MUTE SIAMESE

Question
Thank You. Happy New Year!

I'm cat sitting for my son who's on vacation.  
This is a full-grown female cat he adopted about 1 yr ago.
Of course - we never met me before, so she was very wary, and jumped at the least sound and movement. Petted her  gently a lot - and sweet-talked her, and give her a lot of love. Now she's better. Much less nervous.

She's a beauty half Siamese - but looks completely Siamese - beige undercoat with dark points - blue eyes and dark stockings.

I've never had a cat - so I don't know anything. Before he left he told me to give her 1/4 cup dry feed ( 30% Protein) in the A.M. - & another 1/4 cup in the P.M.

This's 12 hrs apart.

The cat was thin and listless. I feel he has her on a drastic diet - but he says at 12 lbs. she's still weighing more than she should.

But the poor cat was always pacing back and forth fr her catnaps to her food dish & looking at me.  I started giving her about 1/4 cup of the dry food about every 4-5 hrs. And started supplementing it w / the small cans of moist cat food - the better brands - 1/2 small can  once a day - along with  a little less than 1/4 cup of the drip food.

I change her water 2 x daily - rinsing it well ea. time. And wash her food dish daily - as well as washing it after giving her the most food.

Also, I scoop out her litter daily & change the sand every 2 days.

She's a sweet little person, very clean.

However, the problem is that my son doesn't want to give her more than 1/4 cup dry feed (30% protein) every 12 hrs.

Is that the correct diet - Have I been doing wrong?

ALSO, this cat seems to be mute - not a meow - nothing! Not even when she seems to be asking for food.

Are there mute cats?

I do need help.

And thanking you in advance.  

Answer
Twelve pounds is a little hefty for a purebred Siamese.  Females typically weigh 6-8 pounds.  But her frame may be larger since she's a mix.

Most people overfeed their cats because it's easy for us to look at their portions and think it's not enough.  A quarter cup twice daily does seem like a small amount, but it depends greatly on the food itself.  The label should give you a feeding guide for her weight.  I think it's good you're giving her canned food.  I prefer canned over dry.  But if you're giving her canned PLUS her full ration of dry, you're probably overfeeding.  If you give her canned, reduce the amount of dry a little.

Some cats don't talk.  A lot of it has to do with whether their mother was talkative, and it can also have to do with how much vocal interaction they had with humans as kittens.  Unless she's trying to meow and nothing is coming out, there should be no problem.  If she's opening her mouth as if to meow, but no noise is being made, she may have a sore throat from some sort of infection.  If any additional symptoms develop, it would be best to have her checked by a vet.