A few weeks ago we adopted Frankie and bought the food that the Humane Society had been feeding him because we didn't want to change anything right away. That bag said to feed one cup a day for a 10 pound cat. Yesterday I bought Inova for adult cats and am mixing it in to start switching him over to a better food. The Inova says to feed 2/3 cup a day for an active 10 pound cat. We gave him 1/3 cup this morning and it was almost gone by the time we left for work. Is 2/3 cup of dry Inova enough for him? We give him Greenie treats and a scoop of wet food in the evening too. Just seems like such a small amount of food. I don't want him to get over weight though.
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Only 2/3 cup of food a day???
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Innova is a good quality food, a good food IMO. I dont know what the Humane Society was feeding him, but with better quality foods, you do not have to feed as much, because they are getting more from that smaller amount of good food, then they were from the other food.Did that makes sense?
I found Innova to be too rich for my animals, they got smelly poo from it, but it is a great food and many pets do fantastic on it, but they just dont need as much of it as they would with other less quality foods. Just make sure you dont over feed on the Innova cause your cat could gain weight, just feed what the guidelines say on the package.
I found Innova to be too rich for my animals, they got smelly poo from it, but it is a great food and many pets do fantastic on it, but they just dont need as much of it as they would with other less quality foods. Just make sure you dont over feed on the Innova cause your cat could gain weight, just feed what the guidelines say on the package.
The better the food quality, the less fillers it has, the less fillers, the less it takes to give a cat the calories and nutrition it needs.
The extra bonus in that is in the cat's waste, less garbage going in, less waste produced.
The extra bonus in that is in the cat's waste, less garbage going in, less waste produced.
Even though its a better quality food.I still would feed abit more if your cat appears to be hungry! Or add a can of wet food a day.
It will take a little time for your cat to adjust to eating less. Some cats, like some people, may be eating based on sight (how much they think is in the bowl). Since Innova is denser, and you will be feeding less, it may take a few days for your kitty to realize that he needs to save some for later! That said, there is nothing wrong with meal feeding (where he finishes the food in one sitting). It might even make it easier if you decide to feed canned later or if he does gain weight and needs to be fed only small meals.
My vet tells me 1/2 cup a day for my 12 - 13 lb male cats & they put on weight by adding just an extra 1/8 cup of food a day.
I feed innova evo to my four kits and I put down 1 cup in the morning and 1cup at night. Sometimes I add a little more if they eat it all but most of the time there are still some kibble in the bowl . I do give them treats also. They are all healthy and happy that the vet says look great. They tend to eat less on Innova.
Tricia
Tricia
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I think restricting food based on some artificial limit is a bad idea — depending on the individual cat's size, metabolism and activity level, the amount of food s/he needs can vary a great deal. Most cats self-regulate their intake quite well when free fed. They know how much they need to eat.
Assuming that a cat is going to be overweight from the start isn't the right approach, I think. Is there any reason to think this cat will be overweight or is a problem eater?
Assuming that a cat is going to be overweight from the start isn't the right approach, I think. Is there any reason to think this cat will be overweight or is a problem eater?
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- #10
No, he's not overweight. The only thing is that when we fed him the lesser amount last night and this morning he was practically eating it all in one sitting as though he wanted more and I don't know if it's okay to give him more so that's why I started this thread. He's pretty active when we're home.
In my experience cats usually eat the wet food immediately. When they leave food for later, it's usually because they're not especially hungry or they don't like the food.
It's just my personal feeling that it's better to always leave some dry food out for cats. That way they don't feel deprived, don't beg for food as much (or in my cat's case, at all), and regulate their own food intake in a healthy way. I think that it's when they don't have food out that they start gorging when it does come.
If your cat seems hungry after the amount of wet food you're giving, try giving some more. I had to experiment to find the right portion for my cat... half a can at each meal was too much, a third of a can sometimes got eaten and sometimes didn't, but a quarter of a can seems about right. Other cats I've had needed half a can at each meal.
