My Picky Kitty

[cuppa]

I believe you want to feed your cat 20 calories per pound a day. So a 16 pound cat is going to need 320 calories a day to maintain their weight. The cans will let you know how many calories there are per can.

If you are wanting your cat to loose some weight, you can feed for the ideal weight, or for 2 pounds less, I believe. So for a 16 pound cat, you can feed for 14 pounds: ie: 280 calories a day. A cat's ideal weight is based on the individual cat. Your vet could let you know if your cat should lose some weight.

There are a ton of different style wet foods too. If you want him to get some more water, you can try finding a food with a lot of gravy (my cats love Weruva Cats In The Kitchen Pouches). There's pates, chunks, etc. If you are concerned about how much water your cat is drinking, you can add a little warm water to his food to increase liquid intake. Some cats also prefer moving water, so a water fountain might be something you can look into in the future.

 

[Ladyrosee]

My vet said for my cat he is 17.5 lbs and to lose weight he shouldnt have no more than 220 calories a day. The charts online dont listen to them because his last vet said about 315 calories to lose weight and that was when he was 14 lbs... and he gained 3.5 and it wont come off

 

[Furballsmom]

@Catxmama not to hijack the thread, but can you get your kitty to exercise more, through play time, walks outside in a harness, or even climbing steps for food, for a gentle start if he's not used to much exercise? If he's only on dry food can you give him wet food? That often helps cats lose weight slowly--a slow weight loss is important

 

[Ladyrosee]

@Catxmama can you get your kitty to exercise more, through play time, walks outside, climbing steps for food? If he's only on dry food can you give him wet food? That often helps cats lose weight slowly--a slow weight loss is important

He is 11 so he exercises as much as he wants to he doesnt really play fetch much anymore since gaining the several lbs. I'm hoping when I buy a house next year he will have a nice big home again instead of a tiny townhome and more room to potentially play fetch he also refuses wet food i have tried over 30 kinds some he will eat but barely. If I dont feed him every 6 hrs very small meals he will retaliate and vomit usually every night and morning if he goes too long without food (over 6 hours) he is very high strung and anxious. Clean bill of health at check ups but I have taken my chronically ill young cat to this holistic vet and he is on some chinese herbs so I'm wondering if my fat boy could benefit from a visit to calm his gi tract and anxiety and maybe he would stop thinking about food so much! He gets very stressed me offering treats and food all day to my chronically ill kitty and even though the fat one just ate he wants the other cats food and doesnt understand and that often leads him to vomit

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm hoping when I buy a house next year he will have a nice big home again instead of a tiny town

Oh, good for you, you're right, this will help.
Best of luck with the other vet, and also try some music if you aren't already . You could start your own thread, we'd love to hear updates and how things are going for your kitties and for you