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Vet recommended food
My cat has been on Acana Pacifica food for a while now. I like the high proteins and fat, and low grains. Plus it's locally made which is awesome. What is not awesome, is my cat's weight. She is obese. I limit her food to half cup a day, plus 1 tbsp of wet food as a treat. We've been feeding her this way for over a year and she's not lost any weight. She is often asking for more food.
I finally took her to the vet for her weight problem and he wants me to give her medi-cal prescription food. I bought a bag from him (60% higher cost than Acana!)
After looking at the ingredients I am not really happy. Corn, cellulose, etc. the calorie count is just under half of the Acana but the serving size is double what I m feeding her now.
WWYD? Would you feed ther the medi-cal or return it and stick with the Acana? I feel timid about returning the food as I love my vet and he was nothing short of amazing when my other cat was sick and passed away. I am not sure if he actually takes returns now that I think about it.
DH suggested I feed her the new food at the same volume I feeding her the Acana.
http://www.royalcanin.ca/index.php/Veterinary-Exclusive-Nutrition/Feline-Nutrition/Satiety-Support
Sorry can't make it clicky
Re: Vet recommended food
Have you seen my monkey?
The large amout of proteins is likely what is causing the obseity in your cat. 1/2 cup is a good "general" amount of food for a cat. The 1tbsp on canned may be pushing her over her calorie intake for the day.
I would personally switch. I've put my dog on a weight loss food with great results. But switch to something you like. Budget more would likely sway me..... I have to be able to afford it. But thats me. If ingredients are what you are looking at put your focus there. But be realistic about k/cals per cup.
Look for a diet that is higher in fiber and lower on calories and start there. With my cat I knew that I could only feed her 3/8 cup of a higher protein food to maintain her ideal weight.
Feed an amount closer to your cats goal weight. I definitely would not feed her 1/2 cup of a restricted calorie food. It will not be sufficiant for her needs and she will likely climb the walls begging for more food.
And lots and lots of laser pointer fun for good measure!
I agree. Try cutting back on the Acana a bit, especially if you are going to keep giving wet food.
Hmm, I didn't think a tbsp a day was a significant amount of wet food. I don't really want to cut back on the Acana since she is already asking for more food as it is. she is not an active cat but we do what we can.
Maybe I will give the lower calorie food a try-- and in the mean time see if I can find something better that isn't as nutrient dense as Acana?
ETA: I hate pet food serving sizes. According to Acana, I am feeding a 7 lb cat.
My cats (9 lbs and 10.5 lbs) get 1/4 C dry Chicken Soup in the morning, and around 1/8 C at night with their spoonful of wet food. It seems like a teeny meager amount, and yes, they hound the crap out of me when it's mealtime, but they're not losing weight, so I know I'm not starving them. Some cats just really love food, and you have to be tough on restricting them so they don't get overweight.
I would not feed a weight loss/calorie restricted food. They contain crappy fillers that will do nothing for your cat's overall health and wellness. Feed less of a higher quality food (as you are, with Acana), and increase her exercise. Bust out the laser pointer or other interactive feathery fishing rod type toys.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
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I would return the vet food. Cats are obligate carnivores and low calorie or diet foods often have crap fillers.
Best way to keep them skinny is to make them feel fuller, which you can do with a high quality protein oriented diet. Our cats did much better with the weight loss when we switched everyone to wet good, 2 tbs a day. Grain free wet food makes them feel fuller which means they're less likely to shove their faces. I would split it into 2 or 3 meals a day, maybe using an automatic feeder with less of the dry food.
You want to calculate her caloric intake for her ideal weight, calculate calories from the wet and the dry together and make sure she's getting the right number.
I would stick to the food that you're feeding and get a laser pointer or feather thing for exercise.
I would return that bag of food!
They see us rollin'...they be hatin'.
Ditch the vet's crap food.
I would increase the wet and decrease the dry. The added wet will help her feel more full while actually containly fewer calories due to the high water content (which is also great for the cat's urinary system).
http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity
Thx everyone. I think I may put her on wet food, with just a little dry (the opposite of what I do now).
I don't know where to research wet food, any recommendations? We just give her fancy feast now, since she gets so little.
Thanks
Fancy feast. Ick!
Get a few different flavors and types of wet food (pate/smooth vs chunky style) just in case your cat ends up being picky about her wet food likes/dislikes. Good brands to go with will, of course, be grain free: Merrick Before Grain (which is what my girls get), Wellness, EVO, Taste of the Wild; does Acana make wet food? Merrick has a regular line, too, which tends to have a little more texture to the food, whereas the BG is much more of the pate type.
Those are good ones to start with. Others are sure to chime in with their own suggestions if I missed an obvious one!
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Lol, I know about the fancy feast- but since it was such a small part of her diet I didn't care.
I don't think Acana makes wet food for cats or that would be my first choice. She only like the pate style so I will look into BG. she had major GI issues when I tried wellness dry food so I will steer clear of that brand too. She also prefers seafood flavors.
This! Cats should be eating 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Most pet foods don't print this on the bag, but you need to find out how many grams of protein are in 100 kcals of the Acana. You usually have to call the company to get this. Most have it available, some have it in 1000 kcals, but you can convert it down.
How much does your cat weigh and what is her ideal body weight? Once I get to work tomorrow (I don't have my guide here at home), I can tell you how many calories she should be eating and we can figure out if she is getting enough pretein in that amount of calories.
She is 19 lbs. I think she should be around 12-14 lbs (she is a big cat). She gets 240 calories per day + 20 from the wet food. With the weight loss food, she is supposed to be having 247 calories per day, only 13 calories less than she's eating now.
So why does the bag say that 7 lb cat should be eating 1/2 cup per day, when it's too much food for a 19 lb cat? Bugs me.
edited.