How much should I be feeding?

[Taz_Zoee]

Ok, Taz has lost weight and it's been a challenge to even get him to eat food. Well, his appetite is back and I'm concerned that I am not feeding him enough. I am feeding him one can (regular tuna sized can) of wet food twice a day. Plus, I have dry food out for him to eat when he wants it.
I do not like the part about always having food out for him, because that's how he got to weigh 21 pounds, but at this point I just need him to gain weight.
Can someone tell me if I should be feeding him more?

[Catlady711]

Ok, Taz has lost weight and it's been a challenge to even get him to eat food. Well, his appetite is back and I'm concerned that I am not feeding him enough. I am feeding him one can (regular tuna sized can) of wet food twice a day. Plus, I have dry food out for him to eat when he wants it.
I do not like the part about always having food out for him, because that's how he got to weigh 21 pounds, but at this point I just need him to gain weight.
Can someone tell me if I should be feeding him more?

Is Taz an older cat? Has he been checked by a vet recently for the weight loss? Older cats sometimes have weight loss and loss of appetitie because of some medical problems (thyroid, diabetes etc).

I don't know what size Taz is, but two cans of wet food plus free feeding dry sounds like alot to me, but it would depend on how much dry he actually eats. Try measuring out what goes in his bowl each day, then measure again the next day same time to determine how much he's actually eating. Your food lables should have an approximate amount to feed, you may need to increase or decrease what the bag says to maintain weight.

[Uabassoon]

I agree with Catlady711. Two cans of wet food plus dry seems like a lot of food. I would suggest a trip to the vet if you haven't already done so.

[Taz_Zoee]

Yes, he has been to the vet, lots of times. I have a post about it in Cat Health.
http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=120176

Our last visit, which was Feb 13th, she said to feed him whatever he wants, just to get him to gain weight. His weight was down to 12.7 at that visit. And even she said that was too much weight lost, too quickly.
She gave him a cortisone shot on Jan 30th to help increase his appetite. I think that has just about worn off by now. So his increased appetite is a good thing now. Yeah, I don't want to get back to the 21 pounds like he was before, because that wasn't good either.
But anyway, he has had blood work done many times. And everything came back fine.
OK, one more question. If a cat has diabetes would that increase or decrease their appetite? I have noticed since he is finally eating, wet food, he seems to urinate more. And I know that's a sign of diabetes, but they checked for that when I took him in on Jan 23rd.

Oh, to answer some of your questions...he is almost 12 years old and has always been a little on the heavier side.
And the dry food - he is not eating a lot of that. I only put 1/3 cup in the dish and only refill it when he has eaten most of it, which has been probably every 2 to 3 days lately. So he's not eating too much dry food.

Please let me know what you think, and if you have any more questions.
Thank you for your responses.

[Freedom]

If he has all or most of his teeth, I would cut back on the canned food and get him to shift to the dry. Canned food causes their tetth to go bad much more quickly. And the dry food tends to be more nutritionally balanced.

But at his age, he may have had some teeth removed, so the canned food is easier for him to eat.

What weight do you want to hold him at? He is at 12 pounds now, that is a good weight for most cats (not the larger breeds). And 21 pounds you already agree is too much. I agree with the other posts, what you are feeding him now, 2 cans per day, well, that is more than enough for one cat, it's no surprise he isn't eating much of the dry kibble.

One sign of diabetes (since you asked) is constantly eating, constantly urintaing, a losing weight. Doesn't sound like he has those symptoms and as you said, he's been tested and is OK for that. Whew!

[Taz_Zoee]

Freedom, trust me I don't WANT him eating wet food. I can't stand it!
But I started feeding him that just to get some weight on him. Once he's back to good health I plan on keeping him on dry.
I think the vet wanted to see him around 14 or 15 pounds. I had originally taken him in for his annual shots, but she didn't want to do them due to the weight loss. And you can tell by looking at him, he is way too skinny. His hip bones stick out.
Oh, he has had one of his fangs removed back in 2005. And he does make a weird noise when he eats, but this noise occurs even when he eats the wet food.
Here's a couple of pictures. It might be hard to tell the difference, but I can see it.
Here's before when he weighed about 18 pounds.
[IMG][/IMG]
And here's more recently when he was around 13 pounds.
[IMG][/IMG]

So, I guess I'll call the vet again, and maybe have some more tests done. Or at least see what she thinks now that he hasn't gained any weight.

Again, thanks for the responses.

[catmandu]

I Know What You Mean About The Canned Food As The Found Cats All Love Canned Food And Will Cry If They Dont Get Any.
I Would Get Some Dry Premium Kitten Food Samples From The Pet Food Stores And See If That Doesnt Help Taz Out.

[Taz_Zoee]

Yeah, this is the first time in his life that he has been given wet food. I am afraid he will not want to eat the dry anymore. So I think you are right catmandu, I will try weening him off the wet and back onto the dry.
Thanks for the advice everyone!

[kallisto4529]

sorry have not been able to get on much lately. i am not much good when it comes to wet food, as you know bei-jing refuses to eat it, i give her 3/4 cup of dry food a day per the vet, but she is 18lbs and they dont want her gaining anymore weight. cindy i would talk to the vet again, if he is eating that much to me he should be putting on some weight i would think, does not make any sense. i will get with you this weekend.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I sure hope that Taz's weight loss isn't related to any serious health related issue. Have you ever tried mixing the wet food with some of the dry food? This way he'll also be eating more of the dry food and it won't be as hard for him to go back to eating only dry food again.

I feed both Storm and Sunny 2 feedings of wet and dry food mixed together and 2 more of only dry food. They seem to like it. Sunny's tummy can't tolerate only wet food because he eats it too fast so he'll then throw it up. I sure hope that Taz will gain the weight that he needs to and be able to maintain it. Good luck.

[Taz_Zoee]

Marti, I will look for you online tonight.
KAK, I was thinking the same thing, about mixing the wet and dry together. I might try that tonight. That should make it much easier to transition back to dry. Thanks!
And I will give my vet a call on Monday as well. She may want to see him again too. (oh, I can use my new kitty carrier. hee hee. Not that I'm happy about him having to go back to the vet. )