Fat cat!

Cat.mama

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2018
Messages
179
Purraise
131
Has anyone had success with kitty weight loss? Can you share some of the techniques you used?
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,441
Purraise
33,208
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
First and foremost, you need to know the number of calories your cat is currently consuming before reducing their intake. Secondly, a caloric reduction should be done very slowly - 5%, certainly no more than 10%, at a time. This gives your cat's body - and mind - time to adjust to the lowering of calories/food quantity. As a simple rule - a cat really should not lose more than 1 pound a month, ideally a bit less. Thirdly, you need to be able to weigh your cat weekly to see if there is progress and ensure the weight loss is not too drastic.

Canned cat food is usually less in fat/carbs, and many are higher in protein, so adding some wet food and lowering the amount of dry food is also beneficial in terms of helping to maintain muscle mass - important as cats age and lose muscle by very virtue of the aging process.

A very basic guideline is that most cats can maintain their body weight on 20-25 calories per pound of weight. So, theoretically, a 12-pound cat can maintain that weight on 240 - 300 calories a day. Of course, there are always variances to this, based on the individual cat, their age, and activity level.

Charting food intake by type and calories, as well a weight, makes it easier to see changes/trends to help in your re-assessment of how to adjust calories over time.

Another good thing to use is a body condition chart (see below), as weight isn't always the entire picture.

Hope this helps!

Body-Condition-Feline-Chart.jpg
 

milkyandmocha

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Oct 14, 2022
Messages
10
Purraise
25
Has anyone had success with kitty weight loss? Can you share some of the techniques you used?
My cat Mocha is known to get a little chonky sometimes too. :lol:

What’s worked for me is carefully watching her caloric intake based on her age, gender, etc. Sticking with a routine of feeding times (wet food is higher in protein and arguably better for your cat if you want to work on slimming him/her down a bit) and making sure you don’t feed your cat too many calories is important! Add on some exercises for your cat. From my experience, Mocha LOVES chasing a laser around the house and playing with wand toys (I make her jump up onto various places like beds, her cat tower, and the couch)! Fit in a little playtime where your cat can run some of the calories off has worked great for me. She still has a little bit of a firm belly, but don’t we all. 😅

Sending love to you and your furry friend!
 

stephanietx

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 1, 2005
Messages
14,768
Purraise
3,490
Location
Texas
I switched to grain free wet food and very small amounts of dry food. Went to scheduled feedings. When my girl was begging for food, I distracted her with an interactive toy, such as DaBird or something similar. I also had to learn to tell her, "You just ate a couple of hours ago. You're not starving." I learned I was the cause of her obesity and that many times she ate because she was bored.
 

catloverfromwayback

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 24, 2021
Messages
3,734
Purraise
8,502
Location
Victoria, Australia
I struggle with this, too. Daisy just doesn’t want to eat wet food very often. She likes her Fussy Cat indoor dry food. I’m just reducing the amount she has. She’s gained weight regardless of what food she’s been on - including the Hill’s Perfect Weight and Macrobiotic. There’s not much choice of food here, nowhere near what’s available in the US, and all the fancier and presumably better brands are simply too expensive. She’s on Cisapride and that costs a small fortune, and Phoebe’s on Royal Canin Anallergenic for her IBD - ditto.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

Cat.mama

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2018
Messages
179
Purraise
131
Guys I was hoping you were going to show me pictures of your wild jungle gyms I could easily and inexpensively recreate in my houses and we could totally bypass the food thing… I’m only kidding (kind of) I know humor doesn’t come across well in text but I think I dread decreasing her food almost as much as she will. However I would gladly exchange some sleepless nights of hungry meows in exchange to get her back on track and extend her life.

Thank you all for the advice. I’m going to circle back on the calories here in a bit because I think mine are eating much less than that.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

Cat.mama

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2018
Messages
179
Purraise
131
First and foremost, you need to know the number of calories your cat is currently consuming before reducing their intake. Secondly, a caloric reduction should be done very slowly - 5%, certainly no more than 10%, at a time. This gives your cat's body - and mind - time to adjust to the lowering of calories/food quantity. As a simple rule - a cat really should not lose more than 1 pound a month, ideally a bit less. Thirdly, you need to be able to weigh your cat weekly to see if there is progress and ensure the weight loss is not too drastic.

Canned cat food is usually less in fat/carbs, and many are higher in protein, so adding some wet food and lowering the amount of dry food is also beneficial in terms of helping to maintain muscle mass - important as cats age and lose muscle by very virtue of the aging process.

A very basic guideline is that most cats can maintain their body weight on 20-25 calories per pound of weight. So, theoretically, a 12-pound cat can maintain that weight on 240 - 300 calories a day. Of course, there are always variances to this, based on the individual cat, their age, and activity level.

