Do I give my cat enough nutrition?

[vickienblaze]

Hi everyone! I've been a little overwhelmed with trying to figure out what to feed my new cat. I currently have him on a 1/3 cup of purina pro plus one indoor advantage that is split into 4 meals at 3am, 8am, 1pm, and 11:30pm (in an automatic feeder). I also give him a can of fancy feast pate at 6pm with extra water added. He does drink water throughout the day, and I'm working on buying a fountain!
He's a year old and gets between 215- 223 calories a day depending on which pate I feed him. I notice at night he'll try to get more food out of the feeder. Does anyone have any advice? I am open to switching up his dry food, but I am on a college student budget!

 

[Antonio65]

Hi, we would need to know the size and weight of your cat, age and level of activity, if he's neutered, if he's an indoor only cat, etc, to see if the 220 kcal are enough for him.
Certain cats keep looking for food even when they are full, just for fun.
My cat eats the right amount of calories for her weight, she is not very much active, sleeps a lot, etc, but she's never full and would eat every 20 minutes.

 

[Alldara]

The dry food is a good choice so there's no reason to change it up! He's 1 year old and may still be growing and very active so feel free to top up his dry food if he's bugging you. Just keep an eye on his body condition.



Why I think Purina is good -
Purina is the only good with a longitudinal study showing that it helps extend the life of cats (specifically, the Purina Pro Plan Prime Plus, but the other recipes have changed to be closer to that). I believe that one you have also does not have peas or legumes which are currently under study for cats for safety reasons. Purina's study was internal, but, it was a new recipe that they had theorized would work and then it did and they went all in. It was minimal, I remember 1 or 2 years compared to the control group.

I followed the whole "grain free" craze that "experts" recommend and my cats were no healthier and lived shorter than some other cats who have eaten "junk". (Also longer than some cats who've eaten "junk"). So I decided to save my pocket and do Purina (was briefly on royal canin until Purina re-released a food without beef due to my cat's beef allergy). With my last cats and with Magnus in the beginning I did the whole Fromm/Arcana/Orijen type food. Magnus's stomach issues stopped when we switched to Purina. I recommended Purina to my sister and friend; my sister likes the hairball recipes and my friend hasn't had to hospitalize her cat again. Both are having good experiences since 2021.

 

[vickienblaze]

He weighs 10.3 pounds and is pretty active! He's a 5 on the feline body chart, a year old, neutered, and strictly indoors. I play with him in the morning and at night, and he loves to chase around fabric mouses on his own. Thank you for the advice on Purina! I looked into the studies before adopting him and the vet likes the one I'm using for him. I may try to give him variety with the urinary tract food as well.

 

[Alldara]

He might be about to do a bit more growth or he may just need a touch more. Sometimes even 10 kibbles more makes a difference. See if you can't put that into a treat ball or puzzle for him and see how it goes!

He's active, so most active cats can have a little extra, especially if they are expending movement to have it. You might find you reduce again this time next year.

 

[vickienblaze]

I have a couple of puzzles in the mail for him to try out so I'll definitely try that! Thank y'all for your help.