How much kibble to feed if your feeding canned as well? Also a weight question

[squeekers]

I have two cats. Both are neutered males and are somewhat lazy though they do get their active spurts. I had both to the vet because they both have URI's and are on Clavamox for 10 days, flagyl for 5, Dewormer (as a precautionary) and L-Lysine supplement as an immune booster and something to help their skin and coat because the vet noted they are dry and dull. He gave us AminoB plex for their fur and it seems to be helping. They are a week into their medication.

Cynder the grey guy is 10 months and Riot is 3. At the vet Cynder weighed 10lbs and Riot 9. Are they to heavy? Ive never been into cats so these are my second and third cat and the cat I had previously free fed and she was skinny so I free fed these guys but I guess thats a mistake. The vet never said anything to me about their weight not sure if he was keeping quiet because he may offend me I dunno. I think Riot seems fine but for some reason I feel Cynder could shed a pound or two. What do you guys think? Heres some pics, I grabbed them just now.

Onto my next question. I feed whatever canned food I can find at the time (normally its cheaper stuff) and their kibble now is Pro Plan Turkey and Rice. I *may* be switching to Eukanuba Chicken/Rice in the near future. The cans I buy it says to feed 1 can per 8lbs daily. Mine get 1/2 can a day (most of the time they dont eat all of it for some reason they are picky with canned food).

Im confused on how much kibble I should be giving them if they are eating canned and sometimes not eating it all. The bag says for 5-9lbs feed 1/3-2/3 then 10-14lbs feed 2/3-1 cup daily.

I have different bowls for each cat but they are right beside each other and they are pretty good about eating from their own bowl.

Please let me know what you think and if you need any questions answered.

[Zilla]

Well first off if your really worried about their weight/well being ditch the purina and don't think about the eukanuba either. There are plenty of foods out there that are worth SO MUCH more for your money you can get a byproduct free and grain free cat food canned and dry for the same price as both of those brands if not cheaper. Any of us on here can give you loads of suggestions!!

As far as weight I think ten pounds is about average for a cat and to me they look pretty good. I'd be worried if they weighed 13 or more.... When I was feeding a kibble wet combo I was feeding 1/4 cup kibble morning and 3 oz wet at night.... My cat at the time was the average ten pounds too.


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[Zilla]

But the amount of kibble also depends on what brand it is too..... If its a low low quality like purina than you probably need to feed a lot more.... I was feeding a high quality kibble so he wasn't getting that much.


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[squeekers]

How is feeding a "quality" food cheaper? I tried Acana, Blue Buffalo, Orijen, Wellness and they wouldnt touch it. A cheap can of food is 59 cents a can of Wellness half the size is $2.39. By products consist of gizzards, feet, heads etc all of which a cat would eat in a raw diet but when put into kibble its not good?

[Zilla]

Originally Posted by squeekers

How is feeding a "quality" food cheaper? I tried Acana, Blue Buffalo, Orijen, Wellness and they wouldnt touch it. A cheap can of food is 59 cents a can of Wellness half the size is $2.39. By products consist of gizzards, feet, heads etc all of which a cat would eat in a raw diet but when put into kibble its not good?

It's cheaper because one they eat less of it and two because if you don't feed crappy food then your cat is far more less likely to develop skin/health problems anytime down the road.... Cats are very prone to skin and UTI problems. And didn't your vet say your cats had flaky skin?? You think that's normal?? No... It's more than likely due to the food you are feeding. Mine are fed Small Batch Pet chicken and lamb raw and Evo canned... They don't have flaky skin. Their coats are beautiful and SO much softer than they were when I used to feed just a kibble. The proof is in the results countless people start to get when they start to realize a lot of things in the pet food industry are phonies... Aka purina eukanuba iams science diet royal Canin etc.... Big cans of EVO come out to be only 16 cents an oz I saw someone say... That's cheap... You can get 12 big 13 oz cans for only 22 dollars from chewy.com. And if your cats wouldn't touch any of those I would try again and try transitioning SLOWLY... It takes patience for picky cats sometimes

And that's what people/incompetent vets tell you is in byproducts.... Haven't you heard the horror stories of sick euthanized animals/road kill being used in by products??? Basically anything could be in there and you don't know it.



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[grrawritsjordi]

I buy a bag of 5lb Taste of the Wild and it lasts a little over two weeks. (I was definitely over feeding, so I am going to see how long it lasts this time) It is $12.99 for 5lbs and totally worth it. I would love to buy evo or wellness dry, but I just can't afford it right now.

I get a small spoonful and a half of Wellness wet food and throw about 1.5oz of dry on top twice a day. The girls are at a good weight, although Moosey is getting a little on the chubs side, so I am cutting the portions down just a bit and getting her more exercise.

Honestly, if I were you I would at least try one grain free food. Grains are fillers, but their name is deceiving as they do not fill up the cat.

I was on TOTW for the first two bags of food, then my roommate went and bought Innova. Since we fed them Innova, their coats lost its shine, they were shedding more and they were itching a lot more. A lot of cats are allergic to grains and being carnivores, cats should not have a lot of grain. We finally finished off the Innova dry and it is back to TOTW and I am now feeding Wellness wet, so they are on a completely grain free diet.

No one can make you change up your food, and no one can say you are bad for not feeding them grain free. Your cats are obviously blessed just to have a cat parent that cares about them.

PS. they are gorgeous. I have a soft spot for orange kitties.

[squeekers]

Firstly im in Canada I cannot order from Mr Chewy. In fact theres no places here we can order from without paying an arm and a leg for shipping.

My house is also a bit dry that could be causing the dry skin it could be genetics or possibly the food. I came here asking for advice on how much to feed them I do not recall asking what brand of food I should be feeding. Dog/cat food companies will feed you any hype to get you to purchase their food. High protein diets can cause kidney problems in both dogs and cats yet people continue to say feeding 50% protein is perfectly fine.

Sorry for getting upset but I didnt come here asking people to knock what I choose to feed my cats. I got my one to eat a grain free food when he was a year old he was on that food for 6 months and had the runs every day, horrible skin odour and breath and massive shedding. I feed what works best for my cats/dogs not what food critics tell me to feed based on whats "good" or whats "bad".

[Lucas718]

The recommendation for an adult cat is 20-30 calories per pound of weight, depending on how active the cat is.


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[rightsaidfed]

Squeekers,

What you're feeding totally matters if you're asking how much to feed.

The number of calories and amount of nutrients in Meow Mix is not the same as the calories and nutrients in Wellness Core.

Whatever you're you're feeding should have a line near the nutritional content and ingredients that lists the number of calories in a cup or per can. Shoot for 25 calories per pound. A 10lb cat should be getting about 250 calories per day. Split this amount between the number of meals you feed.

On average this is around 3oz wet plus 1/4 cup of dry per day but this will vary widely depending on the calorie content of the food.

[kayla baxter]

High protein does not cause kidney issues. If there is already an underlying kidney issue then high protein *may* exasperate it.
Also, a by product is anything not fit for human consumption, so even if it does contains organs and other natural items to a diet, they're organs and parts that come from diseased or dead animals that are unfit for people. If something is deemed unfit for me to eat why would I want to feed it to my pets? This is all assuming the by product is that of a named meat source. Meat or animal meal and by products can contain everything from dead and diseased on arrival animals to roadkill and zoo animals to euthanized pets.


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