Had Vet Visit - Need Help with Kitten to Adult Dry Food (also canned update)

I'd posted before about Dandy having so many days when she was really super lethargic.  She had a great day Monday, every thing you'd expect of a bratty 6-mo. old, but we went to the vet yesterday anyway.  We both came out hating the vet.

Her general attitude was that "cats are just like that." We had to ask twice to get her ears checked and she cleaned them out but said there were no mites. I had to ask about her weight and then she said she was heavy and I got a lecture about her food.  She never said how much she should weigh, but she's gained almost a pound since we weighed her.  I'm sure that days of not moving haven't helped.

The vet, who feeds her cats dry, said to feed her 1-1/2 cans a day but didn't bother to differentiate between the calorie count of Kitten Wellness and Fancy Feast and the Wellness is about twice the calories.  She seemed to think we were just putting down a lot of food but Dandy actually seems to be hungry and we don't give her a lot at first.  This wasn't always the case - she used to leave some and didn't eat some of her food.  Now I wonder how much this spaying had to do with it?

She gets 1/4 cup dry kibble at night and it is Wellness Kitten.  I'd been going to keep her on it for a year, but now I've decided to transition to an adult food.  Any suggestions?  What about Nature's Variety Instinct?  How the heck do you gradually switch with 1/4 cup?  (The Nature's Instinct has about 100 less calories/cup than the Wellness Kitten.)

Before the vet visit, I'd bought the best selection of variety foods that I could at Petco and most of them are Nature's Variety Instinct.  Dandy had the beef today and I plan to do a can (5.5 oz.) a day in 3 feedings.  She loved it but she seems really hungry. We are going to drop the canned Kitten Wellness when we finish this case.  I will probably even try Hound and Gatos Chicken again in a day or so.

She is doing a lot of sleeping again  .  The vet said that cats didn't get food allergies as much as dogs did.  We think we should look for a new vet but the choices are limited.  I suppose the rest belongs elsewhere.  Thanks for any food direction for my starving kitty!  (She's not really going to starve but she sure isn't happy.)

I think looking for another vet is a good idea.  Most vets are not real knowledgeable about nutrition but some of the things she said doesn't sound like she is real knowledgeable about cats.  I think food allergies are at least as common in cats as it is in dogs and my kitties ears get looked at every time they go to the vets even if it is for something that has nothing to do with ears.  For adult cats the normal calories to maintain a good weight is 20 calories per pound of ideal weight.  Kitties don't all grow and mature at the same rate so I don't know if she is at the point of an adult diet yet.  For most adult kitties a 5.5 ounce can of most of the premium foods split across 2 or 3 meals is enough calories.  Is there a reason why you are still feeding kibble?  All kibble, even the grain free ones tend to be high in carbs.  Those carbs have the same effect on kitties weight as they do on ours.

We are giving her the small amount of kibble to tide her over at night.  She really seems to get hungry  and when she does, she starts biting/nipping at me. The 1/4 cup of kibble doesn't seem too much and she doesn't always eat quite all of it. It's 9 now and she's crying for food and we are aiming for 9:30 or 10 for the last of her canned food.

I was very unimpressedd with this vet and her attitude. She did do blood work but mostly because I requested it. It was okay. I couldn't think of anything else to do. Apparently the tech thought her feces was dry or something and she wanted us to use Miralax even though she is defecating 1 or 2 times a day and it's not hard. We offered to bring a stool sample back next week when the other 2 animals are due for boosters but that didn't suit for some reason. She reassured us that the cat loved us! Sorry for venting but it was ridiculous. I didn't expect a lot of nutritional guidance but I was the one who asked about her weight and then she started with the big lecture. She wouldn't have mentioned that she was big.

Sorry for the vet tangent. We didn't even get a target weight from her.

I don't know if the Nature's Variety Instinct beef is working out or not because my husband said she smells. There have been some issues with other foods, Canidae made her stink and I've noticed others that made her breath foul. She tolerated the can of Canidae but I didn't.  Something gives her fishy breath which is strange since none of the foods she's had at that time contain fish.

Tonight was awful.  She was like a mad thing, she wanted fed so much.  She weighs a little over 8 lb. so she's not actually going to starve but this seems cruel. Do you think it would work better to do 4 wet feedings instead of 3? I will need to change her from kitten food eventually anyway so I may as well get things lined up.  The ones I am looking at are all life stages and our current Wellness is fairly high calorie.

We did play with the Neko fly and mouse toy tonight so she got some exercise. Thanks for any ideas.  Oh, if it makes any difference, Danni is half Siamese, half Ragdoll.

Do you have any cat only vets or clinics near you? I agree with Denice that this vet didn't seem very knowledgeable about cats in general, much less feline nutrition.

As for the amount of food, it's so hard to say with a growing kitten. How much does she weigh now? It may be that she is one of those kitties who are food obsessed and will eat all the time if allowed. All of the canned foods that you mentioned are good in terms of protein, but they are also pretty high in fat which is normally not an issue for cats and especially growing kittens.

Switching out the kibble is not a bad idea, and NVI is pretty good as far as kibble goes. You might want to cut it to 1/8 cup overnight though. I am not sure you need to transition that gradually as you're feeding so little of it anyway. I still wonder about her lethargy. I wonder if she has a slow metabolism.

