# How much does your British Shorthair eat?



## monkeymummy32 (May 22, 2012)

Hello! I have a 7 year old, fat BSH! He weighs almost 7 kg and we've tried every kind of prescription weight loss diet there is but he still never loses much weight. Out of curiousity I would just like to know how much your BSH gets fed and what time of day you feed them. Many thanks.


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## Melo (Jul 13, 2012)

My BSH is still a kitten - nearly 5 months old. Here gets a pouch & a half in the morning around 7am (slightly later at weekends!) & 1 pouch in the evening around 6pm when I get in from work. Pouches are 100g each. He also has a bowl of dry food that is left out for him all day. He seems happy with this! I know he's a lot younger than your cat but thought I'd respond anyway! Hope I've been of some help!


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## Cookieandme (Dec 29, 2011)

My girl is 17 months old, she weighs 4.5kg and has a raw diet. 

She has 50 - 55grms at around 6.15am and the same at 6pm. Then about 20grms at supper between 10 and 10.30pm.


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## monkeymummy32 (May 22, 2012)

Melo said:


> My BSH is still a kitten - nearly 5 months old. Here gets a pouch & a half in the morning around 7am (slightly later at weekends!) & 1 pouch in the evening around 6pm when I get in from work. Pouches are 100g each. He also has a bowl of dry food that is left out for him all day. He seems happy with this! I know he's a lot younger than your cat but thought I'd respond anyway! Hope I've been of some help!


Hi, many thanks for your reply. Ahh, 5 months old, bet you're enjoying him! .
Do you find that he eats all of his dry food as well?


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## monkeymummy32 (May 22, 2012)

Cookieandme said:


> My girl is 17 months old, she weighs 4.5kg and has a raw diet.
> 
> She has 50 - 55grms at around 6.15am and the same at 6pm. Then about 20grms at supper between 10 and 10.30pm.


Hi, thankyou for your reply, it's really useful


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## Aurelie (Apr 10, 2012)

Claude is two and weighs roughly 5.7kg. He is VERY fussy so I won't bore you with the list of what he eats but today he has had two pouches, unlimited biscuits and some warm white fish for supper. Is your BSH definately overweight? My sisters BSH boy is about 10 and is far, far heavier than Claude but not considered overweight by her vet.

Have we seen a photo?


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## Britishshorthairbabies (Sep 12, 2012)

When looking into bsh. A fully grown male can weigh on average 5-10kgs. So i wouldn't worry too much. 

My boys only 18 weeks and eats half sachet of wet, with royal cannin available all day, afternoon is mince, pork, eggs or fish with kitten milk and some more wet? But he's a chunky monkey and weighs nearly 2 kilos already!


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## monkeymummy32 (May 22, 2012)

Aurelie said:


> Claude is two and weighs roughly 5.7kg. He is VERY fussy so I won't bore you with the list of what he eats but today he has had two pouches, unlimited biscuits and some warm white fish for supper. Is your BSH definately overweight? My sisters BSH boy is about 10 and is far, far heavier than Claude but not considered overweight by her vet.
> 
> Have we seen a photo?


It depends on which vet he sees at his annual health check/booster appt! Some say he is overweight but last year the vet didn't comment but I think back then he was 5.7 also. He has been as much as 7.3. He looks quite 'rotund', his sides are definately rounded and when he crouches down he's like a ball! He is so very lazy and greedy, and when we cut back his food he just does everything possible to destroy the house till he gets fed! I'm hoping that having the new kitten will get him moving a bit more but now I'm having to make sure he doesn't gobble the kittens food as well! I'll post a pic of him now.....


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## Aurelie (Apr 10, 2012)

monkeymummy32 said:


> It depends on which vet he sees at his annual health check/booster appt! Some say he is overweight but last year the vet didn't comment but I think back then he was 5.7 also. He has been as much as 7.3. He looks quite 'rotund', his sides are definately rounded and when he crouches down he's like a ball! He is so very lazy and greedy, and when we cut back his food he just does everything possible to destroy the house till he gets fed! I'm hoping that having the new kitten will get him moving a bit more but now I'm having to make sure he doesn't gobble the kittens food as well! I'll post a pic of him now.....


Love the photos, I don't think he'll ever be a ballet dancer but he looks like he delivers a darn fine cuddle .


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## monkeymummy32 (May 22, 2012)

Britishshorthairbabies said:


> When looking into bsh. A fully grown male can weigh on average 5-10kgs. So i wouldn't worry too much.
> 
> My boys only 18 weeks and eats half sachet of wet, with royal cannin available all day, afternoon is mince, pork, eggs or fish with kitten milk and some more wet? But he's a chunky monkey and weighs nearly 2 kilos already!


But he looks fat around his middle  and as he's 7 I'm beginning to worry more about his heart and possible diabetes. He has a vet appt on Saturday for this years booster so will see what the vet says. I think vets don't really take into consideration the breed because as you say, BSH males are heavy cats!


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## Melo (Jul 13, 2012)

monkeymummy32 said:


> Hi, many thanks for your reply. Ahh, 5 months old, bet you're enjoying him! .
> Do you find that he eats all of his dry food as well?


He's a constant source of entertainment. I love having him, can't remember what the house was like without him! Some days he eats more of his dry food than others. His wet food is always eaten & he usually eats about 3/4 of the dry food I put out for him throughout the day. Sometimes he only eats half of it & occasionally he doesn't seem to eat any of it, but he's active & playful so he must be getting enough!


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## monkeymummy32 (May 22, 2012)

Aurelie said:


> Love the photos, I don't think he'll ever be a ballet dancer but he looks like he delivers a darn fine cuddle .


LOL, that made me laugh!! He's VERY cuddly, I just wish he liked being cuddled for longer!!!


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## Staysee (Oct 19, 2009)

I know ours are domesticated cats, but our male jack....wow.

At one point he was hugely overweight, he would pick all day at food and hardley play, he was lazy and ate alot.

But then we moved somewhere where he had to go out and get exercise and he lost alot of weight.

Right now i believe he is around 6.2kg and the vet was happy with his weight, being as he's 11 years old she is fine with the extra weight, cos if he got ill and lost weight it would show.

I think team lessening food with more playtime, that'll help, but make sure he does play, not just a small effort, less treats too if you give them.


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## jill3 (Feb 18, 2009)

Archie has Hollow legs I feed him on demand.
He has a Royal canin Gastro intestinal pouch for breakfast and then he finishes Chloe's pouch off. They have a few biscuits for a snack (11.00 am). Some more wet food for lunch-time and a few Biscuits. Afternoon snack slice of ham. Evening fresh cooked white fish or another pouch. Twice a week applaws chicken.
Chloe has the same.
Both us slaves work form home which does have it's good points. The bad points are that when ever we fancy a snack they do too.
They have a few Dreamies before bedtime too.

Like us some days they are more hungry than others.

Your boy may have shorter legs and so looks chubbier.
Chloe was bigger last year and looked chubby because her legs are quite short. since loosing her friend Harley she lost weight and has remained slim.


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## monkeymummy32 (May 22, 2012)

Staysee said:


> I know ours are domesticated cats, but our male jack....wow.
> 
> At one point he was hugely overweight, he would pick all day at food and hardley play, he was lazy and ate alot.
> 
> ...


Hi, thanks for your post about Jack! He is a lovely looking cat! We have just got a new kitten and at this very moment they are both chasing each other around in mad evening session, so hopefully the kitten will give Loki some exercise from now on!


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## Staysee (Oct 19, 2009)

monkeymummy32 said:


> Hi, thanks for your post about Jack! He is a lovely looking cat! We have just got a new kitten and at this very moment they are both chasing each other around in mad evening session, so hopefully the kitten will give Loki some exercise from now on!


Im sure that'll help him alot, just make sure he keeps it up.

Jack would and does eat himself silly till he's sick, not so much in recent weeks cos of tablets he has to take, but yeah he would eat until sick, thats how bad he is for food, if we left him too it.


