I’m in week one of a 3-week sit. The cat is 14 years old, indoor-outdoor, slim.
The homeowner’s instructions are to feed her one 5.5 oz can of wet food per day. No dry food. She also said that if the cat seems really hungry, I can give her a little bit more. She admits to giving her little tidbits of human food from time to time, but not much as the cat is on a kidney diet.
The cat is hungry all the time! And no wonder: according to what I read, she should be getting twice the calories of the one can of food.
I’ve simply been feeding her about a can an a half per day, which seems to make her happier.
Should I just keep on, or say something to the HO? And if I mention it, how might I approach it? I tend to be direct, but I don’t want to offend her or challenge her.
I would personally feed the cat as much as it wants while I’m there (since it looks thin). To the HO I would say, “you said I could give her more, so I did and she seemed to like this amount”.
That way it’s not shaming by saying she’s underfed, or sounding authoritarian by recommending a certain amount.
While some cats eat less during sits, I do think that some eat more while having the excitement of someone new, or maybe we play more than the HO, or are home more. Who knows
I must admit some prejudice, but owners I know that give their pets human food «from time to time» often give them in total quite a lot, although each bit can be small…
I would presume and outdoor cat would supplement its diet outside if too little?
As a pet owner I wouldn’t like that my pet was fed other than the specifications given, but it seems she has given you some slack.
Most cat food cans vastly over-estimate the amount of food cats need, so don’t go by that! It’s possible in an older cat she may be going through some changes that are affecting her appetite – like thyroid issues – but it could also be tummy stuff like IBS where she isn’t absorbing the nutrients like she used to.
Don’t try to solve this. If the owner told you she sometimes gives the cat human food and that it was okay to give the cat more of the canned, just give the cat more of the canned. If you feel you need to check in with the owner check in and tell her what you are observing but do not tell her that you think she’s underfeeding her cat.
As a sitter, you may not know the whole story or how the petparent arrived at her particular feeding instructions. So by all tell her what you are seeing, but do not judge.
I’ve had a CKD kitty and it can be hard to manage their diets. She may be following a vet’s guidance considering she’s got kidney diet food, which is usually prescription. Usually it’s hard to get them to eat enough, so I agree with feeding her more canned food if she’s enjoying it and tolerating it well. You can mix water in too. I like the idea of leaving a note suggesting the kitty seemed happier with a bit extra daily. I wouldn’t say anything else.