I was typing before your last post, but I think 4 servings instead of 3 is a good idea!

I really appreciate your input.

Vets!!  No, there is no cats only vet in the area. I found one about 1-1/2 hrs. away but no reviews on that and I'm not sure it wasn't just marketing. They'd changed their clinic to an emergency vet but that's not the one any of the local vets use as a backup. They send you to Pittsburgh or State College both of which are difficult for us which is why we went back to this practice with Sat. hours. This is a new vet there although I 've been feeling that they are more dog-oriented.  I wouldn't usually ignore one's advice but I think she just wanted us to go.

I don't know how much Dandy's Ragdoll half is influencing her, but I read some stuff that gave me some pause last night. She looks more Siamese but is very "soft paws" and likes to be held like a baby. It said that it was a mistake to stop feeding Ragdolls (so much) and that they had a genetic fat pad. Anyone know if that's true? It also mentioned the grooming and boy does she spend time grooming.

She was obviously still hungry last night after the 1/3 can of Instinct so after a bit I gave in and fed her about 1/4 can of FF fish.  She felt really good then and was running through the house, leaped onto the the cat tree, tore around like a kitten in fact... She did eat most of her dry food later and slept all night.

I don't think she's food obsessed because although she loves Temptations and knows the package, her bed is right beside a bag of them and it's never been bothered.  It was even open for quite awhile (husband) and she didn't get in it.  We finish our play session with one and I tell her "that's all" and she's okay. It's 2-3 a day max.

I'm open to food suggestions for rotation. I have mostly Instinct because that's what Petco had and a Natural Balance and one Wellness Beef. I'm going to switch back to something tried-and-true on alternate days so I'll know if something didn't sit right.  I will order some single samples if I can decide on brands/proteins but maybe this will help.

Here is a website that shows cats only vets for an area.  They have badges but I don't know what the criteria for the badges is, the clinic that I take my too has a gold badge.  Vets that are board certified feline specialist will also have something behind their name.  I don't remember the exact wording but it is very obvious.  http://www.catvets.com/cat-owners/find-vets-and-practices

Thanks, Denice.  That is the site I'd stumbled onto and the closest is 60+ to 70+ mi. away and these are not great roads. We already travel 1/2 hr.

Ragdolls take longer to mature than plain ole cats, and they are a larger breed cat (per what I read earlier), so I don't see how this Vet could possibly think she is overweight OR tell you to only feed her 1 1/2 cans per day when she is probably still growing.  How old is she?  I thought I read it, then when I went back, I cannot find it  (I'm thinking it's less than 8 months)  

IMHO, if she is acting this hungry, then she IS hungry.  She's still growing, afterall.  And if she picks up energy after she gets more food, that is a big clue (it least it seems like one ).  Maybe you could at least contact one of those cat only vets and have a discussion via email or something?  Or maybe find a feline nutritionist and due a consultation via email? 

A 6 month old is still growing! I have a 7 month old kitten and he eats 3 of the big cans of wet food a day. He doesn't eat any dry. Seems a lot, but that's how much he "requires" lol. He's big, 10lbs 14oz, long and slender, not fat at all and he's an energetic nutball.

I think your vet is wrong to say she should eat 1 1/2 cans a day. There's no way to know how many calories a growing kitten needs day to day.

I think a 6 month old should still be allowed to eat as much wet food as they want. If she starts to get fat, then you can cut back. Just keep on eye on her body condition.

Thanks for the responses.  She won't turn 7 mos. until Feb. and I wondered at limiting food so strictly on a cat that I thought was still a kitten.  She seems to feel better when she gets more food (i.e., I have to unwrap her from my leg and  other such desirable behaviors).

She's heavy but doesn't really have a pot belly. I'd rather see her moving than just laying in her bed like that. I will scout out some other foods though since Wellness is mega-calories. "Grace" has never been her name but she can jump for her toys when she feels good. Maybe that is more Ragdoll than the Siamese?

Thank you all.  At the very least, I will be sure we do not see that vet again.

Wellness Kitten is heavy on the calories for a reason .  Kittens have different nutritional needs.  If she is only 6 months old, and part Ragdoll, I would think she still needs to be eating as much as she wants, especially since she is acting as hungry as she is.  Now I will admit that some kittens can have an eating disorder and become too fat and take that straight into adulthood (I have one), but that is unusual.  My furry little guy was 4 lbs overweight by the time he was one year old , BUT we free fed all 4 cats at that time, and he ate out of everyone's bowl ALL the time.  He was insatiable, and I took everyone's advise and continued to just let him eat even though I could see he no longer had any waist at all and was beginning to look like a football.  (He didn't even adopt us until he was 4 1/2 months old, so who knows what he was up to before he came to our house )

With your little Dandy, I would definitely see if there is a corrolation with her being more active with more food.  If so, then that's your answer. 

We have a new article dealing with how much to feed - 

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-much-food-should-i-feed-my-cat

Thanks again. Dandy is feeling better with more food.  So far she has liked both kinds with beef and had no problems, although one was Welness and I suppose that is a little high calorie for long-term. Today is kitten food again.

I thought her activity after foods seemed unusual too. She hasn't pulled the go to her bed and lay around thing lately.

Thanks all for helping me ignore the vet. My daughter was here and didn't think she looked fat (always nice to have another opinion).

Diana in PA