Conference misery::feline_v1

    Hi Karen,
    
    Good to have you back!  Now I only wish I had an answer to your
    question.
    
    It is tough with the dry food, as I leave it out for free feeding
    as a supplement to the boys regular meals.  Chauncey is my big pig
    and I am sure he eats most of it.  Can you feed T.K. and Bandit
    equal portions twice a day, once in the morning and once at night?
    I have mine on a schedule; they know they will be fed at 6:00 a.m.
    and 6:00 p.m. every day.  They only get 1/2 can of moist food at
    each feeding and both eat their share.  If I give them any more
    than that, Chauncey will eat his own plus Nikki's leftovers.  If
    you practice more controlled feedings, then at least you will have
    the  satisfaction of knowing who's eating what.  Believe me, they
    won't starve if food isn't left out for them all day.  I know plenty
    of cat fanatics who control-feed their kitties.
    
    Hope this helps,
    
    
    /Roberta
    

    Karen, I have a similar problem with Yurii - what a porker he
    is getting to be.  I had to stop the IAMS and feed a lower
    calorie dry because of his weight.   The other 13 kids had
    no problems with weight, just him.  Let me know what you
    decide to do - oh, I free feed - do you?
    
    Elaine

    I feed Lightning and DejaVu twice a day.  Once before I leave for
    work and once in the evening.  They each get 1/2 can of food in
    the morning and 1/2 can at night.  The only time I put dry food
    down is when that bowl is empty (which is average 1 to 2 days)
    
    Lightning weighs 10.8 lbs (3 lbs of fur) and DejaVu weighs 8.2 (no
    fur).
    
    Sandi (Lightning's & DejaVu's mom)
    
    

    I used to free feed Bailey and Amelia.  Had to stop doing this as
    they both ended up being 12 pounders.  I started controlled feedings
    (am and pm) first.  Now they're on Hills R/D (Reduction Diet) and have
    lost a little weight.  I still control feed.  They'll be going off the
    R/D soon and back on to Science Diet dry and I'll continue to control 
    feed since they can't seem to control themselves.  
    
    I noticed that when I was feeding them IAMS (I won a 20 lb. bag at a
    cat show, so...) they seemed to gain most of the weight.
    
    Jan
    
    P.S.  I noticed after I started feeding R/D that their coat quality
          was terrible.  It was dry and was shedding like crazy.  This 
          isn't good since they're both show kitties.  I ended up adding 
          Brewer's yeast and Linatone to their morning allotment (which 
          probably added calories and slowed down the weight loss) and 
          now their coats gleem and feel like silk.  This info is just 
          for anyone that might be considering R/D for their glutons.
                                                   

    Re.0  I wouldn't make generalisations about sleek kitties being
    light eaters.
    
    Cardi & Maggie are dainty eaters [for the most part] and Milo is
    a feline intake manifold.  Cardi maintains her girlish figure, although
    you wouldn't notice under that luxurious grey fur.  Maggie has put
    on some weight, but still weighs in at 7.2 lbs., from the richer
    food the two grey babies eat.
    
    Oh but Milo!  My little grey boy looks like a weasel/kitty cross
    and packs in more weight per cubic inch that I've ever encountered.
    He inhales his Hill's Feline Growth morning and evening and grazes
    on Maggie's K/D and Cardi's Maintenance Diet throughout the day
    and night.
    
    Having three cats with different diets isn't thrilling, and since
    both my husband & I work we can't be sure that everyone eats his
    or her own food only -- in fact we know they don't.  But as long
    as Dr. Lampert is satisfied with their condition, I don't worry
    overmuch.
    
      Ann

    
    	Re: ?
    
    	I free feed the cats.  They get about 2C a day between them.
    	My mom is now feeding Cinamon IAMS and she says that he only
    	gets about 3/4C a day, half put down in the morning, half
    	at night.  Maybe I should try feeding a little less.  My roommate
    	feeds them when I am not home and a discussion last night
    	revealed that she has a heavy hand with the food.  I'm going
    	to find a smaller cup to scoop the food with!!  I felt awful
    	telling her that Bandit needed to go on a diet, especially
    	since she has a weight problem herself.  Perhaps she feels sorry
    	for Bandit so she feeds them more......
    
    	I really don't want to put them on R/D since T.K. is sleek as
    	can be and I can't have him losing weight!!
    
    	The chart on the IAMS bag says for 10-15 pound cats, feed them
    	1C to 1-1/3C per day.  But it seems that I should feed them
    	less than 1C each since they are not outdoor cats (thus less
    	active).  Sound right??
    
