Best Dry N Wet Food For Weight Control

CatLover49

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Hey.My cat currently weighs around 15.4lbs.Hes als a big boned cat.Hes a domestic short hair.Whats a good cat food wet or dry or both to feed him.??Im just confused:dunno:
 

denice

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The whole food thing is confusing. In general wet food is better and among the wet foods the pates are better.

The important thing with weight loss is to go slow. Has your vet told you what his ideal weight would be? As a precaution against liver issues you don't want to go below 15 calories per pound of ideal weight. Wet foods usually don't have their calorie count on the can but most have a web site that includes calorie counts.

Here is a pretty comprehensive list of cat foods Cat Food Chart from catinfo.org

It also includes percentage of calories from protein, fat and carbs. The fewer carbs the better. It lists the calories per can so if a food only comes in 3 oz cans then it gives the calories per 3 ounce can.
 
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CatLover49

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The whole food thing is confusing. In general wet food is better and among the wet foods the pates are better.

The important thing with weight loss is to go slow. Has your vet told you what his ideal weight would be? As a precaution against liver issues you don't want to go below 15 calories per pound of ideal weight. Wet foods usually don't have their calorie count on the can but most have a web site that includes calorie counts.

Here is a pretty comprehensive list of cat foods Cat Food Chart from catinfo.org

It also includes percentage of calories from protein, fat and carbs. The fewer carbs the better. It lists the calories per can so if a food only comes in 3 oz cans then it gives the calories per 3 ounce can.
Yea the vet said 12lbs.So i looked at the weight for a 12 lb cat weight management n it says 7/8 of a cup n thats just dry.And this dry food is 278 calories a cup.And also he gets fancy feast chicken broth 19 calories a container n its a 1.4 oz little packet.So i know to cut back the dry food some cause of the chicken broth packet which is only given only one a day of the chicken broth packet.Oh and the dry food is HILLS W/D PRESCRIPTION by the vet.Im just wondering cause hes been on couple weeks
 

Furballsmom

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Hi!
What does your cat look like? Would you mind posting a picture?

https://www.petmd.com/sites/default/files/nestle_purina_cat_body_condition_chart_crop.jpg

As mentioned go really really slowly towards the goal, weigh your cat every week and work on more exercise as opposed to decreasing the food. Many people are able to accomplish a slow weight loss by eliminating the kibble, but sometimes no kibble is difficult to manage depending on schedules.

7 Proven Ways To Get Your Cat To Be More Active
 
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CatLover49

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Hi!
What does your cat look like? Would you mind posting a picture?

https://www.petmd.com/sites/default/files/nestle_purina_cat_body_condition_chart_crop.jpg

As mentioned go really really slowly towards the goal, weigh your cat every week and work on more exercise as opposed to decreasing the food. Many people are able to accomplish a slow weight loss by eliminating the kibble, but sometimes no kibble is difficult to manage depending on schedules.

7 Proven Ways To Get Your Cat To Be More Active
15552810979033637532079710619004.jpg
20180120_101516.jpg

Vet weighed him couple weeks ago 15.5 lbs
Hes like a 7 in that body measurements of cat pics u sent
 
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CatLover49

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Hi!
What does your cat look like? Would you mind posting a picture?

https://www.petmd.com/sites/default/files/nestle_purina_cat_body_condition_chart_crop.jpg

As mentioned go really really slowly towards the goal, weigh your cat every week and work on more exercise as opposed to decreasing the food. Many people are able to accomplish a slow weight loss by eliminating the kibble, but sometimes no kibble is difficult to manage depending on schedules.

7 Proven Ways To Get Your Cat To Be More Active
Hes on HILLS W/D PRESCRIPTION DRY FOOD.Got any ideas.??Cause the vet will take back the dry food even though been opened.They donate it.But they refund me.Got any SUGGESTIONS.??On what to purchase??U seem to b one of the best knowledgeable members on the site.I aint seen hardly any more than could give advice like u.U know alot about cats
 

Furballsmom

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Thank you for the compliment, that's very kind of you.

