# Maine ****/Large cat owners... what food?



## Meredith (Dec 28, 2010)

My (growing!) Maine **** boy eats between 17-20oz a day in wet food... I would like to keep him on a high quality, grain-free food. The costs can get heavy, so I'm looking into different brands, wet/dry, bulk buys, etc... though, I am not willing to sacrifice quality.

Feeding him By Nature Naturals from wag.com costs $85 a month!!!

I'm thinking of giving him a wet breakfast and dinner and then free feeding him dry in the day (If I can keep the dog out of it!).

So, what do you feed YOUR Maine **** or Large cat?? How much do you feed per day of what?

Thanks!


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I have a Maine **** (Holly) and another large cat (Kobi) and neither one of them are eating anywhere near that amount. 

Holly being a MC girl obviously isn't going to get to the size of a male and she tends to be on the thin side and not super interested in food. She's long, tall and lean. She did most of her growing the first year then had a small spurt during years 2,3 and 5. I haven't weighed her lately but she's probably around 12.5/13 lbs and could stand to put on another pound or two. She gets around 4 oz of wet and either 1/8 cup dry or another 1.5-2 oz of wet...but she'll often walk away without completely finishing...she leaves maybe 10-15% of it. 

Kobi is a really large DSH, he's the same length as Holly and about 1/4 to 1/2 inch taller. But he weighs nearly 20 lbs and his weight is about perfect...can feel his spine and ribs easily and he has a defined waist. He gets the same amount of food as Holly, but he generally finishes what she leaves. 

They get a variety of Wellness, Blue, Nature's Variety, EVO, Weruva, Tiki, Natural Balance, Holistic Select and probably a few others that I can't think of right now.


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## cooncatbob (May 27, 2011)

That's a crazy amount of food, I feed my MCC 2 small 3 oz cans of wet and about 1/2 a cup of dry and she was 17 lbs at her max.
Are you sure the dog isn't eating most of that food?
My little Tabby eat 1 small can a day and 1/4 cup of dry.


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## Meredith (Dec 28, 2010)

doodlebug said:


> I have a Maine **** (Holly) and another large cat (Kobi) and neither one of them are eating anywhere near that amount.
> 
> ...
> 
> They get a variety of Wellness, Blue, Nature's Variety, EVO, Weruva, Tiki, Natural Balance, Holistic Select and probably a few others that I can't think of right now.


Hmm... 8O How old is your MC? Is she done growing?

Do your kitties have any problems in switching between all of these brands? Any tummy troubles?




cooncatbob said:


> That's a crazy amount of food, I feed my MCC 2 small 3 oz cans of wet and about 1/2 a cup of dry and she was 17 lbs at her max.
> Are you sure the dog isn't eating most of that food?
> My little Tabby eat 1 small can a day and 1/4 cup of dry.


8O

Oh my. How old is your MC? Is she still growing?

I'm 110% sure the dog is not eating his food. This is how much he eats, he will eat it in front of us! He cleans his bowl. We were giving him 14oz a day and he just seemed hungry all of the time, so we upped it over time and so we're currently on between 17oz and 20oz a day... all wet.

He is a perfect weight, regularly given flea/tick/worm treatments, and sees the vet for annual visits. His last visit was last month and the vet said he looked great!!

Do you think maybe he is hitting a growth spurt or something? He is 2.5 years old right now... his Dad is a monster at a lean 28lbs.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I think it will also depend on WHAT you are feeding him. If he's eating a good quality grain free food his body will require MUCH less than if he was eating filler laden junk food.


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## Meredith (Dec 28, 2010)

MowMow said:


> I think it will also depend on WHAT you are feeding him. If he's eating a good quality grain free food his body will require MUCH less than if he was eating filler laden junk food.


Well, he currently eats Bozita in a variety of flavors...

Haddock - Bozita.com

I've always felt like this is a good food... maybe I'm wrong. :???:


Ingredients: Chicken, pork, haddock (min. 4% in the chunk), minerals, egg, paprika, ß-1,3/1,6-glucan.

