no idea what to feed my kitty anymore

My cat is 9 1/2 years old..  She is overweight at 12 pounds.  The vet would like her to be 10 pounds.  I have been trying to limit her food, but she seems to be plateauing at 12 pounds.  

In the meantime, she is getting pickier and pickier about what she eats.  She does best with pate style food, so that's what I look for.  Gradually over the past year and change, we've tried canned versions of Wellness, Nature's Instinct, Pride, Spot's Halo, Merrick, and Dave's.  But she's not into any of them.  I got her some Fancy Feast classic food, as I've heard that's the healthier version of that brand and for awhile she was eating that with enthusiasm, but she's grown tired of it. 

I don't typically give her dry food, but I had some Blue Buffalo Grain-Free weight-management chicken on hand and she seems to like that.  But I know dry food isn't the best, even if she has plenty of water.

I just don't know what to do.  It's time for me to re-stock but I'm running out of ideas.  I try not to switch brands too quickly.  She's meowing again because she's hungry.  What are some other options?  I love my kitty and want her to be healthy. I'll give the call a vet tomorrow, but was just wondering if anyone had any advice.  I do warm her canned food up for her a little.

(Oh wait!  She's eating a little Wellness chicken now!  Hooray!)

Many thanks!

Have you tried Weruva or Tiki cat.  They are not pate but shredded chicken but they are lower in calories so may help with some weight loss.     They are good quality foods too.   

You seem to be doing well with your choices of wet foods.   I sometimes think too much variety for a cat can lead them to be picky.  I think I've fallen into that with one of my kitties.   Have you tried Nutro Natural Choice. The adult chunky chicken and adult chunky turkey.   It says chunk on the cans but its pate. Very popular on this forum and my 2 love it. 

Have you read the weight loss tips at Catinfo.org? You don't really want to limit the amount of food, just the amount of calories. It's generally recommended to feed about 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight per day (not per meal). Your 12 pound cat needs about 200 to 250 calories per day to lose the 2 pounds. Reducing calorie intake too much too quickly can result in fatty liver disease.

How much food are you currently feeding and how often?

The canned foods you listed are all suitable. Canned foods generally have less calories than dry foods. There'a chart on Catinfo.org that lists approximate calories per can for a variety of foods. Two 5.5 oz cans spread into a few small meals daily is usually enough for most cats.

A little dry food is ok to feed. Just try to  limit it to a small portion of the diet.

hi, I always keep some cans of a/d critical care food on hand.  The times I need it the vet is closed, so I stock up now.  I give it to my babies when one or two get finicky/upset tummies and it seems to work for me.  Of course nothing beats that fresh open can.  Just a real good cat food that can also be syringed.

Glad to hear she's eating, Gesseppe

Thank you so much, everyone!

I'm sorry - I should clarify.  When I said that I was trying to limit her food, I meant limit her calories.  I've found the catinfo.org link very helpful in the past.  We shoot for 200 calories a day, although sometimes I go under that with wet food that so she can have some treats at bedtime. 

We have tried Weruva and Tiki Cat, but the shredded style upset her tummy.  I tried mashing it up a little, but it still didn't work.

I will take a look at Nutro tomorrow - good to know that the chunky style is actually pate!

Maybe I've having her try too many kinds.  For years she happily ate Wellness chicken or turkey (she has fish only on her birthday and she hates beef).  I used to buy it by the case. But then she just stopped eating it and that's when this whole merry-go-round began. 

Tonight, she ate 1/4 of a 3 oz can of Wellness chicken, which I was trying again.  Gobbled it right up, actually.  Fingers crossed!  Chicken seems to be her #1 favorite. 

Originally Posted by LTS3  

 Two 5.5 oz cans spread into a few small meals daily is usually enough for most cats.

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I would think TWO 5.5 oz cans for one (supposed to be) 10 lb cat would be WAY too much   The manufacturers say that's about how much they should be eating, but if I fed that much to any of mine, they would be blimps!  My 15 lb cat only gets ONE can, plus his freeze dried raw treats, which are limited as well.  (they are treats only)  Of course, as everyone has stated, it's calories, not quantity.

That being said, if she will only mainly eat dry, then try to find a high protein, low carb dry that will fill her up.  Those type of food are very high caloric, so she won't get much of them, but they should make her feel more satiated, if she doesn't end up liking the Nutro.  I have some extremely picky cats myself, and between the three of them, the only brand they will all three eat is the Natures Variety Pride, but it's not pate.  However, you could put it in the blender and make it pate.  I do that sometimes.  I use a personal blender which works much better and just add in a little water to help it along.  You could do that with the Weruva and Tiki also.   Two of my picky's LOVE the Nutro Natural Choice Chunky (don't know why that call it that since it IS mainly pate with just one or two pieces in it) and the other won't even sniff it ).  I've also had some luck with Sheba pate, which I think is actually one step above the Fancy Feast Classics.  

As far as feeding fish, I, personally do feed canned fish food fairly  frequently, just because mine are so picky. I at least may give them a turkey/salmon mix or chicken/tuna mix.   Here is an article on feeding fish:  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/can-i-feed-my-cat-a-fish-based-or-fish-flavored-diet

Thanks very much!

It turns out that my local pet supply store doesn't carry Nutro so I'll look for it the next time I'm at Petco.

I bought her some more Wellness chicken along with a few fish flavors for variety. I also decided to try Merrick duck again.

I just gave her some Wellness salmon and trout and she liked it.

Good to know that you can turn Weruva and Tiki Cat into pate using a blender. I was wondering about that. I have a small food processor that would work for that, I think. I'll definitely give it a try!

cranberry said:

Good to know that you can turn Weruva and Tiki Cat into pate using a blender. I was wondering about that. I have a small food processor that would work for that, I think. I'll definitely give it a try!

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I pureed some Weruva foods for our previous cat: Fowl Ball (from the Cats in the Kitchen line) pureed particularly well. I'd also recommend the Nutro Natural Choice foods -- our cats love them.