So they hate the good stuff. And question on how much to give...

My cats will only eat Friskies canned, too. I figure that as long as they get a higher-quality dry food, it's fine. As long as the wet food is wet, I'm OK with it. Probably if I had 3 cats, I'd give them each 1/3 of a can . Which is nearly 2 ounces (1.83 oz each if you split a regular 5.5 oz can 3 ways), so that seems like a good amount for a meal. I give my cats 2 meals of wet food a day, and one meal of dry food.

There is no way to know how much wet if you are free feeding dry, as you have no idea how many calories are consumed.   That is one of the reasons (along with some cheap recipes) that dry has gotten a bad rep with some, as they think dry is the issue when the real issue is simply overeating since dry food makes that easy.

 

The kcal/kg and Calories per can should be listed on the label, and a cat should eat around 200 calories a day (adjusting for activity level; Wesley is a spaz and runs and climbs all the time, heh).  

 

Although it will vary with frame size, the kitties seem to be on the heavy side as it is, so I would use this as an excuse to go to timed portion feeding for each cat.    If you can't really portion feed/calorie control each cat, you can do two gorge meals a day where they are allowed to eat as much as they want in a sitting and the rest of the food is put away within say 15 mins, and calories will be limited by the size of their tummies assuming you don't have any scarf and barf kitties.  

 

For comparison, my male cat is around 1.5yrs old and 9.9lbs (assuming my scale is accurate), and gets half a can of wet food (around 90 kcal) and about a 1/4 cup of dry (100kcal) and some greenies or other treats.    Any pics of Artemis from the side and above?  Chances are he could lose a couple pounds unless he's a very large breed.

Try Soulistic (in Petco only) and Trader Joe's wet. I had the same issue, and my cat finally ate those brands.

 

I free feed dry, but between the two cats, they only get 1 cup of dry a day (though my youngest eats most of it!), in the morning. I don't refill till next day. this helps keep their weight regulated

The best food for a cat is one they will eat!!! If Friskies it is, then let it be and dont feel guilty.  :)

Oh wow what cuties!   Love that fluffy Milo, especially with those big paws and tail!    Looks like Artemis just has a big frame after all, so 2lbs lost is probably too much then, maybe 1lb?   I wonder if my scale is reading low or yours high, either that or Wesley would feel like a shrimp standing next to your big boy heh.  

 

So yeah if they'll only do friskies, then friskies it is.   Mine like everything, but their favorite seems to be the higher end Nutro stuff (complete care recipe), if you hadn't tried that.   I try to aim for half wet.

 

Thanks for sharing!  

If Friskies is all they will eat, then I would keep feeding it. If you read the ingredients IIRC some of the Friskies is not that bad... If you can try other things too I'd keep trying just in case you may find something else they might eat. I have some cats who refuse to eat any canned food at all myself!

 

Here is a chart showing cat body condition:

 

 

Here is another chart to tell your cat's body condition:

 

http://media.marketwire.com/attachments/200802/MOD-402887_weight-chart1.jpg

 

 

A video on how to tell if they are overweight:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V_Stl5pRTo

(yeah it's from Whiskas but the info is ok)

 

 

I have two cats who have small head and large body. They aren't the deep thinkers. But they sure do feel deeply.

I was wondering if mixing the good stuff in with the Friskies would help them get use to the new and better can food. Somebody else will have a better salution, I am sure.