When they were kittens, they HATED wet food.
8 years later (for most of them)... I've managed to switch them to an (almost) all wet food diet (beginning of November). !!! (Lazlo, Tuxie, Shel and Flowerbelle still get some kibble, but they don't free feed anymore). The only fat cats (we thought) when we were free feeding dry (with two wet meals a day) were Billy and Ming Loy.
However - Billy isn't loosing as much weight as I'd hoped and seems to have stalled out. Ming Loy lost a little and has stabilized at probably a pound to 1 1/2 pounds overweight. We thought Lazlo was looking VERY skinny - and he was just at the vet who said he is PERFECT weight. Shelly, who we thought was maybe a little to the thin side, we were told could stand to lose a pound.
Chumley we know is chunky - but he and Tuxie are the exceptions. The vet(s) want a little extra weight on them because of their respective health issues - but I think even Chum could stand to lose a little weight now. Tux is at the vet Wednesday, and though we suspect he's lost a little bit of weight on this switch, we think he's still over 11 pounds.
So I have been digging and digging to find healthy foods for them. I'm trying to balance the boys' and Spooky's urinary and bladder issues (they were on c/d prescription food) with Chumley's allergy issues - AND trying to figure out the right amount to feed each cat.
I created a spreadsheet with all the food options (that I'm willing to use), and figured out the suggested feeding amounts - and then looked up the actual calories in each can and pouch - and calculated the "right" amount based on 20 calories per pound (that they should weigh) per cat.
A couple weeks later, and they're still not finishing the food I put out for them.
THEN I got to thinking - in people, as we age, we need less calories. Well, most of our cats are seniors - and while we do play with them quite a bit, they do NOT run around like they did in a house. Let's face it - we're in a confined space. They leap and jump - but they don't run around much. So I go hunting... and find that senior cats that aren't very active should be eating more like 15 calories per pound per cat.
...and given the amount of wet food they DON'T eat when I put it out, this seems to be what our "self regulators" are eating. !!!! (15 calories per pound per cat). I've had almost no leftovers at meal time the past two days.
So now they're getting (what I think is) a really good mix of quality foods (along with some c/d for the boys that have had problems in the past) - and, I think and hope - in the right amount.
Of course this means that the ferals outside won't be getting as high a quality diet as they were (I was feeding them all the kitty's leftovers). But it does mean the overweight kitties ought to start to come down to the right weight.
The wet food I'm giving them in addition to the c/d is
Holistic Select
Wellness (though none of the ones with potato starch) cans & pouches
Instinct (by Nature's Variety - they LOVE the rabbit!
)
Royal Canin Ultra Light (for Ming Loy and Billy, though this is only a portion of what they get, it's not the sole food).
The only potential trigger I see for Chum may be Brewer's Yeast in the Holistic Select - we'll see.
The beautiful thing about the changes I'm making to Chumley's diet is that with the addition of duck & fish, and flax, the squashes & broccoli (as the non-meat portions of a lot of the foods) is that these are all "yin" ingredients and should help address his yin deficiency.
8 years later (for most of them)... I've managed to switch them to an (almost) all wet food diet (beginning of November). !!! (Lazlo, Tuxie, Shel and Flowerbelle still get some kibble, but they don't free feed anymore). The only fat cats (we thought) when we were free feeding dry (with two wet meals a day) were Billy and Ming Loy.
However - Billy isn't loosing as much weight as I'd hoped and seems to have stalled out. Ming Loy lost a little and has stabilized at probably a pound to 1 1/2 pounds overweight. We thought Lazlo was looking VERY skinny - and he was just at the vet who said he is PERFECT weight. Shelly, who we thought was maybe a little to the thin side, we were told could stand to lose a pound.
Chumley we know is chunky - but he and Tuxie are the exceptions. The vet(s) want a little extra weight on them because of their respective health issues - but I think even Chum could stand to lose a little weight now. Tux is at the vet Wednesday, and though we suspect he's lost a little bit of weight on this switch, we think he's still over 11 pounds.
So I have been digging and digging to find healthy foods for them. I'm trying to balance the boys' and Spooky's urinary and bladder issues (they were on c/d prescription food) with Chumley's allergy issues - AND trying to figure out the right amount to feed each cat.
I created a spreadsheet with all the food options (that I'm willing to use), and figured out the suggested feeding amounts - and then looked up the actual calories in each can and pouch - and calculated the "right" amount based on 20 calories per pound (that they should weigh) per cat.
A couple weeks later, and they're still not finishing the food I put out for them.
THEN I got to thinking - in people, as we age, we need less calories. Well, most of our cats are seniors - and while we do play with them quite a bit, they do NOT run around like they did in a house. Let's face it - we're in a confined space. They leap and jump - but they don't run around much. So I go hunting... and find that senior cats that aren't very active should be eating more like 15 calories per pound per cat.
...and given the amount of wet food they DON'T eat when I put it out, this seems to be what our "self regulators" are eating. !!!! (15 calories per pound per cat). I've had almost no leftovers at meal time the past two days.
So now they're getting (what I think is) a really good mix of quality foods (along with some c/d for the boys that have had problems in the past) - and, I think and hope - in the right amount.
Of course this means that the ferals outside won't be getting as high a quality diet as they were (I was feeding them all the kitty's leftovers). But it does mean the overweight kitties ought to start to come down to the right weight.
The wet food I'm giving them in addition to the c/d is
Holistic Select
Wellness (though none of the ones with potato starch) cans & pouches
Instinct (by Nature's Variety - they LOVE the rabbit!
Royal Canin Ultra Light (for Ming Loy and Billy, though this is only a portion of what they get, it's not the sole food).
The only potential trigger I see for Chum may be Brewer's Yeast in the Holistic Select - we'll see.
The beautiful thing about the changes I'm making to Chumley's diet is that with the addition of duck & fish, and flax, the squashes & broccoli (as the non-meat portions of a lot of the foods) is that these are all "yin" ingredients and should help address his yin deficiency.