    	Karen

    I was glad to see this note here.  first because I missed seeing
    Karen's name in here, and second because Tabbatha has the same problem.
    She is getting to be quite the porker!  We had her spayed about
    2-1/2 months ago.  She weighed in at 6.2 lbs.  a few weeks ago we
    brought her in to the vet and she weighed in at 8.5 lb!  We have
    found that she has been eating Silver's food as well as her own.
    We cut out the Iams all together for a while, and have been feeding
    them Sheba.  They get 1/2 can at breakfast, lunch and dinner.  The
    reason I added the lunchtime feeding is because Sheba cans have
    less in them than a regular can of cat food.  
    
    Holly
    

    Before I got Shanti, Charlie would eat a whole can of 9-lives, and
    a 1/2 cup IAMS a day. When we got Shanti, though, I split 1 can
    between the 2, and ended up giving them 1-2 cups IAMS a day! Shanti
    was a teenie underfed (SPCA) kitty, and needed some weight on her
    -- at the time she weighed about 6 lbs. 
    
    However, NOW the problem is different. Charlie has maintained his
    sleek 16 lbs, (since he has a longer and little taller cat than
    Shanti), whereas Shanti has increased her weight to almost 13 lbs!
    Yes, she is a porker, and the vet said she could tend to lose a
    few lbs!
    
    Well, they now get a 1/2 can split between both of them (1/4 can
    each) in the evenings, and in the mornings EXACTLY 1 cup of IAMS
    to split between them. At first they protested, but now they are
    allowing extra time between "pig outs"! Both of them are beggers,
    which they now realize that it won't work anymore, and they seem
    to exercise alot more (you know, kitty aerobics in the morning,
    step tests in the evening) now that the weather has gotten nicer!
    
    The vet said that as long as they aren't starving (which they are
    BOTH far from it!) the cutting down of food won't hurt either of
    them! (Also, I was told that mixing green beans with their food
    would help; however, my kids looked at me and said "Mom, you've
    GOT to be kidding...." and didn't eat as long as there was green
    stuff there). So, just cutting their intake has helped them along
    quite well!
    
    Cheryl, Charlie and Pudgey Shanti
    

    It's tough when only one out of 14 seems to have a problem.  I think
    that he doesn't overeat, but just sleeps 23.5 hours out of 24! 
    Maybe I should poke him and get him moving more.  The rest of
    the gang looks fine - there are some big guys, but not fat.
    For instance, Timothy weighs 14 lbs. - he is very long from
    nose to tail - not a bit of fat on him.  Ivan weighs 12 or 13
    lbs., and not any fat.  Both of those guys are longer and higher
    than Yurii - Yurii has shorter legs.  My other problem with
    controled feeding is my two brown girls - Sasha is 9 years old
    and koKo is 7 - they don't rush to the puppy pan first thing
    in the morning, but expect there will be food when they feel
    like getting up and going to get their meal.  They won't eat
    when "I" say it's time to eat - they eat when they feel like it.
    What's a mom to do??  k
    
    I think that IAMS started the problem with Yurii - in fact, at
    the Cat's Plain & Fancy show in Boston this past February, the
    IAMS people were there and they taped a conversation I had with
    them regarding the high calorie & fat content of their dry food.
    I told them that I (and other folk that I knew) stopped feeding
    it because it was causing weight gain in their animals.  I also
    said that it was a very good food, but was creating fat cats.
    We also requested that they start making a lower calorie dry.
    Maybe if we all send them letters with the same request, they
    will actually come out with one!  Or call them on the phone.
    They have an 800 number:  800-BEST-CAT !!
    
    E.T.

    "You could always say he is a relative to Garfield.!!"
    
    Maybe it's in his genes?
    
    I wish I could put weight on Mocha.  He eats 2 regular size cans
    He eats 2 regular size cans of Friskies per day,
    plus he has dried food for anytime he wants it, and
    he gets any left over veggies that we had for dinner. He acts like
    he is starved to death all the time. We just had him to the vets
    for a check up, and he got a clean bill of health. 
    
    We tried IAM'a dry and he had such loose bowels that we had to stop
    giving him that. The vet said don't worry. Now that Mocha has shed
    most of his winter coat he looks soooo thin.
                                              
    Barbara

I have one BIG PORKER in Sam and one almost too thin cat in Nicholas so I
know the problem.  What I've taken to doing lately is feed Nick some
canned Fancy Feast in the morning when Sam sleeps in and then leave
Science Diet dry out during the day (Sam is mostly a night feeder)
and I don't refill the food dish after 9:00 P.M.  

