I guess I was thinking if there's some calorie dense food available, but if she doesn't lose weight, like you say, (or loses just a tad to become a bit more svelte ), you're right and it's just not an issue ...
I have been giving Krista about 1/2 to 2/3 of a Stella and Chewy's Selects medallion (about 12 grams) at three of her four scheduled meals. These are very calorically dense at 1.88 calories per gram. That's worth 1.5 grams of her canned food. She doesn't seem to notice the extra half ounce she's been eating at each meal. But I've been seeing the difference in her coat, appetite, energy, and weight recovery. I wish I could feed her more of the stuff. But it's very meaty and difficult for a toothless Krista to get through. I cut it with scissors and serve it 5 grams at a time. Otherwise she gets discouraged with all the "chewing" and a big pile still to get through. Maybe Feeby would also enjoy the Selects as an easy and enjoyable way to get more calories in her. Presumably she has more teeth than Krista and won't need the extra project management.She already eats 4 meals a day - and it still takes at least 1/2 hour to get her to eat just a little over 2 oz each time. She is ready to quit eating after that, so I would have to try to squeeze in a 5th meal!! OMG! Not sure if that is possible!?!?
I think I am going to try to ensure she keeps getting at least 250 calories a day, and continue to weigh her at least once/week for a few more weeks just to see if there is any weight loss at all. It isn't like she couldn't stand to lose some weight, so all is not lost if she wants to stay around 250 calories/day I guess - I just don't her to lose too much at once. But, apparently, that doesn't seem to be an issue at the rate we are going!!
If the food you are talking about is anything other than pate, that is 'out' with Feeby. Even with all of her teeth intact , she only laps/licks at wet food. Won't eat anything 'chunky'. That is one of the reasons I increased her FF since it is more calorically dense than her urinary care food - which I refuse to give up on totally (yet). Her urinary care food is about 155 calories per 5.5 oz, FF is averaging 95 per 3.0 oz.Stella and Chewy's Selects medallion (about 12 grams) at three of her four scheduled meals. These are very calorically dense at 1.88 calories per gram. That's worth 1.5 grams of her canned food. She doesn't seem to notice the extra half ounce she's been eating at each meal. But I've been seeing the difference in her coat, appetite, energy, and weight recovery. I wish I could feed her more of the stuff. But it's very meaty and difficult for a toothless Krista to get through. I cut it with scissors and serve it 5 grams at a time.
With her canned food, I have to scoop and re-scoop her food multiple times per meal. Once she has licked it 'flat' it's a 'no go', until it is scooped back up again - so, timed feeders wouldn't get me much of anywhere. I do leave dry food out all the time, but with 4 meals, she is totally disinterested in it. Occasionally, she will eat like 4-5 morsels.I also use timed feeders to give Krista access to daytime and overnight snacks.
I tried Purina dry urinary care in addition to her standard urinary care kibble, didn't make a difference in terms of her interest. Maybe I should try Meow Mix - !!!!Ummm, let me think.... maybe a different brand kibble?
The Selects is the boneless option that is supposed to be like Rad Cat. But Krista didn't have to chew quite so much with Rad Cat. Then again, Rad Cat was not this calorically dense. Rad Cat came in around 1.07 calories per gram. So this is nearly twice as "meaty" (calorically dense.) Krista can get away with eating far less and still collecting benefits from them. I don't know that a food processor would work against these dense meat cubes, but maybe my grinder might make it more a lickable texture.Thanks!
If the food you are talking about is anything other than pate, that is 'out' with Feeby. Even with all of her teeth intact , she only laps/licks at wet food. Won't eat anything 'chunky'. That is one of the reasons I increased her FF since it is more calorically dense than her urinary care food - which I refuse to give up on totally (yet). Her urinary care food is about 155 calories per 5.5 oz, FF is averaging 95 per 3.0 oz.
With her canned food, I have to scoop and re-scoop her food multiple times per meal. Once she has licked it 'flat' it's a 'no go', until it is scooped back up again - so, timed feeders wouldn't get me much of anywhere. I do leave dry food out all the time, but with 4 meals, she is totally disinterested in it. Occasionally, she will eat like 4-5 morsels.
She is a PIA to be sure, even if she is my PIA!
Wacky scale morning all around perhaps? Krista feels girthier this week. But my scale gave me three different readings for myself and Krista would only let me get two readings of her plus me. The most optimistic combination of those readings only has her at zero loss/zero gain. The other readings have her losing weight again. That can’t be right. She’s eating as many calories as Feeby and weighs half as much. But we’re also in the middle of a food transition so I’m going to keep working that over worrying about her weight right now.Well, another week has passed and Feeby is pretty much status quo at this point in terms of behavior/eating/drinking/litter box use. So, we are 'good on all fronts' for now. In this past week, she averaged 275 calories a day, so I guess I am not going to complain about that. But, I can't say the same about that scale - which I came close to throwing across the room after weighing her this morning!! The scale registered her weight at 14.8 pounds - I know she did NOT lose a pound in the past week. I guess she is just to 'squiggly' to get an accurate reading, or the scale is a hunk of junk! (Replace computer with scale!!)
This is a convertible scale - to be used with or without a tray. So, I took the tray off, weighed myself, and then picked her up and weighed myself again. That reading came out to be 16.0 pounds. I am going to 'go' with that reading; and from now on use the scale as I did today. For as cooperative as she typically is, there is just something about that scale that she does NOT like! I guess she has the 'stereotypical female aversion' to being weighed!?!? (I wasn't impressed with my weight reading, either. )
Well, another week has passed and Feeby is pretty much status quo at this point in terms of behavior/eating/drinking/litter box use. So, we are 'good on all fronts' for now.
For as cooperative as she typically is, there is just something about that scale that she does NOT like! I guess she has the 'stereotypical female aversion' to being weighed!?!? (I wasn't impressed with my weight reading, either. )
Per What To Expect As Your Cat Ages – Cat Articles, older cats do sometimes start to meow more.The only thing I cannot figure out is the daily on-and-off squawking