How much to feed fatcat?

Hello everyone. This is my first time posting here so go ez on me if this has been answered before. I have 2 cats, one is a russian blue mix cat, 7 years old, who weighs like 21 pounds . He is a very large cat overall and is very playful and active. Our second cat is a domestic shorthair who weighs about 17 lbs, she is 10 years old. She is not as lively as him but she will run up and down the halls very fast and they do fight in a very lively fashion. Both of the cats have bellies but are pretty active. We feed them 2.5 ounces per day each of IAMS weight control food. They eat 3 times a day and basically inhale their food when we give it to them. Using this diet (suggested by the vet)they have both lost weight--the boy went from 23 to 21 pounds and the girl from 20 to 17 lbs. Are we giving them enough food? They seem really hungry all the time...

Hi Molly,

I am moving this over to our Health and Nutrition forum for you.

Molly have these cats had blood tests recently? Thyroid checks and check for diabetes? Just a concern with their age and their lifestyle. A vet vist and a simple blood test will help rule out internal issues that might be going on.

If your vet has prescribed an diet program and told you what foods to use, then stay with what he says and follow it to the letter. To stop them from gobbling their food, elevate their bowls a little bit, this relaxes their throat and makes them calm down to eat.

Originally posted by hissy
Molly have these cats had blood tests recently? Thyroid checks and check for diabetes? Just a concern with their age and their lifestyle. A vet vist and a simple blood test will help rule out internal issues that might be going on.

If your vet has prescribed an diet program and told you what foods to use, then stay with what he says and follow it to the letter. To stop them from gobbling their food, elevate their bowls a little bit, this relaxes their throat and makes them calm down to eat.

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thanks for the reply.
We have had the boy for 2 years...we got him from petsmart(adopted) and I assume he has had a blood test..--the girl was vomiting from accidentally purchased iams hairbal formula and we brouht her into the vet for a look...I assume she had bloodtests there as she was there overnight. The vet told us to just give the cats a handful twice a day...I interpreted that as about 2.5 ounces..he is not our regular vet.We dont really have one as both cats are housecats they never really get sick. These cats have been this way for as long as we have had them so I doubt either have diabetes...they are very lively.

anyone ?

The vet won't do a blood test unless you ask him to, and if they've had a blood test before, it probably wasn't to check for thyroid problems or diabetes. It is dangerous to put your cat on a diet and not specifically check for these two problems. Especially with their age.