Best Diet For Overweight Cat?

[KittyCookie]

Hello! I live with my mom and she has a lovely cat. (That cat is a family pet and my mom insists on making all the decisions about the cat.) Cookie (our female cat) is 6 years old. We adopted her last year. She is 13.2 pounds and just can't seem to lose weight and is slowly gaining more weight. My mom is giving her only 175 calories a day. Cookie gets one 3 ounce can of Fancy feast classic turkey and giblets, and 1/4 cup of Natural Balance Fat Cat dry food. While she doesn't often take my advice about the cat, she is now willing to take advice because Cookie can't lose weight. What should we be feeding the cat to help her lose weight in a safe manner? The cat has an average size frame. She is not a small or big framed cat. The cat was slowly losing weight when my mom was feeding her just wet food, but the cat's poops were always so runny that my mom got concerned and switched the cat back to a mix of dry and wet. What should we do? Thank you!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Can you get her to exercise more? Take her for walks in a harness, get her to chase wand toys, put her food where she needs to climb and/or jump to get it, play with her lots more
Also, try gently slowly transitioning to a different wet food and maybe you'll be able to eliminate the dry after a while.

 

[KittyCookie]

Hi! Can you get her to exercise more? Take her for walks in a harness, get her to chase wand toys, put her food where she needs to climb and/or jump to get it, play with her lots more
Also, try gently slowly transitioning to a different wet food and maybe you'll be able to eliminate the dry after a while.

Hello! Thank you for the information I will talk to my mom about moving the cat to an all wet diet slowly. Should we still feed a tiny bit of dry to help the cat's poops be more solid once the cat is switched to all wet food? And I've always wanted to try a harness with the cat She is a very active cat and loves to play. I will spend more time with her running around and such! She loves people and will chase us, lol

 

[Furballsmom]

Should we still feed a tiny bit of dry to help the cat's poops be more solid once the cat is switched to all wet food?

I'm hoping that you can find a canned food that doesn't cause any tummy issues.

This might help; CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat

 

[Furballsmom]

jen has excellent advice regarding cat food

 

[abyeb]

This article gives some great tips about playing with cats:

Playing With Your Cat: 10 Things You Need To Know

 

[jen]

jen has excellent advice regarding cat food

Thanks I'm a little obsessive sometimes. I started out learning a lot from a now inactive member on here looooong ago.

As to the question about adding a little dey to keep the poops solid.... that isn't how it works. It isn't canned that is making the stool loose it is a certain ingredient or combo of ingredients doing it. Those ingredients can certainly be in dry food too. You have to pick the ingredients apart and figure out what to eliminate first.

 

[Pjg8r]

I agree wet is better but increasing activity can help. If your mom wants to keep feeding dry at least until the bag is finished I suggest using it to increase movement. Put one kibble on the steps of a car tree and make the cat climb to get each piece. Then put a few on the ground. Then back up. If you don’t have a tree or she’s too heavy to climb then toss them one at a time on the floor in different directions.

 

[lalagimp]

I've always wanted to try this, but my boys aren't allowed dry. The girls get both dry and wet, but it's all locked down with microchip access.


I would consider getting the blood work done on kitty just make sure organs and thyroid are functioning properly. I had to get that done when all the sudden Tommy was always starving at the end of this diet, lost more weight I didn't intend, and I had to up his food by several ounces. Fortunately his T1 came back okay, and he's just got this wild metabolism and energy from the raw diet I keep him on now and that I took him off the Prozac.

 

[lisahe]

Thanks I'm a little obsessive sometimes. I started out learning a lot from a now inactive member on here looooong ago.

As to the question about adding a little dey to keep the poops solid.... that isn't how it works. It isn't canned that is making the stool loose it is a certain ingredient or combo of ingredients doing it. Those ingredients can certainly be in dry food too. You have to pick the ingredients apart and figure out what to eliminate first.

This is so true. Reading and comparing labels is the key to figuring these things out. Treats and any other snacks have to be considered, too. And then there's the random factor: sometimes a cat will get into something that it shouldn't and that will cause digestive issues. (Our cats don't go outside but they still find pine needles and leaves on the screened-in veranda, not to mention lint, dust bunnies, and things that have dropped on the kitchen floor.)

Also: has Cookie always been fed only the Fancy Feast turkey or did she eat other wet foods in the past?