Feeding Correct Amounts

[misspurrfect]

I know there are several threads on this but I still remain a bit confused and I'm hoping you all can offer me a little insight.

My baby girl (~2) weighes 8 . 2 lbs at her initial vet checkup last week. I'd asked the vet how much she should be eating and was kind of surprised when she told me 150 calories a day. Typically, I'd say I was in the 180-200 mark most days - feeding around 8 oz of high-quality wet food a day, spread over 3 meals a day. And when it's time to eat girlfriend REALLY lets you know she's ready!

I know there are lots of variables - she is definitely big on playing (she fetches!) but a cat is a cat and she can sleep like it's her job.

SO (whew!) my question is - is the 8oz excessive and if I'm going to monitor her weight - how often should I be doing that to keep an eye on things? The vet said we'd like to keep her no more than 8.5lbs.

THANK for taking the time to read and/or reply!

 

[betsygee]

It does get confusing, doesn't it?  Here's a good article on it:  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-much-food-should-i-feed-my-cat

Note that it says the 'average' cat needs about 20 calories a pound, which would mean your kitty needs about 160 a day.

I had to do the math on my cats' food, and cut down a bit, too--they are very active and none are overweight (yet), but they were slowly gaining weight.  I was giving them too much food every day.

 

[mingking]

When my cat decides he wants to sleep for 6 hours, I sing hallelujah because it means I don't have to feed him as much on that particular day. My cat is 14 lbs and eats more or less half of what your cat usually eats. 

He seems fine - his weight has been stable, I can feel his ribs under a layer of skin/fat, his shape looks like the "ideal" shape a lot of pictures I've seen and he poops and pees normal. 

Again, I think it just comes down to activity level and watching your cat's body weight. 

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I know there are several threads on this but I still remain a bit confused and I'm hoping you all can offer me a little insight.

My baby girl (~2) weighes 8 . 2 lbs at her initial vet checkup last week. I'd asked the vet how much she should be eating and was kind of surprised when she told me 150 calories a day. Typically, I'd say I was in the 180-200 mark most days - feeding around 8 oz of high-quality wet food a day, spread over 3 meals a day. And when it's time to eat girlfriend REALLY lets you know she's ready!

I know there are lots of variables - she is definitely big on playing (she fetches!) but a cat is a cat and she can sleep like it's her job.

SO (whew!) my question is - is the 8oz excessive and if I'm going to monitor her weight - how often should I be doing that to keep an eye on things? The vet said we'd like to keep her no more than 8.5lbs.

THANK for taking the time to read and/or reply!

How old is she?  If she's fairly young and is big on playing as you stated, I would think 150 calories would NOT really be enough.  I've got a 9 pounder who eats about 250 per day because he's really active (swings from the chandelier type active

)

If you're already feeding her 180 - 200 per day, is she gaining weight?  If not, then I would keep her on her current schedule.  If you don't have a baby scale to use, just weigh yourself, then pick her up and weigh again.  The difference is her weight (it's not an exact weight, but should give you a good idea)

 

[mingking]

 
How old is she?  If she's fairly young and is big on playing as you stated, I would think 150 calories would NOT really be enough.  I've got a 9 pounder who eats about 250 per day because he's really active (swings from the chandelier type active

)

If you're already feeding her 180 - 200 per day, is she gaining weight?  If not, then I would keep her on her current schedule.  If you don't have a baby scale to use, just weigh yourself, then pick her up and weigh again.  The difference is her weight (it's not an exact weight, but should give you a good idea)

Just to ask, what would you consider to be young? 2-3 years old? And when would a kitty be considered out of the young stage? 

 

[misspurrfect]

It's so daunting! You want to make sure you do the right thing and I swear I watch her health more than my own. LOL!  The 20 calories per lb makes me feel better, thanks!

 

[misspurrfect]

 
When my cat decides he wants to sleep for 6 hours, I sing hallelujah because it means I don't have to feed him as much on that particular day. My cat is 14 lbs and eats more or less half of what your cat usually eats. 

He seems fine - his weight has been stable, I can feel his ribs under a layer of skin/fat, his shape looks like the "ideal" shape a lot of pictures I've seen and he poops and pees normal. 

Again, I think it just comes down to activity level and watching your cat's body weight. 