High meat content up to 93%
Only fresh Swedish meat
No artificial colourings, flavourings or preservatives
Macrogard – the natural immunizer 
Sugar-free
Lean on fat
Wheat gluten-free
Naturally high in taurine for your cat’s eyes and reproduction


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Holly is 5 1/2 and yes, she's pretty much done growing, she hasn't had any significant growth since year 2. The little spurts she's had since then have been barely noticeable. She doesn't come from a line of particularly large cats...the breeder predicted her to be about 13 lbs fully grown. I've finally gotten some weight on her, up until about 6 months ago she was 11.5 pounds...way too thin, a bag of bones. But I've been working on getting her to eat more...when I see her losing interest and making signs of walking away (trying to bury her dish), I go over and sprinkle some freeze dried chicken dust on it and she'll go back to it. 

In general, no issues with the food rotation. Holly does have a fish intolerance that gives her diarrhea...so absolutely no fish in any of the foods I feed. Not even a little bit (fish oil is OK). There have also been other foods/treats that give her diarrhea but I can't find any common thread between them. Basically she just has a slightly sensitive tummy. But if she tolerates a food well the first time I feed it, it can go in the rotation without further issues. Maggie & Kobi do fine on the rotation.


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## Meredith (Dec 28, 2010)

Thanks for your advice!! 


As for feeding guidelines... even By Nature suggests one (6.5oz) can per 6-8lbs of body weight... which would be 2.5 cans a day?


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Ok so this may explain why he's eating so much...

The Bozita has a very high water content (83% vs 78% for Wellness or EVO) and very low calorie content. They present it as 275 kJ/100g...do some math and that turns out to be less than 250 kcal for a 13 oz carton. A similar size can of EVO has 480 kcals, Wellness has 500.

Seems like he'll eat half as much on a more calorie dense food.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Meredith said:


> As for feeding guidelines... even By Nature suggests one (6.5oz) can per 6-8lbs of body weight... which would be 2.5 cans a day?


By Nature is also an extremely low calorie food...20 cals/oz...so a 13 oz can would be 260.


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## Meredith (Dec 28, 2010)

doodlebug said:


> Ok so this may explain why he's eating so much...
> 
> The Bozita has a very high water content (83% vs 78% for Wellness or EVO) and very low calorie content. They present it as 275 kJ/100g...do some math and that turns out to be less than 250 kcal for a 13 oz carton. A similar size can of EVO has 480 kcals, Wellness has 500.
> 
> Seems like he'll eat half as much on a more calorie dense food.





doodlebug said:


> By Nature is also an extremely low calorie food...20 cals/oz...so a 13 oz can would be 260.


Oh my goodness!!! I feel like such a bad Mommy  I had no idea. THANK YOU!

So I guess By Nature is a no go then... I'll look into Evo and/or Wellness then... I guess I've been so consumed by the high-meat content/grain-free products that I've never even thought about the calories.

Evo and Wellness are more expensive... but I guess if he needs less of it, its probably going to be cheaper in the long run


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## Meredith (Dec 28, 2010)

Wellness Chicken & Herring Recipe

Based on the 12.5oz cans... Wellness states half a can per 6-8lbs of body weight... isn't this the same rule as the By Nature, really? I was thinking I'd find different feeding guidelines because of the calorie difference.

I cant seem to find feeding guidelines for the Evo..


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

The feeding guidelines on cans should be taken with a grain of salt. They're often way too much. Generally accepted guideline is 5.5 - 6 oz per 10 lbs for adults, monitor the cat's weight and adjust accordingly. 

The other thing you need to take into consideration is that he's been eating so much that he's still going to be looking for the same quantity. You're probably going to need to bring it down slowly so he adjusts.


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## Meredith (Dec 28, 2010)

doodlebug said:


> The feeding guidelines on cans should be taken with a grain of salt. They're often way too much. Generally accepted guideline is 5.5 - 6 oz per 10 lbs for adults, monitor the cat's weight and adjust accordingly.
> 
> The other thing you need to take into consideration is that he's been eating so much that he's still going to be looking for the same quantity. You're probably going to need to bring it down slowly so he adjusts.


Great advice and good idea... Thank you


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## Meredith (Dec 28, 2010)

Heard anything good or bad about Triumph brand cat food?

Triumph Adult Can Cat Food Case 13oz - Petfood.com


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Triumph...Bleh. Very under the radar food. Seems ok on the surface but I don't know enough about them....So I'd be concerned about where they're sourcing their ingredients from, the specific quality of those ingredients and whether there's ethoxyquin in the fish they use.


