Tinned cat food -do any cats actually eat 'required amount'?

[Michele&Errol]

Sorry I seem to be asking a lot of questions these days.
Having transitioned Errol onto wet food (every time I think about it I want to do a :RAHCAT ) I have a dilemma. What it says on the tin (400 grams) is not what Errol is actually eating. They reckon a tin a day, sometimes more. Well, my chubby kitty would be a blobby kitty if he ate that much. It does worry me that he's not getting the required minerals / vitamins etc necessary for his desired body weight (probably +-6kg) as opposed to the 6.7kg he is now if he's not eating their recommended amount of food.
Also, he's always very hungry in the morning, not very hungry and lunch and relatively hungry at night so I couldn't get him to eat that much even if I wanted to. Eventually I will get him onto a homemade semi raw wet diet, but until then we have to do with tins & sachets.
What's the opinion on amounts to feed?

 

[MommaOfMuse]

Re: Tinned cat food -do any cats actually eat 'required amou

It kinda depends what tinned food you are feeding and the activity level of the kitty. But on average its 20 calories per pound of cat. Now a young highly active cat is going to eat more than a couch potato older cat.

And just like humans, some cats are gluttons like my Patches and will eat everything is sight and others are excellent about self regulating so they retain their figures.

Mel and The Fur Gang

 

[KPassa]

Re: Tinned cat food -do any cats actually eat 'required amou

Diabetic cats who are not yet regulated will often be ravenous because their body isn't processing the nutrients in the food properly. Feel free to feed a little bit more than he "needs" in the meantime (some people report up to 50% more in the beginning). Basically, enough to keep him satiated. You might also want to check out this discussion on feeding kitty as much as he wants for some more ideas.

 

[Deb & Wink]

Re: Tinned cat food -do any cats actually eat 'required amou

Yes, some cats actually do eat the "required amounts" and even beg for more. Then they get overweight, start to have health problems, have a hard time getting into/out of the litter box, stop playing and need to be put on a diet. :shock:

Sorry my darling civie Monet, I've "outed" you once again as a former "fat cat".

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Re: Tinned cat food -do any cats actually eat 'required amou

What the can says is for the "average" cat. However, there are few really "average" cats. My 12 pound MurrFee maintains his weight on about two 5.5. once cans a day.

 

[Michele&Errol]

Re: Tinned cat food -do any cats actually eat 'required amou

It kinda depends what tinned food you are feeding and the activity level of the kitty. But on average its 20 calories per pound of cat. Now a young highly active cat is going to eat more than a couch potato older cat.

And just like humans, some cats are gluttons like my Patches and will eat everything is sight and others are excellent about self regulating so they retain their figures.

Mel and The Fur Gang

Hi Mel, I'll have to find out how many calories / tin of what I'm giving him at the moment and take it from there. I guess unless he is ill, he will eat enough to sustain him, and I'll just have to watch he doesn't over eat. He always did have a healthy appetite. But, I can't help wondering as I have for years just what is in those kibble diets which makes them so addicted to them.

 

[Michele&Errol]

Re: Tinned cat food -do any cats actually eat 'required amou

Diabetic cats who are not yet regulated will often be ravenous because their body isn't processing the nutrients in the food properly. Feel free to feed a little bit more than he "needs" in the meantime (some people report up to 50% more in the beginning). Basically, enough to keep him satiated. You might also want to check out this discussion on feeding kitty as much as he wants for some more ideas.

ah great link! I'm kind of letting him have as much as he wants, which is not a huge amount, and as time's going by his appetite seems to be regulating. He lost his appetite the day before I took him to the vet, but after a course of antibiotics he got it right back. He's seeming more and more full on a decent amount as opposed to seeming starving even after eating.

 

[Wendy&Tiggy(GA)]

Re: Tinned cat food -do any cats actually eat 'required amou

I think they overestimate how much the cat will eat. It varies by cat and metabolism and activity level and of course food companies have a vested interest in the cat eating as much as possible.

I would feed him as much as he will eat right now but watch his weight and if he starts to lose or gain then adjust. Weigh him once a week at most.

by the way his BG looks great right now! Nice healing numbers.

Wendy

 

[Deb & Wink]

Re: Tinned cat food -do any cats actually eat 'required amou

But, I can't help wondering as I have for years just what is in those kibble diets which makes them so addicted to them.

The reason kitties love the dry kibble so much, is because they are sprayed with animal digest. Here's a link to the Wikipedia article on what it is. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_digest Sounds revolting to me, but our kitties sure love that stuff. ohmygod_smile