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[two_tabbies]

Hello! I am thrilled to have joined this online community

My background: I am a college student with only two years of experience with felines.
I adopted my first orange female tabby with a white belly at my local shelter in my college's town at the bigging of my sophomore year. She was around two months old at the time of adoption. She turned two years old this past June. At our last veterinary checkup, I was told she was in perfect health.

A year later, I adopted another male orange tabby from my local shelter. Their personalities are completely different. Resident cat is loving and affectionate. The second orange tabby just turned one year old today. He acts like a boy LOL! Always up to no good, just like Curious George! Not as affectionate as my resident cat.

Anyways, my male orange tabby LOVES and I mean LOVES to eat... He weighs more than his two-year-old sister by maybe 3.5 pounds.

At a recent vet visit in my hometown, the vet told me not to change to diet foot as my resident cat is in perfect health. He said to me that genetics was likely the reasoning behind now one-year-old being overweight. He also said that he would probably run into health issues, such as diabetes, just like adults do. This vet visit was around 3 months before he turned one.

Now I am no veterinarian; however, I am a pre-medical student applying to medical school this summer. I am not a doctor yet; however, I have studied the introductory courses in medicine such as neurology, nutrition, preventive care, etc.

Based on my knowledge of medicine thus far, I do not agree with the vet I spoke with three months ago. I understand that I am not a veterinarian, but preventative care (diabesity) CAN be avoided in younger felines.

I adore both of my babies, and I want them to live a long, happy, and healthy life. I did not agree with the vet I saw given my current medical studies on preventive care.

Any advice is appreciated!

Thank you

 

[Kieka]

Good for you on being proactive. You are right that there are steps you can take to help get your boy to a healthier place. First of all, ideal weight for cats is not a number but a body condition scale. I have a female that weighs 7.5 pounds and a male who is 14.5, both are healthy body condition. This scale can help some but just like humans there is some variation in shape so just use your best judgement, vet advice and this all in conjunction:

fat-cat-scale.png

• Kieka
• Feb 1, 2017
• 3

That out of the way, cats are obligate carnivores. They have evolved specifically as ambush predators (although their small size also makes them prey, ergo the skittish tendencies and survival instincts). Their bodies have changed over the years to not produce amino acids, like taurine, and can't handle many herbs, or oils that are not found in meat; so it literally is a biological imperative that they get a meat based diet. Their ideal diet is one high in protein, moderate fat and low carbs. Ideally you want to feed a diet with less than 10% carbs and 40% protein. There are very few commercial foods that will meet that but sometimes you just do the best you can, for example I don't feed anything with less then 30% protein (40% if they specifically list pea protein or potato protein since cats can't utilize plant based proteins).

All of this is said to prep you for the idea that a cat fed a high carb diet will not only be at risk for midsection weight retention but also diabetes. I'd agree with your vet to not do a diet food, but I also agree with you that a diet change may be in order. What food do you feed? Free feed or meal feed?

 

[two_tabbies]

I feed Merrick Purrfect Bistro Grain Free Real Chicken Recipe. I free feed. I wish I could meal feed; however, my class schedule is hectic, and I often have to spend hours in the library after class or at night.

 

[two_tabbies]

My two year old is a healthy 5 category. My one year old is between a 4-5 on the scale you attached.

 

[two_tabbies]

He just turned one today.

 

[Kieka]

There really isn't a healthy version of a 5. You want your cat to be a high 2 to low 4 range so they can live their best life. Even if they are active a 4-5 range can lead to 5+ very easily if not controlled and increase risk of health problems.

The typical starting point of food for a cat is 20 calories per pound of body weight. Some cats need more, some cats need less. But it is the general central place to aim for. With that in mind there are a few directions you can go:

1. Given that kibble and free feeding is the ideal for your household, I'd switch dry to Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein, Chicken Recipe - Dr. Elsey's. Another option is Tiki Cat dry, Tiki Cat Born Carnivore Chicken Luau Grain-Free Dry Cat Food or Wysong Epigen 90 Starch-Free Formula Grain-Free Dry Dog & Cat Food, 5-lb bag or Instinct by Nature's Variety Raw Boost Grain-Free Recipe with Real Chicken Dry Cat Food or Only Natural Pet Feline PowerFood Poultry Dinner Grain-Free Dry Cat Food . You'd have to do a slow switch because of the drastic protein difference. The other foods are more expensive but over time you should see consumption go down. They will feel fuller longer and consume fewer calories. The downside, is if your cat is bored eating they will gain weight and free feeding may not be a sustainable healthy option for them.
2. Switch to a wet cat food and scheduled feedings. A feeding in the morning before you leave, feeding at night when you get in, and a timer feeder for the middle of the day. With this option there are more food options that will cost less. It also is easier to control calories because you can regulate how much they are getting. It is also easier to maintain two cats with different needs and reduce one if needed. A wet food diet also increases moisture which helps with kidney health (cats are prone to kidney issues).
3. Measure out a portion of dry to leave out for the day. Feed a wet meal in the evening to give a mix of wet and dry. You limit the amount of dry allowed per day and provide the increased moisture content of the day with the wet. A variation of this would be to use microchip feeders to limit how much each cat can eat in dry during the day (or night).

