Advice for My Cats' New Diet Plan?

Hey all,

I have two cats... Levi is maybe 17 pounds (2 years old) while Huckleberry is about 12 (3 years old). I've been wanting to put Levi on a diet for a while. I had been feeding them Meow Mix for about a year... which I know is horrible for them. I went to PETCO looking for a change... and the woman who helped me told me all this stuff about the food I'm feeding them vs. the food I should be feeding them. Basically that feeding them Meow Mix everyday is like a person eating McDonald's everyday.
As suggested, I changed the food to "Wellness". I was told that this was supposed to fill them up and curve food cravings (it's healthier, no meat-by-products, no soy, no wheat, no corn) ... It's almost a $20 difference in cat food, but I don't mind because it's better for them... at the same time, it hasn't been working as far as Levi goes. The guide says that each cat should be fed 3/4 cup a day. I just don't feel like that's enough. I've been feeding them about 3 cups a day (for both of them, not each). Levi cries and cries until he gets food.
One thing I know I need to do is start feeding them separately. I'm wondering, what times I should feed Levi, how much each time, and how I can curve his appetite?
I do give them a 3 cup bowl of water every day, and am looking to get a pet fountain.

Thank you,
JB

1.5 cups is an insane amount of food, mine get a little under 1/2 cup and a little wet each per day.

First thing to know is that the weight listed on the side of food packaging is for your cat's ideal (not actual) weight if they are an active cat

Many of the healthier foods, because they have more nutrients per piece of food, you feed less (so although they are more expensive, they are often not that much more expensive per meal)

Wellness may not be working for him also, there are lots of great brands out there.

Start cutting him down slowly from 1.5 cups, going down to 1.25, 1 cup etc so he doesnt notice the sudden lack of food in his bowl.

If you can, I would split it up into 3-4 feedings a day so he isnt getting hungry and crying for food for hours until you give in too

I never look at the back of the bags anymore. I try to go by how many calories the cat should have in a day. My cat gets 1/2 a cup dry a day or 1/4 cup dry and a 3oz can wet. It took a long time for her to get use too the limited food (she was free fed before) but now when I wake up in the morning there is still dry food in her dish .
Have you tried just giving them wet food?

I think the feeding recommendations on the bags are written by lawyers so that no cat getting even the minimum guideline has even the slightest risk of being malnourished. Even when Tiny weighed 18 pounds, she didn't eat the minimum recommended for a 10 pound cat. The best way to go is to match the amount of food to the cat. Unfortunately, in order to do that, you'll need to weigh them at least once a month and bathroom scales aren't really accurate enough to see a difference in that amount of time. You should either look to see if you can buy a pet/baby scale to weigh them or see if your vet will let you bring them in occasionally to get weighed for free.

Speaking of your vet, if you haven't, you should speak with him/her about putting Levi on a diet. They can give you recommendations for doing it safely. With one cat that gobbles up food and one that self-regulates, you probably will want to separate them eventually. Take it gradually though. I would suggest you start by getting them used to eating several meals per day to get them used to the schedule. I've found that once in the morning, once after work, and once before bed works best for me, but fit it to your schedule. Feed them and then put away what they don't eat. Once they get in the habit of doing that, you can start locking one of them in a bathroom or something at every meal. Once you have them eating in separate rooms, you can start tailoring the amount of food to Levi's weight without having to worry that he'll gobble up Huck's.

Good luck and lots of for the diet.

Thank you all for your replies... I'm sure, when followed, it will be helpful. I haven't started feeding them separately yet. Levi has been eating most of the food while Huckleberry is "self-regulated". When I do feed them, there are left-overs... so I know I need to start taking that away and saving it for later. One more thing I know I need to do is keep them active and entertained with toys etc. I'm sure it's a great distraction, and it's something that I haven't been doing much of due to my work schedule. With all these things considered, I hope that Levi loses 4 pounds in 4 months.