Help with how to handle food obsessive cat

[sillygirlfun]

I have four cats. Three of my four cats are too fat. My senior cat is a perfect weight. He is a Mainecoon mix.
He is always acting like he is starving even when he has food that he likes. That is normal behavior for cats to act like they are starving.
The problem is that I am feeding less to my cats to help them lose weight and I have not lessened my senior cat's food, but now he is jumping
on us at night, licking our arms and my other medium-haired cat is copying him now. They get right in my face because they want more food.
I usually feed them at night before bed. I tried to split their food twice a day, but that did not work. They only get dry food and they are all healthy
besides the other three being overweight. Does anyone have a suggestion? If I feed them too much they stop that behavior but they need to lose
weight. It is a food issue but I cannot give them more than what they are getting.

 

[FeebysOwner]

If you can at least replace some of the dry food with canned food, that would go a long way toward helping to reduce their weight. Dry food contains a lot of carbs, and that is what typically leads to unnecessary weight gain.

 

[sillygirlfun]

I was thinking about that. I will give that a try. Thank you.

 

[ArtNJ]

Wet food also has more volume, so its more filling. If you feed dry in the morning and wet at night, then that might help them with actual hunger. As you say, there is more to cats' food behavior then actual hunger. Food obsession often goes well beyond that. Still, good to rule out actual hunger. Does the dry food you put out last till morning?

 

[sillygirlfun]

No, they eat it all right away. I am on a tight budget, but at the beginning of the month, I will get the canned cat food and try what you have said. I used to give them canned as well. I do not remember having that problem then, so great suggestion.

 

[ArtNJ]

That sounds like a good plan. If it doesn't work, consider a timed feeder. If you no longer have anything to do with when they get fed, they have less incentive to bug you. Well, thats the theory. I know it works for some, given time for the cats to get used to it.

 

[LTS3]

Less food doesn't mean less weight. More often than not you just wind up with very hangry cats because the smaller amount of food they are eating isn't providing them with enough calories for their body. The general rule of thumb is 20 to 25 calories per pound of current body weight daily. For weight loss, you reduce the amount of calories slowly over time until the cat reaches the ideal body weight. This will take time (ie weeks to months) because a drastic sudden reduction in calories can result in fatty liver disease.

If you can feed more canned food than dry food and feed two or three small meals a day, that will satisfy tummies longer. Dry foods are (empty) calorie dense like a fast food burger loaded with the works.