I have a 3 yr old flm pnt ragdoll who begs for food constantly,how much should i be feeding him?

Question

i have been feeding him 1/3c twice a day. he weighs 13lbs. & is almost 3 yrs old.i have him on a schedule of 8am & 4pm,he starts to cry for food constantly by 1 or 2pm.am i feeding him enough or to little? i have him on science diet weight control,what is a healthy weight for him?

Answer 1

We let our ragdoll eat whenever he wants. I refill his dish in the morning and in the evening, and he nibbles a little at a time all day long, but the total we give him is a little more than a cup a day. His weight seems fine to me!

Answer 2

If I were to ask you if 100 lbs was a good weight for me, it would be impossible for you to answer. The same is true for your cat. If I could see him and feel his ribs, spine and abdomen, then I could give you better counsel. I have provided below a link to a body condition score chart that many veterinarians use to determine the ideal weight for pets. Basically, you should be able to feel the ribs through a slight fat covering. There should be an hourglass shape to the body when viewed from above and a slight abdominal tuck. A little bit of loose skin in the abdomen is common and not necessarily an indication of obesity.

The person who said that the feeding guidelines on food bags are too high is absolutely correct. However, I tell people to use this as a starting point, being sure to subtract about 10-15% from the amount indicated on the bag. It is a good idea to use two meal times daily, such as you are doing, but I would make the second meal later in the day, as old cat lady suggested.

Science Diet Weight Control is a good choice. The higher fiber premium food will help with satiety, so kitty is less likely to bug you for food as often. If you are not already using canned food, it is a good idea to add this to the diet, especially since kitty is a male. Kitties are horrible drinkers and will not drink enough to make up for the lack of moisture in a dry only diet. This can make kitty predisposed to urinary tract problems and constipation and exacerbate renal disease, diabetes and other problems later on in life. Adding canned food adds much needed moisture to the diet.

Answer 3

Ragdolls are generally considered the biggest or one of the biggest cat breeds, so you would expect them to be a few pounds heavier than a domestic cat.

You should check with your vet as far as feeding amounts. Most cat food producers overstate the feeding portions on the bags for 2 reasons (1) they don't want to be responsible for being accused of not providing ample nutrition, so they go with worst case scenario and add some padding, and (2) they want you to have to buy more food. You may have to get your vet to give you a better feeding size guideline.

Answer 4

I think that 4PM to the next 8AM is a long time for a cat to go without some food. That's about 16 hours. Mine get feed about every twelve hours.

Thirteen pounds for a male cat is not bad and could be pushing it if he goes to 14 or 15.. You can get a lot of information by going to www.thepetcenter.com. They have excellent articles there about cat foods and a good one on feline obesity.

Science Diet is a poor quality, pricey cat food. I personally would never have a male cat on a dry only diet. At www.littlebigcat.com Dr. Jean Hovfe has two articles in her article library that you should read and consider - "Feline Obesity" and "The Right Weight Loss Program for Cats!". Also "Why Cats Need Canned Food" and "Selecting a Good Commercial Pet Food".

That's a lot of information to digest with your Saturday morning "brunch" and I hope you will gleam good guidance from the articles and end up selecting a better food to help your guy keep at a healthy weight for the rest of his life.

Answer 5

Feed him a good quality food such as Felidae, Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Innova,Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul...stay away from such foods as IAMS/Eukanuba, Purina Cat Chow, Science Diet and other supermarket foods.
A cat will process the meat based foods much better then grain based. It takes up to 3 times more of a grain based food for a cat to receive the nutrition it needs then it does of a quality meat based food.

Cats are obligate carnivores..they need meat, they do not need nor can they effectively process grains/veggies.
Get your kitty on a better quality food and you will notice that he will not only maintain a normal weight but will feel full and be happy.

Answer 6

Your dentist is wrong. You don't have to wean at age three because of harm to her teeth. Many people assume that because it's true of milk in bottles or sippies, that it's true for breastfeeding too. Breastmilk doesn't promote the same growth of bacteria that causes caries. Also, the biggest risk to teeth is milk or juice in a bottle that the toddler carries around all day or falls asleep with - it doesn't work that way with nursing. You should practice good oral health, brush her teeth regularly, and don't leave her latched on all night long. But nursing at night itself doesn't damage teeth.

Answer 7

His weight is fine.
mine is 17 lbs and 7 years old she is just one of those fat fluffy kitties that we all love. Like yours!!
At 3 he should be regulating his own intake
fill a bowl with dry( science/Iams) and see how long it takes him to eat it.offer that same amount when it is empty . and you should begin to tell what time of day he is the hungriest He might eat like a little piggy for a few days and then he will slow down.My cats bowl is never empty I just feed her when its getting close to the time she is the hungriest. NOBODY likes a hungry cat! They are relentless aren't they lol have fun !!!

Answer 8

my cat wieghs about 25 i think hes healthy but hes lazy also....just start feeding him a little bit more than what you are giving him im sure he will stop begging in no time!!!!good luck

Answer 9

9 ounces a day for big cat...grown cat they say
...
i leave dry food out always and she also gets one packet of wet food in the morning and eve... 1/3 cup? stingy. and its 16 hrs from 4pm to 8am!!! i would be hungry too!!!

leave food out at night.. cats like schedule and if hungry will wake you up. min goes to eat at night too. remember they are suppose to be nuptial animals....leave food out...let the cat when when it wants.

Answer 10

feed him food