When to transition to "Adult" food feeding levels

[redvelvetone]

Hi

My cat is almost a year old. He has a huge appetite and gets about 8 to 8.5 ounces of food a day (mostly grain-free wet food, but he also gets some raw). He turns a year old in June sometime. I am not sure how much he weighs but he is not fat. He feels solid. I'm bringing him to the vet sometime in June so I can just weigh him and get him a once-over to make sure he looks good. The last time he was weighed was a couple of months ago and he was 9 lbs something (I didn't have a scale that did ounces so I don't know how many ounces). If I had to guess I'd say he's at least 11 pounds now.

I know you're supposed to let growing kittens eat a lot more than an adult cat.  When do you scale back? My previous (RIP) cat had been obese (my fault, I free-fed him kibble when he was younger and didn't know about the right nutrition until much later in his life). Should I start cutting him back to about 6 oz of food when he turns a year old? 

At his last vet visit (at 6-7 months old) the vet said he was going to be a big cat, probably 15-16 lbs when full grown at his proper weight. I believe him because he (the cat) has big feet. But he also has long hair so it's hard to say what his exact body shape is. I did feel along his sides and I can feel his ribs if I press in. I don't think I see any droopy belly (he has a lot of undercoat / shaggy hair on his stomach so it's hard to say for sure but I believe he's in good shape).

Do I continue to feed him at the 8-8.5 oz per day until he starts to look a little fat and then cut back or do I cut back at a certain age?

For those of you who say he'll learn to control his own feeding when he's not as hungry, I do not trust that He used to be a feral, and he will stuff himself  and still beg for more....

Here is Magnus (recent photos). I have not noticed him growing any longer recently but he has been filling out. He gets plenty of exercise. (We got him da bird and he goes NUTS! now he won't play with anything else lol).

 

[melesine]

Oh he is adorable, I have a black kitty too. I go by feel not by age. I put my hands on their shoulders, ribs and hips. If they are maintaining a healthy weight, then that is the right amount of food for their activity and growth levels. If they are getting chunky time to cut back. Same thing I do with the dogs. 

 

[kittylover23]

Aww Magnus is a cutie!! He looks a lot like my kitty, Ruby hehe.
I have a kitten who is almost a year old, as well. Here is what I have done.
Now that she is almost an adult cat, I've slowly started giving her less and less food until it got to the regular adult portion. She seems to have accepted this, but will meow at me for more food, and if she does that, I will give more.
If you slowly adjust them to an adult portion, they should accept it. But if your kitty is hungry for more, I say feed him, after all, he is still a growing boy. Just know that even though he's almost a year, he is still not completely an adult and you can treat him with some kitten food once in a while.
If you start to notice he is overweight, contact your vet and they will have the best answer for you.
Good luck, and tell little Magnus I say hi.

 

[redvelvetone]

Hi Kitty

Thanks for your response and good to meet another black cat fan

Basically Magnus is always begging for food. Right now he gets fed three times a day, and he will start bugging me for food at least an hour before he supposed to get fed. and then also, he bugs me whenever we happen to walk by or are in the kitchen doing anything. If it was up to him he'd be getting fed every two hours

but I will eventually cut down the portions I give him. I am keeping an eye on him now to see that he stays at an ideal weight. It's hard to tell because of all the fur, but I don't see a hanging belly on him and he feels solid to me, not pudgy so I think he is OK for now. Plus we exercise him regularly. he LOOOOOVE da bird and does acrobatics whenever we bring it out. lol

 

[kittylover23]

It's good that he's exercising. Young kitties are so active.
Cookie is just like that too, always crying at us for treats when we're in the kitchen. I buy some healthy cat treats, like the Natural Balance Chicken Formula or Purelife freeze dried chicken treats. In the beginning we were feeding her Temptations, but those are very fatty and contain by products.
Also, try to distract him when he cries for food. Like pull out Da Bird, or any other kitty toy he likes instead and he might forget all about the food.
I know how you feel, my kitties are always crying and giving me the food stare as well, LOL.

 

[redvelvetone]

Thanks

Yes, I've been doing that, with da bird. Just did it now when he was bugging when I was making coffee in the kitchen.

I have picked up some freeze dried beef treats recently (I forget who makes them) that seem like they are good. I do have some junkier treats - like Greenies and Temptations, but he gets one of those at bedtime. So now he knows when I go to bed to run in and follow me for his treat. Of course, he's not ready to go to bed yet (and my husband is a night owl) so he usually hangs with me for a few mintues after his treat then runs and gets my husband to go play with him some more. I can hear him zip around the apartment burning off his crazies. lol.

