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cat needs to lose weight - calorie question
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. |
#2
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cat needs to lose weight - calorie question
"Kalmia" wrote in message ... 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. Don't know about calories, because my vet did not put it that way. My cat was 18 lbs and needed to be about 9 lbs. She lost 9 pounds in a year by switching to canned food 12 hours apart instead of free feeding "diet" Iams dry. He basically said, "cut her food back by 1/4. When she plateaus, cut it back again." She was also older, about 10-11. |
#3
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cat needs to lose weight - calorie question
My fat, I mean fluffy boy O T probably should be a bit thinner but vet
hasn't said so....yet. Anyway when I had dogs, started by decreasing their food about a quarter amount. Did this for three months then cut back another quarter. Worked and they were satisfied as it didn't all disappear at once. Just my 2 cants worth, don't see why it wouldn't work with the cats. "cybercat" wrote in message ... "Kalmia" wrote in message ... 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. Don't know about calories, because my vet did not put it that way. My cat was 18 lbs and needed to be about 9 lbs. She lost 9 pounds in a year by switching to canned food 12 hours apart instead of free feeding "diet" Iams dry. He basically said, "cut her food back by 1/4. When she plateaus, cut it back again." She was also older, about 10-11. |
#4
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cat needs to lose weight - calorie question
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. My Burmese boy Monki reached 23 years old and never weighed more than 5kgs - generally around 4kgs in Summer. Living in Sydney with 40+ degree heat in Summer and high humidity the aircon was on, however i had a cat door that worked ok. he was fed 100g of dry food in the morning and about 250g of fresh meat in the evening. Longevity and health is weight related as it is in humans. So cut the food intake and enjoy healthier and many more years of company. |
#5
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cat needs to lose weight - calorie question
The feeding recommendations are usually on the can or bag. I think
that canned food would be better as it isn't filled with carbs. Cats don't eat carbs in the wild. Carbs make them fat. Usually 1 6 oz. can per day is the recommended feeding. |
#6
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cat needs to lose weight - calorie question
Suddenly, without warning, Kalmia exclaimed (7/3/2009 8:15 PM):
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. As others have said, for cats we don't talk about how many calories, only how much food. If you're free-feeding him dry, stop or slowly reduce the amount. Make good quality canned food (grain-free if he's not a carbivore like my cat) the basis of his diet. As in people, fast weight loss isn't good. Gradual changes in diet, and gradual weight loss. Also, try to get him more active - a string or laser pointer is good to start, you can try different toys to see what he likes - see if you can get him to play about 15 minutes per day. Good luck, your cat may not appreciate it but you're doing the right thing. Stick to your guns and don't let him tell you he's starving to death jmc |
#7
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cat needs to lose weight - calorie question
On Jul 4, 7:36*am, jmc wrote:
Suddenly, without warning, Kalmia exclaimed (7/3/2009 8:15 PM): 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. As others have said, for cats we don't talk about how many calories, only how much food. If you're free-feeding him dry, stop or slowly reduce the amount. *Make good quality canned food (grain-free if he's not a carbivore like my cat) the basis of his diet. As in people, fast weight loss isn't good. *Gradual changes in diet, and gradual weight loss. Also, try to get him more active - a string or laser pointer is good to start, you can try different toys to see what he likes - see if you can get him to play about 15 minutes per day. Good luck, your cat may not appreciate it but you're doing the right thing. *Stick to your guns and don't let him tell you he's starving to death jmc I measured his food for a year - and still he gained 1/4 lb. I tried the diet food - hated it and picked it out. (I'd mixed it with his regular dry food). I've tried alternating wet and dry, giving wet every third day. Now he eats it as fast as he can. He had a recent physical, but no trouble found. One other thing - he poops outside the box every once in a while - esp. If I don't get up in time to scoop it to his liking. I'm not about to get up in the night to clean a box. |
#8
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cat needs to lose weight - calorie question
"Kalmia" wrote jmc I measured his food for a year - and still he gained 1/4 lb. I tried the diet food - hated it and picked it out. (I'd mixed it with his regular dry food). I've tried alternating wet and dry, giving wet every third day. Now he eats it as fast as he can. He had a recent physical, but no trouble found. Feed him all canned. You'll be amazed at the change in him. Two portions 12 hours apart. One other thing - he poops outside the box every once in a while - esp. If I don't get up in time to scoop it to his liking. I'm not about to get up in the night to clean a box. Come back and talk to us when you figure out who is in charge. |
#9
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cat needs to lose weight - calorie question
Tonight starts his new regimen. Half a cup dry in the morning. Half a can (not that itty bitty size) in the evening, but doled out in two smaller portions. I may try to integrate some adult dry in with his Iams regular dry. We got out his toys and played a bit. He still loves 'mouse under the pillow'. Get on the floor with a wide, stiff leather belt and a small throw pillow. Push the belt under the pilllow and out toward the cat. It might look like a snake to him? You can move it fast, slow, from a lot of angles - cat has no idea were it's coming from next and tries to bat it. Why he can't figure out that it's ME pushing it....well, he's a cat. (Maybe he DOES know.....) He also love his 3 white feathers on a fishing pole. Thanks for the suggestions. |
#10
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cat needs to lose weight - calorie question
He KNOWS it is you, just doesn't want to spoil YOUR fun!
"Kalmia" wrote in message ... Tonight starts his new regimen. Half a cup dry in the morning. Half a can (not that itty bitty size) in the evening, but doled out in two smaller portions. I may try to integrate some adult dry in with his Iams regular dry. We got out his toys and played a bit. He still loves 'mouse under the pillow'. Get on the floor with a wide, stiff leather belt and a small throw pillow. Push the belt under the pilllow and out toward the cat. It might look like a snake to him? You can move it fast, slow, from a lot of angles - cat has no idea were it's coming from next and tries to bat it. Why he can't figure out that it's ME pushing it....well, he's a cat. (Maybe he DOES know.....) He also love his 3 white feathers on a fishing pole. Thanks for the suggestions. |
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