Meow Mix and a fat kitty?

Question

Since I started to feed my kitty with meow mix she started gaining weight...what can I do about it? Is it really the brand of the food or something else?

Answer 1

Hey there...CF is on the right track. Commercial dry cat foods were developed by companies that wanted to make it 'convenient' for people to keep cats. It's easy to leave a bowl of dry out all day for the cat. Plus, if more people have cats because "they're so low maintenance", then the company sells more cat food.

But cats are carnivores, and dry foods contain from 33-55% carbohydrates - something a cat can't even digest. It just makes big and bulky stools. Some can't tolerate the carbs to the point that it gives them diabetes or they become quite overweight. Look on the side of the Meow Mix label - you're basicly feeding your kitty meat flavored cereal! It's sort of the feline equivalent of Cheetos.

My recommendation is to switch to a meaty, canned food diet. Look on the lable, byproducts should be avoided. A good, inexpensive (relatively, anyway) brand is at PetSmart, called 'Authority'. You're basicly looking for a food that has grain as the 5th or less ingredient on the list, and no by products. Sadly, Science Diet and IAMS do not fulfill this requirement.

Another good widely available brand is Nutro. Feed 2 meals a day, watch your cat get sleek and slim and healthy!

She may balk at first, too. Cats get quite addicted to carbs and sometimes get really grounchy when you take them away. Just like a lot if people, they often like the unhealthy "junk" food more than the healthy food! :) Best of luck!

Answer 2

Meow Mix is not a quality food. Along with how much your feeding your cat, the brand of food is probably playing a roll in her weight gain. Are you feeding her Meow Mix, because that's what you can afford? Or is it because you think that she'll enjoy it?

If you can afford to spend a little (a lot more), I'd recommend Science Diet or Royal Canin (sold at petco & pet smart). Royal Canin, is all natural, and provides 100% nutrition for your cat. Also, read the packaging, it tells you how much to feed your cat. Free-feeding is a bad idea for a cat, especially an indoor cat. If you don't want to limit your cat to one meal a day, spread the alloted amount of food throughout the day (ie: if the package says to feed your cat 1 cup of food a day, feed it 1/3 Cup in the morning, 1/3 cup in the afternoon, and 1/3 cup in the evening or 1/2 cup in the morning and 1/2 cup in the evening, etc.). Also, treating yoru kitty to a pouch of wet food once a week doesn't hurt. Try to be consistent in the day that you choose. Wet food is excellent for digestive health.

Good luck with your feline friend.

PS- don't feed your pet IAMS, it is over priced for the amount of nutrition it provides, and it also tests on animals.

Answer 3

Meow mix is Kitty Junk Food! It has corn and by products in it. Therefore iit is mostly carbs. Cats need food with lots of meat. I feed mine the Pet Smart brand food called Authority. They hate it, so I've started to mix it with just a hand full of the junk food, so they will eat it. It's either that or they refuse to eat at all.

Answer 4

I haven't even read the ingredients label on Meow Mix. It is so full of artifical flavorings and food colorings that I consider it one of the lowest of the low quality foods.

Please learn to read ingredient labels on the food you feed your cat. You will find any food from the grocery store will have by-product meat and some form of corn in its formulation. The grocery store foods are 2/3 corn. Corn is used to fatten animals for slaughter and it is not a good food for your cat.

Look at Eagle Pack, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, Blue, Nature's Variety etc. The first two ingredients on the bag will be a wholesome human-grade meat source, the third a filler such as brown rice, oats, millet, pea etc.. Those fillers will not be as fattening as the corn.

These foods will be more expensive than the Meow Mix and when you remove the corn from your cat's diet she will stop GAINING weight and lose as she needs to over time. She will also not eat as much food because she will be better nourished and more satisfied with a good food.

Look in a small, owner-operated pet store for the better foods. Read the labels to understand what I am saying about the better foods. I have been finding Natural Balance in my local pet discount store so their dry food is around $1.66 per lb. Changing to a quality food for one cat might run you $2 more a month for one cat. It will pay off in better health with fewer veterinary problems in the future.

If you switch foods please click on my name at the icon for a recipe for "success" in making the switch.

Answer 5

Meow mix (like all foods from grocery store or Wal Mart) is CRAP
loaded with fillers so the cats have to eat an awful lot to get at the nutrition
PLUS they use a trick common to all lower qualtiy foods - fat.. the fat content gives the cats a glossy coat and most owners think a glossy coat = a healthy cat = good food

BUT becuase the cats have to eat so much more food to get at the nutrition they also eat so much more fat.....

Here are the TOP ingredients from MEOW MIX ORIGINAL
Ground Yellow Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Beef Tallow Preserved with Mixed-Tocopherols (Source of Vitamin E), Turkey By-Product Meal, Salmon Meal, Oceanfish Meal

Corn???? the top 2 ingredients are Corn??? cats are true CARNIVOURS.. (unlike dogs which are omnivours) cats NEED a meat source
Chicken By-Product meal...eeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwww beaks feet and feathers.. by-products are preserved with Ethoxyquin a chemical pesticide linked to health problems and illegal in some countries (like Japan)

in fact you have to go WAY down the list to find a meat source and even then its fish.. fish is bad for cats - the calcuim contributes to urinary tract problems...

ok if you were to switch (gradually) to a quality food (one with CHICKEN MEAL, or LAMB MEAL, or TURKEY MEAL) as the first ingredient (rice is ok as second) you will notice a HUGE difference.. the cat will get more nutrition so will eat less... and will poop less and probably have less odor, less shedding and fewer health problems overall...
yes it costs more to feed a premium level food BUT your cat eats less so in the long run its cheaper...

how old is your kitty - if fat and over 8 months it can be on adult food...
if fat and over 5 years it can be on Senior food
some companies make foods for weight reduction

better foods are ONLY found at pet supply stores.. but check the lables first because some are not as good as others...

** IAMS is not good food - it used to be but years ago Proctor and Gamble bought it out and dumbed down the food alot - also Proctor and Gamble are well known for cruel animal testing so their products should always be avoided by animal lovers... eg Iams, Eukanuba, Febreeze, Crest...

** Science Diet also is not good food.. over priced for its qualtiy becuase they PAID for vet endorsement.. vets receive little or NO training on ingredients or brands so often sell what ever food pays them to sell it... read the ingredient list - crap.. at a high price

Answer 6

ummmm... I've heard some bad raves about Meow Mix. A diet change for your fat kitty is in order. At least, that is what I will do.
Buy one that lists a protein source as the first ingredient (like chicken, beef, fish). These will usually cost more, but a lot healtheir for your cat in the long run.

Answer 7

You may be over feeding her. Look on the side of the box, it should give recommendations for amount of food based on weight. Feed your cat the amount of food recommended for the weight she should be at.

My cat's food recommends 80 grams of food for a 10 pound cat. She weighs 13 pounds, but I feed her the amount for the 10 pounds, because that is the weight her vet wants her to get to.

All commercial cat food is balanced, it has to be to be sold. Cats need different nutrition, more protein, more fat, than humans. I use Pet Promise (all organic), but as long as the food is balanced your cat will be fine.

Answer 8

Meow Mix is horrible food that can kill your cat... I recommend Purina one, or nutro brands, good food, keeps cats trim, less corn fillers in the food, so the eat less, but feel more food, get better nutrients, and their waste doesn't smell nearly as bad

Answer 9

Meow mix is a cheap cat food with more fats in it. Try IAMS, which is the best of breed.