Don't be obese pikey

[yoshke]

Hey folks,

Pikey is 8 months old now! Yay! When do we stop feeding her as much as she wants and start with the 3 4 5 % drill?

We don't want her to be a fatso.

Thanks guys and gals.

Yoshke

 

[vball91]

I've never heard of a raw fed obese cat. What percentage are you feeding now? At 8 months, she's still growing, so I wouldn't worry too much about how much she's eating. I think somewhere around 12 months she will reach full growth, but it is individual so just keep an eye on her.

 

[ritz]

If the cat is food obsessed because of a prior history (feral/stray), he can eat more raw food than he needs.  It is up to the human to know when to Just Say No.

Ritz is a case in point; while she is not obese, I firmly believe she'd eat much more than she metabolically needs given the chance.  She lived the first four to six months of her life on the streets, subsisting on dumpster diving, and milk and left overs (rice, macaroni and cheese) from some other humans.

There is a difference between hunger (physiological) and appetite (psychological).  Sometimes it is difficult to figure out which is at play.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Yes, I was told there is no such thing as an overweight kitten and that you can't feed them too much.  Not so!  My Darko was a vacuum as a kitten, and what happened?  At his one year old exam we were told he needed to lose 4 lbs!  FOUR!  That's huge!  So there you have it.  Had I know then what I know now, I would have cut back when I saw he was getting tubby. 

Is Pikey looking on the "large" side? If so, I would cut back a little.  If not, then I wouldn't.  Simple as that.  I don't think it matters on her age.  Really depends on her activity level, since she's on raw.  It's not like you're going to change the type of food she's getting (like switching from kitten to adult food)  Just my thoughts

 

[peaches08]

Agreed with mrsgreenjeans! Two of my three eat only what they need, but one of them would eat himself to death if given a chance. Thank goodness the other two are more alpha than he is or I'd have a real problem. I can't cut much more fat from their diet!

 

[yoshke]

Thanks!!