My kitty is getting fat! Help!

dadofjessie

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Hi all! I just adopted an abandoned 7 month old kitten and I feed her Blackhawk dry food in the morning and home made 100% mince kangaroo meat for dinner. Also I spoil her by giving her a small amount of cat milk every second day.

When I adopted her she was very boney so I gave her a bit extra to fatten her up a bit, only trouble is she's gotten used to big feeds.

Now she's getting a tad podgy but if I don't give her the amount of food she needs to fill 'full' she constantly meows at me until I finally give in and feed her more.

I feel so bad giving her small portion sizes and feel like she's going hungry!

She's an absolute guts when it comes to food but what do I do? I can't just give her small portions and have her meow the house down. I feel cruel!

Also this is my first post so I hope I've done it right, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Any more information needed just ask. Her name is Jessie.
Thanks in advance, Adam
 

Columbine

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Hi, and welcome to TCS :wavey:

Cats often struggle to feel full on kibble. Wet food is a much better option for big appetites as the portion size is so much bigger.

You say you're giving homemade mince for dinner. Is this literally just plain meat, or are you using a recipie to make balanced and complete homemade food? If it's just plain meat, nutritional deficiencies could go some way to explaining Jessie's big appetite. Cats will often be extra hungry if they're not getting everything they need in their food.

Cut out the cat milk - she really doesn't need it. If you want a yummy 'treat' drink for her, something like chicken water (simply water you've poached plain unseasoned chicken in) is usually a huge hit, and has the added advantage of not adding empty calories ;)

You might also find that interactive feeders (like treat balls or mazes) slow down her eating, helping her to better register when she's full.
 
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dadofjessie

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Hi and thanks for the reply! The kangaroo mince is just minced kangaroo with the blood still in it so it gives it a gravey texture. 100% kangaroo so no, nothing else in it.
I would have thought that the blackhawk dry food in the morning would be great in giving her the vitamins she needs? It's got plenty of meat, rice, vitamins and no fillers or bad stuff. Am I wrong?
 

Columbine

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There's nothing wrong with a good quality dry food in principle (I use dry food as part of my cats' diet, as do many other members), but some cats really struggle with feeling full on kibble. When you couple this with the evening meal being totally unbalanced - not to mention the fact that she still has a bit of growing to do - you can quickly run into problems.

The first thing to do is changing her evening meal to something properly balanced. By all means, go with raw feeding if you want to, but make sure you follow a balanced recipie. There are lots of recipes in the [thread="272287"]​[/thread] to get you started.

You might find these articles helpful too[article="29707"][/article][article="31089"][/article][article="31801"][/article][article="31127"][/article][article="0"][/article]
 

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Hi and thanks for the reply! The kangaroo mince is just minced kangaroo with the blood still in it so it gives it a gravey texture. 100% kangaroo so no, nothing else in it.
I would have thought that the blackhawk dry food in the morning would be great in giving her the vitamins she needs? It's got plenty of meat, rice, vitamins and no fillers or bad stuff. Am I wrong?
The Blackhawk dry food is a complete balanced diet but the if the raw kangaroo is also part of the main diet, it also needs to be complete and balanced. The general rule is 10% of the diet can be unsupplemented (basically treats) and anything more has to be supplemented to prevent any nutritonal deficiencies from an ubalanced diet.

Please see the Raw and Home Cooked forum for help on how to properly supplement the kangaroo: http://www.thecatsite.com/f/65/raw-amp-home-cooked-cat-food There are various ways to do this.

Are you feeding the grain-free Blackhawk dry food? Cats have no use for grains such as rice in their diet.
 

LotsOfFur

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At 7 months she is still growing so I would hesitate restricting her too much. Could you replace the dry kibble (or some of it) with a complete canned food? BTW what a lucky kitty to be getting the mince ;)

I have one cat that was quite overweight on kibble but has slimmed down eating all canned food with out having to worry about exact amounts or restricting ( if she wants a snack she gets it but it's all canned or freeze dried raw).

Maybe a silly question but could your kitty possibly be pregnant? I personally haven't seen such a young overweight cat but that doesn't mean it can't happen.
 
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dadofjessie

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The Blackhawk dry food is a complete balanced diet but the if the raw kangaroo is also part of the main diet, it also needs to be complete and balanced. The general rule is 10% of the diet can be unsupplemented (basically treats) and anything more has to be supplemented to prevent any nutritonal deficiencies from an ubalanced diet.

Please see the Raw and Home Cooked forum for help on how to properly supplement the kangaroo: http://www.thecatsite.com/f/65/raw-amp-home-cooked-cat-food There are various ways to do this.

Are you feeding the grain-free Blackhawk dry food? Cats have no use for grains such as rice in their diet.
Yup it's grain free Blackhawk
 
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dadofjessie

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At 7 months she is still growing so I would hesitate restricting her too much. Could you replace the dry kibble (or some of it) with a complete canned food? BTW what a lucky kitty to be getting the mince ;)

I have one cat that was quite overweight on kibble but has slimmed down eating all canned food with out having to worry about exact amounts or restricting ( if she wants a snack she gets it but it's all canned or freeze dried raw).

