How much should I feed my overweight cat?

My cat is almost 16 pounds and a little overweight (the vet suggested he should be at 12 pounds for his size)! I was recently feeding him Nutro Natural Choice Weight Management Indoor Formula and now I am feeding him Wellness Healthy Weight! The size variations from the two lines is extreme (Nutro big pieces... Wellness small pieces) and I was wondering how much I should give him? He is on a dry food only diet (Im trying wet but he won't touch it) at them moment and is only fed once in the morning! Should I break his feedings into two and if so how much? I don't need lectures on dry food I know the major benefits of wet but he won't touch the stuff and I'm working on that? Any suggestion? He plays with the kitten alot and is alot more active since i got her!

Heres a pic of my fatty!

well what is the recomedation on the bag??? and how many oz per cup ???

I would likely cut back 25% of the previous amount

How much are you feeding him now?

How much are you feeding him at the moment? Do you measure it? What do the recommendations on the bag say?

He is very cute and looks like a big boy

Im bad I dont measure it exactly to the tee (yes you can yell at me) but he gets about 3/4 cup a day! I feel mean cuz he always whines for more but I never give in! I know I will start measuring it so he is use to a specific portion! He may receive a little less than a 3/4 because the kitten likes to ravage his bowl as well... This I can't do anything about when i am at work! I'm not sure what the bag says! This is his second day on Wellness and I can;t find the suggested portion on the website!

LOL yes he is a very big boy... Ill post a few more so you can see what Im talking about! Im suprised he didn't weigh more when the vet scaled him... I was thinking he was about 20 pounds! The pic of the bf holding him up is my favorite!

if he is eating the chn chn meal
Wellness believes in feeding dry and canned food in combination, whenever possible, to help increase the level of water in your cat's diet. Please have clean, fresh water available at all times. We understand that every cat is different and optimal feeding amounts may vary with age, activity level and environment. Please use the chart below as a guide.

Recommended Feeding Portions
(Cups per day - based on a standard 8 oz. measuring cup)

Weight of Cat
(lbs.) Dry Food Alone Combination Feeding

4 - 7 1/4 - 1/2 1/4 + 3 oz. can
7 - 10 1/2 - 2/3 1/2 + 3 oz. can
10 - 15 2/3 - 3/4 2/3 + 3 oz. can

Add up to 1/4 cup for each additional 2 lbs. of body weight
Remember to feed him for what he should weigh not what he does


the wt control


Wellness believes in feeding dry and canned food in combination, whenever possible, to help increase the level of water in your cat's diet. Please have clean, fresh water available at all times. We understand that every cat is different and optimal feeding amounts may vary with age, activity level and environment. Please use the chart below as a guide.

Recommended Feeding Portions
(Cups per day - based on a standard 8 oz. measuring cup)

Weight of Cat
(lbs.) Weight Reduction Weight Maintenance

4 - 7 1/4 - 1/2 1/3 - 1/2
7 - 10 1/2 - 2/3 1/2 - 3/4
10 - 15 2/3 - 3/4 3/4 - 1

Add up to 1/4 cup for each additional 2 lbs. of body weight.

To feed a combination of wet and dry food, replace approximately 1/4 cup of dry with 3 oz. of a Wellness canned food diet.

came from this link
http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/

Wow, he's overweight on that ammount of food. I've got no ideas then cuz my cats both get about 3/4 a cup of dry a day plus one big spoonfull of wet. Frankie is a healthy weight but I think Wickett is a little heavy.

Awwww I only just saw his pic - he is gorgeous!!!! Look at those toes

Our girls get 1 1/2 cups of dry food a day between the 3 of them (so 1/2 a cup each), and never finish it all (we have an automatic feeder, and 1 cup a day is not enough, and 1 1/2 cups a day is too much, but there's nothing in between... )

They're all about 8 lbs, so smaller than your boy, but maybe 3/4 is too much for him? Maybe try 3/4 for a while and get him used to that, than do a bit less than 3/4 of a cup, and decrease it slowly until he gets down to say 2/3 of a cup a day?

I know what the hell is going on guys? He doesnt get much food (I do catch him sometimes tryin to dip into the kittens stash)! He is very active now, always wrestling with the kitten and playing with toys! So I should feed him the dosage of the weight I want him to acheive? Should I do that gradually at one pound at at time? Ex: He is a little over 15 pounds now so should I feed him the recommended value for a 14 pound cat or just drop down to the vets recommend weight of 12 pounds (using the 12 pound dosage)? Im really trying the wet/dry combo guys but it hasn't takin yet! Would it be better if I divided his portion meal into two feedings instead of one in the morning?

Okay ... dont jump me

Yep feed according to 12lb

Yeah kitten food is a bit high in fat for some older kitties..

I know the stinker is a food addict... He's a naughty one sometimes! I will definatley feed him 12 pound portions!

If it was up to me, then I would split his daily allowance into 2 portions. I think that will help keep him satisfied.

I would also *if possible* feed them with some supervision. That way you know if your big boy (who's adorable, BTW) is eating kitten food...and you'll know if the kitten is eating his food.

Usually he goes for the kitten food after his food is gone... usually his food isnt gone until after I get home from work! That doesnt mean he doesnt dip into her food while I am away! I think if I split the portions into twice a day i can monitor them better! Thanks I wish fat wasn't a bad thing or unhealthy for cats cuz I love how he looks and how squishy he is!

Originally Posted by trixie23

Usually he goes for the kitten food after his food is gone... usually his food isnt gone until after I get home from work! That doesnt mean he doesnt dip into her food while I am away! I think if I split the portions into twice a day i can monitor them better! Thanks I wish fat wasn't a bad thing or unhealthy for cats cuz I love how he looks and how squishy he is!

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Cool...I hope the portions help.

He does look squishy...and it is cute, but it looks like he has a very large frame too. His paws look HUGE. I want to shake his hand...so cute.

His paws are huge those thumbs are wicked! He does have a large frame! Who would of thought that he was the runt of the litter?

He is probably eating the kitten food. With my kittens I fed them twice a day seperately their kitten food and put a little bit extra in the regular bowls for them to nible during the day. I have a 16lb kitty that should be 14lbs. He looks pretty good so I've not put him on a diet. I have been having his blood panels done since he was 6 (13 next month) because overweight cats have more health risks. Since he is healthy and has good eating habits I leave it alone. I am trying high protein dry food right now and will see if this helps his weight at all. Don't leave the kitten food out and don't feed it without supervising.

Today I decided to measure their food! Only feeding them once today but going to break it up into two feedings as of tomorrow! I gave both of them 3/4 a cup and that is way more than I usually give my fatty so Im going to knock it down to 2/3 tomorrow... I know he won't eat all of that food I gave him today but at least he won't run out and then go to the kittens dish!

Originally Posted by trixie23

Im really trying the wet/dry combo guys but it hasn't takin yet! Would it be better if I divided his portion meal into two feedings instead of one in the morning?

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Instead of wet cat food you could feed baby food with the dry. He might like that. Gerber's makes chicken and turkey without onions or other stuff bad for cats. My most finicky cat won't eat any kind of wet kitty food so that helps.

I would think that since eating more than once a day speeds up a person's metabolism, the same would be true for cats. I would try feeding him 1/3 cup in the morning and 1/3 cup in the evening.