Any suggestions for curbing appetite?

jb68711

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Hi everyone, I've been having problems with my cat Levi and overeating. I just switched him completely from dry to wet, which is great because he was picky when I first started trying about a month ago.
I just weighed him and he weighs approximately 16 pounds. He just seems to be hungry all the time. When I feed him he chows everything in a minute.
I'm feeding him two 3oz cans a day, but I'm splitting his feeding time in half. So I'll feed him half a can in the morning, the other half at about noon. Half a can in the evening, and the other half around midnight (Right before I go to bed). I wish I could feed him just the whole can twice a day.
I know the best thing would probably be to take him to the vet to get checked out, but he just had an emergency stay at the vet hospital a month ago for urinary crystals and I'm still paying that off. Any suggestions are appreciated. I'm feeding him Purina one (I buy cans that are formulated for urinary tract health and bought some "healthy metabolism" ones as well)
 

Columbine

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It might help him if you slow his eating speed down by using a slow feeder bowl. Other ways are to use a paté style food and spread it very thinly on a plate so he has to lick rather than gulp, or to take a small bowl and place it upside down in a bigger one, so he has to eat around the bowl. Hope that makes sense.

I'm not sure why he'd be hungry all the time
As you say, a vet check would be a great idea. Something you could try in the meantime is see whether he does any better on high meat, grain free, low carb food. He might find that much more satisfying - cats aren't really designed to eat grain.

Hydration is the other big one. You could add water to his wet food to keep fluid intake up. Flavoured water might be worth trying too, and would have the added advantage of giving him a little extra yummy distraction. This article has more ideas http://www.thecatsite.com/a/tips-to-increase-your-cat-s-water-intake
 

grrr cat

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Did the vet say he is over or under weight?

What score would you give him?


According to the Purine one website you should be feeding 1 can to every 3 1/3 pounds of body weight for their normal range.  The Health Metabolism feeding guideis 1 to 1-1/4 oz per pound of body weight. Sorry i couldn't locate the feeding instructions for the urinary tract health.

Look at this thread to calculate the average calories your cat needs

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/248873/caloric-needs-calculator-for-cats

Cat info said that the average calories for Punia one normal cat food is.


My cat is on a diet after she began over eating  when i finally found a dry food she likes.  The vet said i should aim to for her to loose a kilo of weight in a year. I am feeding her about 250 calories now which consists of 3 x 3 oz wet and a tablespoon of her dry a day. She doesn't normally beg for food, so i know she is really hungry when she does beg. So, i give her a teaspoon of extra wet food.

Some vets are happy for the vet techs to give feeding advice over the phone. Give your vet a call and see.
 
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