Hi there! I've noticed my 10 year old orange tabby really struggling with food addiction the last half of his life so far. He's always been round and a little fluffy but he is a very high strung stressed cat and obsessed with eating. A good weight for him would be 14 lbs..hes naturally a big boy but last weighed is 17 and I swear he looks bigger the last couple months. I've been trying to be strict but is it possible even on a diet of dry limited food that the weight could just be stuck on? I limit to half a cup of dry a day and try to replace one meal with wet but nearly 99 percent of wet food he vomits up at least 5 times several hours later. I've noticed him looking fatter lately and have no idea how it could happen. He had a senior check 2 months back and no diabetes, thyroid issues..nothing.
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Can A Senior Cat Drop Several Lbs?
- Thread starter Ladyrosee
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Here's what I know:
You don't want to restrict too much too fast, of any type of food. It can cause serious issues.
I've read it is easier to maintain a healthy weight with wet food, maybe since he is vomiting it up, start with just one spoonful a day so he gets used to it. Maybe he is just really sensitive to changes, or maybe it's a certain ingredient. Have you tried different kinds?
I'm sure it is possible for him to loose weight, but it is more important that he eats and keeps something down rather than not get anything at all.
Hopefully someone else has a bit more info that will be helpful. Good luck!
You don't want to restrict too much too fast, of any type of food. It can cause serious issues.
I've read it is easier to maintain a healthy weight with wet food, maybe since he is vomiting it up, start with just one spoonful a day so he gets used to it. Maybe he is just really sensitive to changes, or maybe it's a certain ingredient. Have you tried different kinds?
I'm sure it is possible for him to loose weight, but it is more important that he eats and keeps something down rather than not get anything at all.
Hopefully someone else has a bit more info that will be helpful. Good luck!
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- #3
Hes been on less food for years sadly. And yes I've tried pate to minced to shredded wet the cheaper brands to high end. The only one he never vomits up is royal canin sensitive digestion wet food. And he will eat tiki chicken sometimes. For a fat cat he is extremely picky. Currently he's on urinary SO prescription food as of last night having his first issue with a uti (I was in Arizona traveling a few days I'm positive he stressed himself out at home without me). But I hate royal canin and all the cheap fillers they add to the food but im keeping him on the dry for a little while until his next vet appointment. I'm trying out wet for breakfast since hes desperate in the mornings feeling starving and its helping him eat it more. Its just so hard working from home and him literally screaming for food when I'm trying to make calls and I cant have him doing that haha! I feed him 4 times a day which seems to help his fits.. 2 tablespoons each feeding adding up to half a cup or if its wet food one or two meals I lessen his dry. Its just so strange his weight wont budge for years and he seems to be gaining but he literally has nothing wrong with him maybe just a crappy metabolism?
Funny thing is he used to love Fresh Pet and he lost weight on it! I think he got to 15 lbs but he wont touch it anymore. Maybe his body cant metabolize dry food well? I even feed him orijen or acana the kinds with no fillers or grains aside from his prescription food right now
Orijen is pretty high in carbs which will put weight on a cat. It certainly put it on mine. SG went from 9lbs to 11lbs. We free feed.
SG is also sensitive to chicken meat, though she does fine with chicken broth and chicken fat. (I don't get it, I just observe.)
When Orijen moved to a plant in Ky rather than Canada I went looking for a different food. I changed her food to Fromm hasen Duckenpfeffer, which is higher protein and lower carbs. We continued to free feed. During the first year she ate the Fromm instead of the Orijen she lost a pound. I consider that good. She is an only cat and therefore gets limited excerise. YMMV.
To me this says that to lose weight first count calories and second consider the carbs to protein ratio. Also cats can't metabolize plant protein. I mention this because some cat food companies, even good ones, put pea and other plant protein in their foods and use that to increase the amount of protein in their food. Yes, it does that, too bad it does nothing for the cat.
Go slowly, be patient. Most cats prefer several small meals to one of two large ones.
SG is also sensitive to chicken meat, though she does fine with chicken broth and chicken fat. (I don't get it, I just observe.)
When Orijen moved to a plant in Ky rather than Canada I went looking for a different food. I changed her food to Fromm hasen Duckenpfeffer, which is higher protein and lower carbs. We continued to free feed. During the first year she ate the Fromm instead of the Orijen she lost a pound. I consider that good. She is an only cat and therefore gets limited excerise. YMMV.
To me this says that to lose weight first count calories and second consider the carbs to protein ratio. Also cats can't metabolize plant protein. I mention this because some cat food companies, even good ones, put pea and other plant protein in their foods and use that to increase the amount of protein in their food. Yes, it does that, too bad it does nothing for the cat.
Go slowly, be patient. Most cats prefer several small meals to one of two large ones.
Hi. Check to see if there is a Royal Canin SO/sensitive digestion wet combination. If not, RC SO also comes in "regular" canned food - although I am sure you probably won't be impressed with its ingredients either. And, then you could try to mix the two and see if that stops the vomiting. And, you might want to try mixing some of whatever dry food he eats with a little bit of wet/canned just to try to transition him slower and see if that would stop the vomiting.