This website Best Wet And Dry Cat Food: The Ultimate Guide w/ Vet Ratings & Reviews has more information and wet food recommendations. I agree with their dry food choices and already listed them above for ease of access.

 

[cheesycats]

So are you saying both cats are close or at a 5? So they’re both over weight? Not good if that’s the case.

What I do with my cats is they get 1 cup of kibble in the morning (nature’s variety raw boost chicken, applaws chicken are their favorite atm) in two separate bowls and while I’m at class or work that is what they get during the day to graze on. It’s free feeding but in a controlled manner. I don’t refill it that is all they get to eat during the day and night (if any is left) and when I get home around 9-10 pm they get to split a 5.5 oz can of food (I feed a large variety of canned. My female is extremely finicky and refuses same food after eating it one time) and they eat on that until I go to bed (11-12). It usually gone and they typically have a bit of kibble left from the morning to snack on until I fill the bowls again the next morning. They are both nice and trim. Diabetes in cats is caused by overfeeding and high carbs/lack of exercise.
I would just suggest going to the system I use and find a way to get them active. I usually play/brush with my cats a little bit before I feed them their canned food at night. Adding canned food should help as well. It is less calorie dense and better digested then carb high kibble.

 

[two_tabbies]

So are you saying both cats are close or at a 5? So they’re both over weight? Not good if that’s the case.

What I do with my cats is they get 1 cup of kibble in the morning (nature’s variety raw boost chicken, applaws chicken are their favorite atm) in two separate bowls and while I’m at class or work that is what they get during the day to graze on. It’s free feeding but in a controlled manner. I don’t refill it that is all they get to eat during the day and night (if any is left) and when I get home around 9-10 pm they get to split a 5.5 oz can of food (I feed a large variety of canned. My female is extremely finicky and refuses same food after eating it one time) and they eat on that until I go to bed (11-12). It usually gone and they typically have a bit of kibble left from the morning to snack on until I fill the bowls again the next morning. They are both nice and trim. Diabetes in cats is caused by overfeeding and high carbs/lack of exercise.
I would just suggest going to the system I use and find a way to get them active. I usually play/brush with my cats a little bit before I feed them their canned food at night. Adding canned food should help as well. It is less calorie dense and better digested then carb high kibble.

OH, I made a typo! My two-year-old is a 3 on the scale, perfect weight. The one-year-old is the issue. He LOVES to eat. The issue with my two-year-old is she is

 

[two_tabbies]

There really isn't a healthy version of a 5. You want your cat to be a high 2 to low 4 range so they can live their best life. Even if they are active a 4-5 range can lead to 5+ very easily if not controlled and increase risk of health problems.

The typical starting point of food for a cat is 20 calories per pound of body weight. Some cats need more, some cats need less. But it is the general central place to aim for. With that in mind there are a few directions you can go:

1. Given that kibble and free feeding is the ideal for your household, I'd switch dry to Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein, Chicken Recipe - Dr. Elsey's. Another option is Tiki Cat dry, Tiki Cat Born Carnivore Chicken Luau Grain-Free Dry Cat Food or Wysong Epigen 90 Starch-Free Formula Grain-Free Dry Dog & Cat Food, 5-lb bag or Instinct by Nature's Variety Raw Boost Grain-Free Recipe with Real Chicken Dry Cat Food or Only Natural Pet Feline PowerFood Poultry Dinner Grain-Free Dry Cat Food . You'd have to do a slow switch because of the drastic protein difference. The other foods are more expensive but over time you should see consumption go down. They will feel fuller longer and consume fewer calories. The downside, is if your cat is bored eating they will gain weight and free feeding may not be a sustainable healthy option for them.
2. Switch to a wet cat food and scheduled feedings. A feeding in the morning before you leave, feeding at night when you get in, and a timer feeder for the middle of the day. With this option there are more food options that will cost less. It also is easier to control calories because you can regulate how much they are getting. It is also easier to maintain two cats with different needs and reduce one if needed. A wet food diet also increases moisture which helps with kidney health (cats are prone to kidney issues).
3. Measure out a portion of dry to leave out for the day. Feed a wet meal in the evening to give a mix of wet and dry. You limit the amount of dry allowed per day and provide the increased moisture content of the day with the wet. A variation of this would be to use microchip feeders to limit how much each cat can eat in dry during the day (or night).

