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Feeding wet and dry

post #1 of 14
11/7/10 at 12:52pm
Thread Starter 
How do you figure out how much to feed if you're feeding both wet and dry food. Especially when one of your cats needs to lose weight. I'm getting a headache trying to figure it out.
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post #2 of 14
11/7/10 at 12:53pm
lol... here is a pain killer..

How much do the kitties weigh?

what portions of wet and dry? ie 50/50 ?
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post #3 of 14
11/8/10 at 1:23am
Well, here is what I do, but not sure if it is right!
On the back of our dry food, it gives a range of how much food per day for each weight (example, if kitty weighs 4 kg, give 20-40 g of dry/day). Since my cats each get a half can of wet per day, too (a small can), I feed in the low to mid range. (I measure out 30 g/cat/day but try to feed only 20 g/cat/day). This seems to be working well for me, as the cats aren't asking for more food and they have been losing weight at a good pace, according to our vet.
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post #4 of 14
11/8/10 at 12:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky View Post
lol... here is a pain killer..

How much do the kitties weigh?

what portions of wet and dry? ie 50/50 ?
Thanks!

Swanie weighs 22 pounds and is overweight, but he's a big cat in general.
Cindy weighs about 8 pounds, and she is at a good weight

Currently feeding them 3 meals of wet a day, for a total of about 2-3 ounces each. Sometimes if I don't pick the dishes up fast enough, Swanie will eat some of what Cindy leaves. Cindy never finishes what I give her. Swanie sometimes does or doesn't. I give them about a tablespoon for each meal, give or take.

Dry, about 1/4 cup each. Plus a few treats - Taste of the Wild Kibble.

Wet they've been getting Fancy Feast most of the time these days, because I have caved to Cindy's request. Some BFF and a few other better brands thrown in occasionally.

Dry - Mix of Orijen and California Natural Chicken and Rice (1/3 Orijen 2/3 Cal Natural).

I've already talked to the vet about Swanie, multiple times. She won't give me a weight that would be good for Swanie, nor an exact amount to feed. She sold me some Rx weight loss food which Swanie wouldn't touch. I've cut back on the treats he was getting and convinced DH to stop giving them dry food randomly throughout the day. Swanie is always begging for food. Cindy self-regulates.

Thanks for any help. I really would like to slowy get a few pounds off my Swanie
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post #5 of 14
11/8/10 at 12:29pm
Okay.. what wt do you think would be right for Swanie... Have you seen the purina wt charts? Is he a 4 or a 7 ?
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post #6 of 14
11/8/10 at 3:31pm
Thread Starter 
Hmm. I've always had problems figuring that out, because he's a kind of a solid cat (if that makes sense). Even when he was younger and smaller you couldn't really feel this ribs very good.

Can you tell from this picture, its fairly recent?

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post #7 of 14
11/8/10 at 3:43pm
Both of these are pretty good feeding guides:

http://www.naturesvariety.com/feedguide

http://www.natureslogic.com/feeding/cat.htm

On the second one make sure your % levels equal up to 100%--when the link comes up it is 300% total.
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post #8 of 14
11/8/10 at 4:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kody's Mom View Post
Both of these are pretty good feeding guides:

http://www.naturesvariety.com/feedguide

http://www.natureslogic.com/feeding/cat.htm

On the second one make sure your % levels equal up to 100%--when the link comes up it is 300% total.
those are great guides for those individual foods NOT for a general ... though it may give a general idea if one is feeding a like type food
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post #9 of 14
11/8/10 at 4:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Misty8723 View Post
Hmm. I've always had problems figuring that out, because he's a kind of a solid cat (if that makes sense). Even when he was younger and smaller you couldn't really feel this ribs very good.

Can you tell from this picture, its fairly recent?
My eyes are not too good thus I see a BIG cat who may be perfect wt or a few lbs over
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post #10 of 14
11/8/10 at 5:02pm
Thread Starter 
He's a few pounds over, the vet thinks he could stand to lose a bit, but he is a big cat for sure. I guess I will just try to see what I can figure out.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
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post #11 of 14
11/8/10 at 5:14pm
Okay roughly ... I am going to say he should be 20 lbs( mostly cause the figures are easier ) a 20lb cat would need 300-600 calories a day ... I would say start with 300 ..

Orijen dry has 440 a cup so if you are giving roughly 1/12 cup of it so 40 calories from it

cal natural is 419 a cup.. so about .18 cups so roughly 70 calories

so roughly 110 calories from dry... add another 30 for the treats so dry food calories = roughly 140

Okay so For a Day he gets 3 oz of wet?
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post #12 of 14
11/9/10 at 2:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky View Post
Okay roughly ... I am going to say he should be 20 lbs( mostly cause the figures are easier ) a 20lb cat would need 300-600 calories a day ... I would say start with 300 ..

Orijen dry has 440 a cup so if you are giving roughly 1/12 cup of it so 40 calories from it

cal natural is 419 a cup.. so about .18 cups so roughly 70 calories

so roughly 110 calories from dry... add another 30 for the treats so dry food calories = roughly 140

Okay so For a Day he gets 3 oz of wet?
Yes I would say roughly about 3 oz. I have 3 ounce cans and I give them each about 1/3 of it 3 x a day.

So, if I can keep it between 300 - 600 calories a day he should begin to lose gradually?

I was shooting for 20 pounds too, by the way, then see how he is when he gets there.

Sharky, I appreciate all the help you are giving me. I know I'm a pain
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post #13 of 14
11/9/10 at 2:38pm
I did a very quick ave of cal off the binkys chart .... Most FF has 80 cal( I do think many of the newer are closer to 100)

140+80=200 ish
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post #14 of 14
11/9/10 at 6:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Misty8723 View Post
How do you figure out how much to feed if you're feeding both wet and dry food. Especially when one of your cats needs to lose weight. I'm getting a headache trying to figure it out.
Dry food is very frequently loaded with corn which means sugar and carbs.
Wet food is usually meat or fish, which is what nature designed cats' digestive systems for.

Beware of foods (like dry treats) that are labelled as "natural" or "healthy" but are loaded with sugar-producing grain (usually corn or rice.) Always read the ingredients carefully. There are a few flavors which might be grain free.

If you must give in to temptation try to limit the amount of dry food and try to get your cat on a protein rich wet food diet.

Corn does for cats what corn sugar used to sweeten sodas does for humans. Makes them fat and eventually, if overdone, diabetic. The price for letting your cat indulge in high carb dry treats will be high vet bills later, or an early and unpleasant demise for your little pal.

Be smart. Cat nutrition will determine your cat's later health and longevity. What to feed your cat is the most important decision you can make.

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