Ask if your vet can provide you with Hills Prescription canned food. If not, ask your vet if fancy feast pate foods would be acceptable. If your kitty doesn't want to eat either of these, you could possibly try Wellness or Weruva.

Let us know how things go :vibes::crossfingers: :goodluck:
 

LTS3

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Hills W/D is junk so take it back to the vet for a refund. I wouldn't bother with the W/D canned food.

Do you have to feed dry food? It's a lot easier to shed those extra pounds with a canned food only diet.

For an ideal 12 lbs, your cat should eat roughly 240 to 300 calories daily. Dry foods are too high in calories. A cup may contain as much as 400 calories. "Weight control" dry foods can contain an entire day's worth of calories in a single cup. Canned foods, by comparison, may contain under 100 calories for a 3 oz can to around 150 calories for a 5.5 oz can.

Any commercial canned food will work, supplement with a small amount of dry food if needed. You have to keep track of the calories you feed to your cat daily. Calorie information is on pet food labels. Here's one for canned foods: http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf
 

Furballsmom

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Hi!
I started to suggest several canned / pouch foods other than the ones I posted above, however I stopped because I realized I wasn't exactly certain why your vet prescribed the Hill's. --I was under the assumption that this and the Royal Canin foods are prescribed specifically for urinary problems, but your kitty has herpes if I remember correctly.

Looking into it further, this describes that prescription foods are used to aide healing for more than just urinary issues.
Prescription Cat Food | PetCareRx

With this in mind, you might want to talk with your vet in more detail about his/her intent in prescribing the Hill's, and if Hill's wet food would work as well and if so, if you can supplement the Hill's wet food with other canned/pouch foods.
 

LTS3

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I was under the assumption that this and the Royal Canin foods are prescribed specifically for urinary problems, but your kitty has herpes if I remember correctly.
Prescription foods are for a variety of health issues. There's a specific food for a specific issue. W/D is for digestive / weight issues: Hill's® Prescription Diet® w/d® Feline - dry C/D is for urinary issues. DM is for diabetics. Royal Canin is similar, a variety of prescription foods for various issues.
 

DreamerRose

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7/8 cup of dry food is way too much. Try giving Snowball 1/4 cup of dry and a small wet like Fancy Feast in the evening. My Lily is apt to gain weight, and I now have her on Iams Weight Control for dry and FF for dinner. She's lost a half pound in the past year. Before that, I gave her one portion of Sheba in the evening as well as the dry in the morning and she lost 2 pounds over a year.
 
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CatLover49

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Hi!
I started to suggest several canned / pouch foods other than the ones I posted above, however I stopped because I realized I wasn't exactly certain why your vet prescribed the Hill's. --I was under the assumption that this and the Royal Canin foods are prescribed specifically for urinary problems, but your kitty has herpes if I remember correctly.

Looking into it further, this describes that prescription foods are used to aide healing for more than just urinary issues.
Prescription Cat Food | PetCareRx

With this in mind, you might want to talk with your vet in more detail about his/her intent in prescribing the Hill's, and if Hill's wet food would work as well and if so, if you can supplement the Hill's wet food with other canned/pouch foods.
He just put him on it to hopefully help him loose weight.But we both know veterinarians alot of the time are going to want u to use their brand.And if it were like kidney or some of those other really serious health problems it would b fine I think.But with weight being the only issue n I know its not healthy for a cat to b overweight at all.Im just saying on his blood work n physical;thats the only problem he found.Well besides him having the herpes virus .So I think and will talk to vet.That he doesn't need to b on that W/D PRESCRIPTION for.just weight loss.Ive seen other cat food for weight loss on Chewy.Just saying.So yea ive been thinking about some wet food.Ive seen alot of members talk about how wet food is better.And then u hear that dry makes them drink water.Umm.But im still in the ball park of GRADUALLY changing him over.Like give little of old n new to prevent stomach upset or any other issues.Aint started yet.But seriously considering.
 
