Help With Diet For Two Young Cats (one Is Blind)

[Minxrat]

I've been told that at 6kg and at 18 months old, Poppy is overweight (even though she is part Maine Coon). Bad cat mum! Milo is a year old and tbh he could do with possibly losing a bit. They are both very fluffy so it's hard to judge just looking at them.

However, Poppy is now blind so doesn't move as energetically as Milo does.

I don't want to put them on a massively expensive diet as I simply can't afford it, just cut down what I'm feeding at present. At the moment they free feed dry food (Poppy prefers this) and have half a wet pouch three times a day (Milo eats most of it).

Any tips would be very welcome.

(I'm time restricted on the PC today so don't have much of a chance to trawl through previous posts)

 

[duckpond]

Many dry foods are high in calories, and carbs, its easy for a cat to gain weight on this food. Wet food is often easier for a cat to loose weight on, and it does not need to be expensive wet food, you can use what you are already using, or many people have good luck with fancy feast or friskies. Set meal times may help as well.

I also feed some dry, mine get wet and dry as well. If your guys are too heavy you may want to stop free feeding the dry. You can figure out about how many calories they need, and feed a measured amount of dry as meals, does not need to be left out all the time. figure the calories you feed in wet, then fill in the rest of what they need with dry, as portion controlled meals?

Go slow with any weight loss, and i recommend the advice of your vet. Is the vet the one that said she is over weight? and did he say how much? I know my vet only recommends a 20% reduction in calories when helping a cat loose weight. Fast weight loss for a cat can make them very ill, or even be deadly, so go slow.

If for some reason you must leave out dry all the time one thing i found that cuts down on how much mine ate is to relocate the dry food. Use a flat plate, only one kibble layer deep, its harder for them to over eat this way, than in a deep bowl. Then put the food in an area they dont spend much time. They dont just walk by the bowl, many times a day, see food and snack Most of us will snack if we have goodies laying out where we see them all the time..lol. If they dont see the food all the time, they hopefully will only go to the food bowl when hunger actually reminds them too.

 

[Minxrat]

Hi

Yes the vet said she was overweight because you can't feel her ribs and she has a hanging tummy (but not too much). She is the cat pictured in my profile. She is very heavy but I put most of it down to her breed as my other cat is a British long hair and is a "wriggler" with long legs and feels lighter, but Poppy is more sturdy. So anyway, I digress. She weighs in at 6kg and the vet recommended at least 1kg needs to go - until I can see a "waist" and feel her ribs.

She has always free fed, as does Milo. I'm going to split the evening wet pouch into four so they both get a bit at 5.30 and a bit at 10pm. They also get fed at 7am before I go to work. A lot of their feeding is their routine.

With the dry, I usually fill it up as it empties. They have a spot in the bedroom they feed and a spot in the kitchen. The dry is on a plate in the kitchen and a mat in the bedroom - they don't like bowls as Poppy gets whisker stress! My house is very small too, so limits areas they have to "go out of their way" to find.

I will weigh the dry, split into two and put half downstairs in the morning and half upstairs in the evening. Poppy is already pestering for food though so when this dry food runs out I'm going to get some lite food (apparently it has air in, go figure) so at least she can graze more. Milo eats more wet than her but she does like a bit of it.

I've exchanged the treats she knows I keep behind my pillow for dry food so she gets less calories that way.

Because she's blind I like to leave things where they've always been but her senses are spot on and she can definitely sniff the food out!

 

[duckpond]

sounds like you have a plan. Just make sure they get enough calories, so they dont develop liver problems. But less than they are getting now. Its often a slow, delicate process to help a cat loose weight, both physically and mentally for them, and us. Do not want to cause undue stress, or physical problems. Best of luck to you guys. and keep us updated on how it goes.

 

[Minxrat]

Thank you - lots of waiting for wet food this morning, and sitting at the empty dry food mat "looking" at me (Poppy).

I've bought some Purina One indoor cat dry food so as the GoCat and Whiskas runs out I'll try some of that.

I do like them to eat little and often, as I've heard Milo's tummy rumble before and I don't think that's good for him.

Fingers crossed the next time Poppy gets her nails cut at the vet, she weighs less...... I'm certainly noticing the pressure from her during the night already, but hopefully she adapts quickly.

 

[di and bob]

I wouldn't worry too much, thirteen pounds for a Maine Coon background doesn't sound excessive to me. A hanging abdomen is perfectly normal in most cats, this 'primordial pouch' is seen on both males and females frequently. I agree with the above, for goodness sakes don't cut back excessively and risk their health, maybe get some low cal treats so they don't feel so deprived like deli turkey or roast beef.

 

[Minxrat]

I've conned Poppy into thinking that dry food is her treats at the moment, because she's such a beggar, bless!

