Calories and metabolism

This is yet another "is my cat eating enough" thread...

Toby is 5 months old and weighs about 2.8kg. The vet tells me he should be eating about 240-280 calories a day. He eats regular cat food (not kitten food) because of some sensitivity problems.

Lately he's eating less then recommended. I'd estimate he gets about 200-240 calories. He still eats - many times throughout the day. He's still playful and cuddles... and the biggest thing is that he's still gaining weight.

Aren't cats like people in that different cats have different nutritional requirements?? Couldn't he just have a lower metabolism and not need as much food as the computer calculates for him??

I'm not panicking and will probably phone my vet to double check, but couldn't this just be normal variability??

It is variable. Each cat is a little different, and if they remain at a healthy weight there should not be much worry.

When I brought Izzie home, she was 2.6 pounds (10/22/04). She was about 10 weeks old. Until about 3 weeks ago, she hasn't put on a lot of weight. She's been on the skinny side but eats and is very active. Now she's sprouted and is finally filling out nicely. She might weigh 5.5 pounds now.

I saw an episode on Animal Planet where this lady had 2 kittens from the same litter. One looked like a small 3 month kitten and the sibling was 2-3x the size!!

Yeah... my friend has 2 cats who eat the exact same diet - one's overweight and the other is normal

I'm not going to panic as long as (1) he's still eating and (2) he's still gaining weight.

Thanks for your thoughts