The package amounts always seem exhorbitant to me. Does he *really* want
more or is it habit? Like, if you play with him instead, does he forget
abotu food?

Label recommendations cover all bases - neutered cats require 1/3 less
calories than intact cats.  So chop at least 1/3 off the label
recommendation right off the bat. If your cat is inactive or moderately
active, take a little more off.

A safe guide for feeding neutered, moderately active cats is 45 kcal/kg/day
of body weight (22 kcals/lb/day).  If the caloric content isn't printed on
the label or on Nutro's website, call the company - the phone number should
be on the label.

After you know the caloric content of the food, you can calculate how much
to feed him by using the above formula (45 kcal/kg/day).  This will be a
maintainence diet - IOW, a diet to maintain his present weight.  A *safe*
weight loss diet would be about 75% of his maintainence DER (daily energy
requirement).

However, if you think you've been overfeeding him, start his weight loss
program by feeding him the appropriate kcals (based on 45 kcals/kg.day) for
his weight and activity level.  You don't want to cut his caloric intake
drastically and abruptly.

Since he is now at 20 lbs. and seems to be

At 20 lbs, his maintainence DER would be about 409 kcals/day. I don't know
how many kcals each pouch contains - but on the average 3 oz of adult cat
food usually contains about 85-100 kcals.  So, 8 pouches/day seems
ridiculous.

He is getting about

Based on my 'guesstimation' of 85-100 kcals/pouch, 4 pouches seems pretty
close to his maintainence DER - but not for weight loss.  A weight loss diet
would be closer to 306 kcal/day - or about 3 pouches/day.  I'd check with
Nutro to get the exact kcals/pouch.

One of problems associated with exceptionally palatable diets is cats tend
to overeat.  Its difficult to tell if the cat is actually hungry or just
enjoys the food so much that he always wants more.  The other problem with
exceptionally palatable diets is they're usually very high in phosphorus.

He gets 1 1/2 in the morning, then

You might want to consider buying a good pediatric scale.

https://www.totalbodyworks.com/infant_scales/1583_digital_baby_infant_scale.htm

Small weight gains and losses are difficult to notice in a cat you see every
day. Also, weight loss/gain can be an early warning sign of disease.

Good luck.

Phil

Most cat food packages err on the side of recommending too much food.  Do
you weigh your cat regularly?  That is the only way to be sure that weight
is being maintained (if that is what you want) or that weight loss is within
an acceptable range (if that is your goal).  I use Tanita digital scales.
They quickly lock in to "0" pounds, then show the correct in just a few
seconds after I place Holly or Duffy on the scales.  Some people do it by
weighing themselves, then getting on the scales while holding a cat.  If you
do that, be sure they are good-quality digital scales that show ounces (not
just pounds).  The Tanita scales I have are actually baby scales, so it
shows increments of 0.5 of an ounce and weighs up to 40 pounds maximum.  I
would also suggest that you switch to a good quality canned food.  That will
provide water, an advantage because it is often difficult to monitor how
much water a cat is drinking.  I use Wellness canned.

MaryL