Yes, my cat is FULLY committed in her belief that if you are within 4 feet of the kitchen, you need to be opening a can. Some of this I think will go away (*crosses fingers) because she was being free fed in her foster home. Our vet says she looks great but be careful so of course I went into OMGPANICANDFREAKOUT mode.

 

[misspurrfect]

 
How old is she?  If she's fairly young and is big on playing as you stated, I would think 150 calories would NOT really be enough.  I've got a 9 pounder who eats about 250 per day because he's really active (swings from the chandelier type active

)

If you're already feeding her 180 - 200 per day, is she gaining weight?  If not, then I would keep her on her current schedule.  If you don't have a baby scale to use, just weigh yourself, then pick her up and weigh again.  The difference is her weight (it's not an exact weight, but should give you a good idea)

They estimated she's around 2 (they = rescue org) but I think she may be just shy of that - 18 months or so? She's only gained 1 lb in the 4 weeks she's been with me but I kind of chalked that up to relaxing (she was in a foster home with two dogs she hated), quality food and a schedule. She definitely LOVES to play and I try to give her 30 minutes with me and she also entertains herself pretty regularly. I'll def try the weigh myself with/without her trick - thanks!

 

[misspurrfect]

 
Just to ask, what would you consider to be young? 2-3 years old? And when would a kitty be considered out of the young stage? 

I THINK they're out of kitten stage after a year. I think young is anything under 3 although I don't know what the experts would say

 

[mingking]

 
Yes, my cat is FULLY committed in her belief that if you are within 4 feet of the kitchen, you need to be opening a can. Some of this I think will go away (*crosses fingers) because she was being free fed in her foster home. Our vet says she looks great but be careful so of course I went into OMGPANICANDFREAKOUT mode.

Lol, that's so cute! I'd say keep it up and don't give in and eventually, hopefully, she'll realize food will come when it's supposed to. (I'm horrible at that. Every time he goes digging into his food box, I give him a treat. I should listen to my own advice!)

 

[2bcat]

It sounds low at first, but really with an 8 pound cat I think 150 is not that far off. I feed around 150 to an 8 pound cat right now, but I'm hoping she gets back down to about 7.5 over time. My other cat had stabilized at roughly 6.5 lbs and regulates herself. What that meant was until a few months ago when I realized this (after close to a year of them in the house) little miss pudgy was picking up her own 150 calories plus probably 30 leftover from the little cat because I was feeding them the same portion.

Anyway, so, yeah, if ideal weight is 7.5-8 lbs, I think 150-160 calories is about right, short of EXTREME activity. My cats are active in chasing each other at times and still maintain weight at that roughly 20 calories per pound level. Keep in mind a cat is supposed to be a little lean in appearance.

 

[lisahe]

 
How old is she?  If she's fairly young and is big on playing as you stated, I would think 150 calories would NOT really be enough.  I've got a 9 pounder who eats about 250 per day because he's really active (swings from the chandelier type active

)

If you're already feeding her 180 - 200 per day, is she gaining weight?  If not, then I would keep her on her current schedule.  If you don't have a baby scale to use, just weigh yourself, then pick her up and weigh again.  The difference is her weight (it's not an exact weight, but should give you a good idea)

I'm with mrsgreenjeens on this... our two two-year-old cats are smallish (7 and 8 pounds) and would swing from the chandeliers if we had any. They consistently eat far more than 150 calories a day each! I don't keep track of numbers or weigh the cats, I just make sure they seem to get enough but not too much to eat. And look like they're the right size. At least until their metabolisms change! One thing that I think helps a lot with the you're-in-the-kitchen-so-feed-me-would-you syndrome is to feed a lot of small meals a day. We work at home and usually feed our cats five or six times a day.

 

[catmomjulia]

It's a bit confusing because it really varies with each cats build ad activity level! 8 oz does seen a bit much, I feed two 3 oz cans daily to my 10lb cat and it works very well. He sometimes wants a bit more, in that case I will give him about 8-15 pieces of dry food

 

[catmomjulia]

Just to ask, what would you consider to be young? 2-3 years old? And when would a kitty be considered out of the young stage? 

I also would consider that young, as they are still normally VERY active at that age, my almost two year old cat is as crazy as ever lol! I would say the cut off age from being considered a young cat to a middle aged at would be anywhere between 4-7 depending on the cat