My cat is really fat and I am worried!?

Question

He eats a regular amount of food and gets alot of exercise but he is still really fat! Should I be worried? He used to eat crickets! Is this why? Help!

Answer 1

I have a HUGE cat. She is about 25lbs and is a monster.

She began getting chubby at about a year old and then just grew from there. We have taken her to the vet several times out of concern.

The vet told us not to worry because an overweight cat does not experience the same health problems as overweight people do. She is 12 in human years and is still playful and healthy.

Nothing to worry about, just love him.

Answer 2

Good for you - you should be concerned. Many people don't realize how bad it is for cats to be fat, and all the trouble it can cause.

My advice to you is first, have him examined by a vet to determine if he really is fat. BUT....if your vet recommends putting him on a low-calorie diet food, tell him or her you'll pass.

Many vets are pretty ignorant about cat nutrition and they'll try to sell you an expensive bag of cat food. The funny thing is, almost every brand of "diet" cat food is actually higher in carbs, which just makes the problem worse. Not only that, they tend to recommend reducing the cat's intake. That just doesn't work. In order to lose weight eating kibble, a cat would have to practically be starved. And that's going to make both of you unhappy.

There is a way to allow your cat to eat his fill AND still lose weight. The trick will be to get your cat off of dry food and onto canned food. (I'm assuming you're feeding him dry food.) Or if you're feeding canned food, switch him to a better quality food.

Dry food is full of carbs, and that is something that cats do not digest well, which is because they are carnivores who are meant to eat a high protein, high fat diet.

Below are several links you should check out. Some are about obesity and how to get a cat to lose weight. Some are about cat nutrition in general. There's also a link to the very best canned cat foods you can buy.

Good luck! I've been in the same situation, and this is how I'm dealing with it. Poppy has lost weight, although I'm not yet sure how much (25 pounds starting weight!)

Answer 3

Crickets don't make anything fat, they're just crunchy and not fattening.

Your cat is either not eating a "regular" amount of food (but you think it is regular), or he is getting treats somewhere else besides the food, or he could have thyroid or pituitary problems that make him unable to regulate his weight. You can only really tell by getting a vet to check him.

Answer 4

Actually, overweight cats can develop the same problems overweight people develop - and that's straight from the vet. They can get diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.

I would take the cat to the vet, have him or her give you an idea of what he should weigh, and then ask about how much to feed him. Some cats are just bigger, but if you can help them stay at a healthy weight, they'll have better, longer lives.

Answer 5

It is right that you should be concerned about your ca's weight. Obesity in cats can lead to numerous serious health issues such as diabetes, arthritis, difficulty in breathing, heart failure, etc. It may not be the amount of food he is eating but the TYPE of food. Dry cat food contains a lot of calories. Many commercial dry foods are packed with carbohydrate fillers, usually corn, listed as "corn meal," "ground whole corn," "corn gluten," or even more thinly disguised as "maize," "ground yellow maize" or other misleading names. In the wild, a cat will eat only a very small quantity of any grain, namely the stomach contents of mice, rabbits, or birds he catches. Why then, should a pampered household cat eat a diet that is loaded with the one food nutrient he really doesn't need? Although french fries and Twinkies might be tasty treats on occasion, what human would consider living on them day in and day out, much less feed them to their children as a regular diet. Why then, would we do less for our cats?

Dry cat food can also contribute or be directly related to certain health conditions:

(1) IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease)CRF (Chronic Renal Failure)
(2) Urinary crystals (which are potentially fatal to cats)
(3) Diarrhea or other allergy-related conditions
(4) Dehydration (cats on canned food diets get sufficient water in their food)

My advice: if you are feeding your cat a diet of dry food, switch to wet canned cat food. Choose a good quality one with high protein content. There are canned cat food available now specifically formulated to help kitty lose weight. I am using IAMS weight Management canned cat food right now with my own overwieght kitty. After one month of the diet, my cat has lost almost a pound and is steadily shedding his fat.

Tips for helping your cat to lose weight:
1.) Have a thorough physical exam, lab tests, and accurate weigh recorded. Be sure to rule out hypothyroidism or other metabolic disorders.
2.) Feed less food than you have been
3.) Feed foods high in protein and fat and low in carbohydrate
4.) Feed small portions at intervals (2x to 4x per day) rather than continuous free access/ free choice
5.) Increase the cat’s activity/exercise by enriching the cat’s environment
6.) Reweigh the cat at three to four week intervals to assess your weight loss diet’s progress
7.) Reconsider the total daily amount fed if weight gain or no weight loss is noted
8.) Once the cat is at an idea weight, adjust the total amount fed so that the cat’s body weight remains stable.

Hope this helps you.

Answer 6

If its an older cat, its metabolism may be slowing down. It happens in animals just like it does with humans. A lower calorie diet would probably help since you mentioned your cat exercises regularly. They sell special diet brands of dry and wet cat food, so I'd personally test out a brand or two and look for any results.

Best of luck!

Answer 7

You can try giving your cat diet cat food. Or you could go to your local vet and ask about your cats helth and what you should do to make your cat lose wieght.

Answer 8

take it joggin in the mourning ladie whats wrong with you im a kittien

Answer 9

i think he has some sort of a desease so i mean if he dieted and exercized then it might be a desease...i'm so sorry.