Fat Cat

[emelyssa]

Drexl was a feral cat that lived on the street for five years. He was neutered at approximately one year old through the TNR program. When I trapped him and brought him inside in May, he had been eating on my porch and was 14 lbs. His bloodwork looked great. He has absolutely blown up since he's been in the house (only 3 months!) and now weighs 17 lbs. He's been on Hills Science Diet Perfect Weight for one month, and he also eats one 5.5 oz can of Weruva or Soulistic chicken every day. He is extremely active and plays for hours a day.

Any advice here?

 

[LTS3]

Ditch the dry and feed only canned and enough calories for your cat's body weight The general suggestion is 20 to 25 calories per pound of body weight daily. The Hills food has 315 (empty) calories per cup. How much dry food do you feed daily? Do you measure or just fill the bowl?

 

[Box of Rain]

Ditch the dry and feed only canned and enough calories for your cat's body weight The general suggestion is 20 to 25 calories per pound of body weight daily. The Hills food has 315 (empty) calories per cup. How much dry food do you feed daily? Do you measure or just fill the bowl?

100%.

That "diet" food is loaded with far too many carbohydrates and questionable ingredients like Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Wheat Gluten, Powdered Cellulose, Dried Tomato Pomace, and Dried Beet Pulp that are ill suited to an obligate carnivore.

With the addition of "Chicken Liver Flavor," not Chicken Livers mind you, but Chicken Liver "Flavor."

Ditch the dry food.

Bill

ETA: The Powdered Cellulose in the ingredient list generally consists of wood pulp. No really.

 

[emelyssa]

Ditch the dry and feed only canned and enough calories for your cat's body weight The general suggestion is 20 to 25 calories per pound of body weight daily. The Hills food has 315 (empty) calories per cup. How much dry food do you feed daily? Do you measure or just fill the bowl?

I keep a cup in the bowl a day, but Drexl isn't the only one munching on it. His brother sometimes eats from his bowl. Drexl doesn't like wet food very much and I have to coax him to eat it.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

In order for him to lose weight, you've got to cut his caloric intake. I used to free feed kibble (years ago) and as a result I had one very overweight cat and three who were the perfect weight. They ALL had to go on scheduled feedings of wet food only because of that. We managed, and our little porker eventually lost enough weight that our Vet was satisfied.

Here are a couple articles that might help you:

Transitioning Free-fed Kibble Kitties To Timed Meals - TheCatSite

Kitty parents find themselves wanting to transition from free-fed kibble to timed meals and/or a new type of food for many reasons: The need to monitor food intake in multi-cat homes Kitty health As part of a transition to canned, raw, or homemade food, where the food is not left out and must be...

thecatsite.com

Transitioning Your Cat From Kibble To A New Type Of Food - TheCatSite

I want my kitties to eat a healthier diet, and I’m ready to go! What’s next? Free-fed kibble eaters are usually nibblers. The very first step is to begin feeding timed meals. For free-fed nibblers, you cannot just pull up the kibble, they need to learn how to eat “meals.” This process is...

thecatsite.com

You may just need to find the right wet food for Drexl. I know it took lots of trial and error until we found what worked in our household, and with four cats, not all of them liked the same food. Some liked pate, some liked shreds, and some liked chicken while others liked beef or lamb or what have you. Now that we are down to only two cats, it's still that way, so they rarely eat the same thing.

 

[emelyssa]

Thank you so much for this information!!!! These resources will be helped. The problem with Drexl and wet food is that he is incredibly picky. He only likes brothy foods with shredded chicken like Weruva Paw Lickin, Soulistic Good Karma Chicken, etc. and the occasional tuna flavors. I have tried every holistic/healthy brand of high quality cat foods. But, even the ones he likes I have to coax him to eat. Then he will completely refuse to eat some of the ones he likes for awhile. How to shop food for a picky cat?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
Do the best you can, there's even cat food made from mice now. See if you can get samples or small quantity orders of one or two cans. Additionally, chewy can be pretty amazing regarding orders of food the cat won't eat, or just plan to donate uneaten cans.

He's an active cat and gained that weight so fast (did I read that right, one cup between two cats? Is this much different from what he was eating before he came inside?) that I'm wondering if he needs a vet visit with another blood draw.

In any case, go slowly in the other direction, cats need to lose weight quite slowly.

 

[maggie101]

Hi
Do the best you can, there's even cat food made from mice now. See if you can get samples or small quantity orders of one or two cans. Additionally, chewy can be pretty amazing regarding orders of food the cat won't eat, or just plan to donate uneaten cans.

He's an active cat and gained that weight so fast (did I read that right, one cup between two cats? Is this much different from what he was eating before he came inside?) that I'm wondering if he needs a vet visit with another blood draw.

In any case, go slowly in the other direction, cats need to lose weight quite slowly.

Chewy for sure! I just got a refund for cans that did not look or feel good and 2 expiration dates

 

[chelsmarie]

My previous cat was also on Hill Science Perfect Weight. I was pretty naïve and didn’t realize how loaded with carbs it is. I always thought Hill Science was a quality brand. She didn’t lose an oz the entire time she was on it, and frankly, I think it contributed to her young death at 4 years old. I have no proof, just a feeling. Of course, there were other reasons that contributed.

I would recommend a higher quality dry food like Dr Elsey or Tiki Cat and increased wet.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

As far as getting him to eat more of any wet food, dry crushing up some of the dry food and sprinkle a little bit on top of the wet. That usually will help.

I also have an extremely picky eater and know your frustration. I do use toppers with him. I typically use 100% freeze dried chicken for his topper because they don't eat kibble.