Okay, so here is a starting point for everyone, as I weighed them all yesterday before breakfast. I put the a box on the scale, set for tare, and then got each cat to sit in the box.
Jeoffry - 15 lb., 12.2 oz.
Jennyanydots - 12 lb., about 5 oz. (This is as close a guess as I have, as she HATES being picked up, and would not sit still in the box. I will have to do the carrier thing with her, I think.)
Truman - 15 lb., 15.4 oz.
Lucy - 7 l., 10 oz.
Violet - 7 lb., 2 oz.
Mouse - 7 lb., 13.2 oz.
Jeoffry and Truman each weighed over 18 lb. last time they were at the vet, and Jenny was close to that. I attribute most of the weight loss simply to doing away with Science Diet last January. I don't like any kibble, but some is worse than others, and that stuff is awful. The boys still have a way to go. Jenny should probably lose a bit more - I'm not sure how much - as well, but mostly, I would like to see her gain muscle tone. I think she will - she is moving around a lot more now. I would love to know what the ideal weight is for these three. They all have fairly long, fluffy coats, so it's not a matter of just looking at them to see if their bodies seem fit. If I remember correctly, the vet said something about 12 lb., at least for Truman and Jeoffry, but I'm a little skeptical, particularly about Truman. He is a big-boned cat, with great big paws, and I think getting him down to 12 would be pushing it. It might be a little more on-target for Jeoffry. I'm probably going to just feed the cats good food, the right kind, and trust them to know how much they need to eat. After all, the weight they have lost so far was not the result of anything I did, other than changing the KIND of food.
I would actually like to see Lucy gain a bit. She is the one I was most worried about last week when no one wanted to eat - she seemed a little too thin. Her appetite is back in full force now, and she seems to really like the homemade diet. She had actually gotten a little chubby on SD, but was pretty close to normal until the no-eating episode.
Violet could stand to gain a few ounces (actually, I think she has, since going to canned: she's the first one I noticed turning her nose up at kibble), but I'm okay with it if she does not. She isn't scrawny, just very slim. She has always been a slender, dainty cat - think Oriental Shorthair-type build.
Mouse, as small as she is, is a plump little thing, even at her current weight. Not fat, just not svelte. Mouse got her name because she was such a tiny kitten.
Jenny will be the most challenging to work with. She is a shy cat, and would prefer to eat alone, but resents being put in another room. Plus, she prefers to eat on the floor, which means I must put the dogs up at mealtimes. As difficult a case as she is, she's come a long way. She went through a phase a few months ago when she refused to come out from under my chair at all, except to eat and use the litter box, especially if Truman was in the room. Now, she comes out and relaxes even with him here, and she even defended her little perch on a side chair from Violet the other day. I am very proud of her. Still, she doesn't really enjoy the company of other animals, and she is the one cat I would consider parting with if someone I knew was a good pet parent asked to adopt her and let her be an only cat.
She has always been this way. She is not even attached to Jeoffry, who is her brother and littermate. When I got her, I had a big white cat called Kimchee, who was nine at the time, and he took her under his wing. They were quite bonded, but Kimchee died in 2012. Since most people who have the level of devotion I would expect already have a cat, it looks like we'll have to muddle through together. Fortunately, she is improving, and I expect to see more improvements as I move to raw. I wonder sometimes if kibble affects cats the way too much sugar does kids, creating behavioral issues along with obvious physical ones.
Everyone got homemade for breakfast, canned for lunch, which was their largest meal, and homemade again for dinner. Will repeat this schedule tomorrow, and start making another batch of raw.