Portions For A Fat Kitty

[Savannah78754]

Hi I recently got a pretty chunky kitty who I think would benefit from a good diet, but I'm not sure really how much to feed in order to keep him happy but also lose some pounds.
He's eating canned food right now ( He has little teeth left ) and I am feeding 1 can a day, half in the AM and half in the PM..
Is this too much, too little? I'd say he likely weights 10-15 lbs and is 9 years old. Thanks for the help!

 

[MissMolly08]

It would be helpful to know an exact weight. I weigh my cat on a home scale by weighing myself holding her and then weighing myself alone and subtracting the difference. A 10lb adult male cat shouldn't be chunky, at 15lbs...maybe.

If he is actually overweight, then 1 can a day is probably too little to begin with. Cats need to lose weight VERY slowly or they are at risk for something called "fatty liver disease" which can be fatal!

The best way to go about a diet is to consult a vet and/or get an accurate weight on the kitty, multiple that weight by 20 calories (20calories/pound is the general recommendation here to maintain a cat's weight) and then subtract maybe 10% of those calories to start the diet off.

 

[Savannah78754]

Okay, I will look at his records to see his exact weight. He could be more than that and I could be a little underestimating but he is chunky for sure.
He is a very skiddish cat and I am actually fostering him to get him used to people and eventually ( hopefully) friendly with humans so sadly I cannot touch him quite yet.
I will ask the vet of the shelter I am fostering and see what he says and then also check the food I am giving and see the calories, but thank you for that knowledge, I will likely up his food once I get his weight and know exactly how much. He's definitely not obese.. so not 30 lbs but is not long haired so I know it's not his hair adding to his size very much.