Should We Just Ignore Feeding Guidelines For Wet Food?

[lilbirdie]

My cat suddenly started eating wet food. I’m happy about that.

However, I noticed that many brands have bizarre feeding guidelines. I’ve seen some that recommend feeding SIX 3 OZ CANS PER DAY for a 12 lb cat! I understand this might be based on calories or the assumption that the cat is large but not overweight but...18 oz a day? Seriously?

Thoughts? I don’t want to risk hepatic lipidosis for my obese cat but feeding by some of these guidelines seems unbelievable sometimes. For what it’s worth, 6 oz a day hasn’t made her any slimmer in the month or so that she’s been on wet food.

 

[abyeb]

The feeding guidelines on cat food in general are more than the ideal amount. I would recommend asking your vet how much they think your cat should eat. This article is also a helpful resource: How Much Food Should I Feed My Cat?

 

[lilbirdie]

The vet said she should weigh 8 lbs judging by her frame and should be fed 2 cans of wet food daily or about 2 shot glasses of dry food, plus some treats for both. This is factoring in her activity level.

So quantity-based estimates should be safe, regardless of specific brands’ feeding guidelines?

 

[abyeb]

The vet said she should weigh 8 lbs judging by her frame and should be fed 2 cans of wet food daily or about 2 shot glasses of dry food, plus some treats for both. This is factoring in her activity level.

So quantity-based estimates should be safe, regardless of specific brands’ feeding guidelines?

Yes, go with what your vet says.

 

[Azazel]

I disagree with your vet. It depends on the number of kcal in food. Some dry foods are extremely dense in calories, you could be feeding up to twice as much if you just follow a general rule. I calculate calories and ignore feeding guidelines. I also monitor body shape/weight. The general rule for total kcal per day is 20xweight in pounds for adult cats.

 

[lilbirdie]

I only have 3 brands of dry food so that was based on what I have, 2 shot glasses per day of relatively low-calorie dry food. She doesn’t eat dry food anymore, though.

Should obesity be factored in? The shelter fed her kitten food in a cage she couldn’t stand up in so she’s very overweight. As of now she still needs to lose about 4 1/2 lbs.

 

[Azazel]

Here is a helpful chart: https://www.animalmedicalcenterofchicago.com/pdf/CalorieRequirementsForCats.pdf

 

[lilbirdie]

Thank you!

 

[Willowy]

Yeah, the feeding charts on cans are generally made for the needs of intact cats with high calorie requirements. Not chubby spayed housepets . Start at 20 calories per pound of ideal weight per day, and see if that works or needs tweaking. It's such an individual thing.

You have to go by calories, not just say "2 cans a day" because there can be a huge variation in how many calories there are per can. Even 2 different flavors of Fancy Feast---the pate kind usually has 90-100 calories per can, and the shreds/bits kind usually has about 65 calories per can. So if the cat gets 2 cans they're getting around 60 calories per day that may not have been accounted for. That could really make a difference!

 

[foxden]

This site
Cat Food Database
has a lot of information about calories and other nutrients in a large variety of cat foods.
I did not see this link posted above.

This thread is a success story for one kitty's journey and successful weight loss
Mickey, my 27 lbs foster and his journey back to a healthy weight

 

[maggiedemi]

My cats have never eaten over 9oz of canned food. They could never eat 18oz.

 

[oonawingedwolf]

My cat is on 90% canned food now and can barely clean up a 5 oz can and one of the pouches of Wiskas in a day. He gets 1/4 cup of American Journey over night so he doesn't get sick while we sleep which he does if we don't leave food out.

 

[kittyluv387]

Truly it depends on each cat. Like people they have their own metabolisms and builds. I will add that some cans are very low calorie (weruva). You just have to check. My one 11 pound energetic cat eats nearly 300 calories a day it hurts my wallet honestly but he would eat more if i let him haha. My other lazy 12 pounder eats around 200 calories a day and he's kinda meaty looking but he's long and tall. My almost 9lb girl will also eat 200 calories a day but she is petite because she's also energetic. I would judge by the calories and how your cat looks to be honest. It's like saying BMIs are accurate for everyone.

 

[lilbirdie]

All of my wet food brands are at the 90-97 calorie range so I’ve been feeding around 200 calories a day (with added treats). I just calculated the calories in the dry food and it would’ve been 192-196 calories per day when I was still feeding dry, so she’s lost about 1/6 lb in almost 3 months by eating roughly 200 calories a day.

