. Overweight cats are prone to a ton of illnesses such as diabetes, severe arthritis, kidney disease, heart disease and urinary tract infections. So you never want you cats to get overweight. But yes underweight is also a cause of concern, so maybe see if your cat will eat one of the ones that are higher in calorie content? He might also need an appetite stimulant. Maybe ask them what type of treats he could eat as well, like those easy to eat tube treats. That would help increase the calorie content for the day.