eating behaviors

[dmk129]

OK=so everybody got weighed this am!  Fuzzles is 18 pounds, Twizzy is 16 pounds, Boris is 18 pounds, and Pal is 12 pounds.  Fuzzles and Boris are both large framed cats.  The other 2 are smaller framed cats and Pal is my only female of the bunch. 

When I figure it out to 20 calories per pound for a total of 1280 calories split up into 4 meals it comes to 320 calories per meal then.  How would you split this into working meals for optimizing the health and weight loss for all of the kitties.  They all need to lose weight.  How do I work in 2 meals of dry food ( it is IAMS weight control) with the total calorie intake?  Does anyone have suggestions?  I want to taper the dry food to completely off or maybe only get that down to treat only for them since the 2 Siamese are dry food obsessed in a big way.  This am they gobbled 3/4 cup dry food in less than 20 minutes and the other 2 kitties didnt get any so I gave them all a can of Fancy Feast so 2 of them wouldnt go hungry until noon when they will get the next meal of wet food.  How can I break up this food into working meals so they all get some food and get them off the dry food?  Does anyone have 4 cats like I do and have a feeding program that works well?  If so I would love to hear how you do it and if anyone has suggestions on how I can feed my chubby kitties to get them healthier is much appreciated!!  thanks everyone for the help. 

 

[misterwhiskers]

I have a chubby boy too, so I feel like a hypocrite here, but I too agree with a better quality dry food. Plus, on my cats dry it says 3/4 to 1 cup TOTAL a day for cats 15-20 pounds.

I'm not a big fan of diet cat food. I tried some in Robin--it said "indoor advantage ", but it had MORE calories, not less. My cat gained 1 1/2 pounds on it, and it's been a struggle to get that off him. The reason I don't like the diet foods is they have a kinds of weird fillers, and in Robins case, it left him perpetually hungry.

 

[dmk129]

I have a chubby boy too, so I feel like a hypocrite here, but I too agree with a better quality dry food. Plus, on my cats dry it says 3/4 to 1 cup TOTAL a day for cats 15-20 pounds.

I'm not a big fan of diet cat food. I tried some in Robin--it said "indoor advantage ", but it had MORE calories, not less. My cat gained 1 1/2 pounds on it, and it's been a struggle to get that off him. The reason I don't like the diet foods is they have a kinds of weird fillers, and in Robins case, it left him perpetually hungry.

yes-it seems that the IAMS weight control has made them gain weight quickly and give them dry food obsession too. I am not sure if it is best to just totally wean them off dry food completely since the 2 Siamese have such bad food issues?  Fuzzles "guards" the dish and usually lays where he can monitor who is going to the dish.  He is a very terrritorial cat and "hunts" Pal too.  He has been that way since he was a small kitten.  I am going to get some better quality dry food and see if it decreases the "food behaviors".  If it doesnt= I may just feed wet food and they will have to get used to that.  Hubby wants them to have their crunchies because they like it so much.  He doesnt think it is fair to take it away but I think it has caused a lot of problems for them with the begging behaviors and weight issues. 

 

[lisahe]

yes-it seems that the IAMS weight control has made them gain weight quickly and give them dry food obsession too. I am not sure if it is best to just totally wean them off dry food completely since the 2 Siamese have such bad food issues?  Fuzzles "guards" the dish and usually lays where he can monitor who is going to the dish.  He is a very terrritorial cat and "hunts" Pal too.  He has been that way since he was a small kitten.  I am going to get some better quality dry food and see if it decreases the "food behaviors".  If it doesnt= I may just feed wet food and they will have to get used to that.  Hubby wants them to have their crunchies because they like it so much.  He doesnt think it is fair to take it away but I think it has caused a lot of problems for them with the begging behaviors and weight issues. 

Ah, food-focused Siamese cats! We have two Siamese mixes: one's a piglet and I suspect a lot of her food issues come from the cats being underfed rescues.

As for your question about wet and dry foods. I couldn't agree more about dry diet foods causing weight gain instead of loss: we had this problem with our previous cat. After our experiences with her and lots of reading about cat foods and nutrition, we're feeding Edwina and Ireland only low-carb wet foods (canned and commercial raw). That keeps even Edwina at a reasonable weight.

Beyond that, our vet, who's a cat specialist, told us that Siamese (and mixes) tend to have gastrointestinal issues. She recommends feeding Siamese only grain-free wet foods (We avoid peas and potatoes, too, since they're just carby fillers and one cat is sensitive to potato.) Our cats were total dry food addicts when we adopted them at ten months but we weaned them off it in about a month. They've been with us for two years now and side benefits include less smelly litter boxes, less vomiting, and less gas. They really do have sensitive little guts. With time, too, they've become less obsessed with food, and I do think that establishing mealtimes for wet foods has helped.

Do you have a picture of your cats?

 

[dmk129]

 
Ah, food-focused Siamese cats! We have two Siamese mixes: one's a piglet and I suspect a lot of her food issues come from the cats being underfed rescues.

As for your question about wet and dry foods. I couldn't agree more about dry diet foods causing weight gain instead of loss: we had this problem with our previous cat. After our experiences with her and lots of reading about cat foods and nutrition, we're feeding Edwina and Ireland only low-carb wet foods (canned and commercial raw). That keeps even Edwina at a reasonable weight.

