Is my kitty eating enough?

[Ladyrosee]

Hi! So I've always had cats that didnt regulate their food well because I didn't know any better and would just feed them dry food mindlessly and not think about the detriment to their health it is. I have a kitty I fostered and adopted raised since a week old who is almost 2 years old now and I made a vow to not let him touch dry food in fear he would become a kibble addict like every cat I've had. The only "dry" he gets is the Vital Essentials Nibbs like 10 or so pieces on his wet food 4x a day. I mix hot water with his pate food too. He eats a can a day so about 200 calories plus the probably 50 from the topper and gets a churu once or twice a day.
He acts hungry a lot but he also seems like he wants his pate refilled so he can graze on it and come back to it.
*he had recent blood work and everything was in range and his t4 was too*

He is very hyper and active sprinting around all day playing. He is about 9-10lbs. if my senior kitty who is a much larger frame ate that amount of calories he would be 20lbs LOL. (He is 14.5lbs and good weight)

I'm just wondering if it's his metabolism? I think I might just not be used to having a lean cat

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. HIs size looks pretty good to me. ~250 calories per day seems reasonable for a 9-10 lb cat, presuming that the baseline is normally considered to be 20-25 calories per pound of body weight. How much, if any, weight did he gain between vet visits? What did the vet say about his weight/size this time?

If you use a body condition chart (see the one below) to what degree can you feel his ribs? If he is a larger sized cat, it might be that he could handle a few extra calories. I have an older female cat that could use to be around 11 pounds to accommodate her length/size; she does not fit the typical vet standard assessment of 'about 10 pounds'!

You feed him 4x a day - does he finish each serving every time and if so, how fast? Some cats do tend to prefer to graze rather than eat a whole meal all at once. If his ribs are protruding a bit more by the touch than they should, you might consider adding an extra tsp. of food to his meals and see what happens. Or you could give him more per meal and cut it back to 3x a day, leaving out whatever he doesn't eat for a while for him to graze on. I think leaving it out for 4 hours at a time is pretty 'safe'. I go longer than that with my cat.

It is also possible that he is just looking for attention from you and one of the ways cats figure they can do that is to 'ask' for more food.

 

[Ladyrosee]

Thanks for your reply! He has been this weight since he got full grown around 9 months old or something. The vets have never commented on his weight at all. I just never asked I guess.

He is a very manipulative cat lol. You know their slow blinks like "kitty kisses"? He does them hardcore. He will sit on the counter by his empty bowl and my husband said once I look over at my kitty he will begin blinking and my husband finds it hilarious and is like "he is manipulating you" and of course I purposely go "awwww oh my goshhhhhh what's wrong". He also pretends his ear or eye hurts he will squint one when looking at me or flatten one ear and my husband said "he hasnt done that all day then you get home and his ear hurts? I enable it on purpose but it's so hard to tell if he truly is hungry.

It depends what food. If its Kiwi Kitchen Chicken pate he will inhale it in 30 seconds. If its Nulo wet like my senior gets sometimes he will immediately walk away and come back in 20 mins or eat half and come back hours later and finish it. He eats his crunchy topper first

Hi. HIs size looks pretty good to me. ~250 calories per day seems reasonable for a 9-10 lb cat, presuming that the baseline is normally considered to be 20-25 calories per pound of body weight. How much, if any, weight did he gain between vet visits? What did the vet say about his weight/size this time?

If you use a body condition chart (see the one below) to what degree can you feel his ribs? If he is a larger sized cat, it might be that he could handle a few extra calories. I have an older female cat that could use to be around 11 pounds to accommodate her length/size; she does not fit the typical vet standard assessment of 'about 10 pounds'!

You feed him 4x a day - does he finish each serving every time and if so, how fast? Some cats do tend to prefer to graze rather than eat a whole meal all at once. If his ribs are protruding a bit more by the touch than they should, you might consider adding an extra tsp. of food to his meals and see what happens. Or you could give him more per meal and cut it back to 3x a day, leaving out whatever he doesn't eat for a while for him to graze on. I think leaving it out for 4 hours at a time is pretty 'safe'. I go longer than that with my cat.

It is also possible that he is just looking for attention from you and one of the ways cats figure they can do that is to 'ask' for more food.

