How much food ?

[tez2384]

kitty has 2 pouches of food a day one in the morning and one at night once her bowl is empty i put a handfull of biscuits in it but if she eats them or not thats her choice lol, The vet told me she needs 4 pouches of food a day so she gains weight but she has gained enough weight in my eyes on what i feed her.

[lucy]

Xanthe is on wet meals for breakfast & dinner, with dry food & water down all the time, and that seems to be fine. I have noticed there are times when she eats much more  - I think that may be when she hits a growth spurt.

[blackcat]

yes, the only fatty in my house is SHadow who seems to gain weight by looking at his food. He is not a greedy eater and only gets what is recommended dose for his size and actually gets less than that. He doesn't get table scraps and gets an hours walk every day but still manages to get tubby. Even on the diet food - what can you do?? I could always halve his food but then he would only be getting a handful a day and not sure I could do that to him. I suspect it is cat food-stealing that is his problem so have set up special dog-proof arrangements, but still his waistline expands ...

[Gillian Harvey]

Tins are just smaller than than half of a normal sized tin.. I worried about him scoffing too much but if its not problem then thats fine. He certainly uses up his energy well !

Yep, deffo, let him eat as much as he wants. Did his breeder give you a diet sheet with all the different things he's been fed? Mine said to feed 4 meals a day, plus a handful or so of biscuits. My little girl's also been used to fresh fish, turkey, beef, rabbit etc with the breeder - which is great as I feed my lot fresh raw.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

It was good quality dry - maybe that makes a difference??

I think that is probably worse actually!   Better for the cat of course, but usually more calorific so easier to over feed.  I think it does depend on the individual cat to a cerain extent, and if the amount is weighed out then they can't overeat, but while the rspca figure is an estimate, there's no denying that obesity in cats is a big problem these days.  Recently I've read lots of articles by vets in cat mags etc talking about the problem of obesity in cats and it does seem to be getting worse.  There seem to be a lot of prescription diet foods these days too, so it's obviously something that food manufacturers see as a potential money maker (they sell the food to get them fat, then another food to slim them down!  ) It's not something I had realised was so big a problem as I, like you, have never had an overweight cat.  Maybe you've just been lucky to have cats that haven't overeaten, or maybe they have been more active and away from home (the source of food) for longer periods of time, or whatever.  I don't think being indoor cats can account for it as there really aren't that many cats kept indoors in this country (I don't think this forum is representative of the proportion of cats kept indoors).

Whatever you're doing it's obviously working.   I must admit that I keep a very close eye on my boys and am always feeling around their middles to check I can feel their ribs and see how much fat they have    I think they consider me a bit of a pervert! 

[blackcat]

RSPCA believes that half of the cats in the UK are overweight. 

I assume they are only counting those cats lucky enough to have a home... I agree, some cats will be greedy, but in nearly thirty five years of cat ownership (I am really feeling old here) I have never had a fatty. In Queensland, feeding wet was just not an option as it got flyblown in minutes, so dry it was. It was good quality dry - maybe that makes a difference??

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I think you've just been lucky.  I think my Magpie would have been ok with free feeding if Jaffa hadn't been around, and I'm not sure about Mosi.  He free fed at the breeder's but he was only little then and I had to get him onto scheduled feeding when he came to me.  I think it also depends on how much they like dry food.  Some cats just snack on it between wet meals and don't like it enough to over indulge whereas others will stuff their faces with it!

Just found the article - in October's Cat World mag.  RSPCA believes that half of the cats in the UK are overweight. 

[blackcat]

fair enough. just going on my own experience. Have never had a fat cat despite having dry food out all day and night for them to help themselves. I suppose, like people, it depends on the cat ...

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

At his age I'd let him eat as much as he wants.  I think feeding a few set meals of wet then leaving kitten dry out for snacking is a good idea, although I couldn't do that with Mosi when he was little as Jaffa is a gannet who will eat anything as soon as it's put down. 

blackcat - I have to disagree that most cats regulate their own intake.  If that was the case there wouldn't be so many obese cats (recent article in one of the cat mags gave a percentage of cats estimated to be overweight - I forget it now but it was big - over half I think).  I think dry food is much to blame for this as it's a) easy to overeat because it's calorie dense so only a small amount is needed and b) it's coated with animal digest or fat spray to make it palatable and cats can become addicted to that.  If it's down all the time and cats don't have to catch their supper, it's also very easy for them to overeat.  Some cats will only eat as much as they need, but a lot will overeat if given the chance.

I used to free feed Jaffa and his brother Magpie when they were little, but when they got to about 6 months Jaffa would just eat the day's ration for both of them the minute it was put down.  So I switched to scheduled feeding and measuring out the amount fed, and neither he nor Magpie were ever overweight.

[blackcat]

while he is growing and very active (when he's awake) he can pretty well eat anything without you getting too concerned about his weight. Most cats self-regulate their intake, I have never worked out how people get obese cats. I presume they must just stay indoors and comfort eat....

[lisa77]

Tins are just smaller than than half of a normal sized tin.. I worried about him scoffing too much but if its not problem then thats fine. He certainly uses up his energy well !

Thanks guys

[Team Svartalfheims]

What size is the tin? Kittens don't generally overeat so just feed him what he wants as he'll be growing very quickly and using lots of energy up at his age especially as he'll be a big boy when he's fully grown and with dry food down all the time he won't ever go hungry.

[blackcat]

That's about what happens at my place but the pouches often have to get topped up as the dog also likes them and has a skill in slinking into their food bowls when my back is turned...

[Gwen]

I wouldn't worry too much about how much food he's eating as he's still growing.  Personally I'd give him dry food through the day and say 2 pouches of kitten food,but maybe others would do different and obviously water down 24 7.

All the best with him

[lisa77]

Leo had half of a little tin of whiskers kitten last night and the other half this morning. Breeder says always leave dry food out too. How much should he be eating as he is  little piggy !

I didnt expect him to eat so quick after a new home !