- Joined
- Nov 15, 2014
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Hi all,
Everyone here is so great to share their experiences. On top of me being only 5 years or so into owning and caring for cats (3 siblings rescued from my yard when their mom dropped them off after weaning), we now have the new addition of my mom's 8-year-old male.
I am concerned about the weight of one of the siblings, Tigger. He has always been more energetic, affectionate, curious, and into stuff (closets, bathtub, cabinets, etc.) In addition to this, I think he has anxiety issues, which cause him issues with soft stools (currently staying under control with Fortiflora and pumpkin added to his wet food). My other cats are at good weight or maybe even a tad over, but I can feel Tigger's ribs when I pick him up, which I think is too thin. Am I right?
Honestly, if he were free fed dry, he would likely be so fat he could not walk. He has always been a kibble junkie, and I have managed to compromise on this with his diarrhea issues by giving him mostly wet food with "dessert" of a handful of limited ingredient dry kibbles. I have read on here and other places that a 9-pound cat needs anywhere from 200-235 calories per day. Because of who he is, he is prone to scarf and barf, especially if given too much canned food in one meal.
Right now, I am feeding two meals of wet food a day with a canned "snack," where I usually split a 6 0z can four ways between all four cats (usually the snack is Weruva, since the cat that was mom's is picky and does not eat other things the siblings like).
The meals for the 3 siblings usually consist of 1/2 Nature's Variety 5.5 oz pate can, one Nutro 3 oz can plus 1/4 of another 3 oz can split 3 ways twice a day. If I feed Tigger any more at one sitting, he will nearly always throw up right after, so I am taking that as his way of saying he is full. After this, they do get maybe a dozen kibbles of limited ingredient dry food. About 5 hours after the first meal, they usually get the snack of 1/4 of a 6 oz can each.
When I started calculating the calories, I am getting that the meals usually add up to about 150-160 calories a day per cat (except when part of the meal is made up of the Weruva, which of course is lower in calories, so I might need to make that only for their snack portion). I figure the kibble adds up to another 50 calories, and the snack adds in another 20 or so calories. So, 150+50+20=220.
Does anyone else have an IBS, high-strung, anxious kitty who needs to eat more than other cats not as anxious as he is to maintain healthy weight? He has recently added randomly marking by the front door (like once a week) as a response to his stress (still trying to tell if that is due to feeling threatened by the outdoor cats being more present due to spring or if it took him 4 months to feel threatened in territory by the addition of my mom's cat since last October). If he is not getting enough to eat, would that not also stress him? if he feels threatened by the new cat, the first place I would guess he would feel threatened would be worry about not getting his share, since eating is very high on his list of pleasant experiences. Since he was a rescue, food has always been the highlight of his day (and yes, he will steal at times, which certainly does not help his bowel issues--the theft of one fried chicken strip off my son's plate that was eaten in a minute caused him terrible diarrhea that fortunately was helped with Fortiflora). I am now experimenting with him being on Fortiflora in small amounts daily. My thinking is that, if I can keep the diarrhea under control, he might also gain weight consistently, and I figure the bouts of diarrhea are also very stressful for him.
Okay, I will stop rambling and wait to get any responses from hopefully those with experience with IBS (thankfully not IBD) kitties and a need for more calories. His IBS acts up with any big change. It started when both of my kids started college at the same time a couple of years ago. With better food and getting him used to the new schedules, he got better. Then, my dad died so, DH and I have more responsibility taking care of mom. He got soft stools again, but I used the Fortiflora and pumpkin and got him over that episode. Of course, the new cat added is the most recent stress, and so far, I think the soft stools are being controlled by the Fortiflora and pumpkin, which I am thinking of just continuing long term.
I am sure others will share their insight.
Thanks!
Everyone here is so great to share their experiences. On top of me being only 5 years or so into owning and caring for cats (3 siblings rescued from my yard when their mom dropped them off after weaning), we now have the new addition of my mom's 8-year-old male.
I am concerned about the weight of one of the siblings, Tigger. He has always been more energetic, affectionate, curious, and into stuff (closets, bathtub, cabinets, etc.) In addition to this, I think he has anxiety issues, which cause him issues with soft stools (currently staying under control with Fortiflora and pumpkin added to his wet food). My other cats are at good weight or maybe even a tad over, but I can feel Tigger's ribs when I pick him up, which I think is too thin. Am I right?
Honestly, if he were free fed dry, he would likely be so fat he could not walk. He has always been a kibble junkie, and I have managed to compromise on this with his diarrhea issues by giving him mostly wet food with "dessert" of a handful of limited ingredient dry kibbles. I have read on here and other places that a 9-pound cat needs anywhere from 200-235 calories per day. Because of who he is, he is prone to scarf and barf, especially if given too much canned food in one meal.
Right now, I am feeding two meals of wet food a day with a canned "snack," where I usually split a 6 0z can four ways between all four cats (usually the snack is Weruva, since the cat that was mom's is picky and does not eat other things the siblings like).
The meals for the 3 siblings usually consist of 1/2 Nature's Variety 5.5 oz pate can, one Nutro 3 oz can plus 1/4 of another 3 oz can split 3 ways twice a day. If I feed Tigger any more at one sitting, he will nearly always throw up right after, so I am taking that as his way of saying he is full. After this, they do get maybe a dozen kibbles of limited ingredient dry food. About 5 hours after the first meal, they usually get the snack of 1/4 of a 6 oz can each.
When I started calculating the calories, I am getting that the meals usually add up to about 150-160 calories a day per cat (except when part of the meal is made up of the Weruva, which of course is lower in calories, so I might need to make that only for their snack portion). I figure the kibble adds up to another 50 calories, and the snack adds in another 20 or so calories. So, 150+50+20=220.
Does anyone else have an IBS, high-strung, anxious kitty who needs to eat more than other cats not as anxious as he is to maintain healthy weight? He has recently added randomly marking by the front door (like once a week) as a response to his stress (still trying to tell if that is due to feeling threatened by the outdoor cats being more present due to spring or if it took him 4 months to feel threatened in territory by the addition of my mom's cat since last October). If he is not getting enough to eat, would that not also stress him? if he feels threatened by the new cat, the first place I would guess he would feel threatened would be worry about not getting his share, since eating is very high on his list of pleasant experiences. Since he was a rescue, food has always been the highlight of his day (and yes, he will steal at times, which certainly does not help his bowel issues--the theft of one fried chicken strip off my son's plate that was eaten in a minute caused him terrible diarrhea that fortunately was helped with Fortiflora). I am now experimenting with him being on Fortiflora in small amounts daily. My thinking is that, if I can keep the diarrhea under control, he might also gain weight consistently, and I figure the bouts of diarrhea are also very stressful for him.
Okay, I will stop rambling and wait to get any responses from hopefully those with experience with IBS (thankfully not IBD) kitties and a need for more calories. His IBS acts up with any big change. It started when both of my kids started college at the same time a couple of years ago. With better food and getting him used to the new schedules, he got better. Then, my dad died so, DH and I have more responsibility taking care of mom. He got soft stools again, but I used the Fortiflora and pumpkin and got him over that episode. Of course, the new cat added is the most recent stress, and so far, I think the soft stools are being controlled by the Fortiflora and pumpkin, which I am thinking of just continuing long term.
I am sure others will share their insight.
Thanks!