New Cat Owner

[Mr Fluffers]

I just adopted a cat from a rescue. He's about five years old and appears to be a Maine Coon. He's a big guy and weighs over 15 pounds. I want to start getting him to lose some weight. The shelter had him eating some Purina Cat Chow Healthy Weight. After researching this food, it seems to have a lot of junk ingredients. My local store mostly sells Iams and Purina. I found this Crave brand of food there that seems to be good quality so I'm trying to slowly transition him to that. How much food should he eat? Should I also give him a can of soft/wet food as well? I've only had him a day now and he really hasn't ate much yet. I have a two story house and he seems to like being upstairs. His food and water is downstairs. He does come down occasionally. He has used his litter box downstairs but not the one upstairs yet. He seems to be a pretty lazy cat. Not interested in playing. He does like to be petted and have his belly rubbed. He doesn't seek out attention but he takes it when it's given to him. I ordered a cat condo to put downstairs. Maybe when that comes, he'll spend more time downstairs. Right now he likes to stay in my bed. I just want to make sure he's eating enough but not too much. His food has been available the whole time and he only ate a little bit of it. As he becomes more comfortable, will he eat more? Should I try giving him some wet food?

 

[Lucille1]

I would offer him both types of food and let him choose what he likes! Most kitties love wet food and especially if he is a maine coon or maine coon mix he needs a lot nutrients! Dry food can cause health problems down the line and also weight gain so I would be careful about how much dry food he consumes, best to give him a variety until you see how he reacts and the benefits of dufferent foods! Hope that helps!

 

[maggiedemi]

Yes, I would try some canned food along with the dry food, the moisture is good for them.

 

[KatKnapper]

I just adopted a cat from a rescue.

Congrats to you and your Maine Coon. Perhaps the newness of things...home, surroundings and his new guardian is at play here.

 

[duckpond]

Congratulations on your new cat! Early days, i expect his personality will start to really shine through in the next few weeks. I feed a mix of wet and dry. i offer wet meals in the morning and evening. i also leave a bowl of Dr. Elseys dry cat food out at all times for my bunch. Crave is not bad for dry food, if it is higher in protein and lower in carbs than what he was eating then yes its possible he will not eat so much. I would offer wet food, and if it seems he really dosen't like the crave maybe try a different brand after this bag? I research my cat foods online, and one easy place to get information on individual brands, other than here is CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat

 

[Margret]

First, M Mr Fluffers , L Lucille1 , welcome to The Cat Site! You've found the best community of cat lovers on the internet, and we're very glad to have you. We hope you and your cats will be members for many years.

L Lucille1 , I love it that your very first message here is one of support for someone else. Thank you.

M Mr Fluffers , congratulations on adopting your new cat.

It's much too early to know whether he's lazy or not. He's still adjusting to his new home, and he probably isn't sure how safe things are yet. He's decided that your bed is his safe place, so that's where he's sticking, and this is a good thing; it means that your scent is an inherent part of his definition of "safe." Congratulations. You're obviously doing something right!

Also, all cats spend most of their time sleeping, anywhere from 14 to 18 hours per day. If a cat goes more than 3 hours without a nap it can be dangerous for him.

15 pounds is not necessarily overweight for a Maine Coon Cat; however you're correct in thinking that the food he's been eating isn't necessarily the best for his health. Try for something that's grain-free if you can get it. I have my Jasmine on Blue Buffalo Indoor Hairball & Weight Control with LifeSource® Bits for her kibble, which she has continual access to, and whatever canned she'll eat for two meals a day. Jasmine does have a tendency to overweight, and the Blue Buffalo seems to be keeping that under control without making her feel starved.

You should also be aware that many cats don't/won't drink water, because cats naturally get most of their moisture from their food, so we advise that all cats should get at least part of their diet from a wet food, whether home-made (we have articles and a forum for that, because it's important to make sure that cats get all the nutrients they need), raw (same forum, different articles), or canned. Canned is obviously the easiest.

Again, welcome to The Cat Site, and we'd love to see some pictures.

Margret

 

[Mr Fluffers]

Congratulations on your new cat! Early days, i expect his personality will start to really shine through in the next few weeks. I feed a mix of wet and dry. i offer wet meals in the morning and evening. i also leave a bowl of Dr. Elseys dry cat food out at all times for my bunch. Crave is not bad for dry food, if it is higher in protein and lower in carbs than what he was eating then yes its possible he will not eat so much. I would offer wet food, and if it seems he really dosen't like the crave maybe try a different brand after this bag? I research my cat foods online, and one easy place to get information on individual brands, other than here is CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat

I haven't really started him on the Crave brand. I just picked him up yesterday. The rescue said he was fed Iam Cat Chow so I picked a bag of that up yesterday to get him started. Today I picked up some Crave and mixed a pinch in with his Cat Chow and was going to transition to Crave. It does appear he picked the Crave out and ate it today. I will start him on some wet food as well. I had already discovered that website. That's where I read the Cat Chow doesn't seem too good. My local store only carries Iams and Purina but did have Crave which that website rates fairly high.

First, M Mr Fluffers , L Lucille1 , welcome to The Cat Site! You've found the best community of cat lovers on the internet, and we're very glad to have you. We hope you and your cats will be members for many years.

L Lucille1 , I love it that your very first message here is one of support for someone else. Thank you.

M Mr Fluffers , congratulations on adopting your new cat.

It's much too early to know whether he's lazy or not. He's still adjusting to his new home, and he probably isn't sure how safe things are yet. He's decided that your bed is his safe place, so that's where he's sticking, and this is a good thing; it means that your scent is an inherent part of his definition of "safe." Congratulations. You're obviously doing something right!

