If by "huge," you don't mean unhealthily overweight, or that your budget
is unbalanced from buying their food, is there some problem around the
amount you feed them?

It's so hard to judge how much any individual cat is getting when they
share the same bowl, but I wouldn't worry about it _if_ they're all
healthy. You could, though, provide less and see what happens.

None of them will waste away, I bet. ;)

-k-

per cat twice a day (2/3 cup total).  We'll see if that helps.

We feed both our cats as much as they want.  In other words, there is
a big bowl full of cat food all the time that they can come and snack
at anytime they like.  Our vet told us this was fine as long as they
didn't put on too much weight.  (We use Science Diet Adult Light)
Neither of our cats has a weight issue, the biggest one is 9 pounds
and has been 9 pounds for 2 years.
***********************************************

"Free-ranging cats in the United States have an average lifespan in
the general population of only 3 to 5 years; indoor cats have an
average lifespan of 12 years and frequently live longer than 20
years..."
(Karen L. Overall, M.A., V.M.D., Ph.D., Diplomate, American College
of Veterinary Behavior; Department of Clinical Studies School of
Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania)

"The hazards of the outdoors-automobiles, dogs, rival cats, poisonous
plants, infectious diseases, and fleas, to name but a few-are
compelling reasons to keep cats exclusively indoors."
(Dr. James Richards, Director, Cornell Feline Health Center,
College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York)

"Cats can be happily kept inside all the time"
(Robert J. Holmes, BVM&S, PhD, MRCVS, FACVSc,
Cat Behavior and Training
Animal Behaviour Clinic, Malvern Vie 3 144, Australia)

I feed my 15 lb. (should be closer to 14 lb.) boy and my trim 10 lb. boy
one can of Wellness or Innova each per day. Hektor, the bigger boy, gets
crunchies sometimes because he doesn't suffer from Otis' urinary tract
problems. Then he gets the equivalent of 1/4 cup PHD kibble or about 1/3
cup Wellness kibble, total, per day (or some combination of canned and
kibble). They also get snacks of raw food, Hektor more than Otis (hence
his pudge), such as chicken necks and wings that are good for their
teeth.

I also try to engage them in interactive games with my Cat Charmer (long
piece of fabric on a stick for dangling and chasing) for exercise
purposes.

-Alison in OH

How many ounces or grams in a cup??
I've just come back from the vet's today after having a weigh-in for my
overweight moggie.  In January this year, at just over 2 years old, she was
6.24kg, that's about 13 and 3/4 lbs and I must admit..she was FAT!!!

Today she weighed in at 5.93kg, just over 13 lbs and her target weight is
5kg. Yeaaaahhhh she's lost 300g in 7 months....apparantly a respectable
rate of weight loss!

She is currently getting 45/50g a day of Friskies Vital Balance Light (a
Purina brand???)  It's 11% fat, slightly lower than IAMS but not as low as
Hills.

But the point of my rambling post :o) Is that her weight was detrimental to
her health.  She has a knee problem with her hind legs. At 1 year old she
had an op on the worst leg and it's been successful. The weight she put on
in the next year was putting strain on the other leg but the vet says, if
she gets her weight down, gets fit and tightens up the musles in her legs
she may not need another op.  

The vet also told me today that obesity in cats can be a sympton of thyroid
problems but reckons my cat is just a porker :o)

You're obviously worried about your cats' size or you wouldn't be asking
the question :o)  I'd go back to your vet, tell them you are worried and
ask for their advice regarding a weight loss program.  You've taken the
right step in stopping free feeding them and switching to light food and if
your cats are not active outdoor cats you need to give them much less than
the packets suggests and play with them.  A piece of string with a feather
on the end is like the cat equivelent to a gym :o)

Lindsey

Mr B <ladeeda@hahaha.com> wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav:

Kami is a 10-pounder, which is perfect for her frame.  According to the
guides on her food, she should get a can and a third a day.  She gets
half a can twice a day and a steady bowl of dry, which she doesn't eat
unless she's hungry.  Her weight has been very steady.Some days she's
just hungry and I give her half a can more.  She pulled that last night
and I was too lazy to dish up half a can at 10:00, so I gave her the
whole thing.  What a waste.  She slurped all the gravy off and left it.