How much food?

[Raechel]

I know has been asked before, and I followed this thread awhile ago, but I'm still confused. I read through Dr. Lisa's site and found a few different recommendations - on average, cats will need between 180-220 cal./day; 15 cal./lb of cat; and a generous 13.6 x optimal weight +70.

So, looking at those equations & my three cats & their current weights (Phobos is probably close to optimal weight, he'd lost a lot before being dx; Boots & Giselle could probably stand to lose a bit, but I'm not sure how much) -
Phobos - 14 lbs - 210 cal. or 260 cal./day
Giselle - 12.4 lbs - 186 cal. or 238 cal./day
Boots - 10 lbs - 150 cal. or 206 cal./day
I've only recently (when Phobos was dx) switched them to wet food, so this is all confusing me. I've been shooting for around 200 cal./cat/day, since I hadn't weighed them until today. I can't separate their food, though. So, that's just a bit more than a 5.5 oz Friskies can apiece per day or about 2 cans of FF apiece.
The thread mentioned above was talking about 2 (5.5 oz.) cans/day for a 7 or 8 lb. cat, 14 oz./day for a 14 lb. cat, 9-12 oz. for a 12 lb. cat.
I'm just trying to work out if the cats are just acting starving because they used to be free-fed dry food or if they should be getting more.
Thanks for any clarification!

 

[BJM]

Depending on the cat's activity level and age, it may work out to about 1/4 to 1 /2 ounce of food per pound per cat. Edit to add: divided across 2 meal periods.

So if a cat is 8 lbs and active, 3-4 ounces twice a day might work well.

You basically try to adjust what you feed each cat based on the desired effect - a smidge less for weight reduction, a smidge more for weight gain, and hold stable if weight is idea.

 

[dirtybirdsoaps]

Its hard to say. The calculation for 13.6xoptimal weight +70 is the best way to go. Every food is different so calories, fat, etc. will be different thats one reason why I had to stop feeding my cats Tiki. Its very healthy and low carb but low cal so I was underfeeding them. Your best bet is to find the middle of the road and go with that, which seems to be Giselle at 12.4 lbs. which would be 238 calories a day. Another tip if they seem hungry all the time is add water to their food. If they are losing too much or gaining too much thats when you adjust it, and of course you don't want to cut back too much food all at once because they need to lose weight slowly. I weigh mine once a month at the same time to keep track and make it in Hidey's SS so I can reflect on it each month. Hope this helps a little. I know its overwhelming when trying to feed multiple cats at different weights. Dont forget to think about how many treats a day they get and the calories there too.

 

[Raechel]

Thank you both for your replies.
BJM - you said 1/4 to 1/2 oz. per lb. of cat, but your example would be 1 oz. per lb. of cat.
dirtybirdsoaps - I've been going by the calories per can of food. Thanks for the reminder about the treats - the other two don't get any, but Phobos gets a bit of chicken for testing. Now that I've gotten weights on all of them, I guess I'll just keep an eye on that and adjust the food from there.

 

[BJM]

I mostly don't calculate it, I just feed 'em.
I am feeding 16 cats Friskies pates.
I've been feeding Gracie separately, about 3/4 of 5.5 oz can Special Diet.
The other 11 indoor cats get about 4*13 oz cans am and pm
The Garage, now Basement, cats get a combo of low carb dry and some canned (in the garage, canned food could freeze and I have 2 partial bags to finish up).