Assistance and clarification on Food quantity

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hnkstr

hnkstr

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Ok, Tigger is really liking the new food, he is on a Fancy Feast diet, converted over from Royal Canine Diabetic DS (last small portion was one week ago today).

Now, i've read that you should feed your cat 15-25 calories per lb of optimal weight for your cat. My cat has been around 13-16 lbs, right now he is lighter than he has been in a long time. What is his optimal weight?
I have uploaded some pics of Tigger so you can see his size. If his optimal weight is 13 lbs lets say, and a Fancy Feast can has 92 calories (3 oz can), then he should get around 3 cans a day? I just want to make sure i'm getting him enough but not pushing his glucose too high.
He's acting like he's starving and VERY vocal about food and I can't tell if its because of my stopping the Free Feeding, or if what i'm giving him is not enough.

Thanks!
Brent
 

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Most of the advice I've seen around here usually says to free-feed as much as kitty wants while the FD is uncontrolled...otherwise you could be starving your kitty. Obviously you don't want them to gorge and puke, but otherwise, watch how much he'll eat in one sitting, and then offer more a few hours later and see if he's interested if you are concerned that you aren't feeding enough.

When I switched from dry to wet, I did some basic math and figured about 20 calories per pound. I was switching 2 cats over at the same time (thank God they both took to the wet food with no issues!), one FD and one not, so I wanted to make sure the civie was getting enough food and Max wasn't hogging it all. After I did the math, I then added some extra 'just to be sure'. And then I watched. Max had lost 6lbs before the diagnosis (he had been 16lbs), so he needed to gain some back. He should be about 12-13lbs, I *think*. The vet has never given me a consistent answer, but they've also not been really concerned about his weight other than at 16lbs he needed to lose some. I believe he's about 14lbs now and they're happy with that.

A quick and easy way to find a starting point for feeding wet food is to take the manufacturer's recommendation and cut it in half. After I did all my calories to pounds math, I discovered this to be just about right. Once Max was at a proper weight, we started cutting the food back. Periodically we have to adjust the amount--Truman gets pushed out of the food bowl sometimes, so he's not always getting enough. Between both of my cats, I have about 24lbs of cat to feed. I feed half of a 13oz can of Friskie's in the morning, and the other half in the evening, and both cats are holding well at an appropriate weight.
 
It is so great that you're considering calories per can of food and not just going by the manufacturer recommendation. It took me so long to really grasp that concept-- no, seriously, my vet told me for like 2 months before I actually understood and I wasn't following feeding recommendations at the time because I had decided that sounded like way too much food. :lol:

I started Willy on 4 cans of FF but he was still complaining for more food. He is EXTREMELY food driven/obsessed and always has been. As we got him better regulated, I slowly reduced him to 3 cans of FF (for the sake of his calorie intake). I did this by removing a tsp of food here and there. I countered the loss of food (quantity) by adding a lot of water to it (basically the same amount of water as food). He still acts starving ALL the time and is still obsessive over food (he will eat so fast he gags himself and doesn't even pause). We have tried mini-meals but it just doesn't work for him, unfortunately. TYPICALLY, when a cat becomes better regulated their appetite will decrease (but Willy is anything but typical).

I am still looking for a "filler" that I can add to his food that won't affect his BG or add calories. I was considering pumpkin but the research on it (affecting BG) is conflicted (though when I have given it to him for digestive upsets, it doesn't seem to affect his BG). :roll: :lol:

Willy weighs about 15.5lbs and his my vet feels his ideal weight is around 14-15lbs. I try to feed him as close to 220 calories as I can manage but I will go up to 230 or 240 on occasion--- some days he is grumpy and I know he's more hungry than normal and I will fudge the Evo by an ounce or so.

Did your vet happen to tell you what weight he/she feels would be best for Tigger? I think it's hard to put an "ideal" weight as a number on large cats and you really need to assess their physical appearance/condition for this. Here is some information on that: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felineobes ... Overweight
 
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