Can't break the bad food behavior - Page 2

I'm not sure if 1/3 cup would be enough calories, even for a small female cat; problem is, no where can I find how many calories per cup are in that food..

Wet food is needed to keep a cat properly hydrated, whether your vet knows it or not. Here's a video that talks about wet food and hydration (in cats & dogs). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5ZeNLUEHKY

I would suggest investing in a baby scale to monitor her weight at home, because loosing too much in a short amount of time can lead to fatty liver disease which can be fatal. :[
From catinfo.org - "Hepatic lipidosis (HL) is a life-threatening condition that can occur when a cat is either completely anorexic (not eating anything) for 48 hours or more or is consuming less than 50% of his daily caloric needs over several/many days. It more commonly occurs when overweight cats are not consuming enough calories but cats that are carrying a proper amount of weight can also end up with HL.

These 'calorie starved' cats end up with fat deposition in their liver which destroys the liver cells.

Because HL can become an issue if weight loss occurs too rapidly in cats, I strongly urge you to invest in a scale - preferably a digital one that weighs to the nearest ounce. It is always a good idea to weigh all cats several times each year regardless of whether they are on a weight loss program or not. Weight loss can be an early sign of disease so it is always helpful to monitor all cats' weight on a regular basis."
I've found it's just way too hard to tell if they are loosing or gaining too fast from sight alone.
I just realised the same thing, but it's no wonder, here are the first three ingredients on the food she was feeding.. "Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat"
I thought 1/2c was what you were feeding her already? Counting calories won't help if the result says what you are feeding is fine, but that amount leaves her hungry all the time.

I honestly say trash all the dry you have for three reasons:
Like I showed above, the Science Diet Sensitive stomach doesn't have ANY meat in the first three ingredients, it's basically a giant salad with a bit of pork mixed in, and cats need a carnivore's diet.
Second, I can guarantee you that when you switch to wet, your cat will feel full and be getting twice as much meat in her diet as she is now.
Thirdly, since your cat has had a UTI in the past, it is highly important that she gets plenty of moisture to keep her healthy and hydrated.

It's great that you are looking out for Cira's well being. Continue to keep us updated.

The rule of thumb for weight loss is 1-2% per week. So if she weighs 15.6 or approx 249oz, then she is safe to lose 2.5-5oz per week. But two weeks later when she is 239oz, 5oz a week will be over her 2%. That's why I recommend the baby scale so that you can monitor her weight on a biweekly basis, because otherwise you may find yourself going in next month, and seeing she has lost too much.

Klane925 - I see that you are new here. Above is a food/nutrition forum with tons and tons of info about this very subject. It is overwelming to say the least. I have 4 rescues and only 1 is overweight. She's 15lbs. The others pretty much have their weight in check. (I free feed) I have found the better the qualtiy food the less they eat. Not all food is the same. 1/2 cup of quality is not the same as 1/2 cup of cheap. It doesn't absorb the same way. I also think our animals are like humans. We all come in different shapes and sizes, why not our cats? Different bone structure, chemestry or whatever. There is no exact science to this. If one needs a little more food than the others so be it. Make everyone happy and give the one a little more. I'm not promoting obesity but we all have to live and be somewhat happy.

I understand what you are getting at, but the problem is that even a couple pounds on a cat = 20-30lbs on a human. Thats a lot of stress on the body. Fat takes a much larger toll on a cat than a human, they are not meant to put on fat, they are meant to be lean, muscular animals. If a cat has to pull from fat storages, it can get fatty liver disease and die...
Fat does not equal happy.

awesome glad the feeder is working - don't get me wrong I was not advocating obesity I just think 5lbs for a cat is a huge swing in weight gain or loss. Hopefully the feeder and Wellness will work out.