Also, all cats spend most of their time sleeping, anywhere from 14 to 18 hours per day. If a cat goes more than 3 hours without a nap it can be dangerous for him.

15 pounds is not necessarily overweight for a Maine Coon Cat; however you're correct in thinking that the food he's been eating isn't necessarily the best for his health. Try for something that's grain-free if you can get it. I have my Jasmine on Blue Buffalo Indoor Hairball & Weight Control with LifeSource® Bits for her kibble, which she has continual access to, and whatever canned she'll eat for two meals a day. Jasmine does have a tendency to overweight, and the Blue Buffalo seems to be keeping that under control without making her feel starved.

You should also be aware that many cats don't/won't drink water, because cats naturally get most of their moisture from their food, so we advise that all cats should get at least part of their diet from a wet food, whether home-made (we have articles and a forum for that, because it's important to make sure that cats get all the nutrients they need), raw (same forum, different articles), or canned. Canned is obviously the easiest.

Again, welcome to The Cat Site, and we'd love to see some pictures.

Margret

The rescue said he was a calmer and more laid back cat which is what I was looking for. He looks to be Maine Coon but is probably a mix. You can tell by looking at him that he weighs too much. He has eaten since being here so maybe I'll just add in some wet food along with his dry. It seems like there were more highly rated wet foods anyways.

 

[duckpond]

I haven't really started him on the Crave brand. I just picked him up yesterday. The rescue said he was fed Iam Cat Chow so I picked a bag of that up yesterday to get him started. Today I picked up some Crave and mixed a pinch in with his Cat Chow and was going to transition to Crave. It does appear he picked the Crave out and ate it today. I will start him on some wet food as well. I had already discovered that website. That's where I read the Cat Chow doesn't seem too good. My local store only carries Iams and Purina but did have Crave which that website rates fairly high.



The rescue said he was a calmer and more laid back cat which is what I was looking for. He looks to be Maine Coon but is probably a mix. You can tell by looking at him that he weighs too much. He has eaten since being here so maybe I'll just add in some wet food along with his dry. It seems like there were more highly rated wet foods anyways.

He is a pretty boy! hard to tell if he is a bit pudgy, or just fluffy. I have a fluffy boy, and he looks like a pudgy, until you get a hold of him, he isn't. Crave should be good for him, and if you add in a wet meal even better Enjoy your cat.

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh my, what a sweetheart!

 

[Furballsmom]

In case you're not familiar, there are adult cat body charts so you can see what to look for regarding his weight, but you want to be able to lightly feel the ribs, with a thin layer of fat.

 

[Mr Fluffers]

Those pictures are flattering. He's definitely overweight. No ribs are felt with this guy and he loves belly rubs.

 

[Mr Fluffers]

He's ate more of his dry food and he's coming downstairs more and hanging out. Got some wet food and he didn't seem too interested. May need to try a different type.

 

[Furballsmom]

You're doing a terrific job!

 

[Mr Fluffers]

Interestingly, he hasn't used the litter box upstairs once. He is using the downstairs one so as long as he doesn't go outside of the litter box I guess we're good.

 

[Ardina]

Hi Mr. Fluffers! Welcome to TCS! It's awesome that you're already looking out for your cat's health!

I've been working on helping Saipha lose weight, and it's a long process. First things first, I'd let him adjust to your home. Make sure he's eating well, set some mealtimes, and let him get used to his new territory and people. After a couple of weeks when he's settled in, get a scale and weigh him (postal or baby scales are great for this). If you go to your vet, he/she will be able to give you a ballpark estimate of what his goal weight should be (do avoid the prescription dry food they'll likely offer you). Alternatively, you can watch his body condition and stop when you can feel his ribs with light padding.

You want to aim for a weight loss of no more than half a pound per month. That comes out to ~2 oz per week. You have to go slow and steady with cats! If at all possible, stick to wet food rather than dry, and feed him about 3 meals a day (or more if possible). Pick a low carb wet food (some grain free foods are actually high in carbs, so check the catinfo.org chart!). Stick to pates and avoid the gravy ones. Fancy Feast classics is a fairly good food for not too expensive. Crave isn't on the chart, but the ingredients look great with lots of meat and minimal carb-heavy ingredients!

Start feeding him 20-25 calories/lb of body weight. Crave's wet food pouches are 45 calories per 1.3 oz pouch. Then slowly decrease the amount. Weigh weekly. If he's going up or staying the same, keep reducing the amount of wet food. Pay attention to the calorie counts - some foods are way higher in calories than others - so adjust accordingly if you're feeding multiple brands. Keep reducing the amount of food until he's losing about 2 oz/week. Increase the amount of food if he's losing too fast. Limit treats to a few per day to make sure he's not getting too many extra calories there. Over time, he'll slowly reduce weight and will hopefully become more active too. Hope this was helpful. Keep us updated on how it goes!

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm not sure we ever really got to how much to feed that gorgeous fellow. I think to give him time to adjust, which sounds like he's doing very well already, let him eat as much as he wants. You need to find out what his normal is and then you can begin to adjust for a slow n easy weight loss. He's lucky to have you!

 

[Furballsmom]

Lol I was typing the same time as Ardina

 

[maggiedemi]

Which canned food did you try? Cats can be picky about brand, texture, and flavor.

 

[Mr Fluffers]

Which canned food did you try? Cats can be picky about brand, texture, and flavor.

I picked up some Sheba turkey pate. It seemed to rate fairly well and was cheap. I may try the same in a different flavor.

 

[maggiedemi]

Try the Sheba Cuts, my cats love those.