Weight problem

Oscar has gotten a bit chubby lately. Is there a certain amount of food we should give him to cut back on him eating ALL THE TIME? We were free feeding and stopped that a year ago or so and now we have given him 1/4 cup in the morning and again at night. He DEVOURS it! He acts like he hasn't eaten all day so by the morning, after he scarfs it in an hour, he acts like he hasn't been fed for weeks. Does anyone have a weight chart as to which I should be feeding a 4 year old cat? Or does anyone know what I should feed him correctly? Thanks!

what food is Ocsar eating??? does he get wet food??

We stopped giving him wet food when I moved out of my parents last year so he only gets dry food, Purina Indoor Formula, which is supposed to help with weight problems

many will differ with me but wet food is better for wt loss and wt gain....it is higher in protein and fat( dry matter wise) which is more in line with a natural kitty diet ... if dry food is what you want or need to feed find a higher protien and fat one...

Thanks! But how much should I be feeding him a day? Free feeding didn't help because he scarfed the food down quickly.....

I would cut back on the dry food and feed wet. Bijou and Mika get about 1/3 cup dry food per day for free feeding and 1 can of wet morning and night (they share the one can although I must say Bijou eats most of it). Mika is very tiny so I don't have a problem with her eating dry as gaining weight isn't an issue with her but Bijou is a "healthy" 16 lbs. He is muscular and doesn't really look fat but we want to keep him from getting too heavy.

So should I feed him half a can in the morning and the other half at night?

Originally Posted by Oscarsmommy

So should I feed him half a can in the morning and the other half at night?

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for most cats that is a good way to start ..

So is that half of like a Fancy Feast can or the bigger cans? And should I stop the dry food altogether or do what Linda (Yosemite) does with her cats and free feed like 1/3 cup?

I have both all dry and an all wet(raw)

I do what each cat allows ... If you arent there all day a little kibble left out might be a great snack ... I say half of a big can

Ok thanks for the advice. He is just starting to get a little pudgy and I was just trying to figure out how to get a good diet going

I leave the dry food out so they can "nosh" while we are at work and they eagerly await their wet food in the evening and morning.

Sometimes in the evening I will give them 1/2 the can of wet food (5.5 oz.) at about 5 pm and then the other half around 9 pm.

Originally Posted by Oscarsmommy

So is that half of like a Fancy Feast can or the bigger cans? And should I stop the dry food altogether or do what Linda (Yosemite) does with her cats and free feed like 1/3 cup?

Click to expand...

We feed Merricks which is a larger can than Fancy Feast. BTW, Fancy Feast is not a very good food to feed all the time. Once in awhile it's OK for a treat I suppose, but look for food with no by-products. I tried about 1/2 dozen different brands and found our babies preferred Merricks.

Maybe he just needs more excerise? My cats love Da Bird and tiny fury mice. I have an obese cat and I have been feeding her 1/4 cup twice a day and over 4 mths she has lost 4lbs. I tried to switch to a lower calorie food but she had a skin reaction so I put her back on her old food and she still lost weight.

I found the following link in another post on this forum. It has some good information that may help you decide how much to feed your cat.

http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/catweight.html

Hope that helps...