Same food for heavy sr cat and kitten?

I have one 8.5 year old cat who is about 15lbs, down from over 20 via vet diet. He's on Royal Canin Calorie Control High Fiber and is doing very well, lost 5 lbs since the beginning of the year. He has a tendency to eat anything he can find and got so overweight when my other cat was having renal and thyroid issues and he ate most of her food. I've only been able to get his weight under control since she and I measure all his meals. He's a big boy, the vet thinks 12-13lbs will be a healthy weight for him, so we're looking at a few more months of diet food.

We are also about to get a Maine Coon kitten, sometime between August and October depending on which litter we pick. The breeder will have the kitten on Royal Canin Selections dry food and suggested just feeding it to both cats.

I'd like to find a canned food that can be fed to both, but I'm not sure that's possible. MC are so big and kittens need so much nutrition as they grow, yet my existing cat has such a tendency to over eat. According to the breeder, he overeats because I measure out his food and don't free feed. She thinks if I free feed both, he will naturally eat what he needs and leave the rest once he realizes the kitten won't eat it all either. I'm not sure I believe that, since that's how he became overweight in the first place.

I've got an appointment to talk to the vet in a few weeks, but I'm wondering if anyone here can give me any advice? Or point me in the right direction on how to decide which food to feed each or both?

Thanks!

A cat can lose weight on any food, if you measure it out and feed on schedule. Free-feeding kibble is a recipe for obesity. If you feed the kitten on schedule (of course kittens will need more meals per day than an adult cat), there shouldn't be a problem. Most canned foods are appropriate for all ages. And canned food is better for weight loss.

So you think a high quality canned food could be fed to both? How can I determine how much each should get?

Congrats on getting a new kitten! Maine Coons are gorgeous kitties, I had a part Maine Coon named Charlie when I was little.

As for your senior kitty, he should definitely be on high quality canned. Try to eliminate all dry food from his diet (except maybe once a week as a treat or something), because dry food is high in carbohydrates and does not contain the moisture that cats require. High quality canned foods such as Wellness grain free, Weruva (the varieties without carrageenan), EVO, Tikicat, Before Grain, are all high protein low carb foods. Some of them might contain more fat than others, so I reccomend the lower fat varieties.

I have a 17lb one year old cat named Cookie, so I know exactly what you are going through. :lol3: Vet wants her down to 12lbs as well. She gained all the weight while she was being kibble fed, and since cutting off kibble she has lost 4lbs or so. I have a nine week old kitten (Cuddles) and Cookie has a problem with eating Cuddles' food. What I try to do is schedule their meals, and feed Cookie in another room so she can't be tempted by the Wellness kitten I feed Cuddles.

To be honest, for both cats, a raw diet is the best suggestion. I don't feed my cats raw yet, but I'm very interested in doing so and have purchased a few bags of Natures Variety commercial raw to try out. It will improve litterbox odor, make their coats shinier, help your senior cat lose weight, and it will definitely give your kitten a good start in life. But if you aren't ready to do this yet, there are many canned foods as mentioned above that will give your cats optimum nutrition.

Every cat, in my opinion, should be on a moist, low carbohydrate, high protein canned diet. Even the lowest quality wet food is better than the highest quality dry food, IMO!

Also, exercise is essential to weight loss in cats. For Cookie, I get out a flashlight and she chases the light ALL over the house! :lol3: I also have a toy called Da Bird, that if you don't already have, it is a great exercise toy!

Here are some great links to websites with information on overweight kitties:
http://www.catnutrition.org/obesity.html
http://www.petmd.com/cat/nutrition/...at_to_do_about_an_overweight_cat#.T-8RIGt5mK0
http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity

Hope I helped! And good luck with your kitties!

Jen

I'm not an expert, but I know that not all cats "will naturally eat what he needs and leave the rest".  I truly believe that some cats can have emotional / psychological issues similar to those that lead some humans to overeat and become overweight / obese.  And the secret to weight loss in cats is the same as it is in humans -- calories taken in must be less than calories expended. 

We used to free feed dry, and one of our cats was normal weight, one cat was 2# overweight, and one cat was obese (7-8# overweight).  We started by measuring the amount of dry food we put out (in separate bowls), which helped the obese cat lose about a pound.  When we switched to canned food, the overweight cat lost a pound and the obese cat lost more than a pound.  Also, her fur is no longer matted, she seems to have less anxiety and is more social, and she is more playful and active.  Now that we have two 4 month old kittens in addition to our three cats, we feed all of them the same canned food, but feed the kittens one more meal than the adults.  We still allow the kittens to free feed on dry in their room (where they stay unless we can watch them since we don't completely trust our two girls with them yet), where the cats can't get to it; but, on the advice from our vet, we will cut that out in a couple of months or when we allow the cats and kittens to be together unsupervised 24/7.

My advice would be: 1) switch the your boy over to canned food and ditch the dry, 2) feed the kitten the appropriate food and take up any leftovers so your boy can't scavenge, 3) try to find some sort of activity / exercise that your boy likes, and 4) follow the advice of your vet when you see him/her.