Seems you CAN overfeed a kitten (?) - now what?

Everything I've read says let a kitten eat as much as they want!

Admittedly a large breed, my Ragdoll, Artemis, seemed right on track with the 1 lb a month (give or take a little) I read is typical for a kitten (also note, Ragdolls can have growth spurts and don't fully mature until about 3 years).

His little adopted sister, Jessie, also seemed on track for a DSH. Right now he is 1 year old and she is 10 months old.

I've been told that the way to tell if your cat is overweight is to run your hand along their spine and check their ribs. If you can easily feel them, they are on target, but if you have to put any pressure to feel them, they are fat. Well, if that is correct, then Artie is on the fat side (really hard to tell with a Ragdoll - all that fluff and muscle).

Here is WHAT I WAS feeding: Between the two of them, two 3 oz cans of Wet food (MaxCat) and free feeding Ideal Balance dry food (kitten variety). That is half a can for each in the morning and in the evening. All my research indicated this was appropriate for growing kittens. For the moment I've cut back to 1/4 can of wet in morning and evening and 1/4 - 1/2 cup of dry left out.

Well, Artemis has gotten piggy. When they eat together, Jessie will eat about 1/2 of her wet right away and come back within the half hour for some more and finish within the hour… IF ARTIE DOESN'T GET TO IT FIRST. Yep.

I've also noticed that if I feed them in separate rooms, Jessie will finish MOST of her wet in one sitting, and try to come back in 15 minutes.

The way my place is situated (and because I have to leave for work) and cannot leave her in a room with food and go to work. Also, due to an ongoing chronic health problem (and personality differences between them) I cannot play/exercise him except rarely (basically he is mellow, she dominates play and will not let him at the wand toy - she is such a pistol - THAT BIRD IS MINE!!!)

Anyway, he is pushing 14 lbs at a year (within Ragdoll range, depending on the individual build), and she is about 9 and 1/2 pounds at 10 months. Was I unknowingly over feeding?

I prefer to feed wet food, but I've heard mixed things in regards to caloric content - that wet food is like candy and will make them fat. Then I've also heard that dry food has too many carbs (even grain free) and will make them fat. Argh!

One last thing, because of said health issues, there exists a small possibility that on any particular day I may not make it home or be too sick to care for them for an unknown period, so I have a couple of friends I "check in" with each day - I call it my cat check in. This was the reason for leaving out extra dry food for free feeding - just in case they wound up being left alone for a day or two. Yeah, its complicated.

With ALL of this in mind… I'm looking for a feeding solution. Right now all I can come up with is (if this is an appropriate amount) what I've already mentioned… 1/4 can in the morning and evening and 1/4 cup each of dry. Only thing is he will eat more than his share (not so much with the dry - but sometimes).

I'm thinking that I stop feeding them next to each other (separate rooms - not as cute) so that she eats more and take up the dishes when they are "finished" (i.e. when she walks away). If she gets hungry, she may learn to eat more at a sitting (but I don't know if it is a constitutional thing, meaning if there is a physical reason for her to take more than one session to finish). And also measure the dry carefully (switching to an adult variety).

Eh, I'm going too long here. My goal isn't so much to reduce his weight (because he will likely have more genuine growth spurts), but to break the habit of too much food (if that is indeed the case).

Comments, criticisms, suggestions?

Wet food is best for otherwise healthy cats & kittens, so if that is what you prefer to feed and your cats happily eat it, there is no need for any dry food in their diet at all.

To go a step further, wet food, that is grain-free and low in carbohydrates, is even better than just stating "wet food". There are many commercial canned foods that fit this bill (raw usually does, also). But there are also a lot of canned foods that are laden with carbohydrates and/or grains.

Saying it is impossible to over-feed a kitten is definitely a blanket statement. Most of the time however, it is indeed perfectly true. I've even said it myself. But if the kits are eating a ton of carbohydrates all day long, it will add up eventually, especially as they near their full-grown size. It sounds like yours are reaching the age where portion control will start to come into play.

I'm not familiar with the brands you are feeding. Do they have grains? Heavy on the carbs? If yes to either of those, then that's where I think it would be best to make changes. To me, your proposed plan doesn't sound like enough food for cats who aren't quite done growing yet. But, again, I'm not familiar with your brands so it's possible for those specific foods less is needed than what I feed mine?  I have two kittens (6 & 7 months) who are eating a considerable amount more than that though and are on the lean side, so that could be skewing my perspective, too.

Here are the ingredients of what I've mostly fed them (although I recently have been trying Blue Buffalo Grain free food for the dry):

http://www.chewy.com/cat/hills-idea...tm_content=f&gclid=CPrWi_z-xLwCFW9p7AodH1sAvQ

http://www.nutro.com/natural-cat-food/max-cat-food/canned/adult-cat-savory-duck-entree.aspx

http://www.chewy.com/cat/nutro-max-...tm_content=f&gclid=CN-k2Kv_xLwCFVFo7Aodky8Avw

They both hate pate style.

Ah rats... I could have SWORN the MaxCat was labeled Grain free in the store, and maybe it sort of is... but I never noticed the wheat gluten before. Well, so far it is the only wet food that isn't prohibitively expensive that they both like with the possible exception of Soulistic (nearly the same price).

Something in Wellness (except for the select) that doesn't agree with Jessie. Well, at least this has got me to re-examining the ingredients.

Yeah, those do look a bit heavy on the grains &/or carbs.... rice, wheat, oats, potatoes, etc.

Trying to figure out what to feed & how much really can be a challenge.  Especially when you factor the cat's preferences into things.

The brands of wet that I feed (some pate, some shreds) include... Soulistic, Weruva, Tiki, Wellness (both grain-free and the CORE), Earthborn, etc.  And the little guy who still gets a bit of dry is fed Wellness CORE Original for that. (But all his foods will be changing soon, as we try to pinpoint an allergy he seems to have).

