I want to feed my grown 9.7 lb 2 year old male indoor cat enough without overfeeding

[geercom]

I believe I have been over-feeding him again.

Normally, I try to give him one 3oz can of food a day and maybe 20+ pieces of dry in between 2-3 times a day, and none overnight. He seems to be OK on about that and doesn't lose weight or look underfed. If I start to go over, he eventually barfs. He went up to 10.4 lbs and was pooping twice as much and barfing when I went much over that.

Does the amount I'm normally feeding him seem about right?

 

[Kieka]

Depends on what food your feeding because the important thing is calorie content. Most cats need 20-30 calories per pound based on their activity level. So he would theoretically need 200-300 calories per day to maintain his weight. Some cats are much lower at 15 calories, so 150 calories roughly in your case. If he is maintaining weight and his coat looks good at that amount then it is good for him.

 

[Azazel]

Best way to control overfeeding is to ditch the dry food and replace it with all wet food.

 

[geercom]

He never goes outside and he has roughly only a 1,500 sq ft house to run around in. I think the 150 calories sounds right. Also, I read once that if you can feel a cat's ribs but you can't see them, they are neither too fat nor too thin.

 

[Kieka]

I like using the top view where if you can see a slight pinching between the ribs and hips you are good. But the feel but not see ribs is a pretty good indicator too.

 

[geercom]

Thank you, Kieka. So, do you know of any sources with sample cat photos of what this top view method looks like in a healthy cat?

 

[Kieka]

Here are examples of my crew. The length of their ribs and degree of indent is slightly different but on all of them you can see a slight pinch between ribs and hips.

 

[abyeb]

The pictures that Kieka posted are excellent examples of how the top view looks in a healthy cat. I’m attaching a helpful body condition scoring chart, that you may also find helpful:

Retrieved from this website: Obesity in Cats | International Cat Care

Regarding how much to feed, this article is very helpful: How Much Food Should I Feed My Cat? – Cat Articles. Calorie needs vary greatly between individuals (desexed indoor cats may only need 15 calories/lb of body weight, while active outdoor cats may need up to 50 calories/lb).

These are all questions that you can ask your vet as well.

 

[geercom]

Thank you, abyeb

 

[di and bob]

3 ounces of cat food is not very much, a regular can of food is 5.5 ounces and you are giving less then that a day. It would be nice to see a picture of him to see what he looks like, and what breeds he might have in him. Oriental breeds are usually thinner and finer boned. 9.7 lbs is not heavy by no means for most breeds, I would say staying around that 10lb mark sounds about right. 10 -12 lbs is pretty average for most cats unless they are fine boned or small in build. You know your cat best. I like mine a little on the chunky side because they have leukemia, and when their illness flairs up periodically they refuse to eat and lose a lot of weight. i like to run my hand over their backs and down their hips, when I feel their hip bones sticking out, I know it is time to increae their calorie count. Since mine absolutely refuse to give up their dry food and make my life miserable when I don't give them any, i started feeding Science Diet weight management. They really like it, unlike a lot of the other weight management foods, and it is the only one that says it actually reduces weight after being on it a while, so you might try that to keep teh calories down. He would be getting his dry food and have it be a diet food too. I go strictly by looks. Each cat is different in their calorie needs. If his hip bones are easily felt, increase his food a little. Cats are supposed to gain/lose weight very slowly so increase/decrease very slowly. Also remember taht cats will gain weight as they get older, just like humans, so monitoring each cat individually by age is important. A kitten can not get enough food, they should be feed frequentlty and with much more calories than an older cat. Also monitor activity. An active cat that is awake and playing most of the day will need more than one that sleeps most of the day. Once again, YOU know your own cat better then anyone else, Thank you for being concerned on how much he is getting fed, you don't want a fat cat and the problems that brings for his health, but you don't want a starving one either!

 

[geercom]

Here is Kibbie today, a 2 y.o. male grey and white neutered short hair. The vet just saw him last week and said his weight is fine.

 

[Kieka]

I wouldn't want him to gain any weight but he looks fine. If he is maintaining that size then the calories are right for him. He's just a cat who needs fewer calories. You should probably figure out how many calories are in his food so you know what his caloric needs are if you switch foods. You could also see if their is a lower carb option then what he gets now as that would be better for his overall health.

 

[geercom]

Thank you, Kieka, and all of you for helping me take care of my Kibbie.

 

[di and bob]

Kibbie looks good!

 

[geercom]

Thanks, di and bob. I see you have a grey and white, too. Aren't they adorable?