1 year cat = piggy!

Hi guys,

I need your advice -- my cat Luna just turned 1 year old (or so we think) and she's getting a little pudgy. When we rescued her at 8 months, she was extremely skinny. You could see her bones sticking out so we fed her as much as she wanted (typically 1/2 of a large can of science diet for kittens twice a day and friskies -- I know those aren't the best, but at the time that's all she would eat). 

Fast forward to a few months later, she's a little piggie with a nice coating of fat!

We have slightly cut back on the wet food -- now feeding her 1/3 of a large can (kitten science diet) twice a day and then probably about 1/2 cup of the science diet dry food for indoor cats. I feel like the wet food is a perfect serving for her (though i know i need to switch out from kitten to adult), but struggling on the dry food. She always seems hungry throughout the day. Is it too much? She's relatively active.. but she's starting to get a belly and I know it's young for her to be getting heavy. Unless you think she'll grow into it since she's still so young?

Have not consulted a vet yet -- we got her from a rescue league that did everything there (even rabies shot), so we don't have to take her to the vet for another 3 or 4 months. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Probably a bit much on the food. Most adult indoor cats need about 5-6 ounces of most kinds of canned food a day, if they only eat canned. Dry food varies but there's probably a lot of calories in 1/2 cup. So 2/3 can plus 1/2 cup is most likely a little too much. See if the calorie count is listed on the bag/can (check their website if not) and try for 20-25 calories per pound of her weight.

Also, "indoor" or "weight control" formulas are generally higher in carbs than regular foods. Cats do better with higher protein and fewer carbs. And, if you can manage it, canned food is better than dry. Check out www.catinfo.org for more on that.

I would feed the canned food only. Dry food, especially Science Diet, is high in carbs and are thereby conducive to weight gain. Could also be why she is hungry a lot of the time. You want something high protein. You may have to mix the old food with the new in order to transition. I can't tell how much you're feeding her because I don't know how many ounces are in the "large can" you speak of. There's 3 oz cans, 5.5 oz cans, and I think 12 oz cans. But the 12 oz. cans aren't available in every brand, so I don't know what you consider "large" to be.

Sorry -- to clarify, I'm using the 5.5 oz cans. She's also a 9-10 pound cat, if that helps.

I would cut out the dry food completely. You don't mention how active she is - I assume she is pretty active since she's just around a year old. I think one 5.5 ounce can a day will be enough for her - especially if she's only 9 or 10 pounds right now. 

My female cat is around 7 pounds, and when I fed her canned (Wellness) she ate less than a whole 5.5 ounce can. 

Thanks for the clarification. I agree with pinkman, about one 5.5 ounce can should be good; see how she does and adjust from there. There's no way anyone can make an exact recommendation since it all depends on how active she is, what kind of metabolism, and the exact type of food. I would definitely switch to a more protein-rich food, though. That will help abate hunger and overall health.

Lisa Pierson's website offers a downloadable PDF of the typical nutrient %'s found in certain brands of cat food:

http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

This website also offers a carb calculator for wet food:

http://fnae.org/carbcalorie.html

You want food with 10% or less carbs. (You will be surprised to find that the majority of wet cat food won't make the cut.)