 

[kittylover23]

Awwww. :lol3: so funny.
I give Cookie one or two Greenies or Temptations a day too. She loves them.
I think when they're at this age they're always hungry cause they're growing up. I've never had a cat with such a big appetite! But it's okay, feed him what he wants for now and slowly transition him to smaller portions.

 

[just mike]

Magnus is a real cutie pie!  He looks fit and trim so he must get plenty of exercise! YAY!  Generally a vet will tell you to transition at about 12 months of age or so.  If it were me, if he's doing well now I would leave his diet alone for a bit and maybe begin to slowly transition him over to adult sometime in June.  I'm not sure about all brands of cat food but both lines of Nutro, Nutro Max and Nutro Natural Choice have an Indoor formula and a regular formula.  If Magnus continues to eat and keep that svelte figure I would consider putting him on a regular formula and not an Indoor formula.  Indoor formulas revolve around indoor cats which usually do not get the exercise Magnus appears to be getting.  Have fun!
 

 

[minka]

He looks like the perfect weight to me, but it is much harder to tell in black cats, let alone fluffy ones.
I would take him to your vet and simply ask him 'How much should my cat weigh?' "Is he a healthy weight as of today?' and then go from there. :nod:

 

[redvelvetone]

thanks for the advice guys 

(as an aside today I woke up with Magnus literally perched on my forehead and meowing at me to get up and feed him. He actually bent down at one point and put my the side of my face in his teeth, but did not bite together. I guess I should be grateful for that!)

@ Nutro Mike. Right now Magnus gets fed a rotation of grain-free wet foods with a few Trader Joe brand cans thrown in to even out the cost. And a little raw. I don't think they have an indoor or an outdoor formula, just adult or kitten versions. (I have him on Adult formula, which he's been on since 6 months about).

@ Minka, I will be bringing him to the vet in June to do a weigh in and ask the vet what he thinks of his weight. I don' t take his nutrition advice though as he had told me to put him on Science Diet (dry) when I brought him to his first check up and warned me that the grain free wet foods I was feeding him might give him urinary blockages because the ash content was too high (as an aside, I looked up the ash content on some of the foods I was feeding him at the time and they were the same or lower than SD). He's a fantastic vet, he's great with animals, but I don' t go to him for nutrition advice as my last cat (RIP), who I had to put down from cancer last year, suffered from various problems his whole life (dry skin, allergies, constipation, obesity) that could have been solved with a diet change (I was feeding him dry diet cat food for the most part - I did not know about some of the things I know now and nobody at the vet's told me about even something as simple as wet food would be a big help. This I figured out later on when he was getting consipated and I started giving him more wet food and that helped tremendously. Why didn't the vet tell me this???)

I know one of the other vet's there told me to let kittens eat as much as they want until they are a year old. But I've seen Magnus go through a day's worth of food in one sitting and still look around for more food so I'm afraid if I let him he would eat until he got sick. My vet, the one mentioned above, did say that I should be careful with his weight since he's a former feral and they tend to balloon up if you let them eat too much because they are used to eating as they can. At the time he told me he probably would weigh 15 to 16 lbs when full grown (at a healthy weight) or be a fat 20 lb cat if I didn't watch his food intake.

I think in June or maybe July I'll start to cut back very slightly (instead of 8 ounces I'll try and cut to 7 and see what happens).

Also how are you guys able to measure the exactness of what you are feeding them to the ounce. Are you using a food scale? Any recs for a cheap one?

 

[minka]

I actually don't ever measure food in ounces. I just go by portions of a can. 1/2 a can, 1/4th a can, etc.

 

[redvelvetone]

I guess I should just go from one can and a half to one can and a quarter for starters

 

[redvelvetone]

I brought Magnus into the vet today and he is now 12 lbs 2 oz. She said he had just a tad too much fat when she felt him around his ribs but it wasn't too bad but I should start cutting back his levels of food.  I'm doing one 5.5 oz can and a quarter can now and then in couple of weeks I'll go down to one 5.5 oz can of food.

 

[ldg]

Sounds like a plan!

 

[just mike]

I actually don't ever measure food in ounces. I just go by portions of a can. 1/2 a can, 1/4th a can, etc.

I do the same Minka.  I have to do 4 cats twice a day so each gets 1/2 can for each feeding.  For special snack things I'll do 1/4 can.  I do measure the kibble though.  Don't want them getting fat