My cat is as fat as Garfield, and just as lazy as him too. I have tried reducing the ammount of food I put in her bowl but that hasn't really helped.
2006-12-09 04:48:00 · 26 answers · asked by acgsk 5 in Pets ➔ Cats
My cat does go outside.
2006-12-09 04:57:11 · update #1
For a really overweight cat, seeing the vet is the best option. There are prescription diets available for just this kind of cat. Slow and steady weight loss is best for cats, they need a LOT of protein in their diet (greater than 40% on a dry matter basis) to avoid losing muscle mass. Cats HAVE to burn protein for energy so if it's not there in the diet, they will lose muscle. Also you cannot cut calories too far back because of the risk of hepatic lipidosis, also called fatty liver syndrome. It can happen to any cat, but overweight cats are at a greater risk. Basically what can happen is that the body releases so much fat that the liver cannot process it all so it shuts down.
Obesity is a big health risk, so I am glad that you recognize it as a problem.
2006-12-09 04:56:11 · answer #1 · answered by lizzy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's pretty simple...there are plenty of dry foods that are made for overweight indoor cats. try limiting canned food to a couple tblspoons a day (if at all) and make sure kitty is getting plenty of exercise. If he's an indoor cat..peacock feathers are really fun!
We use an old fishing pole with a paper butterfly on the end. My husband can sit on the couch and watch TV while playing with the cat. There's a great book (if you can find it) called "150 ways to amuse a bored cat" by Howe C. Stidger...it has some great ideas.
2006-12-09 04:52:52 · answer #2 · answered by VA Mamma 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to www.ThePetCenter.com and read their articles on Nutritional Related topics.
The commercial food manufacturers produce weight loss and "indoor" cat formulas and they have it all wrong. They increase the carbohydrate and reduce the meat protein. The Catkins diet of high quality protein and the appropriate amount of fat is what cats are supposed to eat. Your cat is fat because I can almost guarantee you are feeding her a diet high in corn. Most grocery store foods are 2/3 corn and low quality by-product meat. Corn is used to fatten slaughter animals and you have prepared your cat for that rather than a healthy life.
If you eliminate the corn from your cat's diet she will stop GAINING and you are ahead right there. Solid Gold, Felidae, Natural Balance, Eagle Pack etc. produce foods with high quality, human-grade protein sources as their first two ingredients. The fillers are brown rice, millet, oats, pea etc. which are much less fattening than corn and more digestible and wholesome for your cat. If you will use one of these foods you do not have to reduce the amount of food your cat eats. She will eat a lot of it first off as her body has actually been craving wholesome food. She will taper off on her own in a few months and lose excess weight gradually which is the way it should be for her.
Cats do not exercise and don't have to like humans who want to lose weight. The felines in zoos are fed a raw meat diet without "fillers". They are lean and well-muscled and don't exercise any more than your housecat does relative to their size.
Also she should have two meals a day. What is not eaten after 20 minutes in the morning should be taken up. Then she gets another meal in the evening. Cats are not "grazers" by nature and even one meal would be sufficients for them. If food is left down all the time even the smell of it causes the blood to rush to the stomach for digestion, depriving other organs in her body of the fresh blood supply she needs for her health.
2006-12-09 05:19:32 · answer #3 · answered by old cat lady 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You can try to feed him some cat food the kind were it says helps cats loose weight and you can also find ways for the cat to exercise more. I hope your cat gets skinnier!
2006-12-09 05:16:11 · answer #4 · answered by ♥lovellly 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Exercise will help. There are these balls you can pull the cat food in. The cat will have to play with the ball to get the food out. I have seem people put pieces of food up in places so the cat has to climb and jump to eat. A laser pointer is cool too. Cats chase the red dot. Just don't get it close to the cats eyes. Change the cats diet and get him to exercise some.
2006-12-09 04:52:21 · answer #5 · answered by Martin S 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well. That depends if your cat goes outside or not. My cat was really fat because she couldnt go outside but now we let her go out and she lost some weight. If your cats not allowed outside, try buying some toys she can run around with!
2006-12-09 04:51:51 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Science Diet Cat food, works for chunky cats.
2006-12-09 04:50:26 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A few days ago, my husband and I took our kitties in for check-ups. The vet was concerned about two of them who were a bit on the chunky side. He suggested giving them a low-calorie food and taking it up after a limitted time rather than feeding them free choice. He also suggested a toy where you could put a little food in it and let them bat it around until some of the food comes out- THEN they could eat and go back to playing.
2006-12-09 05:15:14 · answer #8 · answered by Tigger 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Play with her, buy interactive toys, cut back on the table scraps and the treats. There are also toys that you can put food in, then the cat has to work to get it out. But of course, some cats are just fat.
2006-12-09 05:03:47 · answer #9 · answered by Jinny E 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
focus on eating when you re eating
2016-06-30 08:59:25 · answer #10 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