Maybe a silly question but could your kitty possibly be pregnant? I personally haven't seen such a young overweight cat but that doesn't mean it can't happen.
At 7 months she is still growing so I would hesitate restricting her too much. Could you replace the dry kibble (or some of it) with a complete canned food? BTW what a lucky kitty to be getting the mince ;)

I have one cat that was quite overweight on kibble but has slimmed down eating all canned food with out having to worry about exact amounts or restricting ( if she wants a snack she gets it but it's all canned or freeze dried raw).

Maybe a silly question but could your kitty possibly be pregnant? I personally haven't seen such a young overweight cat but that doesn't mean it can't happen.
She's so spoilt, she purrs while eating kangaroo! As for being pregnant, you wouldn't believe it but she had a litter of 5 kitten's at the age of five months! After she had the litter she was scrawny so hence I fed her bigger portions hence the problem I'm faced with now. I wouldn't say she is overweight just yet but at the rate she is eating she'll be there in no time. Her nipple have finally dried up in the past week too. No more milk lactation,sorry I should have mentioned all that originally
 

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Hi.

Wow, that sounds like the orphaned kitten we adopted about 5 years ago.  He was an orphan, so tiny, so we fed him as much as he wanted.  At the time we were feeding dry food, I'm not sure it was grain free, we didn't know better then, and some canned.

He purred and purred the whole time he ate.  He had been bottle fed by the orphaned kitten group we adopted him from.

Fast forward, he's now 20 pounds!  At least 6 pounds overweight.  
    About two years ago we transitioned him and the other two older cats to all grain-free canned food with a little bit of grain free dry. 

He still purrs constantly while eating.  He begs for food a lot.

It's hard to ignore his pitiful cries!   
  And getting underfoot.  We wonder if his being orphaned might have something to do with his drive to eat as much as possible.  Who knows.  I admit, I would give in and give him a little more. 

But now I'm getting seriously strict on his furry ass. Tough love!  I'm transitioning him to a raw diet in the hopes that more protein and as few carbs as possible will help him feel satisfied and be able to lose some weight. I don't want to deal with kitty diabetes down the road. 

How often do you feed your kitty?  Two or three meals a day, at about the same times each day, would be good.  Or dole out small amounts throughout the day as she asks, but when she has eaten her daily allotment, that's it.  Sorry Jessie!

I'm learning that Zeke, my sausage boy, seems to act seriously hungry in the evening, so I'm really trying to hold back more of his food until then. 

When she asks for food, consider brushing her or trying to get her to play instead. 

The labels on most pet foods will lead you to way overfeed.  Hey, that's how they make their money! 

Find out from your vet how many calories your kitty needs each day.

So, she had a litter just a couple months ago!  At 5 months old, wow! Are the kittens still around?  Maybe they're eating some of her food?

Has she been spayed yet?

It's great that you're paying attention to her weight and diet now, instead of later. 

Good luck!
 
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dadofjessie

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Hi.

Wow, that sounds like the orphaned kitten we adopted about 5 years ago.  He was an orphan, so tiny, so we fed him as much as he wanted.  At the time we were feeding dry food, I'm not sure it was grain free, we didn't know better then, and some canned.

He purred and purred the whole time he ate.  He had been bottle fed by the orphaned kitten group we adopted him from.

Fast forward, he's now 20 pounds!  At least 6 pounds overweight.  :doh3:     About two years ago we transitioned him and the other two older cats to all grain-free canned food with a little bit of grain free dry. 
He still purrs constantly while eating.  He begs for food a lot.

It's hard to ignore his pitiful cries!   :please:   And getting underfoot.  We wonder if his being orphaned might have something to do with his drive to eat as much as possible.  Who knows.  I admit, I would give in and give him a little more. 

But now I'm getting seriously strict on his furry ass. Tough love!  I'm transitioning him to a raw diet in the hopes that more protein and as few carbs as possible will help him feel satisfied and be able to lose some weight. I don't want to deal with kitty diabetes down the road. 

How often do you feed your kitty?  Two or three meals a day, at about the same times each day, would be good.  Or dole out small amounts throughout the day as she asks, but when she has eaten her daily allotment, that's it.  Sorry Jessie!
I'm learning that Zeke, my sausage boy, seems to act seriously hungry in the evening, so I'm really trying to hold back more of his food until then. 

When she asks for food, consider brushing her or trying to get her to play instead. 

The labels on most pet foods will lead you to way overfeed.  Hey, that's how they make their money! 
Find out from your vet how many calories your kitty needs each day.

So, she had a litter just a couple months ago!  At 5 months old, wow! Are the kittens still around?  Maybe they're eating some of her food?
Has she been spayed yet?

It's great that you're paying attention to her weight and diet now, instead of later. 

Good luck!:wavey:
Thanks for all that! Was a great read! I know the feeling all to well when it comes to them meowing and getting under your feet in the kitchen because there just so hungry!! I always give in and say "ok ok, 50 grams more kangaroo mince and that's it!" usually stops her begging for food. I feed her twice a day, blackhawk grain free in the morning kangaroo mince in the arvo. But it's never enough so she gets a third meal in everyday because I give in! I've stopped the cat milk for now as I see that as just more calories, thanks for all your help and advice, I'll find out how much weight she should be from the vet asap,and also get further advice
Thanks and good luck with your own overweight kitty!
 
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