When to stop feeding young cat "as much as they want"?

ghiblithecat · Jan 5, 2016

So Ghibli is around 7.5-8 months now and is still growing. When I first got him he had a ravenous appetite. Now, some days he still has the crazy appetite but some days he is a little more tame in the hunger department. He is starting to fill out more (in a healthy way...so far) and I have heard mixed opinions about when to stop feeding a cat all they want. Some have said 7-8 months and some have said atleast 12 months. The last thing I want is an overweight kitty! He is probably the perfect weight right now, but is still growing.

So my question is, when do I stop feeding him as much as he wants? He is on a 60% raw 40% canned diet.

Here is a picture, he is growing up!:

IMG_6690.JPG

ghiblithecat
Jan 5, 2016

Columbine · Jan 5, 2016

It sounds like he's regulating himself pretty well at the moment. Stick with what you're doing - its obviously working for him.

SUCH a cutie :heart3: :heart2: :heart3:

lisahe · Jan 5, 2016

I agree with Columbine. It sounds like he's pretty self-regulated. It seems like it's easier for cats to self-regulate if they eat wet foods, particularly because they're usually fed in meals, unlike dry food, which is so often free-fed.

Personally, I don't count calories, I just watch the cats: how much they're eating, what their weight is like, etc. That seems to work well since their appetites fluctuate a little, they're still very active at almost three, and they eat foods with such varying calorie contents.

Ghibli is such a beautiful cat!

ghiblithecat · Jan 5, 2016

Thanks guys!

I can definitely tell the days he is having growth spurts and the days he is not: The days he is having growth spurts he sleeps all day and only wakes up to eat a bunch (and is very hungry when he wakes up). The days he isn't having a growth spurt he is so energetic I can barely keep up with him and doesn't really ever fully finish what is on his plate.

I don't count calories either. I'm around him so much that I kinda just do that watching thing. He is also a very active cat so he gets a lot of play time (even if he eats a lot that day!).

I also switched him to a carrageenan free diet, and I feel good about it.

mysticdragon72 · Jan 5, 2016

I'm in the same boat as you with my three young ones. They're around 9-10 months old and some days they eat like crazy and others they barely eat at all. I worry about the smallest one though since she's such a delicate eater and she doesn't eat as much as her brother or sister, she's about 2-3 pounds lighter as well! I'm still feeding them four times a day but it works for us.. they split one 3 oz can in the morning, then they split 2 3oz cans at lunch, then split one 3 oz can at dinner and then split 2 3 oz cans at bedtime. They're still on Fancy Feast but I'm in the process of coming up with a better selection of food... there's just so many that I'm lost LOL.

On a final note I wanted to tell you just how gorgeous I think your precious baby is!

ghiblithecat · Jan 5, 2016

mysticdragon72 said:
I'm in the same boat as you with my three young ones. They're around 9-10 months old and some days they eat like crazy and others they barely eat at all. I worry about the smallest one though since she's such a delicate eater and she doesn't eat as much as her brother or sister, she's about 2-3 pounds lighter as well! I'm still feeding them four times a day but it works for us.. they split one 3 oz can in the morning, then they split 2 3oz cans at lunch, then split one 3 oz can at dinner and then split 2 3 oz cans at bedtime. They're still on Fancy Feast but I'm in the process of coming up with a better selection of food... there's just so many that I'm lost LOL.

On a final note I wanted to tell you just how gorgeous I think your precious baby is!

It's nice to know someone who is currently going through the same struggle! Since I've been on the cat site, I've been doing A LOT of research about food and cat nutrition. I'm no expert, but I could give you my list of favorite foods and tell you their price range

. What I feed now is (Wild calling, Sheba, Nutro natural choice, Pride by instinct, and Weruva). There are others that make their way on to the list but those are the steady ones. All the foods I list are grain free and really good in my opinion in terms of ingredients.

Sheba (very low price like .50 for a 3oz can)

Nutro Natural choice chunky turkey loaf (pretty low like $1 for a 3.3oz can)--> most cats can't stay away from this one and it is very good quality for the price

Wild calling- great Pate and virtually nothing wrong with this food in my opinion (med-low at about $1.50 for a 5.5oz can)

Whole Earth Farms (low at $1.00 for a 5oz can!)

Weruva canned (expensive at $2.00 a can but most cats love it and it could be an occasional thing)

Red Barn chicken stew (low at $1.10 for a 5.5 oz can!)

Hound and Gatos ($1.20 for a 5.5oz can)

There are a lot more... but those are some of my favorites

The nutro natural choice is a serious winner with a lot of cats though, and it is decently priced.

