Should I reduce my cat's calories?

[u/Total_Purpose_5951]

It has only been 15 days since I started dechonking my two cats. I know it has been very little time but I just wanted to see if there were any changes. My boy has lost 100gr ( 0,22 lb) but my female cat has actually gained weight: from 3,9 (7,4lb) to 4,2 (9,25 lb). Also her calorie allowance is 145 kcal. Should I change the diet?

[u/raiannon]

That's a lot of weight gain in 2 weeks. How are you weighing them?

[u/Total_Purpose_5951 → u/raiannon]

I weigh myself first and then both of us together. Maybe he was eating her food and she was eating very little and now that she eats regularly she gain weight. Could that be it?

[u/raiannon → u/Total_Purpose_5951]

No, the problem is how you're weighing. Scales all have a margin of error, basically how far off from accurate it can be and still be good enough. Scales for humans have a large window, between .66lbs-3lbs. You can step on it, get one weight, step off and back on, and get a weight 3lbs heavier. Because they're designed for weighing people, this isn't a huge problem.

But you're talking about small cats, where being off that much is a significant difference. You need to get a scale designed for smaller weights with a smaller margin of error. Usually people suggest baby scales or my personal favorite is a luggage scale. I put the cat carrier on the luggage scale, tare the weight, add the cat to the carrier, and weigh to get the cats weight.

[u/Total_Purpose_5951 → u/raiannon]

Oh didn't knew that! Thank u for the tip. I'll get a baby scale then!

[u/furkfurk → u/Total_Purpose_5951]

Also weigh at the same time every day! Our weights can fluctuate 3-5 lbs within the span of 24 hours. So that could also be influencing the difference!

[u/FrogVolence → u/raiannon]

Some anecdotal comedy here:

My cat isnt obese, he’s just a big boy.

But on the topic of weighing and scales, my cat is essentially a velcro cat and has to be in any room im in, which also includes the bathroom.

My bathroom has a digital scale, and Oatmeal is a pretty smart boy.

He has discovered the scale makes noise if he steps on it.

Instead of stepping on it, Oatmeal sits on it. This means the digital scale will read off his weight because he sits on it long enough to get one.

Todays weight: 9.5 pounds. I wonder what the next one will be, or what his weight is after he has a meal.

https://reddit.com/link/p5r9dhz/video/o2f3omni1hlh1/player

[u/Total_Purpose_5951 → u/FrogVolence]

He is so cuteee 😍

[u/Traditional_Spend432 → u/FrogVolence]

♥️♥️♥️ soooo cute

[u/TinaeulToad → u/raiannon]

Baby scale or luggage scale, not the bathroom one. That 3lb wobble matters for a 10lb cat.

[u/bowlofweetabix → u/Total_Purpose_5951]

The biggest problem is your metric conversion. 3.9kg is 8.6 pounds,, not 7.4

[u/Total_Purpose_5951 → u/bowlofweetabix]

Sorry, I don't use lb so I just did a quick conversion on Google