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Has anyone had success with kitty weight loss? Can you share some of the techniques you used?
My cat Mocha is known to get a little chonky sometimes too.Has anyone had success with kitty weight loss? Can you share some of the techniques you used?
To repeat and stress this, it really does need to be done very slowly.caloric reduction should be done very slowly
Is kilocalories ME in dry food the same as kcal in wet food?First and foremost, you need to know the number of calories your cat is currently consuming before reducing their intake. Secondly, a caloric reduction should be done very slowly - 5%, certainly no more than 10%, at a time. This gives your cat's body - and mind - time to adjust to the lowering of calories/food quantity. As a simple rule - a cat really should not lose more than 1 pound a month, ideally a bit less. Thirdly, you need to be able to weigh your cat weekly to see if there is progress and ensure the weight loss is not too drastic.
Canned cat food is usually less in fat/carbs, and many are higher in protein, so adding some wet food and lowering the amount of dry food is also beneficial in terms of helping to maintain muscle mass - important as cats age and lose muscle by very virtue of the aging process.
A very basic guideline is that most cats can maintain their body weight on 20-25 calories per pound of weight. So, theoretically, a 12-pound cat can maintain that weight on 240 - 300 calories a day. Of course, there are always variances to this, based on the individual cat, their age, and activity level.
Charting food intake by type and calories, as well a weight, makes it easier to see changes/trends to help in your re-assessment of how to adjust calories over time.
Another good thing to use is a body condition chart (see below), as weight isn't always the entire picture.
Hope this helps!
View attachment 433917
Kilocalories & kcal are interchangeable and simply mean the same thing as the word 'calories'. So, treat those numbers as 'good old plain' calories.Is kilocalories ME in dry food the same as kcal in wet food?
Okay I’m going to throw down some numbers. Two sisters. Up until age 4? Both perfect weight and mine starting getting heavier. my cats are large cats as in not fat but very long big cats:Kilocalories & kcal are interchangeable and simply mean the same thing as the word 'calories'. So, treat those numbers as 'good old plain' calories.
The ME is metabolizable energy - which is referring to the amount of energy available from pet food once the energy lost in the feces, urine, and combustible gases has been subtracted. Essentially, ME is the energy left for your pet's body to use once all digestion is complete. And, while I don't profess to know how to calculate that into 'more meaningful' terms relative to actual calories, I personally would just use the kcal (calories) as the basis, ignoring the ME, for how many total calories your cat is consuming for the purposes of food reduction/weight loss.
I am not as familiar with dry food as I don't feed it to my cat. Maybe someone else who actually feeds their cat dry food and monitors their weight might have a better idea how much the 'ME amount' makes a difference in the actual calorie count. The key is, as you will note when comparing calories, is that dry food is much denser and as a rule contains more carbs/fat, so a lot less volume-wise is needed to satisfy caloric intake compared to wet food.
Can you increase her activity, and decrease just a very small amount of food to see how that works? Are you weighing your cats at home?Would I be wrong to try and cut more food from her diet?
Hi. I would say she’s between the 8-9 range. She does need to lose weight as she can’t fully clean herself. That makes sense about the dry food not being protein. I’ll have to look for that edit button. I’m going to upload a pic of her.I am curious how the 15-pound cat 'looks' and 'feels' when compared to the body condition chart I gave you. She may be OK to weigh that much - or at least close to that amount. Also, the basic guideline I noted for calories per pound is just that and doesn't necessarily apply to every cat. Cats do have different metabolisms just like humans. And activity levels vary from cat to cat, which can also affect their weight and how they burn calories.
Additionally, that dry food is probably full of more carbs/fats than the canned food, which can impact how food is metabolized as well, despite the calorie count. That would be like a person eating 200 calories of meat vs. 200 calories of potato chips every day - which one do you think would likely make that person gain weight easier?
I would compare that cat to the chart first and see what you think. I did fail to mention that most all adult cats have a primordial pouch - saggy skin right in front of their hind legs - no chart ever depicts that, but it is not to be taken as fat - it is perfectly natural and has no bearing on whether or not a cat is chubby.
EDIT: You should be able to edit posts afterward - for about 2 hours. Once you've hit "Post" an "Edit' option should appear in the lower left-hand corner of the post.
First and foremost, you need to know the number of calories your cat is currently consuming before reducing their intake. Secondly, a caloric reduction should be done very slowly - 5%, certainly no more than 10%, at a time. This gives your cat's body - and mind - time to adjust to the lowering of calories/food quantity. As a simple rule - a cat really should not lose more than 1 pound a month, ideally a bit less. Thirdly, you need to be able to weigh your cat weekly to see if there is progress and ensure the weight loss is not too drastic.
Canned cat food is usually less in fat/carbs, and many are higher in protein, so adding some wet food and lowering the amount of dry food is also beneficial in terms of helping to maintain muscle mass - important as cats age and lose muscle by very virtue of the aging process.
A very basic guideline is that most cats can maintain their body weight on 20-25 calories per pound of weight. So, theoretically, a 12-pound cat can maintain that weight on 240 - 300 calories a day. Of course, there are always variances to this, based on the individual cat, their age, and activity level.
Charting food intake by type and calories, as well a weight, makes it easier to see changes/trends to help in your re-assessment of how to adjust calories over time.
Another good thing to use is a body condition chart (see below), as weight isn't always the entire picture.
Hope this helps!
View attachment 433917
Yes! And that is something I need to do is help with increasing activity. They love love love running thru their tunnels. I need to get more active with her. We played for a long time this morning. She loves the SmartKat. I’ve tied long ribbon on the end of the stick and that helps to keep them occupied thru the morning play alone. I wish there were more interactive toys like this. Her sister loves the laser pointer, she sometimes gets into it but runs from it at times. If only they had some kind of flying butterfly!!Can you increase her activity, and decrease just a very small amount of food to see how that works? Are you weighing your cats at home?
I’m eyeballing off the chart!This thread made me try check Willow against the chart, emphasis on try cause she told me to piss off ..........
so i cant check just now see where her ribs are cause she's not wanting HER meowmy to check <3
Hello I would try not worry too much especially if you are not having issues . Based on the chart I think that just means they are overweight.What's it mean when i can feel some ribs in both girls, but not other ribs?
i felt along Tigger as well as sneaking up on Willow again, I can feel some ribs but not others?
Do my two both have the wrong number of ribs?
sorry if this is a thread hijack, i'm worried now in case both my girls have the wrong number of ribs