my cat is really fat, is this healthy?

Question

my cat weighs about 22 pounds, and we just got a new kitten to chase her around, but she still hasnt lost very much weight, ideas???

Answer 1

How much is she eating? If she's eating more than needed, then 22 pounds isn't good. That could have led to so much weight.

She needs a special diet to lose weight. Ask your vet about it.

Answer 2

Depending upon the bone structure of your cat, assuming he is average, then your cat is OBESE! the kitten will help get the weight off, it did for mine , but she wasn't nearly that big. She only needed to loose a pound and a half! You need to decrease the food. Get a new food with less grains in it, it's probably making him fat. I use Evo NO Grain. 3/4 of a cup is the amount to feed a healthy average weight cat. Yours is probably at least 6 to 10 pounds overweight. that's like an average person wieghing like 350 pounds! Now if you cat is a large boned, large structure cat, it's not as bad. My Louie is 18 months old and is very tall, very long and has a large bone structure. He's at least 15 pounds or more, but if I let him gain any more, he's getting overweight and he needs to watch it!. the older cat is about 10.5 pounds and still a little overweight, and the bengal is 12 pounds, but skinny. The 15 pounder, He's the kitten that we got to chase the other one around and now he's all grown up and lazy. Then I got a bengal cat who will never be overweight. he's so active nobody can keep up with him. Anyway. Change food gradually, decrease food to less than 3/4 of a cup a day and run her around some more. Or walk her around, she may not have a very strong heart right now. it'll take time, but just keep at it and don't give in if she wants more food. give her 5 kibbles if it becomes a problem with meowing for food between feedings. don't give in.

Answer 3

It's quite likely that your cat is indeed fat, and it is indeed a very bad thing! So good for you for being concerned - not enough people are.

I have to be briefer than I'd like because I'm heading out. But it comes down to this - exercise is great but that's not going to solve all the problems. Cutting back on food MAY help (especially if you're overfeeding), but it's probably not the key to the problem either. Not only that, but cats whose diets are restricted are miserable and they make their owners miserable too.

The key is to feed species appropriate food. You can investigate feeding raw, but the quick and easy method is to feed canned food. A good one (see the What to feed link).

Dry food is full of carbs and is just plain bad. Even the better varieties aren't good as a steady diet.

Switching to a moist diet will improve so many things, not just weight problems!

I'll leave you with my favorite links. These are the ones from which I got the best, most helpful info when I investigated this issue.

I started with a 25 pound girl who ate nothing but kibble, switched to a canned diet (it took 2 weeks), and now she's at a much healther weight, dandruff gone, stool is firm and she actually plays!

Answer 4

RuneAmok's answer to this one is right on target - dry food, high in grains and plant proteins rather than the meat proteins that cats need, is responsible for many cases of feline obesity.

After finding the http://www.catinfo.org web site about feline nutrition a few years ago, I began feeding my cats a high-quality grain-free canned diet (Wellness). My tubby cat, who'd been overweight all of his adult life in spite of numerous attempts at dieting, began to lose weight effortlessly. He seemed satisfied with his meals for the first time in his life - he stopped constantly begging for food, and stopped digging into the cupboards and opening loaves of bread & bags of corn chips (he did that constantly on diet dry foods). On the canned diet, he slimmed down slowly & safely to a healthy weight, and has kept the weight off for about 3 years now. The vet was amazed. Bonus: no more hairballs, all of my cats have amazingly beautiful, plush coats, and look great for their ages. Good canned food is more expensive than most dry food, but it takes much less to keep a cat full and it is much healthier, so in the long run it's a better deal.

Of course you'll need to make any diet changes gradually, to reduce the possibility of stomach upset.

You may also want to look at pet stores & try to find a toy called 'Da Bird' - it's feathers on a stick, but it's built in such a way that the feathers sound like a bird flying when it's in motion. My cats all go bonkers for it, even though they're all over 10 years old. Try a laser pointer too - some cats love to chase a laser dot.

Best wishes!

Answer 5

You really don't know the answer to this question?????

What the hell are you feeding that poor cat?!?!?!

Twenty two pounds, you ought to be ashamed of yourself!!!

You don't have any children, do you?????

Are you keeping a feeder out that's full of food all the time? You need to stop that immediately. Adult cats get fed twice a day, period. Give them a handful of dry food and two tablespoons of wet food, twice a day. If they get hungry during the day, give them a kitty treat. Your cat will probably suffer terribly at first, for some time, and you have no one to blame but yourself for that, but if you really love that cat, you will do it, or it will die from serious health consequences, most likely a prolonged illness that will cost you more in heartbreak than money.

YOUR CAT COULD DEVELOP DIABETES, DID YOU KNOW THAT??? ARE YOU READY TO INJECT YOUR CAT WITH IINSULIN SHOTS TWO TIMES A DAY????

Or will you just probably have the poor thing put to sleep?

What a great life you've given your cat!!!

I'm sorry, I just have no sympathy for #@$! like this.

If you lived in America, I would confiscate your cat through the ASPCA or Humane Society. And I'd put that cat on a SAFE diet right away, get it to a normal weight and find a really nice home for the rest of her sweet, furry little life.

Please do not stuff that poor kitten full of food, okay? Go online and research how much food to give her, and take the other kitty to a vet to get her healthy again, PLEASE!!!!!

Get educated about cat care on this website: kittenrescue.org. It's based in Hollywood, California, USA. I learned everything I know from them. They are the best.

Answer 6

That does sound a lot for a cat to weigh. However, some cats are naturally much bigger, ie maine coone and the like. Barring your cat being a large breed type, it sounds like she needs to lose weight. If possible, I would suggest discussing with your vet who can let you know how much weight she should lose and review interventions to help her lose. If you are unable to see a vet, perhaps you could get on some reputable internets sites such as catchannel.com or the cornell university feline center site for info including how to assess your cats weight based on inspecting his body from above etc. Obesity in cats can lead to health problems and there is particularly a lot of info of late about the risk of feline diabetes and obesity. Also if you are free feeding her, you probuably need to stop doing that and instead give her structured amts/times for food. Good luck.

Answer 7

I think it just depends on the breed. I had a 6 pound cat and when i took her to the vet he said she was a larger breed. It turns out she was only about 2 pounds overweight. When I kinda scoffed at that and said, "Let her have her 2 lbs! " he said that 2 lbs to a person is nothing but to something that small it was a lot.
By the way she never ate people food. I tried but she was a wierd cat, she wouldn't eat anything but dry cat food. She wouldn't eat wet food, tuna, chicken... anything! She just refused. She didn't seem to eat that much either, but... like I said she was 16 lbs. so?

Answer 8

22 pounds is large for a cat. I have one that weighs 17 pounds and the vet wants her to loose. I am told to limit the amount of food she eats in a day to a half cup and encourage exercise with toys. I wouldn't let her outside. Any play that she'd do outside she can do inside where she is safe.

Answer 9

It depends on the breed. For two breeds, Maine Coons and Ragdolls, that weight is considered normal speaking more to their incredible lengths. The average cat however should not be 22 lbs. Take her to the vet to get her on a plan to lose weight.

Answer 10

Well, like over weight people---cats that are over weight aren't healthy either. Help your cat out like you do yourself!! Manage how much and when he eats. Plus, having a kitten around is an awesome idea. If you treat him like you would yourself he will surely lose weight. Good luck---he's just a fat, lazy, happy cat!!!!