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## monkeymummy32 (May 22, 2012)

jill3 said:


> Archie has Hollow legs I feed him on demand.
> He has a Royal canin Gastro intestinal pouch for breakfast and then he finishes Chloe's pouch off. They have a few biscuits for a snack (11.00 am). Some more wet food for lunch-time and a few Biscuits. Afternoon snack slice of ham. Evening fresh cooked white fish or another pouch. Twice a week applaws chicken.
> Chloe has the same.
> Both us slaves work form home which does have it's good points. The bad points are that when ever we fancy a snack they do too.
> ...


Thanks for your post Jill! I am also home a lot during the day as I'm a stay at home mummy to my 2 year old son, so he does nag me for food quite a lot during the day and I do give in more than I should. I want to start being more structured in what he has, maybe just feeding him wet food morning and evening with a small snack of light dry food for lunch. I've just received an order of Amiconda Carney which he doesn't seem to mind too much and I'm hoping it will fill him up for longer than the usual commercial foods from the supermarket. Think I'll try him in some fresh white fish too - bet he would love that and it's low in fat. Yes I think he does have short legs and they look quite wide apart, so that doesn't do his physique any favours!!


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## jill3 (Feb 18, 2009)

Aldi frozen white fish steak is nice.


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

Jumpy eats for England too - he can eat a whole pouch for breakfast, another whole pouch just 2 or 3 hours later for lunch (sometimes at 11am!!), then have some dry food when we're all out, then another whole pouch for dinner, then he will have some supper when he comes in for the night (usually 40g pate) and then tuck into treats shortly after (a handful of prawns!) 

That's about 400g + 


Eats less if he's been indoors alot, though. He's got that muscly build, you can really feel his chunky manly chest when you pick him up for a cuddle! He's my little man!  :001_wub:


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## monkeymummy32 (May 22, 2012)

Treaclesmum said:


> Jumpy eats for England too - he can eat a whole pouch for breakfast, another whole pouch just 2 or 3 hours later for lunch (sometimes at 11am!!), then have some dry food when we're all out, then another whole pouch for dinner, then he will have some supper when he comes in for the night (usually 40g pate) and then tuck into treats shortly after (a handful of prawns!)
> 
> That's about 400g +
> 
> Eats less if he's been indoors alot, though. He's got that muscly build, you can really feel his chunky manly chest when you pick him up for a cuddle! He's my little man!  :001_wub:


Blimey he sure packs it away!! My boy is large framed, he was naturally larger than his brother was, even his head was bigger.....but he is definately too fat! Although I've seen some mighty chubby BSH's when we went to the National Cat Show one year! Diet started yesterday - for me and hubby too, so Loki's not alone with the cutting back!!


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## kr00t0n (May 10, 2012)

Winston is coming up 26 weeks and 3kgs, and is currently on 250g of Natural Instinct a day. 25g in the morning, 100g for lunch, 25g for dinner, 100g at bed time.

If we are at the gf's parents, he has around 300g tinned wet (Carny/Smilla) with some Applaws dry.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

What are YOU feeding him - I can't find if you have said? 

Cut out carbs for him and feed wet, wet, wet. Dried food is notorious for piling on the pounds.


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## monkeymummy32 (May 22, 2012)

spid said:


> What are YOU feeding him - I can't find if you have said?
> 
> Cut out carbs for him and feed wet, wet, wet. Dried food is notorious for piling on the pounds.


He has mainly been fed a dry diet. The vet prescribed Hills MD which he was never too keen on. He's been having Royal Canin slimness most of the time, usually 4 small meals a day with the one of those meals being a small tin of Applause. The RC slimness doens't seem to fill up him for very long so that's why we've been giving him 4 meals - early morning around 6:30am, then 11am, then 5pm then 11pm. I haven't been weighing what we give him, we just give him about half a handful each meal which he doesn't always finish. I've been doing a lot of reading about dry vs wet diets and I've just received my first order of Animonda Carney which he doesn't seem to mind. He now gets that in the morning and around 5pm with a very small snack of RC slimness around lunchtime. Once we've finished the bag of dry food he'll have just a wet food diet. Now we also have a new MC kitten, I'm having to be extra careful that he doesn't gobble up the kittens food too but on the positive side, the kitten is giving him extra exercise with all the chasing around they do and it takes his mind off food too.


