My cats' BM

[MrsNorris151]

Hello. I was just wondering....

Mrs. Norris is just shy of turning a year old and I give her 1 - 3 oz bag of wet cat food and 1/2 to 3/4 cup of dry food daily. I also give her about 5 little snacks a day. The thing is that she has about 4-5 bowel movements daily and I am afraid that seems like an awful lot. I know sometimes she cries for more wet food and ignores the dry food but I figure if she is really hungry she will eat the dry food.

Now that she is going to turn a year old should I lessen her food load? Or give her the same but buy her weight management food. I don't think she is overweight but I was under the impression of giving less food when they are out of the kitten stage.

One more question. She was spayed and the area where they did the incision is a huge hanging pouch. Is this normal??

Thanks

[Lucky Rescue]

You're feeding her way too much! Also what kind of food are you feeding?

A normal sized female cat should have about 1/2 cup of dry food daily OR give her canned only. One can a day should be enough.

Or you could give her one portion canned, the other dry.

Cats do develop a "pouch" sometimes, but at 1 year old it should NOT be huge or hanging. This is usually seen in older spayed cats.

I think your cat is overweight. Some cats are like dogs and will overeat if given the chance.

[MrsNorris151]

See I was under the impression that kittens are supposed to eat double their weight in ounces. I am in the process of gradually giving her less food but she seems to cry for food a lot. Her pouch has been there since right after the surgery. She had a hard ball in the area which faded away and left a pouch...much like older female cats. I feel real bad because it just hangs there. And when she walks it is noticible and people have asked me if she was pregnant.
Which brings me to another question...can cats be in heat without even showing signs? Mrs. Norris has had 4 different male visitors sit outside the window calling her. She purrs at them from the window and meows when they are there but she is quite calm otherwise. I guess I was silly to think cats can't go into heat after they have been spayed.

[Lucky Rescue]

Cats should never go into heat after spaying, since they should have nothing left to put them into heat. The ovaries and uterus are removed and supposedly all estrogen.

However, it can happen that some ovarian tissue can be left after the spay, and just a tiny bit is enough to cause heat cycles. IF you think this may have happened, she can be tested for estrogen.

From what you are describing, it does not sound like she is in heat. Maybe she just likes the boys!

[MrsNorris151]

yeah she might just like the boys, but they havn't been coming around. She seems sad and is on the lookout for them.

I gave her a 1/2 cup dry food and 1 oz of wet food and she cleans the bowl by mid afternoon and she follows me around to give her more. What should I do?

[JDG]

Perhaps you can divide up the food into mini meals, and feed Mrs. Morris a bit throughout the day. . . .

Or give her half in the morning, and half in the evening if you work during the day. . . .

[MrsNorris151]

Yeah, JDG, that is actually what I have been doing I split the meals up 3 times a day (sometimes twice if I am not home). But this morning when I gave her a portion she scarfed it down and did what she has never done before. She went to the bag of cat food and started biting it and meowing like crazy. I felt bad so I gave in and gave her a tablespoon of dry food and she ate it and left it at that. The one thing I have stopped though is feeding her at night. I used to fill her dry food up at night because she is still kneading my head and after kneading she always eats. So maybe that is why she is super hungry in the morning. I don't know what to do, I just feel bad for her.