How do i put my cat on a diet?

Question

He weighs 14 pounds and the vet says that he is a little overweight, she would like him at 11 pounds so he only has to lose 3 pounds. Should i be worried about 3 lbs?? I do keep his dish full at all times but i play with him a lot and he runs around when he's not sleeping. IT's hard to not give in when he wants people food too, he sits there and looks so sad that i just give him a little bit of my dinner everynight. I dont want to starve him!!

Answer 1

3 pounds of weight loss for a cat that weighs 14 pounds is 21%. That is a lot of weight - how much is 21% of your body weight? Calculate 21 lbs for each 100lbs. For me that's more than 25lbs!

Buy your cat a high quality, low calorie cat food like Hills Science Diet Light. I had my cat on that for almost her whole life (and now my ancient dog). I don't work for Hills. I had to hide the dog food because my cat would eat holes in the bag to get it! My cat could not self regulate - she would eat until she exploded if I would have allowed it.

Giving in to your cat when he "looks so sad" isn't showing him love - it's being indulgent. If your cat is overweight, he will age prematurely. That extra weight is hard on his joints and internal organs.

Listen to your vet. Cut off the people food - cats are cats, and they are happiest as cats. Let him be a cat. You aren't starving him by limiting him to cat food - a weight loss diet cat food. You are extending his life.

My cat had a low thyroid - the vet told me that we could either medicate her at half dosage (because her thyroid levels were borderline) or I could keep her on the fat-girl food. I chose the dietary control.

My kitty is long gone now, but obesity in pets is still a problem. Don't cave in - when he looks sad, throw him a wad of paper to chase or roll up a twisty-tie for him to bat around on the floor, or drag a string for him to chase. Love does not equal food! Get up and help him shake his money maker!

Regards, B

Answer 2

Stop feeding him food with corn in it. Corn is used to fatten slaughter animals and most grocery store foods are 2/3 corn.
Foods without corn as fillers include: Solid Gold, Felidae, Natural Balance, Eagle Pack. Nature's Logic and Nature's Organic are more expensive versions of these high meat protein, low grain diets.

www.ThePetCenter.com has an excellent article on feline obesity and other articles that are nutrition related in their article archives.

For some very illogical reason most "diet" commercial cat foods INCREASE the carboyhyrate portion of their foods and decrease the meat protein. It should be just the opposite.

So, that's the way to go. Do not let your cat "free-feed". Two meals a day of good quality food is what he should have. The higher quality food will be more satisfying to him eventually though he may seem to eat a lot at first to make up for former nutritional deficiencies.

My cats eat mostly canned meat and a raw meat diet I make for them. They do not have a weight problem. My male cats are all 11-12 lbs at their annual exams. Natural Balance has a good line of canned foods, Wellness canned foods are high quality too. Nature's Logic and Nature's Organic have canned foods that are just meat - no fillers. They have duck - which is expensive. And they also have turkey and chicken.

When you get the corn out of the diet the cat will stop GAINING and you are ahead right from the start.

Answer 3

Three pounds may not seem like a lot if you were talking about a human...but a cat adding three pounds is serious. But, the question is, what is the breed? Some cats weight over 15 pounds and are healthy. The constant supply of food on the floor is a no no as is human food. All cats thrive on a good dry food with no canned food or table food. Not a good one to forward this answer as my Tabby cat has three different kinds of dry food, a wet food and sometimes tuna on the floor. He is extremely active and does not gain much weight. Tuna should be an absolute no no but he loves it so I let him have the water juice.

Answer 4

There are foods on the market for older/overweight cats, for both dry and wet foods. You may have to go to a pet store to find them. Realize that when you give your cat people food you are shortening his life.

Perhaps rather than giving him your dinner, find some cat treats, and give him a few treats instead. That way you can keep the closeness of the routine you seem to enjoy, but not add to his weight.

You don't say how old your cat is. Your cat's metabolism will decrease as he gets older, so it will be easier for him to lose a bit now rather than later.

Good luck.

Answer 5

Look into getting calorie controlled food. Also an automatic feeder is a good idea too (you put portions in and ti releases food at certain times). Portion controll helps too. I had a dog that was 15 lbs over weight (due to the ex over feedingher) and we put her on calorie controlled food and controlled her portions and fed her at the same time every day (no snacks or free range food!) she dropped weight and looked AMAZING. She wasn't under nourrished or starved. Her energy came up, her health was better all around. This type of plan will work for a cat too (I lived on a farm and we used this plan for our over weight cats and horses)

Answer 6

Your cat wont starve. It would be healthy just to cut out the human food. Then see if the weight changes, if not only set out a certain amount of food a day. You could also try changing to light food. Is it a sad fact but overweight animals just like people can have serious medical problems due to their weight. Just keep in mind three pounds isn't a lot but it is better to remedy this problem now the to suffer the consequences later.

Answer 7

LOL. I have 4 cats and your is downright skinny, compared to mine. (23, 19, 16, and 15 pounds) I use portion control (they used to be much heavier). I give them each a 1/2 cup of food in the am and in the pm (1 cup a day total). Keeping the food dish full at all times is your problem.

Don't give him people food either. There's a lot out there which is bad for him.

Answer 8

If you have been free feeding him all along and he is only 3 lbs overwieght (although you cant think of 3 lbs on your cat as you would on yourself...percentage-wise its more than you think) I dont think you need to stop free-feeding. I have always free-fed my cat, however sometimes I have trouble with him being to skinny.
I suggest mixing a small amount of Light cat food (science diet light is good) into his regular food, slowly increasing the ratio of regular and light food until hes eating all light. This should help : )

Answer 9

Well, filling up his bowl every time it is empty is probably going to have to stop. My cats get a total of 3/4 dry kibble a day, divided into two feedings. It is important to use a high quality brand, such as Purina, IAMS or Science Diet. These are slightly pricier but will last you longer because they are more nutritionally dense. Your cat will probably cry for awhile as he adjusts to his new regimen, but that should stop after a little bit. It is important to remember not to give in, because you are helping him in the end. Overweight cats are at higher risks for a number of diseases including diabetes, hepatic lipidosis and joint dysfunction. You can also call your veterinarian and have her/him go over what your cat eats now and what would be an appropriate amount to cut it down to. He does not need to get any soft food or treats, as these can damage his teeth. The big type of food to avoid is the semi-moist food, as it harms their teeth and is not very nutritious.
To those who feel that dry cat food is dangerous: That is patently untrue. The majority of issues with feline urethral obstruction (FLUTD) have to to with the qualtiy of the diet, as in how much ash is in the food, as well as genetics. Yes, urethral obstruction is an issue, but if you cat is going to block, he's probably going to do it with wet or dry food. I repeat: dry food does not cause FLUTD. That is why it is important to feed a high quality diet. Your vet can give you recommendations. Please avoid sem-moist food, and only give wet food as an occasional treat. Your cats will vary their water intake based on the diet you give them. If you give them dry, they will drink more. That is OK. If you give them wet, they will drink less, and that is OK too, but be prepared for dental disease and possible subsequent endocarditis.

Answer 10

IId put out one bowl of food 3 times a day and when he looks finished take the bowl away.....later for luch do that all over again,,plus same for dinner. Main thing cats do is eat eat eat and most of that is snacking, so removing the food inbeween eatings should help the kitty to lose weight