How much food does your cat eat?--correction

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Ginny & Alex

Ginny & Alex

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Prior to being diagnosed with diabetes, Alex and Audrey shared one 6-ounce can of food and some dry--maybe 1/2 to 3/4 cup. Of course, eating together, I never knew which cat ate what, but both seemed satisfied and never asked for additional food. In fact, at feeding time, sometimes they accompanied me to their bowls and sometimes not.

Now, I feed 6-ounces of canned at 6:30am, 3 ounces at 12:30, 6 ounces again at 6:30pm and 3 ounces around 10 or 10:30 pm (my bedtime). Again, I don't see who's doing the eating, but I think it's mostly Alex. He is the last to finish. Sometimes at bedtime, I do sneak Audrey some Evo dry while Alex is downstairs having his bedtime snack. I rarely find a crumb left over and Alex is ALWAYS hungry. When I remember to give him a low-carb treat, he could and would snarf down the entire bag if I let him. I know the diabetes increases their appetite, but do you think this is normal? Should I feed him more if he seems hungry?

Yesterday, he had decent AMPS and PMPS--291 and 250 respectively, but today, his AMPS up again at 349.

I haven't heard from Joanna in quite some time and would love to hear her opinion.
Should I hold at 1.4?
 
Re: How much food does your cat eat?

Kitty is a PIG. She eats a can of FF with each insulin dose (3 a day) and normally will eat another can split througout the day. She has eaten like this her entire life. Before she was dx and got on insulin, she woke me up all hours of the night wanting to eat. She no longer does that, but she has a good appetite. All of this food and she weighs 10 lbs and some onces. When dx she was eating like crazy and lost down to 8lbs 5 onces.
 
Re: How much food does your cat eat?

Asher eats 3/4 of a can of the 3.5 ounce (smaller cans) morning and at night. We mix water with the canned food and make kitty pudding ;)
In between meals, mid day and maybe around 3 am he gets a baked chicken treat, and also when we test him. If we are going to be gone mid day I leave a small half can of food out, but usually some of it is left when we get home.

My vet told me cats their size could eat up to a 5 ounce can twice a day. I think that is a bit much for our guys. Especially since they were a bit tubby :)

That’s all both cats eat and they are still big boys, 17 lbs or so. (Alby is a little smaller maybe 15-16) They have gradually lost weight since we started this in January tho, both were 20-21 then.
 
Re: How much food does your cat eat?

I read somewhere that the formula is measured in calories per day. The number was 200 calories per pound of ideal body weight per day. "Ideal" being the key word.
So I use the calories off Binky's list to try to control Bob's intake.
Once upon a time, he probably topped out at 22 lb or so. He went to the vet for shots and an annual in November and was right at 18 pounds. In May when he was diagnosed, he was at 13. My vet and I came up with 14 being his "ideal" weight, so I've been adding or subtracting calories to keep him right around there.
Right now, at breakfast he gets a 3oz can of FF, while Mullet gets half a can of Friskees.
Same routine at supper time.
During the day, I feed each of them 1/4 can of Friskees each, and they get the other 1/4 each at bedtime.
So, Bob's daily intake is just under 9oz a day, and Mullet gets around 8 oz.
Plus they get a treat a couple times a day, maybe a shrimp and some freeze dried beefeater salmon or chicken.
I think they eat enough. They don't agree. If I let him, Bob would go right back to 20+ pounds, but I ain't going there again!
They used to get "people" food on occasion, but only junkie stuff. Mullet will eat anything we would eat. Bob really liked junk food, his favorites included Honeycombs, Fritos and yogurt. Mullet really loves peanut butter, popcorn and grits. They don't get "people" food or leftovers anymore.
Carl
 
Re: How much food does your cat eat?

