My "Tiger" eating enough?

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

diamondjoe@verizon.net - 09 Aug 2005 17:08 GMT

Hi,

I have a pair of 4-year-old sister tabbies, Tiger and Shiloh. They both
tend to be a bit "robust," so I feed them Iams dry for weight control.
They each get 2 ounces twice daily.

Shiloh is a voracious eater and finishes her bowl. Tiger, though, often
only finishes around half a serving. She looks great, and her behavior
hasn't changed. But I'm concerned that she's not eating enough.

Do you think I'm being overly concerned? I'd love to hear from other
cat lovers about this.

Thank you,

Joe

Reply to this Message

Cheryl - 10 Aug 2005 01:35 GMT

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
> Joe

What are their weights? What sort of "build" do they have?

- --
Cheryl

"The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited
breath."
- - W.C. Fields

Reply to this Message

ruffdiamond - 10 Aug 2005 04:34 GMT

Tiger's a "sleek" 10.5 lbs, Shiloh's a "heftier" 13 lbs. Shiloh has a
long body, so her weight's distributed pretty well. Still, I'd like to
see them both around 9 or 9.5 lbs, but 8 months of feeding them Iams
weight control has not done the trick. And I can't imagine feeding them
less than the 4 oz total I give each of them daily.

Reply to this Message

Phil P. - 10 Aug 2005 05:29 GMT

> Tiger's a "sleek" 10.5 lbs, Shiloh's a "heftier" 13 lbs. Shiloh has a
> long body, so her weight's distributed pretty well. Still, I'd like to
> see them both around 9 or 9.5 lbs, but 8 months of feeding them Iams
> weight control has not done the trick. And I can't imagine feeding them
> less than the 4 oz total I give each of them daily.

I think you're feeding them too much. That's why they're not losing weight.
Moderately active, neutered adult cats need about 45 kcal/kg/day.

Iams Weight Control contains 346 kcal/cup (1815 kcal/lb-113 kcal/oz). You're
feeding them 453 kcal/day (113 kcal x 4 oz) when you should be feeding them
214 kcal/day and 265 kcal/day, respectively.

Phil

Reply to this Message

ruffdiamond - 10 Aug 2005 07:13 GMT

> Iams Weight Control contains 346 kcal/cup (1815 kcal/lb-113 kcal/oz). You're
> feeding them 453 kcal/day (113 kcal x 4 oz) when you should be feeding them
> 214 kcal/day and 265 kcal/day, respectively.

I appreciate the help, but I'm confused by your numbers. According to
the Iams Wt. Control label, an 8-lb. cat should get 1/2 cup and a
12-lb. cat should get 2/3 of a cup daily. So if 1/2 cup equals 4 oz,
then I'm giving them both a bit less than what Iams recommends.

Reply to this Message

Phil P. - 10 Aug 2005 23:31 GMT

> > Iams Weight Control contains 346 kcal/cup (1815 kcal/lb-113 kcal/oz). You're
> > feeding them 453 kcal/day (113 kcal x 4 oz) when you should be feeding them
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> 12-lb. cat should get 2/3 of a cup daily. So if 1/2 cup equals 4 oz,
> then I'm giving them both a bit less than what Iams recommends.

Ahh, I see: you meant 4 oz by volume not weight. You're still feeding them
too much.

If the label recommendations aren't working, that means they're not right
for your cats. Label recommendations cover all bases which are usually
excessive for many cats and don't take into consideration the cat's neuter
status. Neutered cats require 1/3 less calories (45 kcal/kg/day) just to
maintain normal weight, and even less calories (30 kcals/kg/day) to lose 15%
body weight in about 18 weeks. Cats shouldn't lose any more weight any
faster than that. Weight loss in cats is a very slow process and must be
approached very carefully to avoid very serious complications.

A 10.5 lb. (4.77 kg) cat needs 143 kcals/day to lose 15% BW in ~18 weeks.
Tiger is eating 173 kcal/day- 30 kcals/day too much. A 13 lb. (6 kg) cat
needs 180 kcals/day to lose the same weight. Shiloh is eating 230 kcals- 50
kcals/day too much. There's one of the problems.

The other problem is the type of food- way too high (43%) in carbohydrates.
You'd have much better luck with a high-protein/low-carbohydrate canned
food.

Reply to this Message