our little deedee is currently 11 1/2 months old. she eats a mostly raw diet, with some grain free canned cat food -- no dry cat food.
at about 10 1/2 months old, deedee started gaining weight -- more than a healthy weight. the view, looking at her from above, was of rounded on her sides (think small size bowling ball) and she felt like she had some 'extra padding' on the rest of her body. while not acting lethargic, deedee wasn't running and playing with our punky (also 10 1/2 months old at the time) nearly as much. prior to this, she'd been served 5 meals during each 24 hours of pretty much as much food as she wanted to eat -- being a growing kitten.
note: our jaspurr has acid reflux, so must eat smaller meals more often -- the reason for serving 5 meals during each 24 hours.
so i started cutting back a bit on deedee's food, and have gradually arrived at serving (mid way) between 1/2 and 2/3 cup of mostly raw cat food per day...usually with some freeze dried chicken treat crumbles as topper. my understanding is that 1/3 cup of raw cat food twice per day is within the range of normal amount for an adult cat -- of course, depending on the particular cat's needs.
our deedee has gradually trimmed down -- she didn't have very much weight to lose. she now has some definition to her hips area (as viewed from above), and does not feel like she has that 'extra padding' on the rest of her body. her sides are now (very) slightly rounded. deedee very quickly became much more active during the diet process, and runs and plays and chases with our punky again -- keeps up with punky now.
on the other hand, our punky (at 11 1/2 months old now) is still eating close to 1/2 cup of raw/canned cat food mix per meal, and 5 meals during each 24 hours.
deedee's poop's are normal. her urine output has been higher, likely because i've been adding extra water mixed into her meals (above the water i've always added to all 3 of my cats meals) -- as a way of helping her to feel more full from her meals during her slimming down process. i've returned to adding just the 'standard' amount of water to deedee's meals now.
today i'm going to schedule a vet appointment for our deedee, hoping to schedule for 8/19 -- i have transportation planned for that day (i don't drive, and live in a rural area). i'm wanting to discuss this all with our vet, and check if there might be a medical reason for my girl's weight gain as well as to make sure she's getting the proper amount of food for her (still) young body. but i wanted to check with you, here at TCS, and see what your thoughts might be about this too.
at about 10 1/2 months old, deedee started gaining weight -- more than a healthy weight. the view, looking at her from above, was of rounded on her sides (think small size bowling ball) and she felt like she had some 'extra padding' on the rest of her body. while not acting lethargic, deedee wasn't running and playing with our punky (also 10 1/2 months old at the time) nearly as much. prior to this, she'd been served 5 meals during each 24 hours of pretty much as much food as she wanted to eat -- being a growing kitten.
note: our jaspurr has acid reflux, so must eat smaller meals more often -- the reason for serving 5 meals during each 24 hours.
so i started cutting back a bit on deedee's food, and have gradually arrived at serving (mid way) between 1/2 and 2/3 cup of mostly raw cat food per day...usually with some freeze dried chicken treat crumbles as topper. my understanding is that 1/3 cup of raw cat food twice per day is within the range of normal amount for an adult cat -- of course, depending on the particular cat's needs.
our deedee has gradually trimmed down -- she didn't have very much weight to lose. she now has some definition to her hips area (as viewed from above), and does not feel like she has that 'extra padding' on the rest of her body. her sides are now (very) slightly rounded. deedee very quickly became much more active during the diet process, and runs and plays and chases with our punky again -- keeps up with punky now.
on the other hand, our punky (at 11 1/2 months old now) is still eating close to 1/2 cup of raw/canned cat food mix per meal, and 5 meals during each 24 hours.
deedee's poop's are normal. her urine output has been higher, likely because i've been adding extra water mixed into her meals (above the water i've always added to all 3 of my cats meals) -- as a way of helping her to feel more full from her meals during her slimming down process. i've returned to adding just the 'standard' amount of water to deedee's meals now.
today i'm going to schedule a vet appointment for our deedee, hoping to schedule for 8/19 -- i have transportation planned for that day (i don't drive, and live in a rural area). i'm wanting to discuss this all with our vet, and check if there might be a medical reason for my girl's weight gain as well as to make sure she's getting the proper amount of food for her (still) young body. but i wanted to check with you, here at TCS, and see what your thoughts might be about this too.