Beyond that, our vet, who's a cat specialist, told us that Siamese (and mixes) tend to have gastrointestinal issues. She recommends feeding Siamese only grain-free wet foods (We avoid peas and potatoes, too, since they're just carby fillers and one cat is sensitive to potato.) Our cats were total dry food addicts when we adopted them at ten months but we weaned them off it in about a month. They've been with us for two years now and side benefits include less smelly litter boxes, less vomiting, and less gas. They really do have sensitive little guts. With time, too, they've become less obsessed with food, and I do think that establishing mealtimes for wet foods has helped.

Do you have a picture of your cats?

I posted a few pictures of my 2 siamese brothers on my profile.  They are such precious kitties.  Take a look.  These are the 2 that are chubby boys. 

 

[missmimz]

 
OK=so everybody got weighed this am!  Fuzzles is 18 pounds, Twizzy is 16 pounds, Boris is 18 pounds, and Pal is 12 pounds.  Fuzzles and Boris are both large framed cats.  The other 2 are smaller framed cats and Pal is my only female of the bunch. 

When I figure it out to 20 calories per pound for a total of 1280 calories split up into 4 meals it comes to 320 calories per meal then.  How would you split this into working meals for optimizing the health and weight loss for all of the kitties.  They all need to lose weight.  How do I work in 2 meals of dry food ( it is IAMS weight control) with the total calorie intake?  Does anyone have suggestions?  I want to taper the dry food to completely off or maybe only get that down to treat only for them since the 2 Siamese are dry food obsessed in a big way.  This am they gobbled 3/4 cup dry food in less than 20 minutes and the other 2 kitties didnt get any so I gave them all a can of Fancy Feast so 2 of them wouldnt go hungry until noon when they will get the next meal of wet food.  How can I break up this food into working meals so they all get some food and get them off the dry food?  Does anyone have 4 cats like I do and have a feeding program that works well?  If so I would love to hear how you do it and if anyone has suggestions on how I can feed my chubby kitties to get them healthier is much appreciated!!  thanks everyone for the help. 

When trying to encourage cats to lose weight its best to feed them separately, rather than combine their foods together. You might need to put them in different rooms, or even consider getting a small dog crate to put them in. Since you want them to lose weight, you need to feed them less than 20 cal per pound. Here's a good link on how to reduce the calories based on their weight. You want them to lose weight slowly. You'd probably do better giving them more than 2 meals a day. Sometimes with cats that are food addicts giving them multiple small meals per day really helps keep them fuller longer and less obsessive. I'd personally try to feed everyone wet in the AM, kibble as a small snack, and wet in the PM. You just need to know how many calories are in the wet food, and how many calories are in the dry food.

It's going to take some commitment to get them to lose the weight, but it'll be worth it because they'll be healthier in the long run.

 

[dmk129]

 
When trying to encourage cats to lose weight its best to feed them separately, rather than combine their foods together. You might need to put them in different rooms, or even consider getting a small dog crate to put them in. Since you want them to lose weight, you need to feed them less than 20 cal per pound. Here's a good link on how to reduce the calories based on their weight. You want them to lose weight slowly. You'd probably do better giving them more than 2 meals a day. Sometimes with cats that are food addicts giving them multiple small meals per day really helps keep them fuller longer and less obsessive. I'd personally try to feed everyone wet in the AM, kibble as a small snack, and wet in the PM. You just need to know how many calories are in the wet food, and how many calories are in the dry food.

It's going to take some commitment to get them to lose the weight, but it'll be worth it because they'll be healthier in the long run.

Thanks Missmimz.  You have been so helpful.  I dont think it would be possible to feed every cat separately because when I tried it in the past they were very stressed not eating together.  They have all eaten from the large platter together their entire lives.  I think the most helpful thing will be to get them to eat much less dry food.  I will see how they do with that and maybe consider getting them off the dry food entirely.  I think the siamese boys are just going to gobble up that kibble as fast as they can=so it may be best to just stop it altogether.  I am hoping they will lose some weight with just getting off kibble alone.  I will feed more wet food so they arent so hungry.  Thanks for the links on calories and weight.  I appreciate your help so much. 

 

[dmk129]

I think the most important thing is for you to sit down with your husband and explain to him how this is negatively affecting you. I'm sure he means well, but cats are terrible with enablers.

Your first step should be to disassociate the kitties with "meow incessantly = food". This is going to be VERY hard. They need to be ignored entirely every time they meow. They need to learn that being noisy no longer gets them food. It's going to be very hard, especially since they'll continue doing it at 4am. Again, you need your husband to be fully on board with this.

When they're quiet (with your husband around) for an extended period of time, reward them with a little treat. This tells them that they get rewarded when they're quiet. You need a lot of patience and support to get through this, but they can be trained to not be noisy. It's just going to take a lot of work.

Thanks for the suggestions.  I will try rewarding them when they are quiet.  I hope my husband will not just sneak them extra food.  Do you have any suggestions on how to feed multiple cats and get them all to lose a little weight?  They all can stand to diet a bit. 

 

[lisahe]

 
Thanks for the suggestions.  I will try rewarding them when they are quiet.  I hope my husband will not just sneak them extra food.  Do you have any suggestions on how to feed multiple cats and get them all to lose a little weight?  They all can stand to diet a bit. 

I think missmimz is right about feeding separately. It can take some time for everybody to get used to that but it really can work, particularly because it institutes some order into feeding and helps reduce competition for food. (And maybe it would make it harder for your husband to sneak that extra food, too!

I've noticed on here that a lot of people seem to have spouses who like to treat cats!)

And thank you for the photos, they're very handsome cats!