Not enough kcals?

Hello everyone! I brought Iris to the vet about 2 1/2 weeks ago for a ear infection and had to bring her back in this past Saturday to have her ears checked again and they weighed her both times. The first time was 9.8lbs, the second was exactly 10. The vet is telling me I need to sort of have her on a diet, and restricted her to only 180kcals a day. She said her ideal weight is between 8-9 lbs. I never really "counted" her calories every day, but I went by her weight and the serving sizes on the bag of food she eats. Right now she eats 1.5oz of wet food every morning (different flavors but they are usually around 50kcal). The dry food is Blue Indoor Health, and comes out to 379kcal per cup so I give her 1/3c which I think equals out to about 125kcal. So with the dry and wet together it's 50+125=175 and with a few treats equals out to her recommended 180. The only difference between now and before I went to the vet, is she ate a tad bit more dry food. But would that really make her gain weight like that? She is about 10 months old now.

It just seems to me like 180 is a little low, or is that just me? I'm new to the whole calorie counting thing so I'd love any opinions!   

ok... here my few cents worth: if she doesn't have any issues, I wouldn't worry. Generally (and please forgive me if I'm biased) cats do get fat munching on dry food. But my neighbor's cat got to be 22 years old eating the worst kind of kibble you could possibly buy, whereas the Rogue, fed by a hyper educated foodie (me), died of heart issues before his third birthday. So my opinion is either you let her eat happily whatever she wants, or you get concerned and educate yourself about cat nutrition and teeth issues and spend a fortune on it, and she might loose weight and play more but be just as happy.

I would not, absolutely not, start counting calories. 

But playing with her can't hurt so she gets tons of exercise. Kind of what you do to a human that looks a bit chubby (and if you're really concerned, maybe start feeding quality canned food which would equal giving the chubby human a meal with fish& veggies instead of fast food).

roguethecat said:

 
ok... here my few cents worth: if she doesn't have any issues, I wouldn't worry. Generally (and please forgive me if I'm biased) cats do get fat munching on dry food. But my neighbor's cat got to be 22 years old eating the worst kind of kibble you could possibly buy, whereas the Rogue, fed by a hyper educated foodie (me), died of heart issues before his third birthday. So my opinion is either you let her eat happily whatever she wants, or you get concerned and educate yourself about cat nutrition and teeth issues and spend a fortune on it, and she might loose weight and play more but be just as happy.

I would not, absolutely not, start counting calories. 

But playing with her can't hurt so she gets tons of exercise. Kind of what you do to a human that looks a bit chubby (and if you're really concerned, maybe start feeding quality canned food which would equal giving the chubby human a meal with fish& veggies instead of fast food).

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Thanks! To me she doesnt look overweight. She got spayed a few months ago and before that she was like a toothpick, but now her belly just pokes out a little bit but not what I would think is slightly overweight like what the vet said. I try to play with her in the morning before work and for a while before bed, I just bought dabird and she runs around like crazy after it!

For reference, my vet gave me a calorie goal of 230 kcals/day for my large male cat. Of course, a smaller female would require significantly less than that. 180 sounds on the lower end of normal to me. 20-25 calories per lb. of their goal weight is what I think the rule of thumb is. So if your vet would like to see her at 9lbs, 180 sounds right on track. 

The general rule of thumb is 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily. Use this as a guideline and adjust to your cat Some cats may need more calories than others depending on age, activity level, breed, gender, etc. A 9 lb cat needs around 180 to 225 calories daily. 180 is a good starting point for your cat. If your cat doesn't seem satisfied and keeps meowing for food, increase the calories a little bit. A calorie restricted diet is a bit much, IMO. Many vets don't really know much about nutrition in general.

Make sure your cat gets plenty of excericse daily.

I'm sure you'll get a full range of comments on this thread @Teejay89! Pick what you think will work for you and Iris, then take things from there. Lots of things can work so it's a matter of finding what fits.

Since Iris is so young, still a kitten, my FWIW contribution would be to putting her on wet food only or mostly wet food: I totally agree with @roguethecat about the connection between dry food and weight gain. It's the carby fillers that mess things up. And yes, the extra dry food could explain her weight gain. Easily! (Been there, done that with our previous cat!)

General advice is to feed kittens as much as they'll eat so 180 calories sounds low to me, too, considering Iris's age and likely activity. That said, some cats slow down a little in the summer, in warm weather -- might that be a factor, too? I wonder how Iris might do if you were to feed her only high-protein, low-carb foods. That's what our vet (not the one that treated our previous cat!) suggests to clients with overweight cats: she recommends that for kittens and young cats anyway, since they're growing and need plenty of protein for healthy growth instead of fatty growth. Lots of cats end up feeling more satiated on wet food, too, because of the protein and water, which means they get more mileage from their calories.

I know a lot of people count calories and weigh their cats regularly but I agree with roguethecat about not counting calories. I do much better just watching the cats to see how their bodies look and how much they ask for food. It makes me crazy enough to feed them the right amounts of the right foods at the right times, so I'd totally lose my mind if I had to count calories, too!

No matter what you choose, good luck!

Thank you all for the great input!