Thank you for the comment on my furrbabe!

ghiblithecat · Jan 5, 2016

@mysticdragon72 , do your cats sleep a lot randomly on some days? I swear some days Ghibli is super playful and spastic and the next day he won't let anything interrupt his sleep (like I could carry him around the whole house and he would still try to sleep in my arms). He has a normal appetite and seems normal on those days other than the sleepiness.

lisahe · Jan 6, 2016

GhibliTheCat said:
@mysticdragon72 , do your cats sleep a lot randomly on some days? I swear some days Ghibli is super playful and spastic and the next day he won't let anything interrupt his sleep (like I could carry him around the whole house and he would still try to sleep in my arms). He has a normal appetite and seems normal on those days other than the sleepiness.

Our cats do this, too! I think part of it is winter: it's been very cold here lately and they just sleep, sleep, sleep with only occasional chase scenes.

And, of course, occasional breaks to eat!

@mysticdragon72, Ghibli's food list is a great place to start. We also feed lots of Nutro Natural Choice and most of the Weruva we feed is from the Cats in the Kitchen line, which is cheaper and meatier (at least in my experience) than Weruva's Truluxe and "classic" (or whatever they call it) lines. Our cats also love Merrick's limited ingredient foods: they're reasonably priced ($1.79, I think, for a large can?) and pretty healthy. We also don't feed carrageenan.

ghiblithecat · Jan 6, 2016

LisaHE said:
Our cats do this, too! I think part of it is winter: it's been very cold here lately and they just sleep, sleep, sleep with only occasional chase scenes.

And, of course, occasional breaks to eat!

@mysticdragon72, Ghibli's food list is a great place to start. We also feed lots of Nutro Natural Choice and most of the Weruva we feed is from the Cats in the Kitchen line, which is cheaper and meatier (at least in my experience) than Weruva's Truluxe and "classic" (or whatever they call it) lines. Our cats also love Merrick's limited ingredient foods: they're reasonably priced ($1.79, I think, for a large can?) and pretty healthy. We also don't feed carrageenan.

Okay, I think it is a winter thing too! I live in Bend Oregon and it pretty much snows all the time in winter.

And oh yes, the Merrick limited ingredient! You were actually my inspiration for going carrageenan free

mysticdragon72 · Jan 6, 2016

GhibliTheCat said:
It's nice to know someone who is currently going through the same struggle! Since I've been on the cat site, I've been doing A LOT of research about food and cat nutrition. I'm no expert, but I could give you my list of favorite foods and tell you their price range . What I feed now is (Wild calling, Sheba, Nutro natural choice, Pride by instinct, and Weruva). There are others that make their way on to the list but those are the steady ones. All the foods I list are grain free and really good in my opinion in terms of ingredients.

Sheba (very low price like .50 for a 3oz can)

Nutro Natural choice chunky turkey loaf (pretty low like $1 for a 3.3oz can)--> most cats can't stay away from this one and it is very good quality for the price

Wild calling- great Pate and virtually nothing wrong with this food in my opinion (med-low at about $1.50 for a 5.5oz can)

Whole Earth Farms (low at $1.00 for a 5oz can!)

Weruva canned (expensive at $2.00 a can but most cats love it and it could be an occasional thing)

Red Barn chicken stew (low at $1.10 for a 5.5 oz can!)

Hound and Gatos ($1.20 for a 5.5oz can)

There are a lot more... but those are some of my favorites The nutro natural choice is a serious winner with a lot of cats though, and it is decently priced.

Thank you for the comment on my furrbabe!

Yes, but with mine it's just one cat that doesn't eat all that much... the other two young ones eat just fine and their weight/size shows it! LOL Annie, my little girl and the sister to the other two young ones, is my delicate/slow eater.... today at lunch she at a few mouthfuls and then just walked away... she's always very active though.

Thanks for the recommendations on brands to try... I just ordered a bunch from a site that you can get single cans from! we shall see...

GhibliTheCat said:
@mysticdragon72 , do your cats sleep a lot randomly on some days? I swear some days Ghibli is super playful and spastic and the next day he won't let anything interrupt his sleep (like I could carry him around the whole house and he would still try to sleep in my arms). He has a normal appetite and seems normal on those days other than the sleepiness.

Hmm... no, not really. Although with three young ones there's usually one that wants to play so the others have to stay awake and tolerate it whether they want to or not LOL

kittyluv387 · Jan 6, 2016

I also recommend nutro naturals in chicken and turkey for carageenan and grain free. Out of the high quality foods its more affordable.

lisahe · Jan 6, 2016

GhibliTheCat said:
Okay, I think it is a winter thing too! I live in Bend Oregon and it pretty much snows all the time in winter.

And oh yes, the Merrick limited ingredient! You were actually my inspiration for going carrageenan free

Oh! My brother lives in Bend! Yes, I hear it gets cold there in the winter!

It's beautiful there.

And carrageenan, yes, I'm glad to avoid that stuff.

When to stop feeding young cat "as much as they want"?

ghiblithecat

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Columbine

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