My cat is really chubby, how can I make him lose weight?

Question

He likes to eat.

Answer 1

I would give him smaler portions and walk him or play with him.

Answer 2

If your cat has been checked to make sure there are no health issues beyond the weight problem, try getting your cat a playmate. Since you have a male, you might want to find a younger cat so that your pal can still be the boss - and a female would be preferable to prevent a territorial problem when they get older.

My female cat had the same problem after she was spayed, and then I got her a male cat to play with - younger that she was. They are the best of friends and my female cat is now much healthier, active and has lost most of the excess weight.

Both of my cats came from shelters, but my female didn't understand how to play even though we tried to play with her and she had just about every toy you could think of. She would just look at us like we were crazy. She had been kept in a cage from the time she was little at a shelter and was very sick.

Then her adopted brother came along once she was healthy enough from her traumas at the shelter, and she learned how to play from him as he pounced around her and wouldn't let her sleep all day. Now she plays all the time and is very happy and at a healthy weight.. I wish the same for you and your cat.

Answer 3

Listen, because this is my area of expertise! The absolute best thing to do is to get her a diet food from the vets. Diet foods are specially formulated to be high in fibre and low in fat - so she can eat the same amount but still lose weight! If you just cut back on her current food he's going to be hungry, and there's no need for that. You can also get feline diet foods from petshops, but I'm not so convinced of their efficacy.

Weight loss is actually quite a complicated subject. I'm providing you with a link to Hills Pet Nutrition - they have all the info you need. I run weight clinics at a vet surgery (I'm a nurse) and most of the animals I diet are on Hills r/d and doing great. As a general guide - weigh kitty fortnightly to make sure he's losing weight at the right rate - about 1% of his bodyweight a week. So, if he's 7kg(15.4lb) he should be losing 70g(0.154lb) a week. Cats should weigh between 3.5-4.5kg (7.7-9.9lb).

Here's the link:
http://www.hillspetslimmer.co.uk/index.html

Especially check out the 'body condition score' section - animals level of overweight is judged more on body condition than their actual weight. If you can find a vet who runs weight clinics that would be your best bet, but if not, follow the advice on this site!

Bet this is more work than you were intending on putting in! if you do nothing else, just get a diet food and feed him the correct amount for a 4kg cat. Good luck!

Chalice

Answer 4

First of all, you need to be feeding him a high quality food. Some of the poorer quality foods are high in carbs and lacking nutrition so your cat has to eat more food to get the nutrients he needs.

Look for a dry cat food that has a lot of protien in it, and meat is the first ingredient! I suggest for DRY food (Royal Canin and Nutro).

Next, sit down with your vet and plan a diet that is right for your cat (this is all based on size of your cat etc.) I have a very large cat (not particularly overweight, just tall) and my vet suggested 1/2 cup food in the morning and 1/4 cup at night.

Good luck
Ally

Answer 5

I have a overweight cat too and put her on Science Diet Light. After 3 weeks, I do see a difference. It's a lot lower in calories and fat then regular cat food.

Answer 6

Buy a cat leash (if u dont have 1) and take him a walk daily at the park, neighborhood, etc. But if its a rainy day or a windy day etc. make him walk around the house. Good luck on your cat!

Answer 7

Feed him "meals." My cats get fed three times a day to control intake and so it is portioned by their body weight. You could also try diet cat food.

Answer 8

Feed a good quality canned food. That's my answer in a nutshell.

It WORKS.

I used the links below to get my little porker on a good diet and she has lost weight. Not that you can tell with all that hair...

Answer 9

WHY ON EARTH DO YOU WANT HIM TO LOSE WEIGHT?
{Cats look cute when they are chubby}

'Anyway' you get him into some exercise by playing with him, by walking him around,etc,.this might make him lose weight.But dont ever cut his nutritious food.it might make him lose his health,stamina & energy.You may cutoff his calorious foods and snacks.

Answer 10

go to your vet, have your cat checked out for medical problems, ask him how he/she could lose weight,(your vet will probaly give you better food and good advise) follow the infomation given to you.

and walla you have a smaler healthier cat!!

good luck!

Answer 11

make him do squats! jk get one of those cat foods that make cats lose weight...duh! lol