Someone mentioned going by ideal weight instead of current weight. Is this safe?

 

[recurringecho]

So she’s stopped losing weight recently since she’s been on wet food, right?

I would start by feeding her 160-170 cal/day and monitoring her weight weekly. Ideally she should be losing 1% of her weight per week. If she’s constantly meowing for food, if find that frequent feedings with smaller amounts of food helps!

 

[mschauer]

Someone mentioned going by ideal weight instead of current weight. Is this safe?

When my foster kitty needed to lose weight I was instructed to feed an amount that would provide the calories he needs if he were at his ideal weight. That is what I did and it worked great for him.

 

[daftcat75]

Thank you!

That cat looks like it ate my cat!

My Krista is coming back from IBD and pancreatitis and has the opposite problem. I've been slowly getting her food intake and calories back up after months of barfing up the wrong food for her (or any cat going by some of those ingredient lists.) Now I'm a little obsessed with this because I've been trying to get her weight back up for so long. I have a Google Sheet with the calories per gram of each food I feed her and the calculations of how many calories for each goal weight and grams of each food to get there. In the other tabs, I have her weekly ledger of grams of each food ate at each meal, total calories for the day, plus a 25 cal allowance for the nutritional gel I mix her medicine into with each meal. She gets five meals a day right now. Give me another pound and I'll try to stretch her out to four and maybe get some sleep back. I weigh her once a week on Monday morning and determine if we're still on track with the calories and the weight gain.

For her calorie target, I aim for ideal weight but in increments. She's coming from 6.25 lbs and should be about 8.5. I'm not feeding her like an 8.5 lbs cat right now. That would make her barf. But I feed her like a 6.5 lbs cat until she reaches that target. Then I feed her like 6.75 lbs cat. I'm happy to say that as of last Monday, she's up to 7 lbs and eating calories for a 7.25 lbs cat now.

What's interesting is that exercise is as important for weight gain as it is for weight loss. Makes sense. I want her to have increased demands for protein to replace lost muscle mass and not just get a tummy. She doesn't have her treat-eating teeth anymore, not hard treats anyway, but I hide dried tuna flakes throughout her environment, her many cat trees and the surfaces I no longer care that she traverses, and that keeps her hunting regularly.

 

[lilbirdie]

I don’t know if she stopped losing weight when she switched to wet food, I think she lost 1/8 lb on dry and the rest on wet. I’ll feed her one can of wet and around 60 calories of my lowest calorie dry a day and see how it goes! I can feed her half a can in the morning and the other half + the dry at night, she screams in my face while I’m sleeping if she’s hungry at night.

daftcat75 Your cat has the same problem as me I’m so scrawny I have osteopenia at age 22. Gaining weight is hard when your body won’t allow it.

 

[daftcat75]

I don’t know if she stopped losing weight when she switched to wet food, I think she lost 1/8 lb on dry and the rest on wet. I’ll feed her one can of wet and around 60 calories of my lowest calorie dry a day and see how it goes! I can feed her half a can in the morning and the other half + the dry at night, she screams in my face while I’m sleeping if she’s hungry at night.

daftcat75 Your cat has the same problem as me I’m so scrawny I have osteopenia at age 22. Gaining weight is hard when your body won’t allow it.

Krista lost her weight due to diseases of malabsorption (IBD and pancreatitis.). Hard to keep the weight on when she wasn’t keeping the food down. We’ve landed on food that agrees with her, supplements that support her recovery, B-12 shots to help with the deficiencies, and an appetite stimulant to ensure that I no longer get more than a few hours of sleep at a time. But she is gaining weight again and coming back to health! Maybe you could use nutritional gel and mirtazapine too?

 

[ailish]

I disagree with your vet. It depends on the number of kcal in food. Some dry foods are extremely dense in calories, you could be feeding up to twice as much if you just follow a general rule. I calculate calories and ignore feeding guidelines. I also monitor body shape/weight. The general rule for total kcal per day is 20xweight in pounds for adult cats.

Completely agree. A "can" of cat food can vary wildly in calories. The calories in the dry food I use for my night feeding would determine that my 8 lb cat get 1/2 a cup a day and no other food. In order to know how much you are feeding your cat you have to look at calories. I have also found that the recommended feeding amount on most cans is only for use if you want an obese cat.