Question? How much to feed ?

[Winston]

I am so happy right now! I have been giving Tabitha and Bomber the suggested Venison and Green Pea and they have been eating every last bit of it up! No problems so far! Now dont laugh but I have only been giving them a teaspoon every other day..,,I have been giving them less kibble...so far they bug me sometimes for the kibble when there is nothing left..I still free feed that to them right now..

Today I went and bought some more of the canned. I bought the larger can 6oz..I gave them each about 1/4 of the can....So if they continue to tolerate this food how much do they need in canned food per day? I have no clue really because they free feed on their kibble? I guess if I know what they require with the canned then I can cut out the kibble..

Sugarcatmom !! looking foward to hearing from you..

Cindy

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by Winston

Now dont laugh but I have only been giving them a teaspoon every other day..,,

I think starting slow is a good move. Making them think of it as a treat can go a long way towards getting them excited about wet food. Plus, it minimizes the chance of any intestinal backlash.

Originally Posted by Winston

I have been giving them less kibble...

That's how I converted Aztec, gradually giving him less and less dry and more canned.

Originally Posted by Winston

So if they continue to tolerate this food how much do they need in canned food per day?

According to The National Research Council, cats need somewhere around 20-30 calories per lb per day, depending on the needs of the individual. Problem is, Natural Balance isn't very open about the nutritional analysis of their products, so we don't really know how many calories are in a can of the Venison & Green Pea. They repeatedly claim that all of their canned foods are exactly 156 cal per 6oz can (and even that the complete breakdown of 8 different flavours is the same - not likely, given the range of ingredients). But if we are to use that as a rough guideline, an average 10lb cat would need to eat somewhere between 7.5-11.5 oz per day (at 26 cal/oz). To be honest, that seems like a little much. You could probably use a 6oz can as a starting point and go from there. If they're acting really hungry, maybe give them a bit more. If they gain weight or leave lots of leftovers, maybe give less. It's really as basic as that.

One more thing. You may want to find a couple more flavours that your kitties like, if possible. It seems that cats get tired of the same canned food a lot faster than they do kibble and having a few in rotation lessens that possibility. Although every cat is different and some prefer the same food. Whatever works!

Hope that helps. If you need anything clarified, let me know.