Charting food intake by type and calories, as well a weight, makes it easier to see changes/trends to help in your re-assessment of how to adjust calories over time.

Another good thing to use is a body condition chart (see below), as weight isn't always the entire picture.

Hope this helps!

View attachment 433917
Is kilocalories ME in dry food the same as kcal in wet food?
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,441
Purraise
33,208
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
Is kilocalories ME in dry food the same as kcal in wet food?
Kilocalories & kcal are interchangeable and simply mean the same thing as the word 'calories'. So, treat those numbers as 'good old plain' calories.

The ME is metabolizable energy - which is referring to the amount of energy available from pet food once the energy lost in the feces, urine, and combustible gases has been subtracted. Essentially, ME is the energy left for your pet's body to use once all digestion is complete. And, while I don't profess to know how to calculate that into 'more meaningful' terms relative to actual calories, I personally would just use the kcal (calories) as the basis, ignoring the ME, for how many total calories your cat is consuming for the purposes of food reduction/weight loss.

I am not as familiar with dry food as I don't feed it to my cat. Maybe someone else who actually feeds their cat dry food and monitors their weight might have a better idea how much the 'ME amount' makes a difference in the actual calorie count. The key is, as you will note when comparing calories, is that dry food is much denser and as a rule contains more carbs/fat, so a lot less volume-wise is needed to satisfy caloric intake compared to wet food.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10

Cat.mama

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2018
Messages
179
Purraise
131
Kilocalories & kcal are interchangeable and simply mean the same thing as the word 'calories'. So, treat those numbers as 'good old plain' calories.

The ME is metabolizable energy - which is referring to the amount of energy available from pet food once the energy lost in the feces, urine, and combustible gases has been subtracted. Essentially, ME is the energy left for your pet's body to use once all digestion is complete. And, while I don't profess to know how to calculate that into 'more meaningful' terms relative to actual calories, I personally would just use the kcal (calories) as the basis, ignoring the ME, for how many total calories your cat is consuming for the purposes of food reduction/weight loss.

I am not as familiar with dry food as I don't feed it to my cat. Maybe someone else who actually feeds their cat dry food and monitors their weight might have a better idea how much the 'ME amount' makes a difference in the actual calorie count. The key is, as you will note when comparing calories, is that dry food is much denser and as a rule contains more carbs/fat, so a lot less volume-wise is needed to satisfy caloric intake compared to wet food.
Okay I’m going to throw down some numbers. Two sisters. Up until age 4? Both perfect weight and mine starting getting heavier. my cats are large cats as in not fat but very long big cats:
sister 1 has actually lost a pond over 10 months but scales may differ between vets I guess.. granted I have also cut out all hair ball snacks during this time.
Cat 1 10.4 pounds perfect weight. Eats 3 cans of 72 calories a day = 216 daily. She only gets 3 because she’s a beggar and bored and ends up getting a lunch most of the time..

sister 2 is where the trouble is 15.1 pounds she eats 2 cans of 72 calorie = 144 also for the last year as an add on due to gastric issues she is getting an added no more than 1/3 cup dry RC fiber response. I say no more because that’s the scoop size. She would maybe get half, sometimes less and not always daily. But for estimates sake just to see where we are currently at I’ll say 1/3 which is 120 ME bringing her to 264 total calories

Maybe I’m not understanding but it seems like my 15 pound cat is already eating the amount of calories intended for her 12 pound goal weight. Most of their life they have been feed two cans a day never hard food until this last year and a half for the gut health. I have completely cut out hairball snacks. Her weight was down a little as well over the last 10 months but I attribute that to different scale and potty times.
Would I be wrong to try and cut more food from her diet?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11

Cat.mama

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2018
Messages
179
Purraise
131
I wish I would proof read before I hit send.. auto correct does not understand me!!
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,441
Purraise
33,208
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
I am curious how the 15-pound cat 'looks' and 'feels' when compared to the body condition chart I gave you. She may be OK to weigh that much - or at least close to that amount. Also, the basic guideline I noted for calories per pound is just that and doesn't necessarily apply to every cat. Cats do have different metabolisms just like humans. And activity levels vary from cat to cat, which can also affect their weight and how they burn calories.

Additionally, that dry food is probably full of more carbs/fats than the canned food, which can impact how food is metabolized as well, despite the calorie count. That would be like a person eating 200 calories of meat vs. 200 calories of potato chips every day - which one do you think would likely make that person gain weight easier?

I would compare that cat to the chart first and see what you think. I did fail to mention that most all adult cats have a primordial pouch - saggy skin right in front of their hind legs - no chart ever depicts that, but it is not to be taken as fat - it is perfectly natural and has no bearing on whether or not a cat is chubby.