 

[Kflowers]

Out of a large number of indoor cats the only one we had who didn't have a hanging stomach was the one who used the rug toy every day. The rug toy is about 7 feet of rug with a shelf at the top. You hang it on a sturdy inside door in the hope that the cats will enjoy climbing it. You also brace the h- out of the door as even 10 lbs of cat can swing the door too. Also be sure they don't have their feet on the top of the door when you close it. It's a great toy if you have real wood doors not the pretend hollow ones.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
The best description for optimum weight is that you want to be able to feel a thin layer of "fat" over the ribs. Here is this;
https://www.petmd.com/sites/default/files/nestle_purina_cat_body_condition_chart_crop.jpg

A tummy pouch is totally normal.

You've gotten some great advice in the posts above.
I would increase the wet food, decrease the dry a little bit, and increase activity and exercise with play.

I'd also add some food puzzles so that there's some time as well as mental involvement and some more physical activity spent by your kitty.

Food Puzzles for Cats

20 Best Interactive Cat Toys: The Ultimate List (2018) | Heavy.com

Home - the Ripple Rug

 

[Minxrat]

Out of a large number of indoor cats the only one we had who didn't have a hanging stomach was the one who used the rug toy every day. The rug toy is about 7 feet of rug with a shelf at the top. You hang it on a sturdy inside door in the hope that the cats will enjoy climbing it. You also brace the h- out of the door as even 10 lbs of cat can swing the door too. Also be sure they don't have their feet on the top of the door when you close it. It's a great toy if you have real wood doors not the pretend hollow ones.

Hi - great idea for Milo but Poppy (overweight) is blind - she wouldn't be confident enough to use it, let alone find it for the first time (but of course Mumma would help her!). I'll have a look. We only have two internal doors due to my house being so small, however!

 

[Minxrat]

Hi!
The best description for optimum weight is that you want to be able to feel a thin layer of "fat" over the ribs. Here is this;
https://www.petmd.com/sites/default/files/nestle_purina_cat_body_condition_chart_crop.jpg

A tummy pouch is totally normal.

You've gotten some great advice in the posts above.
I would increase the wet food, decrease the dry a little bit, and increase activity and exercise with play.

I'd also add some food puzzles so that there's some time as well as mental involvement and some more physical activity spent by your kitty.

Food Puzzles for Cats

20 Best Interactive Cat Toys: The Ultimate List (2018) | Heavy.com

Home - the Ripple Rug

I do struggle playing with Poppy due to the blindness - she isn't one for racing around the house anymore. She likes dangle noisy toys but only when she is in the mood. And she can't be "bothered" with food puzzles, lazy mare! Milo would play though.

I've bought some decent dry food today so I'll phase out the kitty junk dry food and phase this in, and keep with the wet (although I split the teatime into four portions now, two for each at evening and then bedtime).

 

[Minxrat]

I wouldn't worry too much, thirteen pounds for a Maine Coon background doesn't sound excessive to me. A hanging abdomen is perfectly normal in most cats, this 'primordial pouch' is seen on both males and females frequently. I agree with the above, for goodness sakes don't cut back excessively and risk their health, maybe get some low cal treats so they don't feel so deprived like deli turkey or roast beef.

Yes, I need to go careful as I don't want to lose either of them. Milo is getting his nails done Wednesday so I'll get him weighed then, just check he's within normal limits. They're both so fluffy that I struggle to see their body dimensions!

 

[Furballsmom]

After the weigh-in, put your hands on his ribs and feel the layer over the ribs.
You should be able to feel the ribs a little bit, but there should be that thin layer of membrane/fat over the ribs. I personally think trying to fit cats into a weight number is ok, but as long as it's a range and isn't too low

 

[Minxrat]

After the weigh-in, put your hands on his ribs and feel the layer over the ribs.
You should be able to feel the ribs a little bit, but there should be that thin layer of membrane/fat over the ribs. I personally think trying to fit cats into a weight number is ok, but as long as it's a range and isn't too low

I think Milo is okay, having felt him, but it's going to be hard putting one on a diet and not the other! I'm sticking with the "one less wet feed a day" at the moment until Poppy gets weighed when she gets her nails cut again in about 4 weeks......fingers crossed.....

 

[Kflowers]

reading back, I think you might have misinterpreted what I said. Just to be clear, I'm saying it's more normal for a cat to have a bit of a hanging down stomach than not. After all, as we always said, you're not creating racing cats, you're creating relaxed cats.

 

[Minxrat]

I was concentrating on the toy suggestion lol. Yes my dad’s 7 outdoor cats in NZ have varying tummies.

 

[Minxrat]

Soooo Milo got weighed. Poppy, at 5.9kg is overweight and Milo, at 5.7kg, is not.......just goes to show that it's down to body type/size. He is long and tall whereas she is stocky

 

[Kflowers]

I had one, who was stocky. Vets always thought he was fat until they poked him and realized it was muscle.

 

[Minxrat]

*shhhh* but I think she's just a wee bit fat as well as muscley........