If I fed Pearl as often as she wants she'd be big as a house. As it is, we
are trying to get a couple of lbs off.

Just as with humans, I'm sure there are many factors which determine the
ideal amount of food to feed your furry friends: metabolism (fast/slow),
activity  level,  fitness  (the  need to gain or lose weight), age (when
they get older their metabolism will tend to slow  down),  food  quality
(high carbohydrate content will more readily lead to weight gain), etc.

In  our  case, Romeo is about nine years old.  We feed him 1.5 oz.  Iams
dry food (with hot water - makes it a kind  of  broth  which  he  likes)
twice  a  day, and a quarter of a six oz.  can of Iams canned food about
once every week or two (with a corresponding reduction of the dry  food)
as  a  treat.  He's a little overweight, but has lost about a pound over
the last year.

My  suggestion is to play it by ear.  Since your cats are so healthy, it
would seem that their current intake is about right.  Weigh  them  on  a
regular basis and adjust their food accordingly.

We're lucky in that Dave works from home so there is almost always a
slave in attendance upon their ladyships. What tends to happen is that
I get up and put down one small portion of wet food. If by the time I
am ready to go to work, the bowl is empty I'll give them another one if
not they'll have usually eaten the first when Dave gets up and he'll
give them the second one.

About midday they get either a third small portion of wet or a small
portion of Iam's (which they love!).

When I come in from work they get a small portion of wet or Iam's
(depending on which one they had for lunch)

Before we go to bed they get a small portion of either with a definate
preference of wet food (on my part) and Iam's (on theirs)

Of course because someone is there all the time this can vary for
example right now the weather is very hot and both are refusing to move
unless they have to so they are eating a lot less and we don't put
stuff down to go to waste so they are getting three small meals a day
rather than 5

the only time they get a large helping of Iam's is when we have to be
out all day and then I give them a large wet food bowl and plenty of
Iam's. Sarrasine loves it so much that when she sees us getting ready
to go out, she almost ushers out of the door!

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs