Hi there! New to the site... I'm sure there are a lot of similar threads on the subject, but i felt like i should get some personalized advice. So I have 3 kitties and 2 of them are definitely on the heavier side! Coco (4 yrs), who is a tiny girl in terms of frame, weighs a little over 9 pounds... I'm not exactly sure how much she should weigh, but probably closer to 7 or 8? She's got a little wobbly belly that is super adorable, but I know it shouldn't be there. Coco ran away about a year ago and was gone for almost 6 months . When she came back, she was a skinny minny, but over the past year or so, she's put on a lot of weight. Part of this is my fault because I was overfeeding her when she first came back because she was so tiny and I'm a sucker, but also because she's still in scavenger mode or something and is always trying to eat the other cats' food. I try to keep them all separate when they eat, but it's hard and I can't always be there to monitor them.
The other overweight kitty (Blue, also 4 yrs) is my boyfriend's and now also kind of mine too because we just moved in together. He is a very big boy- my bf told me last time he was weighed at the vet, he clocked in at 18 pounds! His frame is much bigger though, so his "goal weight" (lol) is still probably pretty high (maybe 15-16 lbs? idk, i haven't been to the vet with him before). He is also a little piggy and tries to eat the other cats' food constantly. My poor cat Ollie, who is the only one at a normal weight (also a little over 9 lbs but this is normal for his size), now has 2 greedy kitties trying to eat his food!
As to what I've been feeding them-- Before Blue moved in, I experimented A TON with different expensive, super healthy wet food brands but Coco and Ollie were having none of it. Literally the only thing they will eat is Fancy Feast (I know, but seriously, it's the only thing I could get them to eat). Blue was eating pretty much only dry food before he moved in (I have no idea what, or how much), but now he's eating Fancy Feast too. All three of them are getting 2 3oz. cans a day, but honestly i have no idea how much they are really getting because I can't seem to keep them from eating each other's food. They are all grazers, so I usually can't stick around to make sure they finish the whole thing and that they aren't mooching. I think Ollie probably ends up getting less than the other 2, even though he needs it more than they do (he seems to be doing fine though, definitely not underweight). The other 2 cats (Blue and Coco), however, always act like they are starving and would probably eat 4 cans a day if I gave it to them (i would not!).
So I guess my question is, am I feeding them enough or too much? Since Blue is so much bigger, I feel like he should be eating more, but apparently the vet told my bf, when he asked about a diet, to feed him 2 3 oz cans of wet food a day so that's what I've been doing! As for Coco, I feel like if I cut back her food any less she's going to go nuts! She seriously always wants food... like, she never doesn't want to eat. But of course, I will cut back more If I need to, it'll just be hard to keep her from eating out of the other cats' bowls
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Sorry for the novel, I just wanted to be sure I didn't leave anything out! Thanks in advance for any advice!! I really appreciate it!
The other overweight kitty (Blue, also 4 yrs) is my boyfriend's and now also kind of mine too because we just moved in together. He is a very big boy- my bf told me last time he was weighed at the vet, he clocked in at 18 pounds! His frame is much bigger though, so his "goal weight" (lol) is still probably pretty high (maybe 15-16 lbs? idk, i haven't been to the vet with him before). He is also a little piggy and tries to eat the other cats' food constantly. My poor cat Ollie, who is the only one at a normal weight (also a little over 9 lbs but this is normal for his size), now has 2 greedy kitties trying to eat his food!
As to what I've been feeding them-- Before Blue moved in, I experimented A TON with different expensive, super healthy wet food brands but Coco and Ollie were having none of it. Literally the only thing they will eat is Fancy Feast (I know, but seriously, it's the only thing I could get them to eat). Blue was eating pretty much only dry food before he moved in (I have no idea what, or how much), but now he's eating Fancy Feast too. All three of them are getting 2 3oz. cans a day, but honestly i have no idea how much they are really getting because I can't seem to keep them from eating each other's food. They are all grazers, so I usually can't stick around to make sure they finish the whole thing and that they aren't mooching. I think Ollie probably ends up getting less than the other 2, even though he needs it more than they do (he seems to be doing fine though, definitely not underweight). The other 2 cats (Blue and Coco), however, always act like they are starving and would probably eat 4 cans a day if I gave it to them (i would not!).
So I guess my question is, am I feeding them enough or too much? Since Blue is so much bigger, I feel like he should be eating more, but apparently the vet told my bf, when he asked about a diet, to feed him 2 3 oz cans of wet food a day so that's what I've been doing! As for Coco, I feel like if I cut back her food any less she's going to go nuts! She seriously always wants food... like, she never doesn't want to eat. But of course, I will cut back more If I need to, it'll just be hard to keep her from eating out of the other cats' bowls
Sorry for the novel, I just wanted to be sure I didn't leave anything out! Thanks in advance for any advice!! I really appreciate it!