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[cats] so we got weight control food because Lucy is getting bit... hefty and Ix hasn't been gaining lately but
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Ix still isn't gaining weight, SHE IS EATING THO, and Lucy just seems heavier :|
StupidSexyVโ der
you free feeding?
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yeah but we do small amounts, three times a day
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I watch Ix to make sure she eats
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she's been super happy with new food, she seems to get bored easily
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once we move and chip them, we're going to look into the chip reader bowls for them, find a good diet for them both
StupidSexyVโ der
that's not free feeding really. measured amounts isn't free feeding. free feeding is just always keeping food in the boels
StupidSexyVโ der
bowls
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ohhh
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yeah
StupidSexyVโ der
you feeding lucy by her goal weight?
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Goal weight? We were actually just trying to get Ix to gain and keep Lucyโs the same 
gฯฯโ ฯฯ
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goal weight meaning what size should she be for her age and species
gฯฯโ ฯฯ
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like my cat should be about 3kg give or take for her body size. she's small
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but 3kg for a maine coon would be like... starvation
gฯฯโ ฯฯ
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basically what weight do you want her to be at
gฯฯโ ฯฯ
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if Ix doesn't gain, add more protein to her diet or look into getting her checked
StupidSexyVโ der
age, species, and build yeah. Most cats in the US are domestic shorthair mixes. my big boy was huge, shoulder to tail about 18 inches long, and about 14 inches tall at the shoulder. His goal weight was roughly 23 pounds. Piper is much smaller, and her goal weight is about 8.5 pounds. It takes different amounts of food to get them to that weight
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mine is a former feral mix so I go by her size which is tiny. but I know I need to keep her between 3 and 3.5kg because over that she gets lethargic and very rotund
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rn she's about 3.2 so I adjust her dry food intake to be about 100g a day (she usually eats 70g) then we give her wet food for water intake and protein twice a day
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okay, we just came home with a small bag of purina naturals grain free food that is high in protein
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and bf is giving ix some straight up turkey so she gets a bit extra
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she's also due for her boosters soon anyway so we can get a proper check on her while there
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Lucy just needs to cut back, I can't tell bf not to caller her a chonker now XD
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she's not the level of chonker my aunts cats are (OH LAWD THEY COMIN) but still
StupidSexyVโ der
trust me, Piper has a life goal to be a perfect sphere of a cat
StupidSexyVโ der
i just won't allow it
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lol
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Lucy is certainly trying!
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she just went for Ix's bowl of food so I put it up in a spot Ix likes to perch
สัss
jsyk too much protein can actually cause weight loss, so if you find Ix is losing or still not putting any on, replace some of the protein with healthy fat
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okay, we got a small bag of this stuff so we can watch. What would a healthy fat be for her?
okay, we got a small bag of this stuff so we can watch. What would a healthy fat be for her?
สัss
Fish/fish oil 
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Okay <3 thank you
สัss
you're welcome!
สัss
it probably won't be near the issue I usually see, which is "high energy performance/hunting dog is skinny and I feed him 8 cups a day of high protein food!!!" and I'm like, yeah that will not work, cut back the food, add in some eggs
สัss
basically, protein is good up until the point where the body has enough protein, it cannot store a bunch of extra protein, so once it's used all the protein it needs, it just excretes the excess via kidneys
สัss
but the process of excreting it actually takes more energy than is gained from the protein
สัss
and that is my TED talk XD
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aaaaaaand checked their last vet papers for their weight, just so we have something to compare. Ix was 6.3 pounds (but she was also only 9 months old at the time so much smol) and Lucy was 10.7 pounds
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I think Ix might actually be gaining weight but she's one of the slimmer cats because my arm does start to ache a bit when I'm holding her and it didn't before. Like... 3 weeks ago before
สัss
I mean,slender is good
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her mom was super slender too so it might be that