Fat cats

My vet gives me a hard time every time the kids go in. They're all very healthy and well cared for but they're all about a 6 or 7 on the body score scale.  Right now I feed Purina Indoor dry - yeah, not the best food I know but my budget is kind of full with law school, 2 horses and 3 kitties. That said, I want to do right by my little fatties.

Any suggestions for a good quality weight control food that cats like and that won't kill my budget? Our dear, departed Pikachu was on a weight control food by Iams (I think) that he hated. 

The vet was okay with the Purina but even feeding the suggested amount (on the low side) they're pretty plump. It doesn't help that my husband slips them treats. They get a lot of exercise - they're all young and play hard. I'm just wondering if a better quality food would help more.

Feed a wet, grain free if possible and watch the pounds drop off, just like Adkins diet! The carbs make them fat, same as people! The difference is cats are carnivores and not designed to eat kibble.

Just note that grain free does not necessarily mean carb free So be sure to check out dry matter analysis if possible.

With my Maple, who is on a diet, trying to give her more high-protein / low-cal foods. Within budget is subjective, but I found Fancy Feast Elegant Medley was pretty much something that fit the bill. But they also came out with some Weruva variety packs. The Cats in the Kitchen version is close to the same price as the FF EM, if you go by price per oz. $39 for 48 3oz cans vs $40 for 24 6oz cans.

Feeding part dry / part wet would even help. I won't ever be able to get 100% off the kibble myself, but Maple is slowly (and I do mean slowly, lol) losing some weight.

Nah you don't want to go with any "low carb" or "weight loss" you need to feed them less. Most kibble is super high in calories. What you need to do is figure out how much they weigh, how many calories they should be eating per day, and then put them on a feeding schedule so they don't over eat. I would definitely upgrade the kibble too. Anything you can get at the grocery store is not good. Sure, good kibble is a little more expensive but in the long run its worth it. Better quality, kitties will be healthier, and should eat less of it because its higher in protein and lower in fillers. 

I also agree you should feed at least 1/2 wet food, as an all kibble diet isn't good. 

bonepicker said:

Feed a wet, grain free if possible and watch the pounds drop off, just like Adkins diet! The carbs make them fat, same as people! The difference is cats are carnivores and not designed to eat kibble.

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It's the Catkins diet, with lots of meat!

Seriously, though, yes, high-protein, low-carb canned foods without grains, potato, or peas are a great start. Fancy Feast Classics and Tractor Supply's 4Health grain-free foods are a couple lower-priced options that people have mentioned on the site. And Weruva's Cats in the Kitchen are great foods: they're a little more expensive but pretty meaty but not too high in calories. Our cats love them.

We had an overweight cat who lost no weight on Purina Indoor dry food: I think the only thing that kept her from gaining more was that we added some wet food to her diet. Good luck!

I second what everyone's said. Purina is pretty awful. It's full of fattening carbs, and those calories don't even keep a cat feeling full as well as good protein does.

It's going to take a bit to figure out the right portion size, so just be patient. You may have to cut down the calories a bit more than calculations would indicate before you start seeing any real weight loss. It's great that they're so active, that's one component you don't have to stress over! If your husband insists on giving treats, make sure they're healthy, meaty ones! Pretty much anything that's freeze dried meat is good, although your cats may have to adjust to the texture. You can also give human meat or eggs as long as there's nothing added to it.

If you can manage as much wet food as possible, it's worth it. Dry food leads to weight gain and dehydration which leads to so many healthy issues down the road, and you'll use the money that you saved on the food for vet bills. 

You might want to switch away from the Indoor stuff. While trying to out my cat on a diet, I switched from Purina ONE hairball to Indoor Advantage. Well, he GAINED weight. So I looked up the calories and turns out it has MORE calories than the hairball formula.

I've tried Goodlife , it's grain free. Or maybe just corn and wheat free.... It's easily available. My cat wasn't crazy about it, but it's the shape not the taste. Corn--my cat doesn't do well with corn, but he is picky, and I've thrown out or given away about 5 huge bags of expensive dry that he refused to eat.

