Fat Cat Diet

[IfYouSeeLaura]

Hi there,

I hope I'm posting this in the right forum.

I took my cat to the vets yesterday and while we were there, they did a general health check. The vet said my cat was borderline obese at over 5kg, and that we need to cut down her food by at least a quarter.

The problem is, I stick to the feeding guidelines of the food brand we use so I'm confused about what exactly I'm supposed to be feeding her. The cat food brand says she should be having 2 x 85g wet pouches per day plus 20g dry food. This is exactly what she gets and I weigh it all out for her so I know she isnt eating more than the recommended allowance. She very rarely has treats, and she also has set mealtimes so she can't stuff her face all day (she can be very greedy so she would 100% do this).

I tried feeding her a little less wet food today, but with same amount of dry, but she's just been upset with me all day. I know starving cats to lose weight is really bad for their health (and cruel) but I'm trying to stick to my vets advice by cutting down her portions.

The other issue is that she is an indoor cat and is also super lazy. I try and make her play at least once a day, but she refuses to chase or catch toys unless they're within reaching distance. If she does run, normally its only for a few seconds before she gives up. She prefers lying on her back and just kicking her toys rather than actually pouncing on them.

Am I really feeding her too much or is it her laziness that is making her overweight? How do I make a lazy, fat, stubborn cat exercise?

Thank you,
Laura

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
You could flipflop that and cut back a little bit on the kibble, and also put the kibble in a food dispensing toy?

I'm personally with you, that more exercise would be a good method to address weight issues and overall health for your kitty;
Try some things here, try putting her food up on a higher level of a cat tree and also maybe try a laser light; and don't give up, keep working/playing with her

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[jen]

You are perhaps feeding her according to the guidelines for her current weight. That will only maintain her weight (without factoring in exercise). If you want her to lose you need to calculate her daily intake per her ideal weight. However, if she is so obese, you need to do this very slowly. Cut back just a tiny bit over a long period of time. This is important to go slow.

I would absolutely cut back as much of the dry as you possibly can. That is all carbs and calories and dehydrates the cat. More canned means more protein, more filling meals, more water intake... with obesity you risk Diabetes and kidney failure among other things. Do everything you can to prevent them now.

 

[lisahe]

I would absolutely cut back as much of the dry as you possibly can. That is all carbs and calories and dehydrates the cat. More canned means more protein, more filling meals, more water intake... with obesity you risk Diabetes and kidney failure among other things. Do everything you can to prevent them now.

Yes to everything that jen and Furballsmom have already said but especially to this bit I've quoted. It's the dry food that should be cut, not the wet food. Our cat specialist vet recommends low-carb, high-protein wet food only for all cats but especially for cats who need to lose weight.

Good luck!

 

[1 bruce 1]

On the exercise thing and her being lazy...
if she's overweight or borderline obese, exercise hurts and isn't fun.
For now I would cut back on the dry food, use her dry food in the treat dispensing toys as the others suggested and offer more wet food.
It's only a few steps for her, but you might try feeding her a foot or so away from where she's at. Have her get up, and walk 3-4 steps to her food, and gradually increase that. Once she slims down, exercise will feel good to her.
When she got her general check up, did the vet do any blood work? (My guess is this isn't medical, as the food bags usually over-estimate how much food a dog or cat needs and the result is an overweight animal!)

 

[sargon]

With the wet food, make sure that it is carb free or at least very low in carbs. Wet food tends to be better on carbs than dry, but that far from universally true. otherwise, I'd mostly leave that part alone, sicne wet food is bit moe filling, so its probably not where you want to be cutting your cat's diet.

For the dry food, I suggest that you try transitioning to Dr Elsey's chicken, because it is a high quality carb free dry food that most cats really enjoy. I would also try putting the food into a puzzle feeder. That will provide a small amount of exercise and mental stimulation for your cat, while also slowing their eating down (which makes it seem a bit more filling to your kitty.)

if your cat likes the Dr Elsey's as much as mine does, you might try feeding a couple pieces of kibble, then throwing them one at a time so your cat has to walk or run to them.... it may be a good way to initiate exercise.

 

[Name9335]

I would do a little research on kibble, it has been shown to cause obesity, urinary issues and diabetes. I would really recommend switching to an all wet low carb diet, and if possible, check into a balanced homemade raw diet

 

[daftcat75]

Everyone else has mentioned cut the dry. How about...

1. Guest star meals: Can you bring in a lower calorie wet meal as a once or twice a week guest star? It’s sort of the opposite of “cheat day” but it can help manage the grumpiness. If you don’t have objections to feeding fish flavored foods, a lot of the seafood flavors in pouches tend to be lower calories but can also be popular guest star meals.

2. Tuna flake hunt: My Krista needed to gain weight after pancreatitis and IBD flare-ups. I wanted to make sure she was gaining muscle back and not just a belly. So I created the tuna flake hunt for her as a way for her to get some exercise a few times a day (at least as many times as I feed her.). Directly after her meals (so I can kick her out of the kitchen and prevent begging for more food), I hide bonito tuna flakes throughout her cat trees and environment and especially in the areas that require her to stretch (because I read long body stretches are good for digestion.). As she got stronger from disease management, nutritional recovery, exercise, and eventual weight gain, this has become her second favorite part of the day. Meal time is still her favorite. The best part of this is that tuna flakes are low calorie treats. The serving size is 1 gram for 6 calories. As generous as I am with the flake hunt, I never come close to that 1 gram serving even over the course of a full day’s worth of meals (four for her.)

 

[lisahe]

1. Guest star meals: Can you bring in a lower calorie wet meal as a once or twice a week guest star? It’s sort of the opposite of “cheat day” but it can help manage the grumpiness. If you don’t have objections to feeding fish flavored foods, a lot of the seafood flavors in pouches tend to be lower calories but can also be popular guest star meals.

This is a great idea! I always keep a few "variety meal" cans and pouches around. One of the cats' favorites is chicken/pumpkin pouch foods from Weruva and Soulistic. They have carby gravy but I drain that off to make a low-calorie snack for hungry cats. Draining it probably removes most of the added nutrients but since that's just an occasional treat, I just consider as supplemental feeding, something I don't do very often anyway!