Should I feed my cats less food?

Your vet is technically right when she says that IAMS and Purina is the best you're going to get at the grocery store. But they still aren't very good foods, no matter what she says. Nature created cats to be obligate carnivores. That means they eat MEAT, and have little use for grains in their diet. Now let's take a peek at the main ingredients in your Purina Indoor Formula:

Corn Meal, poultry by-product meal, corn gluten meal, soy flour

There isn't even any real meat in there! Corn meal, corn gluten meal, and soy flour - all grain. Cats don't need grains and especially corn. Why is it in there? Not because it's good for our cats, it;s there because it's cheap.

The only "meat" ingredient is by-products - and this is a very low-quality protein source. It's all the scrap parts that have been deemed unfit for human consumption, and is such tasty bits as beaks, feathers, heads, feet, intestines, spinal chords, and even diseased and spoiled meat. Anything worthwhile is marketed as chicken! Another cheap product that the big food companies buy up and sell to you as pet food.

They over eat on these foods because they need to eat more to satisfy their nutritional needs. This leads to fat cats, and even to diabetes. Decent food doesn't have to be expensive. For just a few cents more a day than the junk food you're feeding them now (yes, it's junk food and the equivalent of McDonald's and hot dogs for our cats) you can get a better quality food at the pet store. Foods like Petsmart's Authority brand and Nutro are significantly better quality yet cost very little more than what you are feeding now. Better quality food means less food consumed, less waste, and a healthier cat.

Go to the pet store, and actually READ what is in the food you're buying. Right now you are paying for corn, clever advertising, and cute packaging. Spend your money on real meat for your cats instead.

Instead of giving Ken thumbs down for his reply, how about actually reading what he has to say, and reading the links he's provided? Or doesn't anyone want to hear that foods like Purina aren't the optimal things to be feeding our cats?

A quarter cup twice a day is the guideline I've heard from several vets, but each food has specific feeding guidelines based on weight so you can just check on the label.

That said, Purina is basically obesity in a bag. The stuff is mostly byproducts and fillers so in order to meet their nutritional needs, cats have to eat a lot more and in the process they get fat. The reason your cats are not eating much now is likely because the change was done too quickly, but given time I can guarantee you they will be back in the overweight category if you stick with this food.

There are plenty of relatively inexpensive cat chows out there that have minimal fillers and meat as the primary ingredient. High-quality wet food also packs a big nutritional punch without all the extra junk and it helps keep them hydrated too, so that is also worth considering. If you really want to keep your cats in optimal shape, do a little research and find them a better diet.

Switch again. This time to proper food for the species. Weight formula food is garbage and like eating diet potato chips. If you feed proper food, the problem will go away

Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s health

Contrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat.

Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingredient a muscle meat like chicken or meal or other things?

http://www.catinfo.org/#Learn_How_To_Read_a_Pet_Fo...

http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/P...

Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i’s, constipation, and a host of other problems. Male cats are especially prone to blockages

from dry food. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with grains and carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process. ( Have a fat cat?)

Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food but in Dry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and don't use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive.

http://www.catinfo.org/#My_Cat_is_Doing_Just_Fine_...

You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn't have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all.

THE BEST CAT FOODS CONTAIN NO GRAINS NO BYPRODUCTS

Cats are meat eaters not cereal or rice eaters

Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. I would rather feed a middle grade canned food then the top of the line dry food.

Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck? http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bpo_ch4a.php

Please read about cat nutrition.

http://www.catinfo.org/

http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.htm

http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm#Dry_Food...

Vetinarian diets The reason your vet thinks so highly of the pet food they sell probably has more to do with money than nutrition. In vet school, the only classes offered on nutrition usually last a few weeks, and are taught by representatives from the pet food companies. Vet students may also receive free food for their own dogs and cats at home. They could get an Iams notebook, a Purina purse and some free pizza. http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/P...

Nutritional Education Program website page for the American College of Veterinary Nutrition. Notice who they are receiving grants from for this program

http://mypetcarnivore.com/educational_grant.htm

There are instructions on the back of the cat food. I get canned food for my cats. Canned food is healthier for them because it has more moisture, and cats get 80% of their moisture from their food. for one cat:

1/3 of friskies canned food times a day.

or if you get the purina indoor formula, then it would be a bowl full.

I'd say your probably right but you should have kept them on the weight loss formula as their regular diet. That formula likely has less carbs so they're probably filling up quicker now. Hopefully they won't gain weight back.

i am sorta wondering the same thing, my cats stress eat....but i try and feed them twice daily, i think the cats eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. I am, really, wondering the same thing, what should i do about my cats.

you should and shouldn't because it matters how much you feed latterly might be full and if you stop feeding then that much food they might starve so you should just leave a bowl full of food and when they get hungry they'll eat it and when you see the food bowl is empty you refill it .. sometime they don't want to eat and you force them they'll lose some trust so they can get really mad at you

I am sure that weight loss food would be less fillng than ordinary food.

Whichever has less carbs, that's the healthier option.

CATS ARE NOT DOGS........I PUT TWO HUDGE BOWLS OF DIFFERENT CAT FOOD FOR TEN CATS TO EAT. THEY EAT WHAT THEY WANT AND KNOW IT WILL BE THERE FOR THEM LATER.

UNLIKE DOGS.......THANK GOD ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LEAVE THE CAT FOOD OUT 24 AND LET THE CATS SERVE THEMSELVES.........

BEST WISHES.............