Noel is a smallish young adult, 6.5 pounds and about 1.5-2 years old. She is inside only, intact (until next week!), and has a moderate to high activity level. We're gone during the day but in the afternoon and evening she is very active with my 6 year old. She seems active for a cat anyway, she's constantly running or chasing or rolling around with my kid. I am used to my mom's very elderly lazy cats!
We feed 3 ounce cans of Fancy Feast classics pate exclusively. There are a few other brands she will eat but we feed her mostly FF classics. She eats a can at 5 am before I leave for work and finishes the rest during the rest of the morning and it is gone by about 8 am when DH/DD leave. At 3 pm when we get home her bowl is empty and she acts like she is staaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrvvvvvving. LOL She gets another can which she wolfs down within an hour or so. By 8 pm she is prowling around in the kitchen, begging to eat. I can give her another half can as a snack and she is happy. Sometimes she eats a whole can but that is usually in response to being fed a brand of food that she will not finish. That is why we feed FF usually. I was sick of throwing food away. She does not eat any people food or treats between meals.
She poops normally, pees a lot, is very healthy, her coat is shiny and she does not shed, and not fat at all. She is bony in parts and normal sized everywhere else. Noel came to our house as a very friendly too skinny stray in early December and has been dewormed (precautionary from being a stray, vet saw no evidence of worms) and vaccinated. She ate a TON when we first brought her inside but that calmed down as she gained a little weight and became more food secure.
I keep reading that at her weight, two 3-ounce cans of FF is very sufficient for an indoor cat of her small size. However, she eats 2.5 or 3 cans. I feel bad restricting her when she is obviously not fat and seems very active but I am paranoid. If she was eating too much, wouldn't she be getting fat? After her spay I know she will need to eat a bit less but at this point is she OK eating what she does? Is she considered an active cat?
We feed 3 ounce cans of Fancy Feast classics pate exclusively. There are a few other brands she will eat but we feed her mostly FF classics. She eats a can at 5 am before I leave for work and finishes the rest during the rest of the morning and it is gone by about 8 am when DH/DD leave. At 3 pm when we get home her bowl is empty and she acts like she is staaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrvvvvvving. LOL She gets another can which she wolfs down within an hour or so. By 8 pm she is prowling around in the kitchen, begging to eat. I can give her another half can as a snack and she is happy. Sometimes she eats a whole can but that is usually in response to being fed a brand of food that she will not finish. That is why we feed FF usually. I was sick of throwing food away. She does not eat any people food or treats between meals.
She poops normally, pees a lot, is very healthy, her coat is shiny and she does not shed, and not fat at all. She is bony in parts and normal sized everywhere else. Noel came to our house as a very friendly too skinny stray in early December and has been dewormed (precautionary from being a stray, vet saw no evidence of worms) and vaccinated. She ate a TON when we first brought her inside but that calmed down as she gained a little weight and became more food secure.
I keep reading that at her weight, two 3-ounce cans of FF is very sufficient for an indoor cat of her small size. However, she eats 2.5 or 3 cans. I feel bad restricting her when she is obviously not fat and seems very active but I am paranoid. If she was eating too much, wouldn't she be getting fat? After her spay I know she will need to eat a bit less but at this point is she OK eating what she does? Is she considered an active cat?