Friskies canned is not bad--the pates especially. Can you try to feed more canned and less dry?

Are your cats picky? If not, your choices will be easier.

purina is mainly corn and probably one of the worst foods you could be feeding an overweight cat. petsmart has their own brand called good natured and their grain free dry is pretty good and it's about the same price. but the best thing you can do for your cat's health is get them off dry--even if it's just partially! this is the best site i've found for cat nutrtion: www.catinfo.org

Feeding less calories will help. A lot of dry foods are really calorie dense per cup, sometimes as much as 600 calories. Cutting the amount of food in half doesn't help since it'll just leave a cat too hungry. The general rule is to feed 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily. Canned foods are ideal since they are lower in calories, roughly 70 to 100 for a 3 oz can and 150 or so fora 5.5 oz can. They're more filling, too. 6 to 8 oz of canned food fills up most cat's tummies better than a huge bowl of dry food.

If you can add in more canned food to the diet and switch the brand of dry food to something higher quality it will help. Feed healthy treats instead of "junky quality" stuff like Temptations or Pounce (think apple vs french fries). Freeze dried 100% meat treats are great and you can find various brands at pet stores.

LTS3 said:

Feeding less calories will help. A lot of dry foods are really calorie dense per cup, sometimes as much as 600 calories. Cutting the amount of food in half doesn't help since it'll just leave a cat too hungry. The general rule is to feed 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily. Canned foods are ideal since they are lower in calories, roughly 70 to 100 for a 3 oz can and 150 or so fora 5.5 oz can. They're more filling, too. 6 to 8 oz of canned food fills up most cat's tummies better than a huge bowl of dry food.

If you can add in more canned food to the diet and switch the brand of dry food to something higher quality it will help. Feed healthy treats instead of "junky quality" stuff like Temptations or Pounce (think apple vs french fries). Freeze dried 100% meat treats are great and you can find various brands at pet stores.

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I was shocked when I found out how many calories were in our dry food! 510 per cup! I'm still free-feeding with the other four cats but with Maple, she's only getting measured meals. I used to give wet twice a day and dry twice a day. I switched out the afternoon dry food for wet. It was fewer calories, there's a bit more of it, and she seemed a LOT happier. She was so depressed before that, as she was really unhappy about not being able to eat whenever she wanted.

At this point she's been getting 1/8 cup at night, but starting last night she's getting 1/16 cup of the dry food each evening for her to do what she wants with between bedtime and her morning feeding. She usually gobbles it up very quickly. That 1/16 cup is 32 calories too!

Wow, thank you all for the great information! I always thought there were more calories in wet food than dry. Learn something new every day.

I will talk to my husband about all this and we'll definitely tweak the diet to reflect a better mix. Thanks again!

I switched from dry food to wet food and watched my cat go from almost 22 pounds down to 14.

Are used to feed expensive wellness food but not anymore. Now I feel fancy feast classic it's a great green free food and low-carb. You can feed any food even the cheapest just make sure the carbs are less than 5% that is all.

What I would also suggest as far as how much food do you feed is about 6 to 7 ounces a day or 2 to 2 1/2 of 3 ounce cans.

oopsmom said:

 
Wow, thank you all for the great information! I always thought there were more calories in wet food than dry. Learn something new every day.

I will talk to my husband about all this and we'll definitely tweak the diet to reflect a better mix. Thanks again!

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Another benefit of wet food versus dry food is that it is better for a cat's teeth; contrary to what many people think! Dry food causes lots of build up on the teeth which leads to bacteria growth. Wet food doesn't stick to the teeth as much. It kind of just slides right down! Here's a good analogy: 

Think of the gunk and residue stuck to your mouth after eating cheezits. Now think of your mouth after you eat chunks of meat or fresh veggies--definitely not as much residue! My vet made this analogy and I love it. 

Of course, it only applies if your cat actually chews their food