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scissorchik

scissorchik

Member Since 2011
Hi guys. I've been spending a LOT of time reading Dr Lisa's recommendations for feeding Basil. It's confusing because it states I should be looking for food that is at least 45% or more protein, less than 45% fat and less than 10 % carbs. Most of the Fancy Feast Classics that fall into these guidelines are the fish variety and she states NOT to feed them fish hardly at all. To go for poultry or rabbit, and make sure Liver isn't the first ingredient.

His bg is very stable in the 110-140 range without insulin, so I am trying to keep him around that level and hoping he will lose some weight. Someone suggested I go by calorie count instead of the amount of food I should feed him and that is even MORE confusing.

How much Fancy Feast should it take to feed 2 cats in a day? They are used to being fed often so working on changing the free feeding to timed feeding and not starve the poor guys. I split a can of Fancy Feast for breakfast, and froze a can in 2 servings with water to leave for them when I went to work. I will feed them another can when I get home this evening. Is 3 cans too much? (that means alone he eats a can and a half a day) I don't want his BG to dive down between feedings-what do you guys suggest? Without giving him insulin the feeding schedule is different than those who still have to give shots.

What kinds of Fancy Feast do you recommend? I also bought some Wellness cans and have tried mixing half fancy feast half wellness to give them a better quality diet.

Thanks!
 
I threw the original Binkie's Page list into a spreadsheet, cleaned it up a bit, then sorted it by protein and fat. That made it easier to see which had a better ratio. Note that these ratios likely change from batch to batch because the cans state minimums or maximums of ingredients, so you never really know what mixture you're getting. It'll be whatever is likely to be most profitable to the company. The only real way to get exact numbers ... is to exactly prepare it yourself. *sigh*

I used the Friskies Turkey and Giblets Special Diet (some senior kitties, plus a formula change on the regular in 2011 gave several cats diarrhea!) , Fancy Feast Turkey and Giblets, and/or the Wellness Turkey and Giblets because they appeared to have a better balance between fat and protein.
 
Thanks! I am heading to Walmart after work and will pick up some more Fancy Feast. Their website states to feed 1 can per every 3.5lbs of cat. Basil is 15lbs - does that sound right???
 
scissorchik said:
Thanks! I am heading to Walmart after work and will pick up some more Fancy Feast. Their website states to feed 1 can per every 3.5lbs of cat. Basil is 15lbs - does that sound right???
Click to expand...

Oh no, the recommendation on the cans and website is way more than you want to feed! Is Basil's ideal weight 15 lbs? If so, I would say about 2.5-3 cans per day would be about right. Bandit is 12 lbs (ideal weight) and he needs about 2 per day. But it really depends on your cats metabolism and weight. If he needs to drop a couple pounds, you might want to start a healthy weight loss plan by figuring out what to feed by calories and starting from there: http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity#How_Much_Do_I_Feed. If he gains weight, feed a little less, and if he loses too quickly or too much, feed a little more.

EDIT: I went back and read an earlier post and I see he does need to drop a few lbs. If his ideal weight is 12-13 lbs (average for a male cat), then I would start with 2.5 cans and adjust from there. You might need less than that (e.g. 2 cans per day), but it's better to start conservatively and work down to what you need than to feed too few calories.
 
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