On Jul 8, 1:56*pm, Kalmia wrote:
On Jul 8, 3:50*am, "



wrote:
On Jul 3, 5:15*pm, Kalmia wrote:

Cat is 18 lb. *Should be 15. *How many calories a day does he need to
attain and maintain 15 lb.? *I think he needs to be on senior food
too.

He's 11 years old, neutered, not too active. *Won't go outside unless
door is open for quick retreat - can't do that in the summer with the
a/c on. *No health problems, tho.

Thanks.

When I got my first Ragdoll, he was food crazy. He had been outside
begging for food before he was turned into a shelter, so he ate every
meal like it would be his last. And this was the first time I had to
stop free feeding. He was also, young and still growing, so some of
his weight gain was natural, and some of it was eating too much. He
got up to 20 lbs.

Then, because he had the stinkiest poop, I changed his food to Royal
Canin Maine Coon food. I chose Royal Canin because their senior food
had really helped my elderly cat. And I figured my jumbo Ragdoll could
use a food that was designed for a larger cat.

By accident, I discovered the way to get a cat to lose weight. Larger
kibbles. When I had served teh regular food, Jay Jay inhaled the food.
But when I served the larger kibbles, he had to slow down and actually
crunch it a bit. It took the same amount of time to feel satisfied,
but he was actually eating less. And he was able to walk away from a
bowl that had food in it.

I was able to go back to free feeding, and he lost 4 lbs on his own.
For the past 3 years, his weight has been 16 lbs and 1-2 oz every time
I weigh him. And that is with kibble available 24/7 and canned food
once a day.

What brand are you feeding him which comes in large kibble size?

Royal Canin Maine Coon version.

It's fine for every breed. Just has larger kibbles for larger breed,
and glucosamine for joint health.

Jay Jay loves it so much that he ignores the other varieties that I
serve. I do serve only Royal Canin brand as Jay Jay gets stinky poop
with other food, and he does occasionally dip into the other bowls. I
don't want him to be tempted by anything that will mess up his more
sensitive system.

I recently adopted two more ragdolls, and one of them refused to
switch from her previous food (Iams, which I hate). I ended up feeling
all the bags of Royal Canin to find one with the smallest kibble size
since I figured that was why she liked the Iams so much. And it
worked. She finally started chowing on something other than the Iams.
So, I actually have side-by-side bowls of large kibble and small
kibble, and they each eat their own.

Royal Canin does have a program where yo buy 10 bags and get a free
bag. So, if this interests you, save your receipts and your upc codes.
You can get a signup sheet on their webpage.