food recommendations?

mezlo

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I have Junior (8 mo tabby). Right now, I'm feeding him Nutro Max Cat Gourmet Classics Kitten dry food but will be switching to Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Indoor Kitten when this bag is gone (I got both bags free when I adopted Junior from the shelter).

Each morning I give him 2 handfuls (about 1.5 cups) of dry food which is left out for 24 hours for free feeding and every evening when I get home from work I give him a 3 oz pouch of Wellness Healthy Indulgence (various flavors). He finishes the wet food in under an hour and each morning there's always just a little bit of the dry food left. However, whenever I go near the kitchen or sit down to eat, Junior starts meowing like crazy and I have to repeatedly shoo him off the counter and away from my food.

How do I tell whether Junior is just being curious about what I'm eating or if he is truly hungry? My vet says I'm feeding him enough since the dry food isn't completely gone each morning, but I'm still curious.

Also, I've read that Nutro and Wellness are both really good brands but does anyone have any other suggestions on what to feed him?

Mez

edit: I just measured 2 handfuls of dry food and it is actually just under 1 cup so my guess of 1.5 cups was not very accurate.
 

denice

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I doubt that he is hungry he is just being a mooch and seeking attention. Both of my cats were real beggars when they were kittens and they still will sometimes especially my little girl cat. The funny thing is they have never been much for human food I would give in sometimes and give them a little and they woudn't eat it. Unless it is canned tuna of course.
 

sharky

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how old is Jr?? how much does he weigh???

I would try adding one more wet packet ....

and also the attention thing... it workings
 

cloud_shade

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If he's maintaining or gaining weight, he's getting enough food. However, you could cut back the dry a bit and add a pouch of Wellness in the morning--that way he thinks he's getting a special breakfast too and maybe he'll leave yours alone.
 

jencat

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Is he a large cat or very active? 1.5 cups of premium food and 3 ounces of wet seems like a lot of food to be eating and still be hungry. My 9 month old 12 pound slow maturing large breed male eats a maximum of 2/3 cup Natural Choice kitten. He leaves some in the bowl a lot of times. According to the bag he should be eating more he never does. I try to get him to eat canned food but he will only eat around a tablespoon. My 8 month old female who is 10 pounds and of the same breed eats 3 ounces of wet and around 2/3 cup dry. She is lean and muscular even though she eats more than my male. I think she just needs more food because I rarely see her sleeping. She has boundless energy. Does Junior play all the time as well?
 
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mezlo

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Originally Posted by sharky

how old is Jr?? how much does he weigh???
Junior is about 8 months and the vet estimated around 10 pounds at his shelter check up a month ago. Looking at him I can't see any difference (but my g/f complains I never notice anything different about her either). If anything I think he's grown just a bit. He seems to more easily be able to reach the top of his 32" scratching post than when he first arrived.

I've thought about adding a second pouch of Wellness but at $0.99 each that will get expensive real quick. I also have some Friskies Fine Cuts pouches left over which I initially got for him but after all the reading I've done online about cat food quality, I'm not real keen on feeding him that on a regular basis. On a couple of mornings when I knew I was going to be home late I gave him one of the Friskies pouches in the morning as well as Wellness when I got home. From what I could tell it didn't make any difference on how much of the dry food he ate.

Mez

edit: I just measured 2 handfuls of dry food and it is actually just under 1 cup so my guess of 1.5 cups was inaccurate.
 
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mezlo

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Originally Posted by Jencat

Is he a large cat or very active? 1.5 cups of premium food and 3 ounces of wet seems like a lot of food to be eating and still be hungry. My 9 month old 12 pound slow maturing large breed male eats a maximum of 2/3 cup Natural Choice kitten. He leaves some in the bowl a lot of times. According to the bag he should be eating more he never does. I try to get him to eat canned food but he will only eat around a tablespoon. My 8 month old female who is 10 pounds and of the same breed eats 3 ounces of wet and around 2/3 cup dry. She is lean and muscular even though she eats more than my male. I think she just needs more food because I rarely see her sleeping. She has boundless energy. Does Junior play all the time as well?
Junior rests/sleeps pretty much nonstop during the day except for when I'm playing with him or he's eating. However, every morning I see evidence that he's been up and about during the night for at least a few hours so it may be he's just more nocturnal than your cat.

He also won't each very much canned food. He'll eat about 1/3 of the can but then won't touch it again, even if I put it away for a few hours and then put it back down for him. He loves the Friskies and Wellness pouches though.

Mez
 

alleygirl

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You might try splitting the pouch and give him half in the morning and half at night. He might like it better if he doesn't have to wait so long for the wet food, thats how my kitty is
 

cloud_shade

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If he's okay with fish, you might try the Meow Mix pouches since they are cheaper and still very simple. I think Whiskas has some fish pouches now that are mainly fish and not much else--they may not be complete, but they are okay as a supplement. Also, have you tried different kinds of canned foods? He may not like the texture of the pate, but something like Merrick's or a food with gravy may be more interesting to him.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by cloud_shade

If he's okay with fish, you might try the Meow Mix pouches since they are cheaper and still very simple. I think Whiskas has some fish pouches now that are mainly fish and not much else--they may not be complete, but they are okay as a supplement. Also, have you tried different kinds of canned foods? He may not like the texture of the pate, but something like Merrick's or a food with gravy may be more interesting to him.
Whiska s contains BHA OR BHT....
 

cloud_shade

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Ah, never mind then. I saw them the other day but I didn't look very closely and haven't used them.
 
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Have you ever tried the Nutro pouches? Or maybe even the Max Cat cans, since they aren't a loaf?
 
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mezlo

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I've read that fish tends to result in overly odorous stools so I've tried to limit the fish-based food I've given him. I've tried "Grammy's Pot Pie" by Merrick since it was highly recommended by the pet store owner. As with the Wellness cans, Junior ate part of it but then wouldn't touch the rest. Since it was a 5.5 oz can, I only gave him about half and he wouldn't touch what remained of the first serving and only took a few bites of the second serving.

I haven't tried the Nutro pouches or the Max Cat cans but I will definitely look into them.

Thanks for all of the advice so far.

Mez
 

white cat lover

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There are various Merrick's that are wonderful, not all fishy. The concern with fish is that they can lead to UTIs. What about California Natural? Innova? by Nature? (Just shoooting off ones I can think of!) Sheba tins are $$ & not complete, but mine love them as "special" treats 1x a week.

As for how much to eat, my foster kittens PJ & Punky a little over 5 months old, & about 7 1/2 lbs each. They eat 2-3 cups of dry a day & one or two 5 oz cans!
My little piglets.
 
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