Is anyone struggling with a fat cat?

Question

My cat has allergies, and is on steriods for them and has to have hypoallergenic food. He cant eat fat cat food, so his weight has been a constant struggle.

Two weeks ago I let him taste my cantelope and he is hooked on it, so he gets a little bit of cantelope a day, between feedings when he is determined he HAS to eat something. He gets 3/4 cup of his food a day, spaced out three feedings.

Since he started on the cantelope he is losing weight ! And is more content, less yowly - and he loves it.

Does anyone else have a cat who likes fruit? He used to eat banana but he gave that up for cantelope. The vet said there is no reason not to give it to him.

He also likes squash and broccoli stems, steamed.

He gets a treat with his pill, tuna treat, he is allergic to cooked beef and pork, ham all the obvious things with nitrates in them.

He is crazy for the cantelope !

So its working well for him, I also grow grass in containers on the balcony for him. He likes a a little "grass salad" after his dinner :-)

And he loves to play in water, like a sprinkler or a fountain, get wet under the bathroom tap - then he has to be dried of course.

I think he was raised with dogs, I got him from the humane society when he was about 10 months old

He used to stalk the deer outside the fence before I moved here, (he is an ambitious critter - dreams big) and he prefers to play with balls that are big enough to tackle. 9 inch bouncy ball, preferably yellow

He tackles my son's female lab and wrestles her to the floor and holds her there while he cleans her ears for her.

Yah I know, he's weird.

Answer 1

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Greetings what an awesome pet owner u R !!
I haven't had a pet that ate fruit or veggies I will have to give it a try though.
Did some searching so here is what I have found some is for fun for you and your pet and the rest is a site that had information on pets weights and such.
Meows & purr's,
Laura
=^^=


http://www.catchow.com/KittenChowPurrsonality.aspx

I am sorry to read that your cat is going through all that. My cat is a bit big he's a huge male kitty cat he turned a year old June 27th. I did this test here that I posted above if U do it I hope that might be fun for you and your pet.

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I also did one what kind of pet owner am I too:the quiz is down below:

http://cats.about.com/library/catpersonquiz/blcatpersonquiz.htm?questnum=1&cor=2381

found this information too:

http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk/Articles/cat_overweight.htm

If you are advised to help your cat to lose weight then the following guidelines may help:

1) Gradually introduce a low fat, low protein diet to your cat.

2) Cut out all treats and tit-bits (make sure ALL the family members and neighbours agree to this).

3) Feed the recommended amount for your cat’s ideal weight, not his/her ACTUAL weight.

4) Do NOT free feed. Any food not eaten after 10 minutes should be picked up.

5) If your cat is particularly greedy then you may find that smaller more frequent meals help, in the wild cats may eat up to 20 tiny meals per day.

6) If there is no weight loss after 4 weeks then you are feeding too much, a reduction in the daily amount should help.

7) Overweight cats are more likely in multi-cat households as they may finish off food left by the others. You may need to feed these cats separately.

8) Increase your cat’s exercise. Play with your cat more often and encourage games.


It is advisable to consult with Burns Pet Nutrition before dietetic use as the diet will depend on the stage of the condition.

Nutritional Help Line 0800 083 6696

Answer 2

Hi
First of all, steroids can lead to diabetes in cats and may be treating the problem but certainly not the cause.
Dry foods is where most of the allergens are, have you tried high quality wet foods like merrick or wellness? They are grain free. Your cat does need to eat cat food or a home prepared raw diet if you are willing. This is how to make it
http://www.catinfo.org/makingcatfood.htm
Here is more nutritional info
Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s health
Contrary to what you may have heard, dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat.
Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i’s and a host of other problems. The problems with it are that they are loaded with carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process. Most of the moisture a cat needs is gotten
out of the food and 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Also, most use horrible ingredients and don't use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive.
You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn't have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all. Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods.Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Please read about cat nutrition.
http://www.newdestiny.us/nutritionbasics.html

Answer 3

Jazz my cat isn't a fruit lover, she does however like my roast beef, chicken or turkey. She's not quite 3 yet , so she likes to leap around , although she's quite content sleeping in my kitchen window amongst the sponges and dish liquids.

I know IAMs has an all Natural new brand of cat food out , I stick to my Purina Indoor which Jazz seems to like. Although she's partial to Whiskas seafood packets too.

Answer 4

well, i cant say my cats likes fruit, but she will eat anything! (I'll have to try that. I give her (she is also fat) 3/4 cup of food at night. It is a cat diet food, and it has really helped her! In a month on her new diet she lost 5 pounds. Your cat seems to be very content. Just put him on diet food and never, i repeat, NEVER, give him milk. Many people think it is good for cats, but it is not. Thanks for that, i am going to give my cat some fruit.

Answer 5

Yes. My 4 year old spayed female, Shasta, has boycotted going outside in the hot weather and has gained weight. She was 10# in January. She's up to 14# now. I don't want to give her diet food because I also have kittens who eat with her and 2 other cats. Something has to be done though! I feel your pain! My cats eat only cat food and potato chips. I have given them shrimp, fish, all kinds of delicacies and they just turn their noses up.

Answer 6

wow im surprised this happened so fast. We rescued my cat, she was homeless wandering the streets in the middle of winter. We took her home and spoiled her and it tooks months for her to get very fat. But, eventually we realized that this was very unhealthy for her and we just gave her meals at certain times instead of always having food out for her. We also got another cat for her to play with and now she looks great

Answer 7

count calories

Answer 8

My cat is skinny and hyper and gets into stuff all the time

Answer 9

spice things up with 35 minutes of foreplay and 45 minutes of sex in different positions

Answer 10

no i dont. i have a cat that likes Ice Cream and Pudding