It's just my personal feeling that it's better to always leave some dry food out for cats. That way they don't feel deprived, don't beg for food as much (or in my cat's case, at all), and regulate their own food intake in a healthy way. I think that it's when they don't have food out that they start gorging when it does come.
If your cat seems hungry after the amount of wet food you're giving, try giving some more. I had to experiment to find the right portion for my cat... half a can at each meal was too much, a third of a can sometimes got eaten and sometimes didn't, but a quarter of a can seems about right. Other cats I've had needed half a can at each meal.
I agree with most of what you say - you have to work out how much food your cat needs to remain at a healthy weight rather than go by guidelines on a bag of food or feed what someone else feeds their cat - but I disagree with the above statement. I think the prevalence of obesity in cats shows that an awful lot cannot self-regulate their food intake, esp when dry food is free fed.
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Our vet thinks Frankie is part Maine Coon so I talked to a girl at work that someone told me has a Maine Coon and she looked at pictures and agreed that he probably is part. She said her Maine Coon always eats all his food at once when they give it to him twice a day so maybe that's not so weird.
Really? I see overweight cats all the time. The owners think they're a healthy weight because they're so used to seeing overweight cats. What they usually see as overweight are actually morbidly obese.
Right now I'm dealing with a slightly chubby kitten. I'm starting to have to try to feel her ribs because she has a definate small fat pad. She was scrawny and food aggressive when I first brought her home and she just can't say no to food. My other kitten walks away from even canned food when she's content and is appropriately slim. Lily on the other hand stuffs as much canned food down her throat as she can get and eats a lot of dry, so she is becoming a chunk and I'm playing around with the amount of dry food they get to determine what amount is right for her. She and Eve share a 3 oz can once per day, so it's not like she's getting a massive amount of canned food. Eve just eats less than her fair share.
The thing with Maine Coons is that they're the largest breed of cat — they tend to be extremely tall and long. Male Maine Coons commonly get to 13-20 pounds. So on average they need to eat more than other cats. That may be why you're observing that the Maine Coons are finishing quickly.
Information about them here:
http://www.fanciers.com/breed-faqs/maine-coon-faq.html
Information about them here:
http://www.fanciers.com/breed-faqs/maine-coon-faq.html
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It needs to be based on the cat.. I have a long and fairly lean( she finally filled out a bit) girl who is 9 lbs that eats what is recommended for a 15lbs cat ... My older cat was a solid(not fat ) 14lb girl who ate 1/2 cup and one can a day ... both were proper wts and neither ate according to any guidlines.. Maine coons if I remeber correctly generally have slower metabolism s so start at the low guideline for wt ...
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- #18
I think we'll slowly adjust amounts and keep an eye on his weight to make sure it seems right.
He eats it so fast that me and DH have to be sure not to give him too much. Yesterday when DH got home the bowl was empty so he have Frankie a 1/4 cup thinking that he could have a little more later. When I came home from work the bowl was empty and my DH was outside getting a quote on our furnace and AC so I gave Frankie a 1/3 cup thinking that he hadn't been fed anything since morning. We'll have to be careful not to keep doing that! The good thing is that he didn't eat the 1/3 cup all at once. He made that last for a while and then started chowing it so I took it away until bedtime so that he'd have a few kibbles left for overnight.
That's a good article on Main Coons. Thanks.
He eats it so fast that me and DH have to be sure not to give him too much. Yesterday when DH got home the bowl was empty so he have Frankie a 1/4 cup thinking that he could have a little more later. When I came home from work the bowl was empty and my DH was outside getting a quote on our furnace and AC so I gave Frankie a 1/3 cup thinking that he hadn't been fed anything since morning. We'll have to be careful not to keep doing that! The good thing is that he didn't eat the 1/3 cup all at once. He made that last for a while and then started chowing it so I took it away until bedtime so that he'd have a few kibbles left for overnight.
That's a good article on Main Coons. Thanks.
the suggested feeding guideline on the back of the bag is only a suggestion, an average. some cats will need more and some will need less. if your cat is hungry i would give him more food. if he starts to gain weight, cut it back a little. it even says that under the guidelines on most bags of cat food.
