Cat Starting to Overeat

cas209

Hi! I have read this board before, but am not a regular poster.

My husband and I are pet parents to two sister cats, Lucy and Amelie. We adopted them in November of 2011 and they are about 2 years old now.

 We have always fed them grain-free food.  We used to feed them Taste of the Wild but switched to a new food (the name of which is escaping me right now because my husband ususally buys it) after all of the recalls.  We always feed about a 1/2 cup twice a day. Up until recent months, both cats would graze on the food for about 10 min or so, and then wait until later in the day for their second feeding.  We didn't leave full bowls out for them to purge on, and they only ate until they were full and then waited for dinner.

 About 2 months ago, my husband and I sold our condo and temproarily moved in with my MIL while looking for a new place. While living there, there were lots of changes to the cats' routines. My MIL was renovating her place and we had to frequently move the cats' food, litter, etc while the contractors worked.

We kept our cats' feeding routines and schedules the same, but one cat began bingeing on the food we put out. We would put out the typical 1/2 cup of food, and Lucy would eat until she was full, and then walk away. Amelie stayed at the food and ate until it was all gone. Amelie has gained weight and is noticably larger than her sister. Her sister Lucy is then hungry before the next feeding time, begging us for food (which she never did before).

 We feel terrible and worry that this was caused by the move.

 We are trying to figure out what to do to allow both cats to eat, but to keep Amelie from gaining more weight.  (Note: Both cats were on the smaller side. Lucy is 7 lbs and Amelie is probably about 9 or 10 lbs now.) Amelie is developing a pouch on her belly and we want to keep her healthy and keep her from continuing to binge on food.

Any suggestions for this problem?  We just moved into a house and are planning on being here for the forseeable future, so the cats' routines will be more typical form this point forward.

Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thank you!

musac15

I would feed a smaller amount, twice a day. When one cat is done, pick up their food - save for later. When the 2nd cat is done, do the same. Feed the 2nd feeding the same way. After a few days, they should start eating their own ration in a timely manner. 

Also - keep in mind - cats are able to supplement their own diet..when we moved into our new house (which had been vacant for 4 years), we'd find parts of dead mice every few days in our basement (sometimes a few a day). Our bigger gal gained some weight initially just from the increase in those types of food sources!

LuckyAngel07

1/2 C twice a day for cats that should be around 7-8 lbs is a lot of food, and you've probably been overfeeding. If they weren't eating the full 1/2 C you put down in the morning, it's an indicator to decrease the amount. My cats *would* only get 1/4 C dry food twice per day if we only fed dry. That's only 1/2 C per cat for the entire day! (And their ideal weights around 8-9 lbs also.) No wonder Amelie is getting chunky! I'm sure the stress of the moves caused her to start overeating, whereas before they were good at self-regulating. 

Try putting down less food in the morning, like maybe 1/3 C. See how much Lucy eats, and if she leaves food in the bowl, pick it up and feed a little less next time. Providing less food for Amelie to binge on will help get her weight back down, too. Just slowly work on decreasing food amounts until they're eating everything you put down for them at each meal.