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CatLover49

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7/8 cup of dry food is way too much. Try giving Snowball 1/4 cup of dry and a small wet like Fancy Feast in the evening. My Lily is apt to gain weight, and I now have her on Iams Weight Control for dry and FF for dinner. She's lost a half pound in the past year. Before that, I gave her one portion of Sheba in the evening as well as the dry in the morning and she lost 2 pounds over a year.[/QUOTE
Yea my Snowball is quick togain also.So r u saying to give only dry 1/4 cup in morning n only wet in evening??Of course I have to watch amount cause of the dry.Is there a specific reason to feed wet in evening???
 
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CatLover49

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I just wanted to say thank u all for the great advice on what n and how much to feed my Snowball.To help him loose a few lbs n keep it off.Please keep the advice coming.I need all I can get..
 
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CatLover49

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Hi!
What does your cat look like? Would you mind posting a picture?

https://www.petmd.com/sites/default/files/nestle_purina_cat_body_condition_chart_crop.jpg

As mentioned go really really slowly towards the goal, weigh your cat every week and work on more exercise as opposed to decreasing the food. Many people are able to accomplish a slow weight loss by eliminating the kibble, but sometimes no kibble is difficult to manage depending on schedules.

7 Proven Ways To Get Your Cat To Be More Active
I would b able to manage.My schedule is flexible
 

Furballsmom

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im still in the ball park of GRADUALLY changing him over.Like give little of old n new to prevent stomach upset or any other issues
That would be the perfect way to do it.

About the water drinking, as I understand it the kibble manufacturers will add salt/sodium so that cats literally feel thirsty from the salt.

You could try a couple of things. You could add a little water to the wet food and stir it in, or don't stir it depending on what Snowball prefers. Also you could add a water bowl or two around your house, and even try having one of the bowls elevated (sitting on a couple of books or a small box).
 

lisahe

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Do you have to feed dry food? It's a lot easier to shed those extra pounds with a canned food only diet.
LTS3's whole post is very useful -- and the calorie guidelines they mentioned are really important -- but I wanted to second this one thought and add that one of the biggest benefits to feeding canned food instead of dry food is that you'll be reducing Snowball's carb intake. That's something that denice denice already mentioned; I think it's the most important part of this.

Cats are serious meat-eaters, hardcore carnivores, so they don't process (plant-based) carbs well, making those calories pretty empty. And though there are a few notable exceptions (like Dr. Elsey's), dry foods are generally loaded with carbs. The w/d dry food ingredients are not very promising, starting with Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Meal, Wheat Gluten, Powdered Cellulose, Chicken...
That's a lot of vegetable matter and not much meat protein! Those ingredients just plain make me sad because it's meat cats need to eat. The protein, fat, and moisture of wet food can really help fill a cat up.
The w/d wet multi-benefit food is better, starting with this: Water, Pork Liver, Pork By-Products, Chicken, Powdered Cellulose, Wheat Flour, Corn Starch,...
but there's absolutely no need for the wheat flour and corn starch -- they just add calories.

Somewhere on the site there's a long thread about a very large cat who slowly lost his extra weight by eating all (or mostly? I don't remember) Fancy Feast Classic Pates. Those are pretty decent weight management foods because they don't have any carby stuff. You want to avoid any form of wheat, corn, rice, potato, peas, lentils, chickpeas, and other grains or starchy vegetables.

If you're interested in more about why it's important to lower carbs and feed wet food, check out Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition – Common Sense. Healthy Cats. (the same site that LTS3 and Denice linked to for the food charts. The page I linked to is all about feline nutrition. If you scroll down a little, you'll find headings about animal/plant proteins as well as carbs. There's a lot to take in so it's probably best to read over time but Dr. Pierson gives some great tips on how to feed cats properly. I've learned a lot from her site!

Good luck!
 

Furballsmom

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As far as I know there's no specific reason to feed wet in the evening as opposed to the morning. What may actually work better is several meals throughout the day so that your cat isn't going too long between food. It just depends, and you'll be able to tell what works especially once you reach the goal.

Regarding the quantity, due to the fact that every cat is so different, the best way to determine how much is to weigh Snowball now (once a week or so) and then keep weighing him as you're gradually making the transition. You'll need to continue weighing after you've attained the desired weight as well, especially initially so that you can see how things are going :)
 

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