Eagle Pack Multi-cat: too much vitamin D?

Hello everyone,

I find this site very informative and this is my first post! I bought a bag of Eagle Pack indoor multi-cat adult formula. My 2 cats, Kira and Jadzia (3.5 years old) have been on Eagle Pack holistic chicken and rice for the last 2 months. Since they don't go outdoors from late fall to early spring, I decided to buy a reduced fat food to give during this period; mainly because of Kira. Her favorite activity is eating! Jadzia and Kira don't have the same eating habits. Kira loves to eat and I swear she isn't always hungry when she eats. She weighs 12.5 to 13 lb and I check her weight once a month. The vet told me she shouldn't gain any more and losing a little weight would even be better. I figure it's much easier to control her weight now than to put her on a real diet later.

However, I read on the bag of Eagle Pack multi-cat that vitamin D is added at 2-times the AAFCO minimum for maintenance to supplement the cat's reduced exposure to sunlight. On the bag it's says: guaranteed analysis for vitamin D minimum 1200 IU/kg. I've heard of possible vitamin D deficiency in humans during the winter, but in cats? How much vitamin D is too much? Do any of you switch formulas for winter?

Thanks!

Howdy, and welcome to pets.ca! I don't know the answer to your vit D query, but I do know that if you want your kitties to keep a nice figure, dry food is far from ideal. I would especially stay away from any "indoor" formulas. They tend to be far too high in carbohydrates for an obligate carnivore and are actually more likely to make your cats fatter. Really, all these indoor/senior/breed-specific/diet/sensitive-stomach/dental/etc. foods are just marketing gimmicks by the petfood companies. A low-carb wet food would be a much better choice, for reasons that you can read about here: http://www.catinfo.org/ and here: http://www.catnutrition.org/index.php and here: http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=016

You're right about it being easier to prevent weight gain than it is to deal with it after the fact, so good for you for being proactive. Ditching the dry would be the best way to get a handle on it.

Thanks a lot for the other web sites. I'm amazed at all the information!
It's strange, I always thought canned food wasn't ideal. In my mind, canned food=mostly water=cheap food. I guess the trick is to find a quality canned food. Hope I can find some in my area.
I might research more thoroughly a raw meat diet for the cats. I already give them raw meat once a week (meat only, no bones or supplements) Jadzia loves it but Kira usually sticks to her dry food, unless there's ground pork which she likes.
Anyway, I have a lot of searching and reading to do!