EDIT: You should be able to edit posts afterward - for about 2 hours. Once you've hit "Post" an "Edit' option should appear in the lower left-hand corner of the post.
 
Last edited:
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #15

Cat.mama

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2018
Messages
179
Purraise
131
I am curious how the 15-pound cat 'looks' and 'feels' when compared to the body condition chart I gave you. She may be OK to weigh that much - or at least close to that amount. Also, the basic guideline I noted for calories per pound is just that and doesn't necessarily apply to every cat. Cats do have different metabolisms just like humans. And activity levels vary from cat to cat, which can also affect their weight and how they burn calories.

Additionally, that dry food is probably full of more carbs/fats than the canned food, which can impact how food is metabolized as well, despite the calorie count. That would be like a person eating 200 calories of meat vs. 200 calories of potato chips every day - which one do you think would likely make that person gain weight easier?

I would compare that cat to the chart first and see what you think. I did fail to mention that most all adult cats have a primordial pouch - saggy skin right in front of their hind legs - no chart ever depicts that, but it is not to be taken as fat - it is perfectly natural and has no bearing on whether or not a cat is chubby.

EDIT: You should be able to edit posts afterward - for about 2 hours. Once you've hit "Post" an "Edit' option should appear in the lower left-hand corner of the post.
Hi. I would say she’s between the 8-9 range. She does need to lose weight as she can’t fully clean herself. That makes sense about the dry food not being protein. I’ll have to look for that edit button. I’m going to upload a pic of her.
 

tiggerwillow

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Sep 6, 2022
Messages
713
Purraise
1,315
This thread made me try check Willow against the chart, emphasis on try cause she told me to piss off ..........

so i cant check just now see where her ribs are cause she's not wanting HER meowmy to check <3

First and foremost, you need to know the number of calories your cat is currently consuming before reducing their intake. Secondly, a caloric reduction should be done very slowly - 5%, certainly no more than 10%, at a time. This gives your cat's body - and mind - time to adjust to the lowering of calories/food quantity. As a simple rule - a cat really should not lose more than 1 pound a month, ideally a bit less. Thirdly, you need to be able to weigh your cat weekly to see if there is progress and ensure the weight loss is not too drastic.

Canned cat food is usually less in fat/carbs, and many are higher in protein, so adding some wet food and lowering the amount of dry food is also beneficial in terms of helping to maintain muscle mass - important as cats age and lose muscle by very virtue of the aging process.

A very basic guideline is that most cats can maintain their body weight on 20-25 calories per pound of weight. So, theoretically, a 12-pound cat can maintain that weight on 240 - 300 calories a day. Of course, there are always variances to this, based on the individual cat, their age, and activity level.

Charting food intake by type and calories, as well a weight, makes it easier to see changes/trends to help in your re-assessment of how to adjust calories over time.

Another good thing to use is a body condition chart (see below), as weight isn't always the entire picture.

Hope this helps!

View attachment 433917
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #17

Cat.mama

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2018
Messages
179
Purraise
131
Can you increase her activity, and decrease just a very small amount of food to see how that works? Are you weighing your cats at home?
Yes! And that is something I need to do is help with increasing activity. They love love love running thru their tunnels. I need to get more active with her. We played for a long time this morning. She loves the SmartKat. I’ve tied long ribbon on the end of the stick and that helps to keep them occupied thru the morning play alone. I wish there were more interactive toys like this. Her sister loves the laser pointer, she sometimes gets into it but runs from it at times. If only they had some kind of flying butterfly!!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #18

Cat.mama

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2018
Messages
179
Purraise
131
This thread made me try check Willow against the chart, emphasis on try cause she told me to piss off ..........

so i cant check just now see where her ribs are cause she's not wanting HER meowmy to check <3
I’m eyeballing off the chart!
 

tiggerwillow

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Sep 6, 2022
Messages
713
Purraise
1,315
What's it mean when i can feel some ribs in both girls, but not other ribs?

i felt along Tigger as well as sneaking up on Willow again, I can feel some ribs but not others?

Do my two both have the wrong number of ribs?

sorry if this is a thread hijack, i'm worried now in case both my girls have the wrong number of ribs
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #20

Cat.mama

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2018
Messages
179
Purraise
131
What's it mean when i can feel some ribs in both girls, but not other ribs?

i felt along Tigger as well as sneaking up on Willow again, I can feel some ribs but not others?

Do my two both have the wrong number of ribs?

sorry if this is a thread hijack, i'm worried now in case both my girls have the wrong number of ribs
Hello I would try not worry too much especially if you are not having issues . Based on the chart I think that just means they are overweight.
 
Top