Calories?

[ppp]

I know that somewhere I saw some recommendations on calories needed, but can't find it again. Can anyone direct me, or have guidelines?

My Tut is at 14 lbs. now (down from 17; up from 13) and I'd like to keep him here.

 

[ZulusMom (GA)]

You should feed about 20 calories per pound to maintain weight, so ~280 a day for Tut.

 

[ppp]

Thank you, ZulusMom.

For general info, I did a search for "calories" and found other similar recommendations -- first time search has worked. I think I had always previously tried from the 'Home Page', and it never worked; but I did this from this forum, and it did! This will be helpful in future.

btw, this is so ridiculous compared to what he is eating right now (or, I should say, what he is eating right now is so ridiculous compared to the recommendation)! I was right to start wondering. He was always a free feeder, on dry food, prior to the diabetes diagnosis -- but also of course, at least 25% overweight.

Still, he has not gained weight in the last week. I wonder if other health problems complicate the picture. I will keep watch. Am glad to have the general recommendations to refer to.

 

[ZulusMom (GA)]

Zulu has always been a big fan of the food dish too, and a bit of a chunky guy! It was actually his sudden weight loss despite constant eating that got us to the vet and his diabetes diagnosis.

He's in remission now but still loves to eat and gained back all the weight he lost from when he was unregulated. My husband set up a chart on our fridge to track how many ounces he puts away each day - nothing special, we just move a magnet up the chart the more we feed him to make sure we don't go over his limit and then start over the next day. He's lost a little bit of weight this way. I think he looks good but I'm biased.

 

[JanetNJ]

Thank you, ZulusMom.

For general info, I did a search for "calories" and found other similar recommendations -- first time search has worked. I think I had always previously tried from the 'Home Page', and it never worked; but I did this from this forum, and it did! This will be helpful in future.

btw, this is so ridiculous compared to what he is eating right now (or, I should say, what he is eating right now is so ridiculous compared to the recommendation)! I was right to start wondering. He was always a free feeder, on dry food, prior to the diabetes diagnosis -- but also of course, at least 25% overweight.

Still, he has not gained weight in the last week. I wonder if other health problems complicate the picture. I will keep watch. Am glad to have the general recommendations to refer to.

Unregulated cats need more food because they can't utilize the nutrients properly. So if you are trying to help your cat gain weight feed about extra.

 

[Adam Flowers]

I know that somewhere I saw some recommendations on calories needed, but can't find it again. Can anyone direct me, or have guidelines?

My Tut is at 14 lbs. now (down from 17; up from 13) and I'd like to keep him here.

A good starting point, from what I've learned, is 13.5 × weight in lbs. + 70 to determine amount of calories needed daily.

So right around 260 calories. Then weigh in about a week and adjust as needed.