There are a lot of other options that I'm not familiar with, too. There is no ONE right or wrong way to go about it. I'm sure that others will be along with more suggestions & advice for you!

Well, I have two friends who have Ragdolls and what THEY do is leave out "kibble" (i.e. dry food) for free feeding and also put down one tablespoon of wet (i.e. canned) food in the evening. The cats appear to be very healthy and the correct weight.

I've been going round and round with one of them who INSISTS this is the best thing for them (the teeth cleaning myth for dry food), and that wet makes them fat. I'm certain that canned is better than dry, but until I can figure this all out (calories, etc.) I just got lazy and tried feeding them this way (using a grain free Blue Buffalo dry kibble).

At first it looked like Artie (Ragdoll) was still being piggy with the dry and since Jessie (Orange) didn't finish her canned immediately, he would finish it. But it seems that the dynamics are changing with this. I was home for the ice storm and watched them and Artie didn't over feed on the dry and Jessie actually finished off (except for a bite) her canned meals. (The one thing I did differently was feed 1/4 can twice a day - morning and night instead of a tablespoon at night.)

They do not go around crying for more food (!) and Artie has actually lost a couple of ounces. I know at a year he is far from finished growing, so I'll watch for his next spurt... but it would be good to start that spurt without being fat.

This is a process that I'm still figuring out. Although they both drink well (especially Jessie), I add some water to the canned food (which they both drink up before eating). That's where I'm at now. 

It's difficult when the people around you (even vets), push the dry kibble. It's a lot like vaccinations used to be... years ago, annual vaccinations were a MUST because frankly no one really knew any better. After multiple studies proved otherwise, it still took at least a decade or two, but the word eventually trickled down and it's mostly common knowledge these days that vaccinations are a 3 year schedule (not even really needed that often).  Rabies is of course dictated by law, but you get the drift.  I expect it will be same with wet food. A few will take the reins in the beginning (us) and get people to notice that wet has already been proven to be the better choice. Then years from now, it will eventually become common knowledge. It's just the way of the world. No one likes change, and no one wants to be the first to jump... but jump we must, because in this case it's been solidly proven that it's the right thing to do, to keep healthy cats healthy!

Lots of people keep their cats on 100% kibble, because it's convenient and yes, many cats do very well for many years. The issues with kibble usually take their toll over time, and by the time a cat is not doing so great, it's later in their life and often the troubles cannot be reversed...the kibble damage is done & final.  It's like smoking for decades, saying that it hasn't affected your health YET even though you know it likely will, and then when your 70 the damage is done and final.  There are cats who go their entire lives on kibble without issue. There are also people who smoke their entire lives without issue. They definitely exist, but are the lucky ones.

If you're genuinely interested in getting yours on an all wet diet, at this point in the game it really doesn't matter which wet foods you choose (assuming there are no allergies or health reasons, of course), as long as you aren't grossly overfeeding. Once your kits have happily been eating 100% wet food for a while...once it has become their "normal"...then start choosing which wet foods you feel are best for them. You can start slowly putting those into your rotation, until your less preferred brands have been eliminated.  Baby steps, and in due time it will all fall into place.  Better to sort it out while they're young, then deal with a power struggle years from now when their ways are so strongly set.

I use to free feed kibble to my cats for years. All of their lives (I've had 3 of my cats out of 4 since they were tiny kittens) and I thought they were doing well.

In December one of them (5 years old) got a UTI, then AGAIN in January. After much research and lots of reading on these forums I found out that wet is BEST for over all long term health.

Cats do not have a high thirst drive, thust no high water intake. Cats in the wild usually get most of their water from the animals they eat.

So I switched all four of my cats on wet and none of them have gained weight. So I wouldn't think that's a problem. It's all about calorie and carb intake. And dry has way more carbs.

I would nix the dry and switch to wet obviously if it were me. Good luck!

Dry food lists the feeding amount on the side... wet canned doesn't. How do I find the caloric content (plus the typical caloric needs of a cat)?

My other concern is since my health is unstable, I always wanted food to be out (at least 2 days worth) while I "check in" daily with a friend (to inform that the cats have been feed, watered and littered, ha). But I'm willing to try two feedings, I just don't how much.

u can get feeders that dispense dry food(only) on a timer...I've read about them on other threads in the health section

Recommended reading - 

• How Much Food Should I Feed My Cat?
• Grain-Free Cat Food – What Does It Mean?
• What Makes the Best Canned Cat Food?
• Transitioning Free-Fed Kibble Kitties to Timed Meals
• Transitioning Your Cat from Kibble to a New Type of Food (Canned, Raw, or Homemade)

​

Hope this helps

Thanks, gave me a good ball park figure to start with and adjust as I go to timed feedings (and measured dry for the in-between, vs free feeding dry).

NBrazil said:

Dry food lists the feeding amount on the side... wet canned doesn't. How do I find the caloric content (plus the typical caloric needs of a cat)?

My other concern is since my health is unstable, I always wanted food to be out (at least 2 days worth) while I "check in" daily with a friend (to inform that the cats have been feed, watered and littered, ha). But I'm willing to try two feedings, I just don't how much.

Click to expand...

You do have to do a bit more legwork.....figure out how many calories your cat needs a day (look at that "How Much Food to Feed my Cat" link, then look at can (or catinfo.org chart) for the calories in the food. I feed my cat 2-3 varieties of canned (some raw) a day in 3 feedings so I need to track the calories in each feeding as some 5.5 oz cans are 100 calories, some are 140, some 180, etc. Feeding dry is "easier" but certainly not healthier. It is well worth the extra work when you see how cats really THRIVE on a healthy wet and/or raw diet.