This website Best Wet And Dry Cat Food: The Ultimate Guide w/ Vet Ratings & Reviews has more information and wet food recommendations. I agree with their dry food choices and already listed them above for ease of access.

I made a typo, my apologizes. My two-year-old is a 3 on the scale, perfect weight. The one-year-old is the issue. He LOVES to eat. The issue with my two-year-old is she is a VERY picky eater. Hates wet food. Only likes one brand of treats, etc. She is quite the princess LOL.

 

[Kieka]

I made a typo, my apologizes. My two-year-old is a 3 on the scale, perfect weight. The one-year-old is the issue. He LOVES to eat. The issue with my two-year-old is she is a VERY picky eater. Hates wet food. Only likes one brand of treats, etc. She is quite the princess LOL.

In which case going to a scheduled feeding and doing different foods for ecah might be beneficial. If you get a microchip feeder for her so she has access only to her food, you can do different foods for him.

However, it would be good to try some different foods with her and see if she likes it. Companies are notorious for changing formulas and having a cat stuck on a specific dry food can be disasterous when that happens (not if, because it will).

 

[RajaNMizu]

When my Mizu was about 5 months old, she began refusing her wet food in favor of dry. I had been feeding them two wet meals a day and free feeding dry because they were kittens. In order to stimulate appetite for her wet food I began measuring the amount of dry food offered and giving it at times that were hours apart from her wet food feedings. I also introduced toppers to entice her. Bonito flakes are extremely appealing to Mizu and she will at least try most anything if I sprinkle some on top. It took about a month to develop a small rotation of wet foods that she would eat. Once she was eating 2 wet meals a day reliably I switched their dry food to Tiki Born Carnivore Chicken Luau.

Perhaps try some different wet food choices with toppings? Sometimes you can get them to change their minds!

 

[lalagimp]

I run a house with 4 cats. Two of them will always need their weight monitored, and two of them won't. The boys are on timed feeders with portions controlled, and the ladies are on a free feed schedule with a microchip feeder.
Nature's Variety Instinct kibble had always been a staple, but my oldest boy ran into some health problems with his bladder and now the boys are on raw. The girls got an upgrade from Nature's Variety last summer when Dr Elsey's came out with cleanprotein kibble. The girls got that along with wet food, so I've really cut out a lot of carbs from their diet, and they lost a pound a piece.
My oldest boy is Tommy. By the time he was 4, he was 21 lbs. Over 3 years I brought him back to 12.5-13 lbs. I would have to believe that a change in his food habits will have an impact on if he develops diabetes, heart disease, and getting him off kibble in 2016 may even help with his risk for CKD, even though he was clearly an adult.
My other male, Stewart, reached 16.5 lbs and I had to put him on a diet when he was almost 2. We keep him between 12-13 lbs, and it's done AMAZING things for his asthma symptoms.

 

[mikameek]

To throw in my own experience, I have a girl that is incredibly finicky about wet food too. Well, food in general, but mostly with wet food because she doesn't have a problem with dry food as often.

I had to figure out what textures and flavors were appealing to her so that I wasn't buying a bunch of food that would just be returned the next day (it still happened because Mika would decide she didn't like the same flavor the next day). Mika prefers her wet food to be as soft as possible, a real princess because she doesn't like having to chew as much. I fed her TikiCat mousse, Nutro soft pates (made for seniors but, she ate it) and her out of the norm food she enjoyed (the pates are harder) were Merrick Purrfect Bistro pates. Now, while Mika loves fish flavors, it makes me nervous because she would be eating way more than the recommended amount if she had her way. However, she also really liked chicken and beef foods so sometimes I would buy Whole Earth Farms (the less expensive brand of Merrick) pates that had combos like beef and salmon or chicken and salmon. Mika is now on a raw diet which she prefers more. She hasn't refused a meal yet and even though she's chewing I think the natural instincts of eating prey make her feel good. For the first time ever, she runs to her food bowl when its time to eat.

(Also, shout out to us medical students. I'm not yet at applying to medical school but I feel that pain.)

 

[Kieka]

Mika prefers her wet food to be as soft as possible, a real princess because she doesn't like having to chew as much.

Have you tried Wureva's new slide and serve? It is super soft, I mix it with a tablespoon of water or a topper to make it extra smooth. But it really isn't necessary unless you have one who likes it extra liquidy.

 

[mikameek]

Have you tried Wureva's new slide and serve? It is super soft, I mix it with a tablespoon of water or a topper to make it extra smooth. But it really isn't necessary unless you have one who likes it extra liquidy.

I haven't yet! I was going to look into getting them when my local pet store gets them in individually. I'm kind of nervous to buying the whole variety pack and having her hate certain flavors or all of them.