Wondering if my 8 month old is overeating?

[libertybella]

Hi everyone. I have an 8-9 month old kitten (not sure of the exact age, she was a stray from PetSmart and they approximated her age as well) and I'm wondering if I am overfeeding her.

I used to feed her wet and dry food (approx. 1/3 can of fancy feast a day) and it is hard to say how much dry food I fed her. 

I am facing some financial issues so I cut back on her wet food recently and now she is on dry food only. I am hoping to get her back on the wet food again soon.

Regardless, now I am only feeding her dry food. I know some people say this is bad to do, but I basically free-feed her. I am a college student so I am gone most of the day, so I usually fill her bowl once before I leave for school, then I fill it half way when I get home, and half way before I go to bed so that she does not wake me up in the morning because she is hungry. I feed her iams indoor weight and hairball control. 

She does have a bit of a pouch, but it does not hang so I'm assuming it is just hair and a normal part of her development. She is very active and has long hair so it is hard to tell if she is overweight or not. However, I am just concerned because a week ago I bought about a 5-pound bag of food and it is already about half way gone.

Am I overfeeding her? Any suggestions on how much dry food I should be giving her until I can get her back on dry and wet food?

I just don't want my baby going hungry while I'm in class.. 

Thanks in advance!

 

[AbbysMom]

Unfortunately I think the only answer to this is to stop free-feeding her. I would check out the guidelines for feeding on the side of the bag and start there. You could divide that into three or even 1/4, 1/4 and 1/2 so she isn't waking you up quite as much.

Here's an article on how to transition her to timed feedings:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/transitioning-free-fed-kibble-kitties-to-timed-meals

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Along with the above, be aware that the guidelines on commercial foods are usually over stated, sometimes by a LOT, making it that much harder to know how much to feed.  Sometimes it's really trial and error to know how much to feed, especially when they are long haired.  I say that because it's so much harder to determine if they are getting chubby when you can't really see their waists, etc. under all that fur.  One thing you can do is feel for her ribs.  If you cannot feel them, then she's probably a little too chubby, and she's getting to the age when she's past the point of being able to eat all she wants.  I have a cat who as a kitten ate ALL THE TIME (free fed), and everyone said "let him eat....kittens need their food....he won't get fat, etc".   Well, guess what?  When he went in for his first year check up, our Vet said he needed to lose FOUR pounds!  Poor baby.  He'll be six this month, and he's been on a diet for the last five years

  Now he eats only low carb wet food, and I have to measure it at each meal, based on which food he's eating and the calories in it.  And when the others get treats, he doesn't get as many

.   And it's all my fault because I let him get fat in the first place

OK, now that that's said, here is an article that talks about calories and how to help figure out how much to feed:  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-much-food-should-i-feed-my-cat

OH, and BTW, Friskies canned food in the pate form is really very inexpensive, and pretty low carb, and for an inexpensive food, not a bad food

.  It might be much more satisfying for your little one than the kibble, for around the same cost, maybe even less, if she's going thru a 5 lb bag in a week.  Food for thought. 

 

[felineempathy]

I would probably stop free feeding.  We had a family calico cat when I was a child.  She was an active indoor/outdoor cat in a woodland environment on an island (perfect place for pets!).  She was free fed dry food during the day while indoor and then put outside at night.  She still looked fat even for the amount of activity she got.  Since she was rescued as a stray she never had a license, tracking chip, and vet so we never got proper advice.  She would also never eat wet food and stuck with the same brand of dry her whole life.  She lived to around 16-17 years old, I still feel like she could of lived longer.

I'm a college student as well and have been feeding all wet food.  I give her a 3 oz can before I leave in the morning and another at night around dinner.  I would suggest doing something similar with the dry food, using whatever amount you feed your cat depending on the age, weight, and activity level.  Use the resources provided by us.

I'm not sure how accurate this is but I've been sort of going by this:

http://www.natureslogic.com/cats-feeding-chart/

Growing kittens usually eat a lot anyhow.  Try to split the serving, feed half before you leave in the morning and half at night.

 

[libertybella]

I will try to follow all of your suggestions. Thanks and I'll update when I get her on a schedule.

 

[libertybella]

Also, here's a few pictures of her. Does she look too bulky?

20150204_002647.jpeg

• libertybella
• Feb 3, 2015

20150204_002708.jpeg

• libertybella
• Feb 3, 2015

20150204_002738.jpeg

• libertybella
• Feb 3, 2015

 

[tinybash]

She doesn't look starved .. that's for sure. She looks healthy and happy to me Have you thought about checking what her weight should be by maybe asking the vet. Then you'd have a guide to go on. She is stunning

 

[libertybella]

@tinybash  

Thank you She's such a sweetheart. Thanks for the advice. I think I'm just overreacting as a cat momma does. 

 

[felineempathy]

Russian blue cat?  One of my friends has one of those, he's a very good cat.

 

[libertybella]

@FelineEmpathy  The people at PetSmart put Domestic Shorthair but she was a rescue so I'm not sure. She looks like a Russian Blue, do you think she's that instead of a DSH?

 

[felineempathy]

I'm pretty sure she is a Russian Blue from the looks of it.  Here's a picture of my friends Russian Blue cat for comparison: 

10636311_1508780212726448_7947267376786796227_n.jp

• felineempathy
• Feb 5, 2015

Usually adoption centers, shelters, etc will label cats by short, medium, and long hair because it's hard to tell their breed or it's just not well known.  If the breed is obvious then they would label the fur length and then their breed such as tabby or maine coon or calico to name a few.  For example, medium tabby mix (like how my cat was labeled because you can see some tabby lines but not a lot).