He does sound like he would do better with more feedings a day, and of course as you said, just lessen each to equate to what you want him fed overall within a day's time.
It isn't 'perfect', but if you want to see if he has really gained weight: get on a scale and weigh yourself, then pick him up and weigh yourself again. At least you would have an idea if he has put on any weight. It will be by far more accurate than putting him on a human scale by himself.
I don't know about the metabolism, surely it can slow down in older cats just like it does older people (less exercise, body function changes), but a higher protein/lower carb diet helps with speeding up the metabolism.
He does sound like he would do better with more feedings a day, and of course as you said, just lessen each to equate to what you want him fed overall within a day's time.
It isn't 'perfect', but if you want to see if he has really gained weight: get on a scale and weigh yourself, then pick him up and weigh yourself again. At least you would have an idea if he has put on any weight. It will be by far more accurate than putting him on a human scale by himself.
I don't know about the metabolism, surely it can slow down in older cats just like it does older people (less exercise, body function changes), but a higher protein/lower carb diet helps with speeding up the metabolism.
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- #6
Omg I had no idea I feel terrible 
he was eating the fit and trim kind finally finished the big bag he didnt like it though. Where do you purchase Fromm? I am considering getting my vet to approve royal canin calorie control but I'm not sure..I've heard a lot of reviews saying it supports their joints because of the weight and almost all have slowly lost weight. My kitten is a tub and eats orijen cat and kitten but hes also on prednisolone from 2 months old to current 8 months so it could be that that's making him tubby or this darn food!
he was eating the fit and trim kind finally finished the big bag he didnt like it though. Where do you purchase Fromm? I am considering getting my vet to approve royal canin calorie control but I'm not sure..I've heard a lot of reviews saying it supports their joints because of the weight and almost all have slowly lost weight. My kitten is a tub and eats orijen cat and kitten but hes also on prednisolone from 2 months old to current 8 months so it could be that that's making him tubby or this darn food!
Hi!
Along with more frequent feedings (and something late at night if possible), try obtaining food puzzles, and try giving him more exercise - gently at first, for example put his food bowl on a first or second stair step so that he has to walk up, then increase that height, increase play time, and eventually try a laser light.
Good for you!!
I know, my boy yells as well.
Along with more frequent feedings (and something late at night if possible), try obtaining food puzzles, and try giving him more exercise - gently at first, for example put his food bowl on a first or second stair step so that he has to walk up, then increase that height, increase play time, and eventually try a laser light.
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- #8
Thanks! Is there a general rule of the percent of carbs a food should be? He plays a lot with my kitten he gets random scary stampeding bursts of energy even my kitten is scared of him sometimes haha! He is very lazy though of course but surprisingly agile for his size. He follows me a lot so I like to just go up and down the stairs a few times so he will follow
Here is the Fromm site, Fromm Family Pet Food Authorized Internet Retailer. Free Shipping over $49. Always in Stock | GoFromm.com - Fromm Pet Food Authorized Online Retailer
They also have some other online places that sell it. The price is about the same from Fromm and the online retailers. They won't use the big box stores so Chewy and Amazon are out, but Petflow delievers. Fromm has wet food too. I only mentioned it because it's the one we use. There are other high protein low carb foods. You can spend weeks researching cat foods. I did. But you have to stay alert, things change on a dime in cat food world.
You really do have an up hill fight on your hands. I don't know about your kitten but the one time we gave a cat prednisolone she went into I'm starving, woman, I'm starving. She leapt off the top of the fridge in an attempt to jump into the gallon container of ice cream my SO was taking out of the freezer.
They also have some other online places that sell it. The price is about the same from Fromm and the online retailers. They won't use the big box stores so Chewy and Amazon are out, but Petflow delievers. Fromm has wet food too. I only mentioned it because it's the one we use. There are other high protein low carb foods. You can spend weeks researching cat foods. I did. But you have to stay alert, things change on a dime in cat food world.
You really do have an up hill fight on your hands. I don't know about your kitten but the one time we gave a cat prednisolone she went into I'm starving, woman, I'm starving. She leapt off the top of the fridge in an attempt to jump into the gallon container of ice cream my SO was taking out of the freezer.
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- #11
he really does scare my kitten when he runs around him being so fat he almost knocks the cat tree over and my kitten hides under a table my cat cant get to haha
Thank you! Oh my goodness no it's almost like this medicine was meant for my kitten honestly. He hasnt had a single issue the 6 months of his kittenhood going on it other than a chunky belly. He has some kind of autoimmune disease they think he got from vaccines so he can no longer get any ever again and his blood work has been amazing since the first week of him getting on it..he actually is going to be tested again to see if his platelets are still normal and if they are he will slowly wean off it starting next week! Hopefully just a fluke and his issue wont come back. I just want healthy kitties. They really are the best of friends despite older fat kitties grumpiness and the age difference
The second part (part 2) of the second article linked below gets to the carb amount;
How Much Food Should I Feed My Cat?