I'm not really sure who eats how much since I have 4 I'm feeding at a time. I split 2 cans of FF 4 ways & sometimes they finish it sometimes not. Thumper usually never finishes hers but they like to graze. I also mix water & make it like pudding. Breakfast is 6:00 - 6:30 & they have finished it all usually by 10:30, if I'm not going to be home I put 2 frozen cans out during the day then dinner is again 6:30, then 2 more cans around 10:00 or before I go to bed. They get a total of 8 cans a day but some days I have to put extra out if they act like they are starving. It would seem 2 cans a day for each cat but I really don't know who is getting how much. Petey was 18 pounds before Thumper's DX & the vet said he needed to loose weight. I haven't had him back there to weigh but I can tell he's lost weight so that's a good thing. He begs worse than any of them but he almost never finishes his 1/2 can in one sitting. I would say feed them more if they act hungry but a lot of people don't believe in free feeding. They drove me crazy when I tried to just feed them twice a day. That is another thing the internist said, only feed twice a day. I just can't get away with that around here. Maybe too many years of grazing on the dry food?

As far as the dose, I sure don't know. As you know I'm always guessing with Thumper's dose.
 
Re: How much food does your cat eat?

When Cass was dx, they told me he needed 1 2/3-2 5.5 oz. cans of Hills m/d a day. He and Benny averaged about a cup to a cup and a half each of their old dry per day. They eat less of the evo dry since it's calorie dense.

He's still underweight at 10.5 lbs; he used to be about 15-16 (overweight, of course).
 
I woke up in the middle of the night and realized that when I posted, I doubled all the numbers on how much I am feeding both cats for all 4 meals. So, I guess is doesn't sound like that much. Really, I'm feeding 3 ounces twice a day and 1.5 ounces the other two times.
I might increase one of the snacks to 3 ounces to see if that makes Alex happier.
 
I feed Lucky 3ozFF at AMPS, 3ozFF in the afternoon, 3ozFF at PMPS, and about 3/4 can FF before I go to bed around 12:30.

My 2 civvies get 1/2 can FF each in the morning, 1/2 can each in the afternoon, 1/2 can each at night, and then 1/2 can each before I go to bed, plus whatever I take from Lucky's can. They never eat all of it and Lucky usually gobbles it up before I can get their bowls off the floor.

Lucky was down to 13lbs and is usually a 16lb kitty. He's back up to his regular weight now and the civvies have lost weight, which is a good thing! This seems to work for us!
 
Well, I don't feel so bad now. I guess Alex is no bigger pig than anyone else's sugar babies. :mrgreen:

Alex was never overweight--vet was always very happy with his weight--somewhere around 10 or 11 pounds. And according to my bathroom scales, he's about 10 pounds even though he looks thinner around the neck & shoulders. I'd like to see him gain a pound or so, but as someone mentioned, this is getting very expensive.
 
Re: How much food does your cat eat?

carlinsc said:
I read somewhere that the formula is measured in calories per day. The number was 200 calories per pound of ideal body weight per day.
Carl
Click to expand...

Carl,
Is this right? If Alex should weigh 10 pounds, he needs 2000 calories per day? That's more than I get. :mrgreen:
 
I hate phone keyboards... that should be "20" cal/lb of ideal weight. For Bob it would be 280
doh!!! I need an editor.... :-)
Carl
 
Henry has always had a good appetite. Before diagnosis he was eating mostly higher carb Whiskas pouches with gravy which he loved, and FF and a little dry here and there but mostly canned.
He has a large frame like a Maine Coon and at his heaviest he was around 21 lbs.
When he was dx'd in late October last year, he had rapidly dropped over 5 lbs., and was down to 14.25. When he was at vet 2 weeks ago he was 15lbs. so hes gained back about a pound.
He eats anywhere from 3-4, sometimes 4 1/2 cans of FF spread out over 24 hours. In the morning at AMPS he is very hungry and gets a whole can, he usually eats half of it right away and comes back to finish the rest in the next hour. The rest of the day, he gets fed 1/2 can FF at a time, sometimes he gobbles it all down and sometimes he grazes on it for several hours before he finishes. At night he gets 1/2 can in auto feeder and usually eats it about 3:30 or 4:00 a.m. The only treats he gets are Bonita tuna flakes once or twice a day and if we are having baked chicken for dinner, he has some. He loves chicken, that is his favorite food.

I am impressed with Bob and Mullet's culinary tastes. Never have a heard of a cat that would eat Honeycombs or grits! Henry used to enjoy an occasional BBQ Frito before dx.
 
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