Although it's not perfect, the girls are not losing weight (which I don't
want) and they aren't getting canned food (which they cannot have)...
and Sam seems to be getting fewer feedings a day - I hope he'll lose
some weight now.  Mostly, I want Nick to gain a little....

AAARGH!  This is tricky.....now, if anyone has any kitty aerobic exercises
I can get Sam to do, I'll be deeply grateful...this guy is a giant black
fur rug these days.

    Can I relate to that - I have a giant white furry rug that overlaps
    on both sides!  The only give-away is the pink nose and paw pads...

    
    Having read through this note I think I should add my problem to
    it and find out if anyone has any advice for me...
    
    I too have a giant black Furry rug called Sammie but he is the one
    that hardly eats anything and is always running around here, there
    and everywhere.  And then there is Dillan who would just sit and
    eat _anything_ all day everyday if I let him and when he's not eating
    he's sleeping....but he is "perfect sized" according to the vet.
    
    Between them they get 1 1/2 tins of medium sized cat food a day
    ie 1/2 tin each before I go to work and 1/4 tin each when I get
    home from work and some dry biscuits.
    
    I think Sammie will burst one day but I can't possibly make him
    eat any less (he only has two or three mouthfuls at a time anyway
    and then Dillan hoovers the rest!!!!  
    
    Any suggestions????
    
    Sharon T (UK)
    

    Tristan is the correct weight, but Tenzing is a porker.  We are
    currently free feeding IAMs.  We tried scheduled feeding for over
    a year and had to give it up for our mental health.  Tristan is
    a nibbler, only eating a bite or two at a time, whereas Tenzing
    could just eat all day.  So Tristan never got enough, and was 
    getting too skinny.  Also, we free feed our dog, another picky
    eater who nibbles throughout the day. 
    
    When we were feeding on a schedule, Tenzing would get hungry
    and eat Aisha's food, so we had to schedule her meals too.  Now
    we had a huge dog who was starting to get aggressive with her food.
    and we had to feed Tristan an extra time or two a day in the bathroom, 
    which made Tenzing terribly angry.  She would hang around screaming 
    for food most of the day, and would attack anyone who walked by her 
    by whapping them with her arm.  
    
    Tenzing is the cat who, under normal circumstances will purr at 
    anything.  We missed that sweet-tempered kitty, so went back to free 
    feeding.  She may be fat but she's back to her lovable self.  Now 
    that we free feed again, we often find Aisha eating out of her dog 
    food bowl, while a cat drinks from her water bowl, and there's no 
    hint of animosity.  I'll take one fat kitty and a happy household
    anyday!
    
    Karen
   

    
    
    	Well, Its been a while since I entered this note but the
    	problem still exists.
    
    	Bandit is still fat, T.K. is still sleek, and I'm still
    	feeding them Iams.  I've dropped the amount fed from 2C
    	to 1-1/2 C, and now I am feeding them 1-1/4 C/day between
    	the two of them.  I put the food down first thing in the
    	morning and it is gone by bedtime.  I can't feed them twice
    	a day since I get home any where between 5:30 and 8:30 at
    	night so once a day is all I can handle.
    
    	I WAS GOING to switch them to Blue Seal Kat Kare as soon as
    	this bag of Iams ran out but my mother just bought Blue
    	Seal for Cinamon last week and Cinamon won't eat!!!  And since
    	Cinamon is coming to stay with me for the winter (he'll arrive
    	this coming Sunday) I obvioulsy can't feed them Blue Seal if
    	one of them won't eat it!!  
    
    	Cinamon, by the way, is no longer fat, even though he has
    	been fed Iams since my mother got him back.  And my mother
    	thinks that he will be fat by the time she gets him back 
    	next spring.   So the only chubbo is Bandit!!
    
    	Should I just reduce the food intake some more, or switch
    	brands??  And since Blue Seal is out, what can I use??  I
    	hesitate to use the Science Diet Light since only one of the
    	three is fat!
    
    	Karen
    
    	             

    My Shanti has the same "weight" problem as Bandit, and Charlie is
    the same as T.K.! I also feed my two IAMS, and have also cut their
    IAMS intake about 80%! They aren't starving, but they really haven't
    changed their weight, either!
    
