Hi all....Sheena is overweight. Although she is 10 months old, I was supposed to start feeding her as an adult cat when she was 6 months old and I guess I've overdone it a bit. She needs to drop a pound or two. She eats only wet food now. Tiki and Nature's Variety Instinct. The Tiki cans are 6 oz. and the Nature's Variety Instinct are 5.5 oz. She presently gets a half can of either in the morning and a half can of either at night, along with a half (1.5) oz. of a Weruva pouch (Cats in the Kitchen, chicken & pumpkin) at bedtime. She is constantly hungry and doesn't seem to be losing weight. I give her a couple of 2 calorie Temptation treats during the day because she drives me crazy. First, what is the normal amount of food for a cat that doesn't need to lose? Thanks for your help.

The same thing happened to me. I fed them kitten food until they were about 10 months old and they got too heavy. Now they are about 18 months old an need to loose a pound or two. I cut back one of their dry meals about a month ago. I think I am seeing a little difference, but they still have round soft bellies with a lot of loose skin between their front and back legs. It's like they have loose sweaters on.

They get wound up when they are hungry. Grace usually attacks Blondie and Blondie starts knocking things off the counters. Food definitely calms them down. I figure it will take them about 3-4 months to adjust to the new food schedule and loose a pound or two. Hopefully it will happen by the time they are 2.

For a cat who seems to be hungry all the time, I would find a lower calorie food. It's the calories that need to be decreased and not necessarily the amount of food! There are foods out there for overweight cats which can allow you to give them just as much food, but the calorie content is much lower and the cat can lose weight. I am sure you can find something that Sheena will eat. Also, know that cats needing to lose one pound may take several months to do it! So let Sheena take her time. I'd also play with her and get her moving more. I thought I read somewhere that a cat should eat 1 oz of wet food for every pound they weigh. Must not be very true. Raiden eats about 9 oz of wet food and he weighs nearly 13 pounds. It sounds like Sheena should be getting enough food -- but, let's face it, when humans go on a diet, we are always hungry, too! Nature's Variety Instinct comes in reduced calorie wet and dry food!

Thanks. Sherry...the caloric content in Tiki per can is:
1300 Kcal/kg, 221 Kcal/can. I don't know what that means! She gets a can a day plus a half pouch of Weruva which does not list calories on the pouch. Same for my other cat who is not overweight I've cut out the Orijen dry altogether, but I do give them a couple of freeze dried Raw Boost Mixers during the day. It seems like very little food. Is this ok???

I just weighed them. Sheena is 12 lbs and Ripley is 10

I agree with feeding lower calorie foods. Try to look at the ingredients and find foods without any added fats, additives or preservatives. I highly recommend Applaws canned food as it is 100% ingredients, no nasties. They are, however, not a complete meal so need to be fed with a combination of dry food or other food.

Are you at all interested in feeding Sheena raw food? Raw food is great for losing weight as it is pure meat, exactly what they would get in the wild. They honestly cannot become overweight if fed raw correctly. Even if you try feeding some raw in the morning or night, and still give her half a can as well.

I have no idea how many calories a cat needs per day! I don't know if your vet has a nutrition expert on their staff that might help you. 12 pounds is not a lot for a cat. That's all Raiden weighs -- well, it was 12.8 last time and he is long and lean!