The switch to raw has made me aware that my very active cats do not eat the number of calories they are supposed. Three are ideal weight, and one is a bit chubby. (One of the biggest reasons we are on the diet is because we want Mr. Chubs (Olive) to loose some weight).
Before the switch, they ate a total of 1.5-2.5 cans of wet food a day between them. Each can was roughly 130 calories. So for the four cats eating three meals a day, that is somewhere between 195 & 325 calories total. To be honest, they wouldn't even finish all of that and would often leave a lot on the plate.
Anyway, I am still looking up recipes and trying to figure out how much food to give them, and I keep coming across formulas like: ideal body weight in lb * 15 calories=calories/day.
So for my four two-year-old cats who weight, 5lb, 5lb, 15lb (but ideal is probably 12lb), and 15lb, that is 555 calories--almost twice as much as they will eat!!!!
I know they aren't starving, but the problem is as I switch them to raw, I am freaking out because no one is eating very much of the meat. I can't tell if it is because my two 250 cal meals are just way too much food for them or if it is that they don't like it.
The most food I have ever seen them eat since they were kittens is like a tablespoon a piece. They are all biological brothers--maybe there is something in the genes? They look healthy, play like healthy cats, and the vet has never said anything.
Has any one else realized that their cats eat a lot less than they are supposed to? I know we don't have vermin and they are indoor cats, so they aren't hunting on the sly. What on earth is going on?
Oh one more thing, I (and the biggest cat) supervise meal time so that no one eats someone else's portion. They have their own bowls and they stay at them. I feed them 3/4 a can divided into four portions for a meal. On the rare occasion that they finish that, I give them another 1/2 can or so (which they have never ever finished). If they don't finish even the 3/4, I will sometimes put it in the fridge and bring it out a bit later so they can finish it when they are more hungry. Their meals are at 5 am (when they insist on waking me up) and sometime in the evening when they start crying in the kitchen.
Two of the cats, one of the 5 lb kitties and the ideal weight 15 lb kitty are more likely to finish their portion even if the other two kitties don't eat theirs. Sometimes these two kitties will be able to finish another 1/4 tablespoon or so from the can.
Before the switch, they ate a total of 1.5-2.5 cans of wet food a day between them. Each can was roughly 130 calories. So for the four cats eating three meals a day, that is somewhere between 195 & 325 calories total. To be honest, they wouldn't even finish all of that and would often leave a lot on the plate.
Anyway, I am still looking up recipes and trying to figure out how much food to give them, and I keep coming across formulas like: ideal body weight in lb * 15 calories=calories/day.
So for my four two-year-old cats who weight, 5lb, 5lb, 15lb (but ideal is probably 12lb), and 15lb, that is 555 calories--almost twice as much as they will eat!!!!
I know they aren't starving, but the problem is as I switch them to raw, I am freaking out because no one is eating very much of the meat. I can't tell if it is because my two 250 cal meals are just way too much food for them or if it is that they don't like it.
The most food I have ever seen them eat since they were kittens is like a tablespoon a piece. They are all biological brothers--maybe there is something in the genes? They look healthy, play like healthy cats, and the vet has never said anything.
Has any one else realized that their cats eat a lot less than they are supposed to? I know we don't have vermin and they are indoor cats, so they aren't hunting on the sly. What on earth is going on?
Oh one more thing, I (and the biggest cat) supervise meal time so that no one eats someone else's portion. They have their own bowls and they stay at them. I feed them 3/4 a can divided into four portions for a meal. On the rare occasion that they finish that, I give them another 1/2 can or so (which they have never ever finished). If they don't finish even the 3/4, I will sometimes put it in the fridge and bring it out a bit later so they can finish it when they are more hungry. Their meals are at 5 am (when they insist on waking me up) and sometime in the evening when they start crying in the kitchen.
Two of the cats, one of the 5 lb kitties and the ideal weight 15 lb kitty are more likely to finish their portion even if the other two kitties don't eat theirs. Sometimes these two kitties will be able to finish another 1/4 tablespoon or so from the can.
