I've had three cats before my current little girl, Dakota, and all three were overweight for most of their lives. It turns out I am a pushover for a plaintive meow for food, and the cats know it! Dakota has learned quickly... she started out (as an adoptee from the shelter) afraid of everything, but now she meows at me for food constantly, and she wants a good deal more than what the feeding suggestions on the food say. Right now she's getting the individual servings of Sheba cuts and gravy style, as she has shown to really dislike getting cold leftovers from the refrigerator, and she much prefers the cuts and gravy style to the pâté style. The individual servings make it unnecessary to refrigerate anything, and it is the only style of cuts and gravy I have seen in that packaging.
Dakota is 10 months old and weighs a bit under 7 pounds. I am unsure as to whether I should be feeding her more than the suggested amount because she is still a kitten for two more months, or whether the adult feeding guidelines should be used now. According to the box, she should be getting 5.4 servings per day, and if I feed her when she acts like she's starving (I know she's not!), she's easily into 8 servings a day, which would probably be okay for kitten mode, but for an adult, it is quite a bit more than suggested. The way she eats, I could give her whole cans of Fancy Feast and she'd inhale them in just a few minutes, and I am not sure if it's because she felt food stress at the shelter and now that she's able to eat more, she wants to, or because she's still growing, or some other thing.
Are there foods that anyone knows of that would allow her to enjoy eating without as much potential for weight gain? I've never had any obesity related illnesses in any of my cats so far, but I know that I'm taking a chance by letting them get fat, so I want to do better this time. Any suggestions welcome!
Dakota is 10 months old and weighs a bit under 7 pounds. I am unsure as to whether I should be feeding her more than the suggested amount because she is still a kitten for two more months, or whether the adult feeding guidelines should be used now. According to the box, she should be getting 5.4 servings per day, and if I feed her when she acts like she's starving (I know she's not!), she's easily into 8 servings a day, which would probably be okay for kitten mode, but for an adult, it is quite a bit more than suggested. The way she eats, I could give her whole cans of Fancy Feast and she'd inhale them in just a few minutes, and I am not sure if it's because she felt food stress at the shelter and now that she's able to eat more, she wants to, or because she's still growing, or some other thing.
Are there foods that anyone knows of that would allow her to enjoy eating without as much potential for weight gain? I've never had any obesity related illnesses in any of my cats so far, but I know that I'm taking a chance by letting them get fat, so I want to do better this time. Any suggestions welcome!