Kitty Diet

My Shinobi was a stray when I got her and she's less than a year old. I have been feeding her pretty liberally because I didn't want to malnourish her. The vet says that she needs to go on a diet (she has a belly now) So I started feeding her a diet cat food in November (I think its purina one, in the green bag?). I try to feed her about a half cup per day but she's driving me CRAZY with the constant begging. I've tried feeding her half in the morning and half at night, but that only makes it worse. If there isn't food in her bowl its like the end of the world. I"ve stopped feeding her wet food because I can't be there to take it away and she doesn't always eat it. Any advice on Kitty Diets?

Go wet if you want your cat to lose weight. It's like Atkin's diet for cats, lots of protein, as little carbs as possible. The wet food will also allow your cat to eat bigger amounts of food which will give her the opportunity to feel full

I also believe protein is a better filler than carbs. At least it's that way for people so it's possible it works the same for cats.

I free feed Innova Light to both my cats (who were both overweight when I adopted them) and they have slimmed down and have beautiful, lustrous coats. I also supplement with a bit of Wysong canned occasionally.

I have 2 cats and they both get some wet food in the morning and night and I also leave some dry food out during the day and night. I don't really measure , but my cats are maybe 2lbs past their normal weight. I do believe in giving the best food you can get , so maybe you want to try a premium food? Also maybe your cat is lonely , she needs a playmate. Good luck cat.

Originally Posted by Cessena

My Shinobi was a stray when I got her and she's less than a year old. I have been feeding her pretty liberally because I didn't want to malnourish her. The vet says that she needs to go on a diet (she has a belly now) So I started feeding her a diet cat food in November (I think its purina one, in the green bag?). I try to feed her about a half cup per day but she's driving me CRAZY with the constant begging. I've tried feeding her half in the morning and half at night, but that only makes it worse. If there isn't food in her bowl its like the end of the world. I"ve stopped feeding her wet food because I can't be there to take it away and she doesn't always eat it. Any advice on Kitty Diets?

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Miko weighed almost 13lbs during the spring/summer of 2004. I switched him over to Innova Cat Lite and he's lost 3.2 lbs in 7 months. I feed him the dry formula in the morning and 1/4 (dry) to 3/4 (canned) at night.

When my mom got Savanah from the Humane Society, she weighed only 6 lbs. She was fed Iams Weight/Hairball control. She ended up gaining 5 lbs! Yeah, that's what you call weight control. With her small frame, she literally looked like a pumpkin and had a hard time breathing. My mom switched her over to the same diet as Miko about 6 months ago. She lost 2 lbs and weighs 9 lbs now. She is much more active and less moody.

How much less than one year do you estimate Shinobi (I LOVE that name!) to be? Nutrition in kittens can be tricky and the way I see it, kittens should get as much as they want to eat of the RIGHT foods so long as they are not suffering health issues from being obese. Also, how much does she weigh? The general rule of thumb on how much to feed is approximately one ounce per pound.

I have to agree with Sol's comments about providing wet food if you really want her to have the best nutrition AND to stay at an acceptable weight. I do not feed my cats dry food normally (my queen has it for the several weeks she is nursing her babies, but after they are weaned and she has regained her condition, I take it up) as I think it contains the wrong kind of carbs for cats. I know the dry is easier for us, but the canned is IMO better for them.

IMO, Shinobi should be on a good, quality KITTEN formula, preferably wet. I currently like Nutro Natural Choice in the pouches. It isn't the pate-style, it actually does have little square chunks in gravy and my babies love it. They have been eating it since 3 weeks of age and are doing great now at 13 weeks. I will also sometimes mix it with a can of the Nutro Natural Choice in the little 3 ounce can. They don't like that as well, but I sometimes can't get enough of the pouches at my local Petsmart to have a decent supply on hand and mixing the two seem to help the pouches go a little further.

Best of luck,

Gaye

Well when she adopted us in August she was mostly ribs. (We named her Shinobi because it means sneak theif in japanese and she climbed in through our window.) And according to the shelter she was originally adopted out of orignally, she was adopted out as a kitten in July, so we figured she was about 2-4 months old and it's now January which puts her between 8-10 months old maybe more. When we got her she weighed less than 6 lbs, and now she weighs around 9 lbs. I think she could probably lose a pound or so.

Originally I was free feeding her kitten dry food and giving her wet food each night. But she didn't really like the kitten food (except the Friskies :-( I got her at first because it was all I could find on short notice) so we switched to adult. But For the past month I've just been feeding her the lite dry food. So I'm thinking I'll try getting a better quality dry food for her to nibble on while I"m gone and give her wet kitten food when I get home.

I'm working on getting her a friend to play with, I know she's lonely. ( my landlord hasn't e-mailed me back grrrrr) I"m hoping to get a cat whose a few months old so the introductions will be easier. I just hope she doesn't end up hating me, but considering sometimes she sleeps and wrestles with my stuffed animals I don't think she'd mind a friend.