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## monkeymummy32 (May 22, 2012)

So I've just placed my first order with Natural Instinct! I hope they like it!!! Am I right in thinking that my fat BSH should be fed 2-3% of his ideal body weight per day? I'll try our MC kitten on it too, just a little to begin with because he's still settling in, been here 4 days now!


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

At 4 months old my BSH boy would eat 600gm of Animonda Carney per day.
I then changed him over to a 100% raw diet and he eats 140gm per day  as its more filling. He is now just over 1 year old and weighs 6.5kg and has much more growing left to do. All judges this year have commented on his great condition and not one has said he is overweight. He just has quite a belly flap going on hehe


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

monkeymummy32 said:


> So I've just placed my first order with Natural Instinct! I hope they like it!!! Am I right in thinking that my fat BSH should be fed 2-3% of his ideal body weight per day? I'll try our MC kitten on it too, just a little to begin with because he's still settling in, been here 4 days now!


Thats what mine has. He's 6.5kg, 1 year old and has 140gm per day.
You will probably find that this helps his weight a lot as it is a carb free diet. Cats have no use for carbs :nono:


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## merlin12 (Jun 24, 2011)

Gorgeous Merlin weights 6kg. He gets one pouch wet in the morning, one wet in the evening and dry inbetween. Vet says he is fat but he is very wrong, it is a stocky breed and they are usually 6-11 kg. I do try to move him, in the foster home he was just getting a bit of wet once a week (they said it wasn´t good fot them). Sheer ignorance.


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## monkeymummy32 (May 22, 2012)

Well, my first order of raw food from Natural Instinct arrived today! A variety of flavours, so fingers crossed he likes some of it!! First meal of it will be very shortly, yikes!! I'll let you know how it goes. As many of you have said, I think a mainly wet/raw diet is the best way to go for getting his weight down. He's going to the vets on Saturday for his annual booster so I wonder if the vet will comment on his weight this year!


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## monkeymummy32 (May 22, 2012)

jo-pop said:


> At 4 months old my BSH boy would eat 600gm of Animonda Carney per day.
> I then changed him over to a 100% raw diet and he eats 140gm per day  as its more filling. He is now just over 1 year old and weighs 6.5kg and has much more growing left to do. All judges this year have commented on his great condition and not one has said he is overweight. He just has quite a belly flap going on hehe


Do you have a pic of your boy so I can compare the size?? I'm pretty sure my boy is fat!


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

Have a look in my photo folders on here. I think I need to take a new one if him stood up for you. He's only just turned 1 though so another 3 or more years growing to do for him. He's using his food for growth rather than to store as fat right now.
Raw is the way to go though


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## Melo (Jul 13, 2012)

I weighed Henry last night and he's 3.4kg which I've been told is a healthy weight for his age. I think he's going to end up a big boy when he's finished growing as his paws are quite big! He's having a lazy day today, some days he doesn't seem to want to play a lot and it quite happy to lie on the couch beside me, but most days he runs about like a crazy cat playing with his toys and climbing up and down his cat tree!


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## monkeymummy32 (May 22, 2012)

jo-pop said:


> Have a look in my photo folders on here. I think I need to take a new one if him stood up for you. He's only just turned 1 though so another 3 or more years growing to do for him. He's using his food for growth rather than to store as fat right now.
> Raw is the way to go though


Ahh Thomas is very handsome! It would be good to see a pic of him stood up too when you get time! . Loki seems to like the raw but doesn't eat very much of it. My Maine Coon kitten LOVES it though!! . I'm hoping that Loki will get used to the new texture soon and start eating a bit more to fill him up properly.


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## Oscars mam (Aug 22, 2011)

I don't really monitor what mine eat but... They have Royal canin dry down all day and refilled when needed and around 2 sachets of wet food each a day more if they want it


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## MominsMummy (Jun 14, 2012)

jo-pop said:


> At 4 months old my BSH boy would eat 600gm of Animonda Carney per day.
> I then changed him over to a 100% raw diet and he eats 140gm per day - as its more filling. He is now just over 1 year old and weighs 6.5kg and has much more growing left to do. All judges this year have commented on his great condition and not one has said he is overweight. He just has quite a belly flap going on hehe


And I though my BSH, boy was getting through a lot of food! 

