Calories to feed?

[Ann & Tess GA]

Anyone know how many calories a cat should eat to maintain or even gain weight? Dr Lisa says a cat will eat as much as it needs and gives this formula for starting a weight loss diet:

Required calories per day = [13.6 X optimal lean body weight in pounds] + 70
Most female cats should weigh a nice, lean 10 -11 pounds. Most male cats should fall into the 11 -13 pound range.
This formula provides a very generous starting point (usually far too generous)

But what about for weight maintenance ? Tess weighs a little over 8lbs., so [(13.6 x 8)+70=178.8 kcal/day] We've been trying to get her to eat on 5.5oz. can of Wellness which is 220kcal, so that's about an ounce more than the formula recommends. It is often a struggle to get her to eat a full 5.5oz. a day.

She isn't gaining weight, but isn't dropping any more either. She had lost weight before dx and gradually lost more over the last year and a half. This is probably her ideal weight, I can see her waist and feel her ribs with out being prominently boney. Her coat is beautiful, soft and fuller than ever and is quite purry and a lovebug. Should we just continue to offer this amount of food, but not worry if she doesn't finish? Within reason of course, but just not worry about that extra ounce.

 

[Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)]

Good formula to follow... 20 cal per lb of weight to maintain current weight
Carl in SC

 

[Ann & Tess GA]

I found some good info on the web, and some really bad stuff too. This is an excellent site I found Max's House Here's a great chart that they had.

Energy Requirements for Kittens and Adult Cats
……….Age …..kcal/lb body wt ….kcal/kg body wt
Kittens:

• 10 weeks ….113 …………..248
  20 weeks …...59 …………..130
  30 weeks ..….45 …………….99
  40 weeks …...36 …………….80

Adult Cats:

• Inactive …...18 …………..40
  Active …......20-30 …….45-65
  Pregnant ..…45 ………....99
  Lactating* ...56--145 ....123--319

I hope this is legible, frustrating not being able to use tabs here for charts.

So for Tess's 8 pounds it looks like 120 kcal minimum (15 kcal/lb.), 144 to 240 kcal (18 to 30 kcal/lb.) depending on activity. Probably on the lower side since she isn't a really active cat. Tess was right, I'm the overly fussy mom trying to stuff too much food into her. :lol: :lol: :lol: I'll ease off. If she wants to eat the extra great, if not I won't obsess. That last dinner at 11pm was pretty late anyway. :roll:

 

[Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)]

Well, my simple formula, which I got from someone here a few weeks ago, would put it at 160, so yeah, towards the low side of your 140-220 range.
My sugarcat Bob is 14 lbs (not so long ago he was 20+) so I should be giving him 280. Vet said "see if you can get a little bit off him" so I've been keeping it in the 225-250 range, and he did lose 7 oz over 3 weeks by design. I'll probably keep him around 250 because he isn't exactly Mr. Activity either.

Just give her the option towards the end of the day to eat that last spoonful. If she says "no thanks, I'm full", don't sweat it.

Carl in SC

 

[Lana & Yoyo]

You should not have to count calories for your cat. Her SS is wonderful so she would not have that voracious hunger that diabetic cats get and if she is eating less than you think she should be but her health is good otherwise, then don't worry about it. My cat does not eat exactly the same amount every day and Tess probably doesn't either and I'll bet the average is what she needs. Low-carb diets are pretty self-regulating for kitty's needs.

Lana