Not Eating Much But Gaining Weight

[Clover18]

Hi all,
I've had my two year old tabby for about 6 weeks. I got her from the Humane Society. She had a litter of babies and then she was spayed. The shelter was feeding her Royal Cannin Indoor Adult, I feed her whatever I have a coupon for. The HS said they were giving her 1/2 cup dry 1/2 wet twice a day but she never finished those amounts. At home she eats half a 3ounce can in the morning and the other half when I get home, and I give her 1/3 cup dry twice a day, but she never finishes it all. I give her another half of a 3oz can before bed. So that's 4.5 ounces of wet total a day and 1/3 to 1/2 cup dry a day. Is this too much because she's gaining weight? I was advised by someone at the shelter (I called for advise) to feed her less if she's gaining weight but it doesn't seem like a lot of food to me. My old cat only ate dry so I'm not sure how to moderate wet and dry food together. I'm concerned it might be a thyroid issue, but the lady told me cats are like people, some eat a lot and never gain weight, others eat barely anything and gain weight easily so I should cut back her food.
Any other thoughts? Is it worth a trip to the vet?

 

[BlueJay]

Has she had a general wellness exam since you got her? Did they do any blood work?

 

[Clover18]

Has she had a general wellness exam since you got her? Did they do any blood work?

She had her last exam with shots on Aug 28 and I took her home Sept 5. They didn't do any blood work there. That's why I'm not sure if this warrants a vet exam since she just had one.

 

[KarenKat]

Our cat Olive was getting about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of dry a day and she seemed to gain weight. I don’t think she processed the carbs well in the Natural Balance we fed. She’s now on 210 kcal of wet food a day (usually about 5.5 oz to 7.75 oz depending on type of wet food) and she stopped gaining weight. I think it’s more satisfying for her too because it’s a larger volume.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
Can you get her to play and exercise more?
If that doesn't work, you may want to think about having your vet do some blood work just to be on the safe side.

How To Compare Cat Foods & Calculate Carbs: Dry Matter Basis

 

[Willowy]

How many calories are in the food she's getting? It's usually on the bag/can or on the company's website. Some brands/flavors have a lot more calories than other brands/flavors so that's something to keep an eye on. Start with 20 calories per pound of her ideal weight. You can cut that back to 15 calories per pound if she still gains weight. Don't go lower than that without a vet's advice though. If she's still gaining weight at that level I think bloodowrk would be called for.

 

[maggiedemi]

That's about the same amount my cats eat.

 

[Clover18]

Our cat Olive was getting about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of dry a day and she seemed to gain weight. I don’t think she processed the carbs well in the Natural Balance we fed. She’s now on 210 kcal of wet food a day (usually about 5.5 oz to 7.75 oz depending on type of wet food) and she stopped gaining weight. I think it’s more satisfying for her too because it’s a larger volume.

How many calories are in the food she's getting? It's usually on the bag/can or on the company's website. Some brands/flavors have a lot more calories than other brands/flavors so that's something to keep an eye on. Start with 20 calories per pound of her ideal weight. You can cut that back to 15 calories per pound if she still gains weight. Don't go lower than that without a vet's advice though. If she's still gaining weight at that level I think bloodowork would be called for.

Thank you for this! I realize that I have actually been overfeeding her! I thought she wasn't eating a lot, but I looked at the bag and did the 20 calories per pound and with just the dry food alone I'm giving her twice as much as she should be getting! Wow, rookie mistake! She's sooooo going on a diet. Poor kitty.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Don't go too fast in reducing the amount/putting her on a diet

https://petnutritionalliance.org/email/images/bcs_chart_cat.jpg

 

[BlueJay]

Make sure you don't reduce what she's eating by too much too fast, that can be really bad, I think it's with the liver that has issues. Also, I couldn't tell, is she nursing kittens currently? If so, she can eat a lot more calories.

 

[Willowy]

Yeah, kibble is pretty calorie-dense, it's super easy to overfeed! It's best for the majority of the diet to be canned food; she can eat more of it because it's not as calorie-dense. Along with just a little kibble to fill out her caloric needs.

Because she's young and only just recently spayed, maybe start with 25 calories per pound. And adjust as needed to keep her at a healthy weight.

 

[jen]

Just drop the dry and determine how much wet she would need and you will be in good shape. Dry food is too full of carbs.

 

[Clover18]

Hi! Don't go too fast in reducing the amount/putting her on a diet

https://petnutritionalliance.org/email/images/bcs_chart_cat.jpg

This is handy! She was about a six when we brought her home. Now she's definitely a seven. There are places she could fit into a when we brought her home but can't anymore.

 

[Furballsmom]

.

 

[Clover18]

Make sure you don't reduce what she's eating by too much too fast, that can be really bad, I think it's with the liver that has issues. Also, I couldn't tell, is she nursing kittens currently? If so, she can eat a lot more calories.

Not nursing anymore. I've just started to feed her the recommended servings now that I figured that out, and switched back from a "savory" food to just food for indoor cats.

 

[Furballsmom]

Try some more playtime and exercise

 

[Clover18]

Yeah, kibble is pretty calorie-dense, it's super easy to overfeed! It's best for the majority of the diet to be canned food; she can eat more of it because it's not as calorie-dense. Along with just a little kibble to fill out her caloric needs.

Because she's young and only just recently spayed, maybe start with 25 calories per pound. And adjust as needed to keep her at a healthy weight.

Thank you! So much great advise from everyone!

 

[Clover18]

Just drop the dry and determine how much wet she would need and you will be in good shape. Dry food is too full of carbs.

Thank you! I lowered the amount of dry.

 

[susanj52]

Females after being spayed have a change in their hormones and will gain weight if you do not watch what they eat closely. My Piper gained 4 pounds after being spayed in just a couple of months. I have been really monitoring her food and over this year she has lost one pound. If you don't limit their food intake, they will eat and eat becoming really obese. I feed Piper 1 Tablespoon of dry food in the AM and 1 T in the evening and she shares a wet pouch in the AM and a can of food with her brother in the PM. A treat 1x per day. If she eats more she gains weight. She is plump and healthy eating this. Piper is the white girl in the bed. That's Petee her brother from another mother.

 

[Clover18]

Females after being spayed have a change in their hormones and will gain weight if you do not watch what they eat closely. My Piper gained 4 pounds after being spayed in just a couple of months. I have been really monitoring her food and over this year she has lost one pound. If you don't limit their food intake, they will eat and eat becoming really obese. I feed Piper 1 Tablespoon of dry food in the AM and 1 T in the evening and she shares a wet pouch in the AM and a can of food with her brother in the PM. A treat 1x per day. If she eats more she gains weight. She is plump and healthy eating this. Piper is the white girl in the bed. That's Petee her brother from another mother.

They're both so beautiful! I love how their colors actually compliment each other like a well put together outfit. Thank you for this info. I've come to realize that even a couple of tablespoons of extra food a day can contribute to weight gain. I forget how small they are sometimes. Since I realized too late that the dry food I was giving her was higher in calories than I thought and I was feeding her almost twice the recommended amount (eeek), I reduced it to just her recommended daily amount of both the wet and dry, making adjustments for feeding two types of food and she's holding steady. My son also stopped giving her treats (I didn't realize he was giving her so much). I haven't weighed her recently, but I can see she's stopped gaining just by looking at her and how her tummy feels when I pet her. She's very fluffy so it's hard to tell sometimes. Thanks again!