Raw food amounts

[Paul B]

So I finally took the plunge and went the easy route, feeding my F2 Male, Sorte, a raw diet. I am feeding him ground turkey, mixed with the Better in the Raw powder. Up until this point, he has always had bowel issues with very loose, runny stools and extremely stinky. We tried multiple different foods, pro/prebiotics, and lots of vet visits. Since the switch to raw, he now has solid BMs and they don't stink at all.

My problem now, is that he seems to want to eat an endless amount of food, and needs it. He weighs about 16lbs right now, which is light for him. I started him with 3oz, twice a day, so 6 Oz total. I've now upped him to 8 Oz total per day, along with a handful of dry kibble as a filler at night and he still isn't gaining weight. He scarfs his food down and acts like I never even fed him! When he is hungry, he tends to eat other stuff. Some of the things he has eaten are plastic bags, tin foil, half a sock, toys, as well as other items. Yes, I try to keep all this from him, but somehow he finds this stuff.

How much do you guys feed your kitties, raw? He should be around 20lbs or so, but he's eating a half a lb+ a day, and it's not doing anything!

 

[DumaLove]

Some of mine eat about a pound a day as kittens. Until a year old they should be fed as much as they will eat.

 

[Paul B]

He's about 5 years old.

 

[WitchyWoman]

Nice to see you back Paul. I'm happy that Sorte is doing well. You are underfeeding him. To maintain the weight of a 20 lb moderately active cat, he should be fed 13 oz per day. So to get him to that weight, you should feed him at least that much every day and even up to 32 oz per day until he reaches his goal weight.

 

[Paul B]

Oh, wow. That's a lot more than I remember reading, to help keep a healthy weight for him. I don't remember where it was, but it was a certain percentage of a cats weight and I remember coming up with around 3-4 Oz per feeding.

Looks like his eating habits just became a lot more expensive. Haha. Better in the Raw is still a lot cheaper than the other brand of complete diet powders, though.

 

[WitchyWoman]

There is a calculation used to figure out amount to feed based on cat's ideal weight factoring in activity level. Moderately active cats usually do fine on approx. 4% of body weight fed per day. To figure out amount to feed, multiply the cat's weight x 16 (to convert to ounces) x 2% or 4% or 6% or 8% or 10% of body weight. For example, for a 16 lb ideal weight cat who is moderately active: 16 x 16 x .04 = 10.24 oz. of food per day.

There is a great calculator on the Facebook group Prey Model Raw Fed Cats that you can download if you join the group. It's in the files section and named CatCalc. It breaks down the % of meat/organs/bones to feed also.