    I've been reading alot about the Science Diet Light formula, and
    seriously considering at least trying it for a few months, or mixing
    it with the IAMS. I asked someone at the cat show 2 weeks ago about
    the differences of IAMS and Science Diet. The guy said that he doesn't
    buy Science Diet because they buy the cheapest grains on the market
    at the time. Now, I don't really believe that they would do that,
    but he SWORE by IAMS! But, his cat also didn't have a weight problem.
    
    Cheryl (Shanti & Charlie)
    

    Hmm.  Funny you should say that - who were you talking to about
    the grains in Science Diet?
    
    At the show this weekend, I spoke with both the IAMS vendor and
    the S.D. vendor.  The IAMS person says that Science Diet puts
    sawdust in their light formula dog food - the Science Diet person
    says that they use peanut shells !!!!
    
    Needless to say, I was agast - only because of my lack of knowledge
    about just what material is used for fiber.  Guess I still need
    to do some more homework - I will be call the 800 number for Science
    Diet to see what they say.
    
    Will advise when I get some real information!
    
    E.T.

    I was talking with Overpass' owner (or should I say the person
    Overpass' owns ;^) ) and I asked him about the difference. He said
    that for example, they use corn in their mixture. Whatever corn
    is cheapest at that time, that is what they buy. Same for the other
    ingredients. I really wanted to put Shanti on the Light formula,
    but I really would rather her have "the best" in nutrients (even
    though I don't!)
    
    Yes, PLEASE let me know what you find out from Science Diet.

    Yes, Cheryl, I will - can't today - but I will.  Ah yes, Overpass
    - a household name!!  That kitty did very well last season!! sigh.
    Corn doesn't sound as bad as peanut shells or sawdust (groan yuk).
    I almost don't wanna know, if you know what I mean.  I may be
    very sorry I ever got into this food thingie.....
    All I know is that doctors recommend that humans eat lots more
    fiber - guess it could be true for animals ???
    
    Do we know what the best is - how do we know?
    
    E.T.
    

    Is it really that important?  I'm not sure, but I hate to see
    competitors knocking Science Diet if Hills is making sound decisions.
    
    When I buy corn on the cob for myself, I want the best, freshest,
    sweetest corn.  But when I buy breakfast cereal, I guess I assume
    they buy the cheapest corn or other grain that meets minimum standards.
    I doubt I could tell the difference between corn flakes made with
    expensive corn and corn flakes made with cheap corn, and even if
    I could, I doubt I would care.  Likewise with bread.
    
    By the way, some bread manufacturers have been known to increase
    fiber and lower the calories in bread by adding sawdust (calling
    it cellulose on the label).  I realize that this seems unappetizing
    to many people, but that's just a cultural reaction.  I find squid
    and octopus much less appetizing, yet people eat them with zeal.
    I don't mind sawdust in bread, so long as it isn't going to kill
    me.  Who knows?  There are probably more pesticides in the wheat
    than in the sawdust.
    
       Gary

    I wonder if either of them make sound decisions when their products
    are so loaded with FAT!!!
    
    I tried to explain to the vendor person that adult inactive ALTERED
    cats(say, over the age of 2 years or so) require fewer calories
    and much less fat to sustain life and still get enough calories.
    It took a few minutes for her to realize the difference between
    a very active stud male or a bred momma cat and an inactive
    altered cat that sleeps 20 hours a day every day!  Of course,
    I was thinking of my lazy slugs!!  Now, on the other had, my
    show babies do burn more calories and require more food -
    there is stres at shows - before, during, and after.  I make
    sure that my show baby has all she needs at home, at show, and
    at the hotels.  I guess it's called "Know Thy Cat's Behavior"
    and watch them for any unusual signs.
    
    I, too, was a little disappointed in the knock from one to the
    other - competition??  I would like to be assured that I am not
    feeding my animals food that could damage them.  Will I ever know
    that - ????
    
    E.T.

>    Corn doesn't sound as bad as peanut shells or sawdust (groan yuk).

Just for the rerd, "sawdust" in the form of celulose(sp?) is in lots of
human food as "added fiber"......it is non-digestable, water-retaining,
and makes an excellent "bulking" agent .....if you get my drift.  I'm
pretty sure the peanut shells provide the same kind of fiber as well.

If you want your cats to lose weight, but still not drive you crazy from
hunger, then a bulking agent is the answer.

			D_with_fat_but_getting_thinner_Sam    

    Boy, live & learn !!!!!!  As long as it won't hurt the little
    hairbags - weight loss would sure be wonderful, especially
    for Yurii & Ivan (a little for Ivan).  I am still feeding
    it and everything seems ok.
    
    Thanks!
    
    E.T.