Quick Question

I'm happy I finally convinced my Aunt to switch her cats food to Wellness dry instead of Friskies dry. I convinced her also to buy some wet food but she said she will only feed it as a treat once and a while, better then nothing IMO.
She went and bought the Indoor formula. Her cat is about 12lbs, but prob could loose a pound or 2. So how much of the Wellness indoor should she be feeding her? I said 1/2 cup a day, would that be a good amount or should she be feeding her more? She use too free feed her cat but I told her not too do that anymore as well.
I'm such a good Niece
Thanks!

O.... And yes I tried to get her to buy the no grain dry but she said it is too much money and she feels the Indoor will help with the hairball situation.

I have two cats who eat the Wellness indoor. They do not eat it as main diet, only as snacks as my cats are wet food cats!

I don't have any faith in hairball prevention with food. I brush daily and use a hairball remedy (laxatone, cat lax and petromalt) regularly.

1/2 cup a day is about average. Each food is different, but Mazy is on a dry diet (prescription) and gets 5 tablespoons of food a day, which is just under one half cup.

Even a couple of extra kibbles a day can create obesity, but it is important to do weight loss in cats very slowly. If she thinks he is too heavy she should not cut back more than a tablespoon a day, and see how he does.

Getting more exercise would be beneficial, too.

Yes, your Aunt's kitty is lucky you are there to help educate your aunt!

Originally Posted by otto

Even a couple of extra kibbles a day can create obesity

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hum.... I think this is a bit much to say... IMO...

To the OP - first thing is to discuss with the vet her ideal weight.
Usually you calculate the amount of calories by the lean body weight (or optimum) this is the guideline I use:
cats need 20-30 calories/pound of weight; 20 to lose, 25 to maintain, 30 to gain.

So, get her OPTIMUM/IDEAL weight - say you want her to be at 10lbs. Multiply that by 25(to maintain) - your cat will need 250 calories a day... see what gives you that amount; it should be a bit more than 1/2 cup.

Or... You can also put her in a diet according to her current weight: She is 12lbs, multiply that by 20 (to lose) = 240 calories/day - this way you adjust according to her loss, and once she loses the weight, you increase the calories slowly to 25/lb, so she keeps the weight.

The qty depends on the food.
For her ideal weight, talk to the vet...

The key is to do it sloooooowwwwwwlllllyyyyyy....
As my vet once told me, "you rather have a fat cat, than a dead cat"; and do a crash diet on a cat, and that is what you can get, a dead cat.

Thank for all the help!

Does anyone happen to know how many calories are in the Indoor formula? I can't find it on the website.
Thanks!

According to the bag, it's 465 kcal per cup.

Thanks!
Wish I had the bag in front of me .

Shadera - Do you feed this to your cats? How do you like it?

Originally Posted by otto

Even a couple of extra kibbles a day can create obesity, but it is important to do weight loss in cats very slowly. If she thinks he is too heavy she should not cut back more than a tablespoon a day, and see how he does.

Getting more exercise would be beneficial, too.

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I agree that even a few extra pieces of kibble will eventually make an overwieght cat. EVO is something like 1.3 calories per PIECE of kibble. Any calorie that is not burned is stored in the body as fat. So feed even 10 extra pieces and you have 13 extra calories.

If a cat should be getting 250 calories you don't want to be feeding more than that. Feeding those extra 10 pieces is an extra 13 calories that aren't burned. Same as a person consuming 52 extra calories if they should be eating 2000. Yes, that little bit can make a huge differance over time. In 40 days a person would have then had 2080 EXTRA calories that are stored in the body. It would be an extra 520 if your talking about a cat just getting an extra 13 calories a day over a 40 day period....

Originally Posted by furryfriends50

I agree that even a few extra pieces of kibble will eventually make an overwieght cat. EVO is something like 1.3 calories per PIECE of kibble. Any calorie that is not burned is stored in the body as fat. So feed even 10 extra pieces and you have 13 extra calories.

If a cat should be getting 250 calories you don't want to be feeding more than that. Feeding those extra 10 pieces is an extra 13 calories that aren't burned. Same as a person consuming 52 extra calories if they should be eating 2000. Yes, that little bit can make a huge differance over time. In 40 days a person would have then had 2080 EXTRA calories that are stored in the body. It would be an extra 520 if your talking about a cat just getting an extra 13 calories a day over a 40 day period....

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People - a few = 3 kibbles
A couple = 2 kibbles.
2 kibbles, 3 kibbles will not make a cat obese - come on! And no, even when fed overtime, will not make a cat obese... Regina, please don't think you need to count kibbles now

If a cat should be getting 250 calories you don't want to be feeding more than that.

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A 12lb cat would be maintaining its weight with 300 calories a day, so he does have some margin in there from the 250. He will NOT gain weight with those extra couple/few kibbles a day.

We are talking about a slow diet here, not a crash diet.

