There are no absolute rules in cat feeding and weight

This might be a little long and is a bit of a vent.

For the first four years of their lives, my cats were fed all dry. By 4 years old they were 21lbs and 17lbs. I moved them to canned only to increase water intake and help them to lose weight. I started a bit higher but eventually moved them down to one 180 cal can each per day because they weren't at their "ideal weight" yet. 

Here we are a bit over 2 years later and Simba is 11.6lbs and Pumpkin is 13lbs. The vet didn't mention anything about their weights at the last appointment. Now, Simba's "ideal weight" is supposed to be between 11-12lbs. Well, recently he's been chewing on plastic a lot so I posted in the behavior forum and was told I was not feeding them enough. Simba has always cried for food but I thought he was just food obsessed because people just said "cat's do that". I looked at a weight graphic chart last night and Simba is clearly "underweight". But I thought his "ideal weight" was 11-12lbs? Something's not right here.

So I'm feeding 1.5 cans each until the small bag of dry food comes in, then I'll be feeding 1.25 cans and 1.5 tbsp of dry. This will add 60-80 more calories per day. It's been two days of 1.5 cans and they are already clearly feeling much better. Simba is so well behaved now.

I feel like the worse cat mom on the planet for not seeing that something was wrong sooner. My babies will be 7 in November and they have never had a good diet until now. Definitely makes you feel like a failure.

My point here is, you can't take what everyone says as absolutely fact in regards to nutrition and feeding and weight. You need to pay attention to your cat's behavior and their body composition. I don't even trust ideal weights anymore, I'm just going to pay attention to my cats and their bodies and do what I feel is right by that. 

How big are the cans? Mine split a 5.5 oz can in am and again in pm. They get freeze dried chicken treats and a teaspoon of high grade kibble as a snack.

They are 5.5oz also, but Simba is definitely bonier than he should be

xcourtney3 said:

I'm just going to pay attention to my cats and their bodies and do what I feel is right by that. 

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This is the best way to go, I believe. No one can say what an "ideal" weight, or amount of food, will be for a particular cat - even vets can only make an educated guess. We just have to watch our cats to see if they are happy and healthy, and try our best to give them what they need, since they can't tell us in words how they feel. 

xcourtney3 said:

 
My point here is, you can't take what everyone says as absolutely fact in regards to nutrition and feeding and weight. You need to pay attention to your cat's behavior and their body composition. I don't even trust ideal weights anymore, I'm just going to pay attention to my cats and their bodies and do what I feel is right by that. 

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I agree. I don't count calories or weigh our cats: I find it far easier (less math and less nerve-racking) and more effective to watch the cats, observe their behavior, and see how their bodies look. That's led to lots of realizations about how best to feed them, in terms of what foods and how much, number of feedings per day, and even how I plate (ha!) one cat's food. I knew their new food rotation, which is even lower in carbs than it had been, and new feeding schedule was working but was very happy when the vet commented on how good they looked at their annual exam last week.

Lisa, you're as sharp as a blade.

It seems to me that a big part of being a great cat parent is that one must use common sense and make a lot of observations.  I don't count calories either.  I watch my baby's appetite and keep track of her activity level.  And I try to feed her affordable commercial food that  has a reputation for quality, with some home made stuff thrown in from time to time.

TheGreyStalker said:

 
Lisa, you're as sharp as a blade.

It seems to me that a big part of being a great cat parent is that one must use common sense and make a lot of observations.  I don't count calories either.  I watch my baby's appetite and keep track of her activity level.  And I try to feed her affordable commercial food that  has a reputation for quality, with some home made stuff thrown in from time to time.

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You are very kind, TheGreyStalker! In our case, our cats are Siamese mixes and they're prone to all sorts of digestive issues: our vet told us this at their post-adoption appointment and the cats have proven her right! This makes it all the more important to keep an eye on them but I think that's important for anyone with a cat because I realize, based on our experiences with our previous cat's health, that if we had been more observant about her eating habits and weight we might have recognized her health problems earlier. And, to get back to the OP's point, a vet's standard response about things like what a cat should weigh isn't always the best authority -- they're all individual. That's something I love about our vet: she's very holistic about our cats, who are littermates but have totally different shapes and habits that she doesn't compare. She's also big on common sense!