cat needs to lose a bit of weight - how?

Question

my 8-yr old neutered male cat is 14 lbs. He is muscular; not at all flabby; but from the back, you can see how WIDE he is. Vet told me that his ideal weight ought to be 10 - 12 lbs. Stupid me, I forgot to ask him for a diet... anyone there with experience on getting a cat's weight down successfully? Oh, I feed the cat mostly canned food with a bit of kibble for his teeth. Thanks!

Answer 1

Datura - You REALLY should read the ingredients on the Science Diet you're wasting your money on! Check out those by-products!! Would YOU eat off the slaughterhouse floor?!

Any weight loss program for cats should be approached VERY GRADUALLY. Sudden food changes can cause feline bulemia, food rejection, anorexia, with possibly fatal complications from dehydration or fatty liver disease. As a general rule, don't try to improve your cat's health by KILLING it!

You need to go back to your vet and do a complete blood workup to see if he could have any underlying conditions like hypothyroidism which could trigger weight gain.

An 8 year old cat can be considered geriatric, so look for a good quality senior food for him. The senior foods are generally lower in fat, protein, and higher in fiber, all of which will trim him down.

If you are concerned about your cat's teeth, you can do far more good by brushing them or wiping them with a gauze pad or paper towel wrapped around your index finger than with giving him kibble. Most cats swallow kibble whole -- if they do not chew it, it does not help their teeth, right?! Even if they crack an occasional kibble, it has negligible benefit. If your vet says different, then STOP taking your cat to a DOG vet!!

Changing food gradually, the first thing you should do is eliminate the kibble by decreasing the amount you leave out by a tablespoon per day. Kibble is very expensive calorically - like potato chips. Canned food is 80% water while kibble is 98% calories. Canned food is the "lettuce" of feline dining.

When you've eliminated the kibble, then increase the volume of the wet food by mixing in a tablespoon of warmed water. This will help your cat feel full sooner and eat less.

If you've found a good senior food which is lower in calories, fat, and protein, then you can add a tablespoon of that to your cat's meal. If he eats it all without any digestive upset, the gradually change proportions between old and new foods.

Wait a full month on the new food prior to decreasing the feeding amount any further.

Besides weighing your cat, you can check his girth by cupping your hand like a "U" as you run your hand down his back. With gentle pressure, you should be able to feel the "hills" formed by the ribs. If you cannot feel the ribs, he is too chubby. They should feel well-padded, like you are feeling lumps through a thick blanket. If you don't have to press to feel them, he is too thin. Don't use the spine to judge, as that has more to do with age and muscle tone.

Answer 2

I was told by a vet that my cat needs to diet also, he's 17 pounds, but he's also a larger framed cat, I saw a couple of "normal" cats outside, and my cat was about 3 times as big as the other cats (large framed). He was 13 pounds when I adopted him. I tried the purina cat chow indoor cat formula, and I tried a weight control formula by either eukanuba or science diet (can't remember it's been a few years). The purina made my cat sick, I slowly switched hs food and everything how it's supposed to be done. He also gained more weight on it! I tried portion control and he doesn't even eat half the daily portion for a cat his size to lose weight should eat (he's healthy too, no odd health issues). The other brand I used made him a little sick (not much)and he gained weight on it also, but nowhere near as bad as the purina indoor cat formula. I got tired of cleaning up kitty vomit and went back to whiskas, and he started losing weight, stopped throwing up (maybe they were hairballs too). I want to get him on a good medium to high quality food, I know that whiskas isn't really high quality, I can't even find it in large bags here, so I had to switch to friskies for now. I hate switching his food up on him. I might try Iams for him next, not sure what they have for diet foods.

The only thing I can really think of that would help some other than diet food (which may or may not work for you) is to get your cat to be more active, since they sleep all the time, you might be able to play with him more and get him going with something simple like a long piece of yarn. Or get a dog to chase the cat around the house, it seems to work here ;) Good luck, and if you buy diet food make sure you get a good brand.

Answer 3

I've had to reduce weight in some of my kitties when I wasn't careful with their food.

Science Diet is THE BEST food out there. There's no fillers and junk in the food to make the animal fat. Also, I don't really like the diet foods. They don't really work, and the cat just get's hungry right after he eats.

I've got my cat's on a time table. I give them a 1/4 scoop morning and night. Basically portion control. The back of the bag will basically give you the exact amounts your animals should eat per day. This can be modified based on your kitty's needs.

Keeping them active with toys, laser lights, anything to keep him active will also help to reduce his weight.

Your kitty might whine a little if you switch to a structured diet, but he'll soon get used to it!

And what the other person said about wet food is true. I would definitely cut down on the wet, use more kibble, and mix in the wet for a treat!

Good luck!

Answer 4

I know that there are plenty of dry cat foods that state they are for plump kitties. Look when you go to the store for canned foods that say weight control.

Perhaps ger him some play toys. Things to make him more active. Tie a play toy to a string and pull it slowly by him. Then pull it up in the air. He should love it.

Good Luck with your Kitty.

Answer 5

You need to feed your cat dry food instead of canned. Canned will make him fatter than he should be becasue of the additives in it. Reduce the amount of food you give him and watch how much he eats and when. The vet should give you guidelines on how much he should eat. Don't be afraid to call the vet with any concerns or questions you have since that's what they're there for.

Answer 6

well, if you were just at the vet you should be able to call them up and double check to make sure that there aren't any medical reasons for the extra weight. my vet told me to decrease the amount of food that you give him by 10%. if a cat looses weight too fast it will screw up their liver.

also get him moving get a string toy and play with him with that maybe 10-20 mins a day have him running back and forth and jumping, make sure to put the string toy away when you are done. my cats love these sponge balls that I got at petco they bounce and roll and they love to bat those around and play soccer with them. http://www.petco.com/Shop/SearchResults.aspx?Nav=1&N=0&Ntt=sponge+balls

Answer 7

take each family members laundry upstairs separately

Answer 8

Find the right diet for your individual body because there are many ways are there to lose weight just find what works for you

Answer 9

maybe my suggestion is not so good, but why don't you try making your timetables food list for your cat and take your cat a little walk outside every day. if you have time.

Answer 10

I reduced the amount of food I put in my cats food bowl.
Be careful in the kitchen...they are constantly underfoot when on a diet!!