Did your cat gain weight or appetite increased?

[ankitty]

I'm transitioning to raw diet for my cats. I'm noticing that they are more excited about raw food than canned and seem to eat or beg for more. I'm trying to find appropriate amount to feed. I read that raw diet is good for weight control, but I'm not sure. If I measure the food and if it's not enough for their liking, their begging is so intense that I'm afraid that I'm starving them, but it seems that it'd be too much food if I cave into their demands. Is this something that will calm down when they get used to raw food? Did your cat gain weight initially? Does your cat seem hungry often with raw diet? 

 

[geely]

I transitioned my cats to raw and some homemade cooked food about 4 months ago. My female Dazzle who is at a good weight has stayed the same. My male Beau is overweight and has lost weight. What i did in the beginning was buy a small kitchen scale and I used wax paper to weigh the food each meal and  then put it on top of a plate.  I wrote down how much they ate , subtracted what was left on the dish. I did this especially for Beau to help him loose weight. I went by calories of the meat mostly. He gets mostly lower fat meat like rabbit. I think Lamb is high in fat, so if you are looking for weight loss you probably want to choose meats that are lower fat or the opposite if they are underweight. 

Going by the ounces they eat less than what they were eating when on commercial canned. I do add a little bit of pumpkin for fiber, which i think helps them feel more full. I would say now , i don't weigh the food as much any more but they probably eat between 3 to 5 ounces a day. I also weighed them a lot in the beginning to gauge it.  Hope that helps.

 

[furmonster mom]

My transitioning experience was similar.  Cats were very excited for their raw foods and always seemed to cry for moar! 

Seven and a half years later, they still get excited at meal times, and seem to want more, but within 10 minutes after eating they settle right down.  There is no begging between meals. 

As for weight, my cats range between 10 - 13 pounds, so their meals are all the same, and they are all maintaining their individual weights nicely.

 

[maureen brad]

I switched to raw in August. My Desmond has lost some weight. He is always hungry though. I have to put him in another room now when it is feeding time. he climbs on the counter and starts to eat everyone's food when I am preparing the dishes. Sometimes I wonder what is going on but the other 2 are more excited about eating now also. they just are not so aggressive about it.Funny, they play musical bowls now, constantly switching which bowl they are eating from. This isn't so good when one or the other has medicine mixed into their food.