One tubby kitty and one underweight... how to feed them?

So I have one tubby orange and white tabby, Carly. I don't know exactly how much she weighs (having no car it is hard for us to get to the vet so we only do if they get sick) but she is a year and a half old now and should be done growing. I wouldn't call her severely overweight but she does have quite a layer of fat over the amount she should. She's quite territorial, though I haven't seen any food hoarding issues against our other cat, Binky.

Binky is a longhaired calico. She weighed in at 9 pounds when we adopted her, I think she was a little large for her frame then, but she was also nursing (she was a feral.) But now she is a trifle too thin. Being longhaired, I can't see her ribs, but I can feel the outline of her spine. Not so that every vertebrae is visible or feel every single bone, but I don't feel even a thin layer of fat. She also has a definite waist, and when she is in crouching position I can feel her hip bones and they are SHARP. She has no symptoms of being sick otherwise and her coat is very glossy. I think she just doesn't care for the food we have been feeding her.

Being unable to get to a pet store, or to afford premium brands, they are currently on Meow Mix. We would love to feed them better, but we're living on $710 a month and usually have $100 after bills (we have food stamps, but I have food allergies and $250 in food stamps doesn't go very far.) We have enough money for basic cat food and litter, but not much else. But this month we have a little extra and are giving Binky some canned food. It's hard though to separate her from Carly, as Binky won't eat anything that Carly doesn't have access to, and Carly definitely doesn't need extra food.

Right now we have them on a free-feeding schedule, but we only put about a cup and a half between the two of them out a day, and it doesn't even get all eaten.

Anyone ever been in the position where they had one cat that could eat no fat and the other that could eat no lean?

Yes. I have 8 cats and five were a healthy weight and three were overweight.

We transitioned off of kibble onto canned food and timed feedings. I police the cats during meal time so they eat only out of their own bowls.

While wet food is far healthier for cats anyway, if due to cost you have to continue feeding kibble, it's still best to transition them to timed meals, with meals fed at set times and with a set amount of food they're expected to eat in a given amount of time. It takes time to do this, but it can be done.

It's hard to say if your "underweight" cat is actually underweight. If they haven't been to a vet in a while, it might be time for an annual check-up anyway. Cats are naturally very thin. I think we're just used to seeing fat cats. My 7 pound cat is thin, with a waist, and her hips stick out. But she's a healthy weight.

Ideally, you want to feed them a diet that is high in protein, with no grains, and as few carbs and starches as possible. This is difficult with kibble. Here's a site, written by a vet, that you may find helpful: http://www.catinfo.org

Here is a guideline on how to do it: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264675/transitioning-free-fed-kibble-kitties-to-timed-meals-and-new-food

LDG said:

Yes. I have 8 cats and five were a healthy weight and three were overweight.


We transitioned off of kibble onto canned food and timed feedings. I police the cats during meal time so they eat only out of their own bowls.


While wet food is far healthier for cats anyway, if due to cost you have to continue feeding kibble, it's still best to transition them to timed meals, with meals fed at set times and with a set amount of food they're expected to eat in a given amount of time. It takes time to do this, but it can be done.


It's hard to say if your "underweight" cat is actually underweight. If they haven't been to a vet in a while, it might be time for an annual check-up anyway. Cats are naturally very thin. I think we're just used to seeing fat cats. My 7 pound cat is thin, with a waist, and her hips stick out. But she's a healthy weight.


Ideally, you want to feed them a diet that is high in protein, with no grains, and as few carbs and starches as possible. This is difficult with kibble. Here's a site, written by a vet, that you may find helpful: http://www.catinfo.org


Here is a guideline on how to do it: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264675/transitioning-free-fed-kibble-kitties-to-timed-meals-and-new-food

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I am familiar with the raw food idea, it's just not manageable for us to be able to do it on our financial situation, otherwise I would. Canned also needs to be supplemental rather than the norm. But we can try timed meals. Thanks.

Also, try for at least a slightly higher-quality dry if at all possible. Purina Cat Chow is better than Meow Mix (CC has meat ingredient first and not as much food coloring) and only costs a tiny bit more. Even a small improvement can help. Purina Naturals would be even better if you can find it (it costs about the same as regular Cat Chow but can be harder to find). Higher protein is better.

To keep costs down with canned food, buy the largest cans and split them. And buy the largest bag of dry food. The price per ounce can be half of what the smaller cans/bags of the same brand cost.

Thanks. We get large bags of cat food when we can (our Meow Mix bag was 25 pounds) but we get to Walmart less often than once every other month, can't get to any other stores except our local grocery store, and they only carry the small bags of Purina cat chow. They carry large bags of the local Nunn-better brand and Meow Mix, and that's about it. A whole aisle devoted to pet supplies and less than a quarter of it for cats. People here are dog people only.

One suggestion that may work is to elevate Binky's food dish where Carly is too chubby to get up to, if she is that chunky.

At 1 1/2 though she might still be able to get up higher.

I have a chubby cat but she is very chunky and can not, say get on the dresser like my other cat can.

Good advice from Willowy.

Does the Walmart where you shop carry the 13 ounce cans of Friskies? Because the pates are high protein, low carb, and economical. You can freeze the extra needed beyond one meal into meal sized portions if they don't like refrigerated leftovers.

(And I didn't mention raw. :dk: ).

You can also consider putting out a measured amount of kibble for free-feeding (unless the overweight kitty ends up eating most of it - then you really don't have much of a choice but to move to timed meals), and adding water to the canned before feeding. It doesn't help them feel full longer, but does help improve metabolism with more water moving through them.

My recommendation would be timed meals fed in separate areas.  My boy Munlchie used to push everyone out of their dishes at feeding time, and he would eat nonstop every day.  I separate my cats into separate rooms during feeding times, that has helped a lot, that way I can measure everyones daily intake of food better.