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## Meredith (Dec 28, 2010)

doodlebug said:


> Triumph...Bleh. Very under the radar food. Seems ok on the surface but I don't know enough about them....So I'd be concerned about where they're sourcing their ingredients from, the specific quality of those ingredients and whether there's ethoxyquin in the fish they use.


That's a fair point! Thanks.

My top three picks are Felidae, Wellness and Evo 95... I might go for a mixture of the three!

Will be interesting to see how he does on a higher calorie food...

I'm so glad I found this forum  Friendly people, great advice!


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

There's certainly no need to feel like you've been doing anything wrong by feeding a lower calorie, high quality food. You've just been having to feed more of it than you would with a higher calorie food. Higher moisture content is a good thing, as is the high meat content. The proof's in the pudding (or the cat, as the case may be). Your big boy is apparently at a great weight and in great health, so kudos to you! 

Switch him to a higher calorie food and smaller portions, if that's your preference, or keep him on his current food and portions. As long as the food quality remains high and his weight and health are optimal, either option is a good one.

Laurie


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## Meredith (Dec 28, 2010)

Thanks 


Hum! Interesting! I was at my local Tractor Supply Store and saw they sell Taste of the Wild food for kitties (my dog eats TOTW... I know its a good food).

It is reasonably priced there, so I decided to check the ingredients online and noticed the feeding guidelines are VERY low in comparison to other brands. I wonder why this is?

Taste of the Wild : Products : Cats : Canned Food : Rocky Mountain Feline Formula

Feeding Guideline (cans/day)
Adult	Weight (lbs.)	Adult 
3 - 5 1/3 - 1/2 
5 - 10 1/2 - 2/3 
10 - 15 2/3 - 1 
15 - 20 1 - 1 1/4

...and this is talking about the 3oz cans?!

It does say 82.5 calories per can though... so, i guess I'm confused  So according to their feeding guidelines, Enzo would only need about 3-4oz per day?! So, like, 90 calories? Haha... That doesnt even make sense.

What do you think??


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## Meredith (Dec 28, 2010)

Strange, this flavor has a completely different feeding guideline...

Taste of the Wild : Products : Cats : Canned Food : Canyon River Feline Formula


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## RascalDog (Dec 30, 2011)

My cats love Taste of the Wild dry but don't really like the canned at all.


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## Meredith (Dec 28, 2010)

RascalDog said:


> My cats love Taste of the Wild dry but don't really like the canned at all.


Hmm! What is the TOTW wet like? Pate?


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Yes it's pate. New flavor coming out soon...Canyon River (to match the dry). Also 5.5 oz cans in both flavors.


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## Meredith (Dec 28, 2010)

doodlebug said:


> Yes it's pate. New flavor coming out soon...Canyon River (to match the dry). Also 5.5 oz cans in both flavors.


Huh! Interesting - my local Tractor Supply Store already carries that flavor and 5.5oz cans! I read 'New flavor coming out soon' and got excited for a third - hahaha!


Anyone have any opinions on the Green Pea formulas by Natural Balance? I don't really understand the Green Pea part of it... Pea Flour, Pea Protein... any idea what the benefits are?? Seems such a strange ingredient.

There are no calorie counts on their website, so I emailed them...

Green Pea & Salmon Canned Cat Formula: 200 kcals per 6 oz can
Green Pea & Duck Canned Cat Formula: 215 kcals per 6 oz can
Green Pea & Chicken Canned Cat Formula: 220 kcals per 6 oz can
Green Pea & Venison Canned Cat Formula: 200 kcals per 6 oz can

Not bad


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I didn't know if it started shipping yet, I told my distributor that I didn't want it till next week. 

The NB foods with green pea are limited ingredient for cats with allergies. I really don't recommend them for cats that don't need that type of food. First, they're really high in carbs and second; if your cat develops allergies later in life you have nothing to go to.


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## Meredith (Dec 28, 2010)

doodlebug said:


> I didn't know if it started shipping yet, I told my distributor that I didn't want it till next week.
> 
> The NB foods with green pea are limited ingredient for cats with allergies. I really don't recommend them for cats that don't need that type of food. First, they're really high in carbs and second; if your cat develops allergies later in life you have nothing to go to.


Great advice, thank you!!


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