How do I feed my cat?

Hello!

A couple of weeks ago, I adopted a stray that has been living off my porch for a few months and named him Oscar. He's a ginger DMH and was very skinny when I brought him in! After several baths (and a professional grooming later when I couldn't get the mud out of his paws and tail), he's actually skinnier than I thought. I've been feeding him twice daily on a purely wet food diet since he has two broken incisors.

I usually feed him Friskees (the 5.5oz cans. Yes, all of it) twice a day, but recently since it's gotten more cold, he's been pestering me for more. He gets rather aggressive when hungry. Now, the waiting time between meals is 4 hours, though I try to switch it up some by giving him one 5.5oz can in the morning, one 5.5oz can at night and 2 servings of 3oz Fancy Feasts in between those two. That's in addition to the various snacks and treats I give him throughout the day. (The brands for the treats are Blue Buffalo and Natural Balance, of the soft/semi moist variety).

I worry about over feeding him and that leading to obesity, especially since he isn't very active and prefers to just lay down and sleep. Even with catnip and toys, he just lays there, refusing to lift a paw. I'll be making another thread about his behavior in the right board.

He weighs in about 8lbs (3.62kg). When we took him in for his shots, the vet said he had FIV and is 10+ years old.

Does anyone have any tips on how often (and how much) I should feed Oscar?

Hi @RionKatt  Welcome to The Cat Site.

Thank you for rescuing this boy, he looks so sweet.

As he is underweight I think you should feed him as much as he'll eat right now. You can always cut down on his food once he has reached a healthy weight. Does he eat all of the canned food every time you feed him? if you don't want to leave wet food down you could always leave a bowl of dry for him to snack on. Make sure he has plenty of water too.

I have a senior FIV+ cat too. (He's my avatar cat.) He manages to eat the dry food even though he has lost most of his teeth, I just have to be careful not to give him too much at once as he scoffs the lot then throws up. FIV+ cats often suffer from gum disease which makes them lose teeth.

Has Oscar been wormed? 

As he is older and under weight it's natural that he hasn't got a lot of energy, he should be more playful when he gets healthier. Most of the cats I've rescued spend a few weeks eating and sleeping before they start exploring or playing more.

Keep us posted.

I agree with the person above Feed him the amounts you are currently feeding him, and later when he is a normal weight you can cut down the portions. And yes leaving some dry food out is also a good idea as mentioned above so at nighttime if he wakes up, he has something to munch on (which my cat always does)

Thank you for rescuing him!! I too brought in an outdoor cat recently and she was very underweight when we first discovered her. Now she's at a healthy weight so I'm actually having to scale back her food so she doesn't get overweight!

It's hard to say how much to feed him without knowing his body size (bone structure, etc.) For example, my male cat is on the larger side, so the vet has told me for his body size 13-14 lbs is a healthy weight for him. My female cat on the other hand (the former feral) is tiny! So for her, 8 lbs is the max weight according to my vet. My most recent foster cat was male, but had a smaller body than my male cat so 8-9 lbs is healthy. See what I mean?  

I suggest you call your vet and ask their opinion. Since he's already been seen, they should be able to tell you over the phone. I like this page as another resource. Lots of good info!

 http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity#How_Much_Do_I_Feed

Sorry it's taken so long to get back to you guys. It's been crazy busy lately.

From what my neighbors tell me, he was apparently abandoned by former neighbors who got kicked out about 6 months ago. He's been an indoor kitty before. He knows how to use the litter box, so that's one thing.

The vet says that he's likely to be around 13 years old, but with his teeth all broken, it's hard to tell.

We did a blood lab on him with our last vet visit (got another one today) and it turns out his glucose levels are 500/120. Our vet is gonna teach me how to give him insulin shots.

He's thankfully negative on FLv, so that's good. There is a small risk of kidney failure, though. He has a bump right where his kidney should be. It's very hard.

We're doing all we can to keep him healthy.

Bless you for taking Oscar in, he is a very lucky boy!! What a beautiful story, I am happy he has a home now. How heartbreaking of him to be left behind like that. 

Wet food is best if he is diabetic. Also if he has worms he will eat a lot. Has he been checked? My little outside feral girl eats two 5.5 oz Friskies cans every day. It is 35 degrees out, I figure she needs it. She is very small.

I did want to ask if he's been neutered? Since he was an indoor cat before, I'm guessing so? I just wanted to double check because unfixed male cats spray, and it's an awful smell. 

And yep, just give him unlimited calories until he's up to a good weight. He'll calm down once he realizes that every meal is not his "last" meal. Good luck! 

He's not neutered, and we can't do the surgery until we have his glucose levels down. It was 500/120 last we checked. Next glucose curve is in two weeks.

My vet told me to feed him twice a day (I use Nature's Recipe Grain Free that's like 66cal @ 2.75oz a pop. The vet looked it over and has approved of it.) at set times before giving him his insulin. I'm doing 6am and 6pm. He's quite upset by this sudden change from his "fed every 4 hours" deal.

I figure he's just being a grumpy old man about it. It's for the best.

A good place to learn more about caring for your diabetic cat is FelineDiabetes.com There's a message board there that is really helpful. Diabetic cats should be fed small meals daily to keep the blood glucose levels stable. You can test your cat's blood glucose levels at home. It's more accurate (and less expensive) than having the vet do it. Many cats get so stressed out at the vet's office that their blood glucose levels skyrocket. A Human diabetic blood glucose meter and matching test strips and a lancet is all you need. The FDMB board can go into the details on how to test your cat's blood glucose level and how often.

Bless you for giving him a safe, warm and loving home 

Please give my newest thread a read.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/312609/oscar-is-really-really-sick