Math-impaired purr-son needs help calculating daily calorie requirements :-)

[cheeser]

Buddy is finally eating again after yet another bout of inappetence, but he's only consuming approx. 120-140 calories a day on his own. So I'm currently supplementing that with assist feedings, and to get some extra fluids into him since he gets a tablespoon or two of Young Again LID Zero Mature every day. Yeah, I know. I'm not too thrilled about feeding him ANY dry food with his history of urinary tract issues, even if it is supposed to be super low in carbs. But when you're taking care of a terminally ill member of the family, sometimes you need all of the conveniences you can get.

So I need a little help with some math.

Buddy is about 10 years old as best we can tell, weighs 13.5 pounds, is neutered, is strictly an indoor kitty, and doesn't get a lot of exercise due to some chronic health issues.

I thought the general rule of thumb re: calorie requirements was 20-25 calories per pound based on ideal weight, and the vet is satisfied with Buddy's current weight for his size, body type, etc. So if my math is correct, and I use the lower end of the spectrum to calculate his calorie requirements, that would be 20 x 13.5 = 270, which seems a bit high.

On the other hand, the vet said Buddy only needs about 180 calories a day, which seems low to me, even for an inactive cat. We certainly don't want Buddy to get overweight, but we do like for him to have a little extra weight on him since he's FIV+, and frequently suffers from bouts of inappetence from herpes flare ups, upper respiratory infections, etc.

So just how many calories a day does Buddy probably need? I often mix baby food and/or homemade broth in with his syringe feedings to make them more palatable and easier to draw up with a syringe, and I don't want to add too many calories to his daily diet that aren't nutritionally complete.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. If it helps any, Feeby (15+ yo) who is very sedentary is maintaining her 16 lbs on an average of 250 calories a day. So, I have been kind of guesstimating that she can sustain herself on 15-16 calories per pound. Some of it depends on the type of calories too - Feeby is mainly on canned food, a combination of Hills C/D (168 calories per 5.8 oz can) and Fancy Feast pates (~90 calories per 3.0 oz can).
I have given Feeby baby food meats too, which are usually around 80-90 calories per 2.5 oz jar (Gerber) and 50-60 per 2.5 jar of Beechnut.

Maybe try 16 calories per pound, similar to Feeby? That would mean just under 220 calories (13.5 x 16 = 216). Weigh Buddy after a week and see where he is at, then of course, weigh him at least once a week thereafter just to keep any eye out for weight loss/gain - and adjust accordingly.

Edit: To weigh Buddy use your own scale, hold him and check the weight, then weigh yourself without him. I have a digital scale that is supposed to be accurate within 0.02 lbs.

 

[cheeser]

Hi. If it helps any, Feeby (15+ yo) who is very sedentary is maintaining her 16 lbs on an average of 250 calories a day. So, I have been kind of guesstimating that she can sustain herself on 15-16 calories per pound. Some of it depends on the type of calories too - Feeby is mainly on canned food, a combination of Hills C/D (168 calories per 5.8 oz can) and Fancy Feast pates (~90 calories per 3.0 oz can).
I have given Feeby baby food meats too, which are usually around 80-90 calories per 2.5 oz jar (Gerber) and 50-60 per 2.5 jar of Beechnut.

Maybe try 16 calories per pound, similar to Feeby? That would mean just under 220 calories (13.5 x 16 = 216). Weigh Buddy after a week and see where he is at, then of course, weigh him at least once a week thereafter just to keep any eye out for weight loss/gain - and adjust accordingly.

Edit: To weigh Buddy use your own scale, hold him and check the weight, then weigh yourself without him. I have a digital scale that is supposed to be accurate within 0.02 lbs.

Awesome! Thanks ever so much! That makes me feel much better.

We've been averaging around 220-240 calories a day for quite a while, and according to the vet's scales, Buddy is maintaining his weight on that. I just started second guessing myself to death after the last time we went through another cycle of inappetence, and I was trying to make baby food more nutritionally complete by adding stuff like CatSure, KMR Kitten Milk Replacer Powder, Oxbow Carnivore Care, or Nutri-Cal to help us get over the hump.

I vaguely recall something about how treats and other non-nutritionally complete foods are not supposed to exceed 10% of a cat's daily diet, so this time around I've been trying not to rely on baby food quite so much. Thankfully, Buddy will now tolerate Sheba pates for his syringe feedings, so hopefully that will help us to be less reliant on baby food in the future.