Originally Posted by ~*Regina*~

Thanks!
Wish I had the bag in front of me

.

Shadera - Do you feed this to your cats? How do you like it?

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Vinnie's been on it since May of last year, but I'm beginning to think it may be just a tad too rich for him. His poops get quite soft sometimes. He's 18 pounds and comatose would be a good description of his activity level. I'm considering adding some probiotics and/or switching his food altogether. He adores their canned food in any flavor, too, but especially the chicken or turkey.

I took the label in to a couple different vets, they agreed it was a pretty good food as far as holistics go. If you start feeding it regularly, my advice is to order online. My local pet shop is charging twice what I can get it from petfooddirect for, and they often have instant coupons if you sign up for their newsletters.

Originally Posted by carolinalima

People - a few = 3 kibbles
A couple = 2 kibbles.
2 kibbles, 3 kibbles will not make a cat obese - come on! And no, even when fed overtime, will not make a cat obese... Regina, please don't think you need to count kibbles now

Click to expand...

I'm not saying to count the pieces of kibble - just pointing out that feeding even a tiny bit more than a cat needs is going to hurt over time. Yes, those few extra calories DO add up no matter what it would seem like.

Another good point Otto made was get the cat to run around if you can. That can make a huge differance in overall health as well as burning extra calories.

We started to run any of the calves that get pneumonia or are depressed. It IMO has helped a lot.

2702 has perked up quite a bit for her, if she'd actually get her eardrums popped by the vet it would help her a lot too. When ever she gets Dexemethesone the swelling in her brain goes down and the running she does on those days has helped her SO much. Her ears are 'droopy' caused which is caused by fluid buildup in her ears/her head. Popping the eardrums gets rid of that... Dex just reduces that swelling for a few days and works REALLY fast. We had a calf once with a bacteria infection in her brain (she was born that way) - she couldn't stand. Within 1/2 hour of getting some Dex she was standing.

2727 has been getting run every night for a week and she takes off like a bullet now. She use to stand there. All of them are only let out individually for 2 minutes each night. Her breathing has improved greatly, she drinks her milk much faster, and her overall attitude has improved. She has gotten better much faster than calves just getting Baytril and not running.

2719 started to get run 2 days ago. Nuflor wasn't working on her until she started to get some exercise. In TWO days she has perked up a lot, her breathing has greatly improved and the spark is back in her eyes. Just those few minutes made a differance.

2716 had been on and off meds for pneumonia. I think she had gotten Nuflor, Baytril, and Draxxin at differant times. She didn't even really respond to Banamine (pretty much advil for a calf) which tends to work really well and makes them think they are better (which tends to GET them better ). Once we started letting her out and got her running around the barn for just a few minutes every night she got better.

*I know these are calves not cats. It is just an example of what a bit of running around can do for animals. It can make a HUGE differance!!!

Yes, I am hijacking my own thread , hehe

I feed my own cat EVO dry and realized that feeding her a half cup is WAY to many calories (300 calories for half cup), thanks to this thread I realized it. So 1/3 cup would equal 225 calories right? I am so awful with math .
The vet wants too see my cat Tessie get down to 10lbs and she is at 12lbs now. I don't know if that is too little of calories or if that ok until I get her too her ideal weight.

O and yes, I am trying to feed her wet but she is VERY PICKY!! So I am attempting to feed her wet every other day.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by ~*Regina*~

Yes, I am hijacking my own thread

, hehe

I feed my own cat EVO dry and realized that feeding her a half cup is WAY to many calories (300 calories for half cup), thanks to this thread I realized it. So 1/3 cup would equal 225 calories right? I am so awful with math

.
The vet wants too see my cat Tessie get down to 10lbs and she is at 12lbs now. I don't know if that is too little of calories or if that ok until I get her too her ideal weight.

O and yes, I am trying to feed her wet but she is VERY PICKY!! So I am attempting to feed her wet every other day.

Thanks!

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EVO:

130g = 602 calories
You should feed her 53g, which is a bit less than 1/2 cup, but more than 1/3 Just to make things complicated..... lol

Originally Posted by carolinalima

EVO:

130g = 602 calories
You should feed her 53g, which is a bit less than 1/2 cup, but more than 1/3

Just to make things complicated..... lol

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Yes it does, haha
Maybe I'll measure 53g by tablespoons and put it into a 1/2 cup and just mark it. what a pain lol.

Originally Posted by ~*Regina*~

Yes it does, haha
Maybe I'll measure 53g by tablespoons and put it into a 1/2 cup and just mark it. what a pain lol.

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I bought this scale and it has made my life SO MUCH EASIER!!!!!!! It is wonderful!!!! You put the plate on it, push one key, put the food in it, and voila! VERY precise!!! As far as measuring food, the best investment I made so far...
I was having the same problem you are having, and it was not fun to calculate the whole thing all the time... The scale is great now...