I work hard at keeping my cats at a healthy weight. I have one who would eat the world if allowed, and has a slow metabolism, which manifests in a tendency to gain weight and constipation. It is a struggle to keep her moving, besides.
I also have one who has no interest in food at all and never stops go go going, and it is a struggle to keep her from being too thin.
The other is okay. She eats what she is given and does not beg for more, is active sleek.
I feed a variety of canned brands on a schedule. I keep track of what they eat. The calories of cat foods varies widely, and I know the caloric content of everything they eat, so I can make sure they are getting enough, but not too much.
For instance, the one girl who wants to eat constantly, she has bad food anxiety. On some days I give her Weruva, which is very low in calories, so she can eat twice as much on that day than she would if I was feeding her Before Grain. Or on a day that I am feeding something like Nature's Variety which is REALLY caloric, I will feed some of that and then later the Weruva, so she can feel like she is getting enough to eat, without going over board on calories. She also takes pumpkin, 1/2 tablespoon twice a day, for the constipation.
The skinny girl....I am always trying to bulk her up on the high cal foods but she is a self regulator. She will eat so many calories of cat food a day, and no more. She gets about an ounce of dark meat chicken once a day to sneak some more calories and protein into her. I keep it in the freezer for her.
It's quite a juggling act, but I enjoy this kind of hands on schedule feeding because meal times are wonderful bonding times around here.
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