Unintentionally "starving" cats - need help figuring out / confirming calorie strategy

nbrazil

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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.
 

andrya

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First of all l would say relax and don't feel bad, you've done them no harm in reducing their caloric intake since they're both a healthy weight. Especially since you cut out the more empty calories and stuck with the more nutritious wet food. lt would be like me cutting down my calories by 200 per day by not eating a slice of bread. Sure, l'm running lower on calories than l'm "supposed to" have, but that piece of bread isn't something l'm going to keel over from missing. So don't fret, your kitties are very healthy 


l think a large part of the activity level could be due to their age. My youngest became an inert blob at around 11 months old, in spite of the fact that he's a naturally cobby breed but he's a svelte 9 1/2 lbs.

Since you asked for suggestions, and since l'm a huge fan of canned foods, why not buy them the odd can of something like Fancy Feast pate that comes in a 3oz can. Maybe every other day you could split one between them before bed. Or every day if they seem truly hungry. You could also give them a couple of morsels of raw or cooked meat from your own meals as a treat. As long as it constitutes less than 15% of their nutritional intake it doesn't need to be a balanced meal, just a little extra treat once in a while.
 

denice

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The rule of thumb for safe weight loss is 15 calories per pound of their ideal weight per day.  Going any lower than that can cause issues with their liver.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I think the real question here is....what SHOULD they weigh?  Their current weights sound good to me, but I have no idea what they should weigh.  I believe Ragdolls are typically a little larger breed, aren't they?  So 13+ lbs is about right for him?  Is she a Ragdoll also?  If not, is she just about the right size?  

I've got a 9 pounder who eats about 150 calories per day, and he's pretty active!  I, personally, don't think you need to feed them BOTH, the same amount...otherwise your little girl is going to become a BIG girl
.  And I like Andrya's idea of perhaps adding in another 3 oz can of Fancy Feast CLASSIC's once in awhile to satisfy your boy.  As far is refrigerated leftovers, what I do is just take the leftovers out of the fridge about 45 minutes before meal time and let them come to room temp.  Then they gobble them up
 
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nbrazil

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Yeah, I actually think their weights are about perfect for their sizes... I was just stunned when I realized that she was probably eating maybe 150 calories and he about 200 - and losing weight. I always figured she had a high metabolism because she was so spunky, but seems I'm wrong.

And because he eats a lot of her food when she walks away the first time, it isn't 50/50. So... guess I'll just keep monitoring their weights, and throw in some late night dry or a can of Fussy Cat (that's another brand they both like), which is only the 3 oz can.

What I was going for was about 200 calories a day for her, and 250 for him (size difference)... I was shocked when as 50/50 it was only 160.

Feeling a bit better now... this stupid medical issue can sometime make emotions liable. I'm a guy who is okay with expressing emotion, but sudden crying jags over my furbabies because I thought I was starving them sure got me today.

The Avatar shows them about three months ago.

Oh... and what I'm basing the weight issue is I hear one should be able to easily feel the spine. Yes, Ragdolls run big and muscular, but three months ago I couldn't feel his spine. He lost 10 oz in 6 weeks (yes, I know, too fast - but I really didn't notice it until that 6th week and that's about when I started adding in late night snacks), which is why this hit me so hard today. 

Anyway, their weights are pretty stable now I think (getting them to be still on a baby scale is a trick in itself). I was only weighing them monthly.

Thanks MrsGreenJeans - hearing that an active 9 lb cat can make do with 150 calories goes a long way to making me feel better. 
 
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