Wow, I'm not really up on portions, but a cup of dry sounds like a LOT. How much does he weigh and what's his body type? Do you have a couple of pictures you could post?

 

The food has the bare minimum acceptable level of fat for a cat and a ton of fiber (Henry must be pooping like an elephant). A cup only contains 261 calories...as compared to 500ish for a typical high quality grain free food.

I don't have time to answer fully right now...I'll write more a little later.

 

He's 13lbs from the last time I weighed him. He seems to have lost a little, but I haven't weighed him to check. He's not "obese" by any means, but he could lose a few lbs. He's a bigger cat. Here's a photo of him lying on my pillows, probably the best one I have that shows his body.

 

He's nearing the end of the bag I bought him. Would it be better to get him onto another formula, or perhaps a different brand?

Looking forward to your reply, thank you in advance.

 

OMGosh! He's gorgeous!

 

Thank you! He gets lots of compliments on his beauty. I'm quite smitten

 

There are so many brands of food. So many formulas. I have no idea where to start. Ideally I'd like to feed him mostly dry, with wet food 3-4x a week.

 

When I adopted Cinderella, I was sent home with cans of "Chicken of the Sea" tuna from her captor. My first cat - I thought I was spoiling her rotten, I had no idea how bad that was until I joined Cat Forum.

 

That's why I'm so thankful for this forum! It's so helpful to have other cat owners to learn from.

 

Here's a little update -
He had 1/2 a small can of wet food this afternoon. When I fed him his dinner (1/2 cup dry) I added water to it, I guess my way of adding a little extra moisture, and I was curious as to what he would do with it. He's typically a grazer...as in take a few bites, walk away for ten minutes, come back for more, repeat. He finished the entire bowl.

 

For cats, weight control is all about calorie and carb intake. Obviously, no matter what they're eating, if it's too many calories the they're going to gain weight. But carbs are also an issue, as obligate carnivores they are not built to digest them well...they have a limited supply of the enzymes needed to digest carbs. Carbs spike sugar levels contributing to obesity and long term to diabetes. Simple carbs like corn and rice are significantly worse than complex carbs like whole oats. Dry food is always going to be high in carbs so if you're trying to get a cat to lose weight the best thing to do is ditch the dry food.

The ideal food for a cat is high in protein, moderate fat and low in carbs.

The Royal Canin formula you're feeding has fairly high protein, extremely low fat and high carbs. A substantial amount of the carbs are in the form of fiber which is intended to fill the cat up. The problem with the food is that they are using corn and rice and a lot of nutritionally empty fillers. It has an extreme amount of fiber and while fiber helps keep things moving...too much can also cause constipation. Dry food is typically low on moisture (10%) and this one is even lower at 8%. Lack of moisture is a problem for cats possibly leading to urinary issues (crystals, infections) and long term contributing to kidney disease. So that's another reason to avoid or minimize dry.

A cat typically needs between 20-25 calories per lb depending on activity level. At 13 lbs and I'll assume rather sedentary, Henry needs about 260 calories a day for maintenance. To achieve weight loss he needs to comsume 10-15% less than his maintenance calories. So about 221-234 calories per day.

So the strategy would be to feed mostly wet food (ideally only wet food). Calories can vary widely depending on the brand so you'll have to check each food. A 5.5 oz can may range from 130 to 220 cal/can. Chunks or shreds tend to be lower in calories than pates.

The calculated calorie requirement is a starting point. Cat's metabolisms can vary just like people. Get a baby scale (about $40 on Amazon) and weigh him every two weeks. You want a slow weight loss of .25-.5 lb every two weeks. Adjust calories as needed depending on the results of the weigh in.

You want a high quality grain free canned food. Some possible brands are Wellness, Dave's, Weruva (including Cats in the Kitchen and BFF), Hound & Gatos, Wild Calling, Spring Naturals, Go, Evanger's, by Nature, Nature's Variety, Merrick etc.

If you feel you need to keep a little dry in his diet (sometimes we just need the convenience) then a food like Orijen, Instinct, Spring Naturals, or Go Fit & Free would be good choices.

Lastly...I would avoid adding water to dry, especially if he tends to be a grazer. Dry food harbors a ton of bacteria on the surface. Adding water creates a perfect growth environment for that bacteria, the longer it sits out the more bacteria will grow.

 

It may also help to incorporate scheduled meals if you aren't already. Cats aren't really "grazers", like herbivores are. They hunt for their prey in the wild, and sometimes they aren't so successful. At home, some interactive play could mirror what felines do in their natural habitat and help revv up his appetite and get him moving a bit more to increase his metabolism, too.
One of my cats is just a very slow eater, but he'll finish it within the hour. I just have to place it away from my girl who is a bit of an "oinker"!

 

Thank you for all the info! I surely have my reading and research to do. I'm so glad that you all have been able to point me in the right direction. One note - I wasn't going to leave the dry food/water mix, as I was already aware of the bacteria growth issue. I came back shortly after to see if he had done his typical walk away, come back, or if he finished it. Little piglet finished it, to my surprise!

Thank you again for your help!

 

also, how many cans would I need to feed him a day?

 

It would depend on the calorie content of the food. Probably anywhere from 1 to 1.5 of the 5.5 oz cans. If you're looking for cost effective...Dave's and Evanger's are the least expensive foods, are a higher calorie count and also come in 12 or 13 oz cans which are even more cost effective per oz.

Good reading:

www.littlebigcat.com
www.catinfo.org