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[Furballsmom]

I love this cat

 

[arr]

You mentioned he is 9 months old and full grown. In my experience, they aren’t full grown at 9 months. My cats most definitely grew at least until a year and a half, but I really think it was two years. I say this because if he is still growing, he will probably need more food. What works very well for me is to feed three times a day and let them have all they want until they walk away. I put their pate down first which has been mixed with a little water. Then I give them dry food until they are satisfied. Then bowls are washed and put up until the next meal. I have figured out their calories and they are eating roughly what they should, so they seem to be naturally self regulating.

It seems to me that it would be highly unlikely for a cat to become significantly overweight if one is not free feeding.

 

[Ladyrosee]

You mentioned he is 9 months old and full grown. In my experience, they aren’t full grown at 9 months. My cats most definitely grew at least until a year and a half, but I really think it was two years. I say this because if he is still growing, he will probably need more food. What works very well for me is to feed three times a day and let them have all they want until they walk away. I put their pate down first which has been mixed with a little water. Then I give them dry food until they are satisfied. Then bowls are washed and put up until the next meal. I have figured out their calories and they are eating roughly what they should, so they seem to be naturally self regulating.

It seems to me that it would be highly unlikely for a cat to become significantly overweight if one is not free feeding.

No I said when he was 9 months old he was about 9 lbs. He is almost 2 years old now and between 9-10lbs. He used to eat a full 3 ounce can of kiwi chicken 4 times a day wolf it down and still would if I let him. that's like 400 calories! He loves that food that much. But any other food he will regulate himself but still acts hungry eating around 250 calories a day. I gave him all the food from 6 weeks to a year old. When I bottle fed him I had to cut him off or else he would projectile vomit his milk from drinking so much his belly would expand into a hard painful mess lol.

 

[Ladyrosee]

I love this cat

Hes my little terror

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh my! What a doll!

 

[arr]

No I said when he was 9 months old he was about 9 lbs. He is almost 2 years old now and between 9-10lbs. He used to eat a full 3 ounce can of kiwi chicken 4 times a day wolf it down and still would if I let him. that's like 400 calories! He loves that food that much. But any other food he will regulate himself but still acts hungry eating around 250 calories a day. I gave him all the food from 6 weeks to a year old. When I bottle fed him I had to cut him off or else he would projectile vomit his milk from drinking so much his belly would expand into a hard painful mess lol.

I’m so sorry, I see that now.

 

[Furballsmom]

I’m so sorry, I see that now.

I completely misread that too

 

[Ladyrosee]

I’m so sorry, I see that now.

It's ok! a year ago about I remember my mom telling the Mud Bay cashier when she was picking up some food that the kitty ate 4 cans a day and they're 2.50 a can and the cashier was like WHAT?? 10LBS? I thought it would be a mainecoon are you sure he eats FOUR A DAY?

So yeah.. he is obsessed with that food and like I said any other canned food he would not eat that much of. But I simply cant afford even 5 dollars a day for him most of the time so I have to get the cheaper food like Nulo or Acana. I really want to get a third cat (a kitten) so he can have someone to terrorize because he bothers my senior so much wanting to play then getting angry he doesnt want to

 

[Twinkster]

Hi! So I've always had cats that didnt regulate their food well because I didn't know any better and would just feed them dry food mindlessly and not think about the detriment to their health it is. I have a kitty I fostered and adopted raised since a week old who is almost 2 years old now and I made a vow to not let him touch dry food in fear he would become a kibble addict like every cat I've had. The only "dry" he gets is the Vital Essentials Nibbs like 10 or so pieces on his wet food 4x a day. I mix hot water with his pate food too. He eats a can a day so about 200 calories plus the probably 50 from the topper and gets a churu once or twice a day.
He acts hungry a lot but he also seems like he wants his pate refilled so he can graze on it and come back to it.
*he had recent blood work and everything was in range and his t4 was too*

He is very hyper and active sprinting around all day playing. He is about 9-10lbs. if my senior kitty who is a much larger frame ate that amount of calories he would be 20lbs LOL. (He is 14.5lbs and good weight)

I'm just wondering if it's his metabolism? I think I might just not be used to having a lean cat

I am still learning so I do not have any advice, I just wanted to say he Is beautiful!