I'm so confused now with feeding my cats and heartbroken because I finally got the information to find out exactly how many calories I've been feeding them and I'm far below what they should be getting.
On a personal level, I'm dealing with a chronic medical condition that makes it hard to think and figure things out and so I'm on the verge of crying because I cannot figure out a good, healthy strategy that works for them and me.
Here's how it came about. I got a Ragdoll kitten, and fed him Wellness kitten food and free fed him Ideal Balance dry. He did fine, gained weight normally. I introduced a sister when he was 6 months and she was 4 months, but she could not eat Wellness without throwing up. In the end, although not a kitten food, the only thing she liked was MaxCat, which they both ate. I continued with the free feeding.
About two months ago (11 months/9 months), I noticed that even for a Ragdoll he was getting fat. So I did a little math, averaged what the typical 5.5 oz can of wet food had, and stopped free feeding. I wound up doing the equivalent of 1 can a cat a day each (two feedings of 1/2 can), never went back to check my math.
Bless their hearts, they are so tolerant and don't bug me to feed them continuously, but are insistent at their feeding times. The Ragdoll lost enough weight to take him to a good weight and has seemed stable there, she continued to gain weight slowly, so I though all was good. But today I finally found out the calorie counts and nearly freaked….
The two foods I've settle on (for cost and "quality") are:
Trader Joes (Turkey/Giblets) - 180 calories a can
By Nature Rabbit Stew - 137 calories a can (just learned this)
So, on average they've been getting around 160 calories a day - no wonder they've been sleeping a lot more and playing less!
He weighs 13 lbs 4 oz, she weighs 9 lbs 8 oz.
Even though I'm opposed to dry food, and I think it was responsible for his being overweight, I'm probably going to have to try it again, maybe free feeding.
The math is just too hard (with the mental brain fog from the medical condition) - If I do 3 cans it is two much, 2 cans too little, and they are not fond of refrigerated left overs.
Sorry, just emotional because I didn't realize how low the calories were … but my intuition told me something wasn't right so I actually have been throwing in a late night "snack" meal of approximately 1/4 cup of a high quality dry food (where the serving for a 10-13 lb cat would be 3/4 cup) every night for the last 3 weeks (shortly after I noticed that he looked like he had lost too much weight).
Another factor is he gulps his food down, she walks away after eating half, and, if he hasn't eaten what is left of hers, she comes back 30 minutes later.
I need an EASY to implement solution that honors their needs and my current disability. So - unless someone has a better idea… I think I will continue with 1 to 2 cans of Trader Joes (cost saving), substitute 1 can of By Nature every other day AND put out that 1/4 cup of dry food near bedtime. By my crude estimation, that works out to about 230 calories a cat (I could leave out a little more).
She used to be crazy active, but has quieted down of late, and while he is mellow Ragdoll, he has actually become more playful of late. So activity level is medium low right now.
Okay, sorry for going all around, but does this sound like a good plan? I'm feeling so sad and guilty for underfeeding them for about a month for sure, and maybe longer. Currently he is 14 months, she is 12 months of age.
On a personal level, I'm dealing with a chronic medical condition that makes it hard to think and figure things out and so I'm on the verge of crying because I cannot figure out a good, healthy strategy that works for them and me.
Here's how it came about. I got a Ragdoll kitten, and fed him Wellness kitten food and free fed him Ideal Balance dry. He did fine, gained weight normally. I introduced a sister when he was 6 months and she was 4 months, but she could not eat Wellness without throwing up. In the end, although not a kitten food, the only thing she liked was MaxCat, which they both ate. I continued with the free feeding.
About two months ago (11 months/9 months), I noticed that even for a Ragdoll he was getting fat. So I did a little math, averaged what the typical 5.5 oz can of wet food had, and stopped free feeding. I wound up doing the equivalent of 1 can a cat a day each (two feedings of 1/2 can), never went back to check my math.
Bless their hearts, they are so tolerant and don't bug me to feed them continuously, but are insistent at their feeding times. The Ragdoll lost enough weight to take him to a good weight and has seemed stable there, she continued to gain weight slowly, so I though all was good. But today I finally found out the calorie counts and nearly freaked….
The two foods I've settle on (for cost and "quality") are:
Trader Joes (Turkey/Giblets) - 180 calories a can
By Nature Rabbit Stew - 137 calories a can (just learned this)
So, on average they've been getting around 160 calories a day - no wonder they've been sleeping a lot more and playing less!
He weighs 13 lbs 4 oz, she weighs 9 lbs 8 oz.
Even though I'm opposed to dry food, and I think it was responsible for his being overweight, I'm probably going to have to try it again, maybe free feeding.
The math is just too hard (with the mental brain fog from the medical condition) - If I do 3 cans it is two much, 2 cans too little, and they are not fond of refrigerated left overs.
Sorry, just emotional because I didn't realize how low the calories were … but my intuition told me something wasn't right so I actually have been throwing in a late night "snack" meal of approximately 1/4 cup of a high quality dry food (where the serving for a 10-13 lb cat would be 3/4 cup) every night for the last 3 weeks (shortly after I noticed that he looked like he had lost too much weight).
Another factor is he gulps his food down, she walks away after eating half, and, if he hasn't eaten what is left of hers, she comes back 30 minutes later.
I need an EASY to implement solution that honors their needs and my current disability. So - unless someone has a better idea… I think I will continue with 1 to 2 cans of Trader Joes (cost saving), substitute 1 can of By Nature every other day AND put out that 1/4 cup of dry food near bedtime. By my crude estimation, that works out to about 230 calories a cat (I could leave out a little more).
She used to be crazy active, but has quieted down of late, and while he is mellow Ragdoll, he has actually become more playful of late. So activity level is medium low right now.
Okay, sorry for going all around, but does this sound like a good plan? I'm feeling so sad and guilty for underfeeding them for about a month for sure, and maybe longer. Currently he is 14 months, she is 12 months of age.