Yesterday he had 400g of bozita and 50g of an animonda rafine soupe sachet! He's 7 months, neutered and also has a belly flap!


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

This flap is called the Primordial Pouch 
(below taken from a web site as I was lazy and couldn't be bothered to type it all out)
_The primordial pouch is located on a cat's belly and it has the appearance of a loose flap of skin that's similar to what you'd expect if the cat had been overweight and had then lost weight. Also compared to a deflated balloon, the primordial pouch swings slightly as a cat walks. Sometimes it appears just after spaying or neutering, though that isn't required for the pouch to become noticeable. 
Purpose

The primordial pouch is a multi-functional flap. It provides a little extra protection against kicks, which are common during cat fights as a cat will try and rake with it's rear claws. In wild cats, the ancestors of domesticated felines, this pouch appears to be present to provide extra room in case the animal has the opportunity to eat a large meal and the stomach needs to expand. It's also been said that this stomach pouch allows the cat to bend and expand, allowing for faster running and higher jumping.

Far from being a defect, the primordial pouch is actually required for some cat breeds. Cat breeds that are closer to the wild ancestor than other domestic breeds like the Bengal have the primordial pouch listed as one of the breed statistics. Other breeds like the Egyptian Mau and and Serengeti cat also have the primordial pouch as proof of their close ties to the wild history of felines. 
Misconceptions

Some owners may feel that a primordial pouch is a problem, or that something is wrong with their cats. Perhaps the skin is becoming loose after weight loss, or in some cases it may look like the cat isn't eating enough due to the pouch. Always consult with a veterinarian and ask about the state of your pet's health. If there is a problem you should have a more in depth look than just stroking your cat's belly and deciding it's over weight._


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## MominsMummy (Jun 14, 2012)

Thanks Spid! It did appear shortly after neutering at just before 5 months... hes definitely not overweight.... theres just a little more of him to love!!


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

MominsMummy said:


> Thanks Spid! It did appear shortly after neutering at just before 5 months... hes definitely not overweight.... theres just a little more of him to love!!


Same here, its just loose skin. He's in great condition and he knows it


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## LucyLastic88 (Apr 25, 2012)

monkeymummy32 said:


> Ahh Thomas is very handsome! It would be good to see a pic of him stood up too when you get time! . Loki seems to like the raw but doesn't eat very much of it. My Maine Coon kitten LOVES it though!! . I'm hoping that Loki will get used to the new texture soon and start eating a bit more to fill him up properly.


I wouldn't worry. It's probably taken just under 3 mths to get my youngster (10mth old) eating 100% raw. I was having to mix Felix with it to tempt him.

Now, though, he wolfs it down quicker than my older cat, then tries to steal his!


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## monkeymummy32 (May 22, 2012)

LucyLastic88 said:


> I wouldn't worry. It's probably taken just under 3 mths to get my youngster (10mth old) eating 100% raw. I was having to mix Felix with it to tempt him.
> 
> Now, though, he wolfs it down quicker than my older cat, then tries to steal his!


Thanks! He's not doing too bad with it. I'll stick with it, and maybe mix in a a bit of Felix to get him eating more. He's barely had any biscuits since deciding he really needs to lose a bit of weight! I weighed him last night and he is 6.5kg, so that's 0.1 kg less than he was 2 weeks ago - not much less but it's a start in the right direction!


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## cappagardi (Oct 30, 2011)

We've just got a BSH kitten and he just nibbles all day. Wont touch dry food, sniffs at most wet food brands but seems to prefer Hi-life Cat food over kitten food but absolutly loves raw food. Mince and trout seem to be clear winners, he also enjoys a splash of lactose free milk in the morning.

I'm not sure i should be concirned yet as he isnt consuming much at all for his breed but he is a purr machine and is playing well. A Royal Canine rep i met on my travels claimed that cats are one of the very few animals that can smell the nutritional value of food - and will eat something it deems good for it - even if it tastes and smells nasty.


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