Fat Kitty?

Question

If I let my cat eat as much as he likes (not anything, only healthy dry food), do you think he will get really fat.... or just kind of find a medium? Any ideas?

Answer 1

feed him two time a day only putout what he will eat at each feeding. cats will eat out of boredom. cats get over weight easily and over weight cats have many health problems especially diabetes, be careful and keep a watch on the weight.

Answer 2

Kitties tend to be different then dogs. Dogs will tend to eat as much food as possible in the shortest time possible. Kitties on the other hand will nibble throughout the day.

Normally, you can leave food out for the kitty and he will eat when he feels like it. Most cats tend to run around and burn off the food that they eat, especially if they are younger. If your cat is more senior, look into getting a dry food for that age range. Purina is one that makes food for different ages. The different foods help keep kitties in the proper weight class.

If kitty likes to sit and eat all day long - which is pretty unusal - and not burn off fat then you should start portioning out the food during the day. But normally a kitty will just graze here and there.

Answer 3

Cats are similar to people, some will eat & eat until fat, others will barely touch their food even when available 24/7, then others will eat just the right amount, it depends on their personalities, just like people. Some will have a tendancy towards overweightness even though they eat very little. If you are concerned, keep the food out 24/7 and watch your cat the first week. If the cat acts like a pig, constently eating, even when you know they are not hungry, you might need to reconsider picking up the food and only allowing the cat to eat at certain times. You are the judge for your cat's health and personality. If you cannot be home to watch the cat's appetitite, watch how much food dissappears from the bowl, if it's more than normal, then pick up the bowl, your cat cannot control his/her eating pattern. Be sure to always have plenty of clean, cool, water available. My cats, I have 4 of them are able to control the amount they eat, and all 4 are slender, or just right in weight----wish I was more like them!!! :-) They also take turns in eating, no fighting since the food is there all day, not just certain times. :-) Good Luck!!!

Answer 4

I leave dry food out 24/7 and my cats are of a good weight,now anyway.

I put the food and water dish up on a table,so the cats have to jump up and down each time they eat. Gives a little exercise as well as restricting the room they have to "get comfy".
My 18 year old cat used to like to actually sleep in the food dish so he could munch constantly,lol! Yes,he did get a bit husky doing it!

Some cats do tend to get plump after neutering/spaying or when getting older due to lower metabolism. A little chubbiness isn't dangerous for a cat,my Felix is 18 years old and has never been sick a day in his life and he does tend to gain weight easily.

Answer 5

Just keep monitoring your cat. I have 2 cats and leave dry food out all day and night since my schedule requires me to be on call 24/6 and I really never know when I'm coming home. Maple got quite fat, but she's not bad.. She still jumps and is pretty active. Lucy, my other cat, is still skinny as a rail. I'm actually a lil concerned about her!
So try leaving the food out for a while. If you notice your cat gaining weight and you're not pleased, withdrawl the food. They sell timed food dispensers (most Petsmart or PetCo) but they're pretty pricey.

Hope this helps!
~meow~

Answer 6

Dear Pip,

Ahh yes, the hungry kitty!! lol

I normally give my kitty a can of Fancy Feast in the morning, which she woofs down rather quickly. ( She eats like a horse! ) And then I fill her bowl up with crunchy dry food for her to nibble on for the rest of the day.

Depending on the cats metabolism and age, some kitties might pick up some extra weight, but perhaps more active kitties might burn alot of that off. So you can determine how much and what kind of food your cat should have depending on how active and how old.

Keep an eye on your cats weight, and if it picks up weight to the point of being unhealthy, then reduce the rations per day just a bit. But as long as your kitty is still in the healthy weight range and seems to be happy, let 'er eat!

Just a tip for you.... Kitties like canned food, and it's good for their nutrition. And then they need the crunchy stuff to help them keep tartar off their teeth and that gives good dental health. Just wanted to pass that along in case you didn't know!

Fancy Feast for Pips kitty, on the house!!

Answer 7

If adult, weight your kitty from time to time to see if the weight is stable. I recommend you find out or ask your veterinary what is the optimal weight for her bone structure, breed, sex, level of activity (in house "Dulce vita" style, active, or outdoors adventurer! Consider she may get treats from other houses if he goes outside.)

It's said that most cats eat only what they need but I guess that if the biscuits are especially yummy, in case of pregnancy, and also if the cat is neutered, or has limited activities (play, hunting, ...) she can be tempted to eat more, so yes the monitoring of the weight is good, then adjust the amounts served if needed.

To weight the cat, weight yourself holding the kitty in your arms. And then only yourself. Deduct from the first number to obtain the weight of the cat.
I find the much less easy part is keeping kitty still while the result displays on the scale ;-)

Answer 8

I have 4 cats-the all graze(eat as they want). My 15 year old female got fat a few years ago. This winter with all the cold weather I switched them to Iams indoor cat formula and I can see her waist again. You might give it a try. None of my younger active kitties are fat.

Answer 9

It depends on the cat and the food. It is far healthier for your cat to establish meal times, and feed him measured ammounts of food to maintain ideal body weight. That said, I free feed my cats kibble because they were old and cranky by the time I learned about proper nutrition and weight control and no matter how hard I tried, one of them would not adjust to meal times. It is well worth doing though if you can.

I would strongly recommend feeding a premium quality food. Do not feed diet or light foods, they are full of fiber an fillers that are not good for your cat. What your cat needs is meat and lots of it. Just use a good quality food with no corn, no soy and no by products. Grain free would be best for good muscle tone and to avoid obesity. I like Nature's Variety Raw Instinct. Innova Evo is good too if your cat is young and healthy. But if you want to feed a food with grains, there are several good options, Natural Balance, California's Natural, Felidae etc ...

You do not want an overweight cat and you definitely do not want an obese cat. Weight is a huge health problem for cats, being even a little over weight can shave years off their life and cause diabetes, joint problems, arthritis, kidney failure, liver problems, heart problems etc ... A huge percentage of cats have their lives cut short because of obesity.

Remember, cats are obligate carnivores. They need meat. Grains and vegetables are only fillers and because of the sugars and carbs they contain, and the fact that cats are not built to process that sugar, there are a LOT of diabetic and fat cats.

Here's just one site of many that has great info on feeding your cat. http://www.catinfo.org

Edit: Neutering has nothing to do with obesity. This is a myth. Sometimes neutered cats will have a little bit of loose skin on their belly, but there is no excuse for obesity other than over feeding an under exercising or a throid problem.

Dry food does not scrape tartar off of teeth. This is a myth perpetuated by pet food companies. The size of the kibble, the way that it shatters and the poor chewing habits of most cats means there is almost no abrasive action on the teeth. The only dry food that can even remotely have a positive impact on teeth is the prescription stuff the vet sells. The only way to get your cats teeth clean is brushing and veterinary cleaning. Canned food in chunks or raw food in chunks is far better for their dental health as they do get some abrasion on their teeth from the ripping and chewing (canned is also better because it gets more water into your cat and is usually contains much more meat and less filler). Most dry foods are full of sugars/carbs that actually do more harm than good when it gets stuck to their teeth. There is no substitute for brushing, but because most cats are averse to this, they suffer from poor dental health.

Answer 10

If your kitty is not fat now then I don't think he'll get fat until he is older. Then at that time limit his food by only putting it down twice a day.