How To Choose The Right Food For Your Cat
How Much Food Should I Feed My Cat?
How To Choose The Right Food For Your Cat
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I'm glad the medicine is working for kitten.
Goodness, I can see where kitten might be afraid of furry tank coming at him. Give kitten time, he'll get the size to play the game.
It does sound like you need to secure that cat tree before it falls on one of them. I read one thread, no, I don't remember where, sorry, about a cat leaping from the top of his cat tree, it fell on him and broke his hip. He did recover, but what a terrible thing. And with your kitten being smaller.
If you can't secure it to a stud in the wall with guy wires or attach it to bigger base, put as much of the base as you can under the edge of the sofa or your bed. That will keep the tree from falling all the way to the floor, though it may tilt.
Goodness, I can see where kitten might be afraid of furry tank coming at him. Give kitten time, he'll get the size to play the game.
It does sound like you need to secure that cat tree before it falls on one of them. I read one thread, no, I don't remember where, sorry, about a cat leaping from the top of his cat tree, it fell on him and broke his hip. He did recover, but what a terrible thing. And with your kitten being smaller.
If you can't secure it to a stud in the wall with guy wires or attach it to bigger base, put as much of the base as you can under the edge of the sofa or your bed. That will keep the tree from falling all the way to the floor, though it may tilt.
Carbs shoudn't be more than 10 to 15% or so.
Calories should be around 20 to 25 calories per pound of body weight daily.
What canned food are you feeding? It's possible that an intolerance to an ingredient can cause vomiting.
There are alternatives to Royal Canin SO for urinary issues:
Alternatives to Royal Canin SO
Alternatives to expensive Urinary SO food
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- #15
Okay so really bad news. Since September he went from 16 something to 18 today. I feel awful and am so upset this happened. I was measuring out his dry food for his weight for weight loss and he gained all this? I was feeding him several kinds of food from fancy feast, fussie cat, wellness, blue buffalo, sheba and higher end wet foods he would vomit them all and usually chicken flavor or Turkey and some fish. But he wont comit royal canin digest. How do you calculate the carbs? Most of my foods dont say the carbs only the protein and fiber etc. I dont mean to sound like an idiot but I truly dont trust myself... can you list some dry foods that have that amount of carbs? Someone said Fromm is a good brand. I really dont trust my math and I guess orijen is high carb I had NO idea
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Dry food is very dense in calories. Some brands have as much as 400 calories per measured cup, far too much for any cat to have except for pregnant / lactating mom cats.
Carb content is not listed in the label. You need to use this chart for canned food:
http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf
I'm not aware of something similar for dry foods that is up to date (I know of one from 2007) but try this:
CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat
For weight loss, focus on calories rather than carbs. Too many calories is what causes weight gain. Still keep the carbs fairly low., hard to do with dry food because of all the starches needed to hold the ingredients in the kibble shape.
The Young Again brand of dry food is supposed to be zero carbs and decent in calories but has two drawbacks: it's really expensive and only sold through the Young Again web site.
Dr. Elsey's dry food has been recommended as a decent dry food lately here in TCS. You can look into that.
Some low carb decent dry foods:
Budget Friendly Low Carb Dry Food
Grain Free, High Protein And Low Carb Dry
Low Carb Mid-price Dry Food?
Dr Elsey's Dry?
Carb content is not listed in the label. You need to use this chart for canned food:
http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf
I'm not aware of something similar for dry foods that is up to date (I know of one from 2007) but try this:
CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat
For weight loss, focus on calories rather than carbs. Too many calories is what causes weight gain. Still keep the carbs fairly low., hard to do with dry food because of all the starches needed to hold the ingredients in the kibble shape.
The Young Again brand of dry food is supposed to be zero carbs and decent in calories but has two drawbacks: it's really expensive and only sold through the Young Again web site.
Dr. Elsey's dry food has been recommended as a decent dry food lately here in TCS. You can look into that.
Some low carb decent dry foods:
Budget Friendly Low Carb Dry Food
Grain Free, High Protein And Low Carb Dry
Low Carb Mid-price Dry Food?
Dr Elsey's Dry?
I know you had him in to a vet recently but two pounds in 10 or so weeks? Would you want to talk with a different vet?
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- #19
Its basically 1lb he was nearly 17 when I took him in. I actually work there and they're currently saving my kittens life. The doctor was up all night after diagnosing mine with ITP and he is doing amazing but continuing with my fat cat.. they ran thyroid blood work, CBC, diabetes etc and hes perfectly healthy just fat. Hes a huge cat regardless I dont think they were too worried. But I'm sure they will be when I tell them he gained a lb. Every vet I've been to told me orange cats are usually fat
He's also been on a diet for years. He's slowly just going up since he was about 4 hes always been fat. Started at 14 like oh hes a big cat anyway 14 is fine. Then 15 oh hes getting too big! Then just going up over the yearly slowly
Can you get him to be more active?
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