My cat is extremely fat...What to do?

Question

She is SO obese. When we got her at the Humane Society, she was a 10 lb. Turkish Angora. She is an indoor/outdoor cat. Now she is an extremely fat 20 lb. lazy kitty. I think that she goes to the neighbor's yard and eats the leftover food that they leave outdoors. She refuses to go for walks, even on a harness. They usually turn out to be 'drags'. I've bought about every cat toy there is on the market, seen the vet about diets, and NOTHING works. Please help me, any suggestions?


(Pearl has also succeeded in eating every non-poisonous plant in my garden. I've totally given up on it.)

I also only feed her twice a day... Wet food, in the morning and late at night...
(One can a day)

Answer 1

I'll tell you what worked (and is working) for m own over-weight kitty:
1. Switched him gradually to IAMS Weight Control canned cat food (Chicken Entree 6oz can). First day, I mixed 1/4 Iams into his normal half-bowl serving of wet canned cat food. Second day, I made the mixute half and half. Third day, it was 3/4 IAMS and 1/4 old food. After that my cat was eating just IAMS.
2. I give my cat ony ONE 6oz can of IAMS for the whole day. This is divided into four servings. Each serving is mixed with 2 teaspoons of water to give the cat the feeling that he is eating more than he is really. My cat was 15lbs when we started, so 1 can of IAMS a day was fine for him. For your cat who is 20lbs, you may have to give One and a Quarter to ONe and a Half cans. It does not matter how often you feed her - what matters is the AMOUNT of daily intake of food she gets.

3. Throw away the Dry Cat food - your cat will NOT lose weight on dry cat food because dry cat food is calorie-dense.

4. Monitor your cat's weight loss. Ideally, she should lose at least 1/2 lb per month but not more than 1 lb per month. GRADUAL weight loss is absolutely essential becuase if the cat loses weight too rapidly or if you put her on a crash diet, she may develop liver Lipidosis (a potentially fatal disease of the liver). On no occassion should you completely withold food from a fat cat for more than 12 hours.

5. Set a target weight - say, 15 lbs. which means your kitty will have to lose around 5 pounds. If she loses 1/2 lb per month, it will take almost a year to get her to her ideal weight.

6. Do not give your cat any table scraps. If she is getting food from the neighbors, you will probably have to keep her indoors most of the time and only let her out on a leash, with you supervising her.

7. Limit treats to just once or twice a week if at all (I don't give my cat any treats).

8. You may supplement her diet with a LITTLE dry kibble (indoor formula weight control) or a small can of high-quality wet canned cat food like Eukenuba 3oz (this is what I use as a "treat) twice a week - no more. Oh, if you do supplement, you must SUBTRACT it from what she should be getting for the day. So, if you give 6oz of IAMS everyday like I do, on the day you give the "supplement" it should be 3oz IAMS and 3oz of Eukenuba.

9. You will find that as your cat sheds the extra weight, she will become more active and willing to play. But keep encouraging her ot exercise, even if it is just walking to and from the kitchen; swatting a feather teaser; etc.

My cat lost 1.5 pounds in 7 weeks on this regimen and is already looking a lot slicker and happier.

Answer 2

The first thing to know is that vets don't necessarily know ANYTHING about cat nutrition. This is a strange but true fact.

Second, most cat "diet" foods are actually higher in carbs, which makes the problem WORSE. Cats are carnivores who are meant to eat high protein, high fat foods. They don't easily digest carbs.

Third, dry food (kibble) is LOADED with carbs and the ONLY good thing about it is how convenient it is for humans. It does NOT clean teeth. It tends to leave cats dehydrated and can be linked to urinary issues.

If you feed your cat a good quality canned food, the cat can eat a full can per day (5.5 - 6oz) and STILL lose weight. The cat doesn't have to starve to lose, and you won't have to put up with constant begging for food.

This is what I'm doing and it's working. I have/had a 25 pounder to deal with. I switched her over to canned food (Natural Balance Venison & Green Pea) back in October. I don't know how much she's lost, but she has definitely lost some. And so many other things have improved - shedding is down, dandruff gone, temperament is better - she plays more and is more alert and frisky. And her urine odor is less pungent and even better - stool is now firm and that odor has diminished as well.

I recommend checking out the links below. These are the links I used when I began researching Poppy's problems.

Answer 3

You need to buy a low calorie cat food, such as Science Diet light, and feed her about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup per day, but spread it out over several feedings. She also needs some exercise--I know you say you've tried every toy on the market--and she won't chase anything that you throw for her or drag for her? What about one of those little pen laser light things?

Maybe you should consider adopting a kitten. My male cat was the laziest thing in the world, but when I adopted my kitten, she gave him a run for his money. (All in the friendliest way, of course.)

I'd also recommend keeping her indoors so that she can't eat the neighbor's cat's food or any plants in your garden. It's also much safer for her in terms of traffic, wild animals, dogs, etc.

It is REALLY hard to get cats to lose weight, but keep trying! She is currently at major risk of diabetes among other health problems.

Answer 4

I had a cat like this and he lost the weight. Heres what you do-- if your cat is eating DRY food-- it has way more calories and is dense carbohydrates (which cats as carnivores have a hard time metabolizing). Change to wet food. wet food has more meat and more WATER (70%) which the water helps the LIVER in fat burning and it helps the kidneys.
MAKE SURE you never start a diet to rapidly--- cats have a very sensitive liver and it can go into shock (then disease!) if you diet them too fast, make sure it is gradual over 6 months to 1 year. start by only sceduled feedings (NO free choice) two times a day... mix in some wet with the dry to slowly change over to all wet food.
my cat was 20 pounds... he went down to 14 on the wet food. what also helped him was a new kitten to play with and made him exercise.
rememeber-- GRADUAL weight loss on wet diet. the increase in water is good for them.
do not bother with the Science Diet light dry food-- it is still dry food and does not work (my cat remained overweight on this diet for years).

Answer 5

Maybe you should ask the neighbor to stop leaving leftover food outside and if your cat does something good like goes on a walk, they could reward your cat with just a little food. And about the plant eating problem, you could keep your cat inside and let her out when you're watching her.

Answer 6

Hi my vet told me my cat was to fat and to stop giving her cat cat biscuits-dry food because it is like feeding your kids mcdonalds everyday, it's full of fat and not good for them.Try giving her some fresh meat twice a day just small meals and lots of water.

Answer 7

You could try keeping her inside, only feeding her twice a day, and only feeding her diet food. You might also want to consider getting another animal. When my dad's old cat was getting old, we got a bird and she became a lot more active. Just make sure to keep an eye on your pets.

Answer 8

Stand up and walk atleast 5 mins after evry 2 hours while working

Answer 9

Stop feeding it so much!!!!!!! Stop letting her outside where she can get to other food sources. They do have low-fat, low-cal food for cats. Look into it. It annoys me when people over-feed their pets or children.

Answer 10

That's funny. My cat wrote a Yahoo question a few days ago that you are useless.