Helping a cat to safely loose weight

michele spontak

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I have a female kitty that should weigh about 12 pounds. She weighs 17. Eats dry food. Is there a formula for how much food she should have per day in order to lose weight safely?
 

LTS3

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The general rule is 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily. Figure out how many calories you are currently feeding and then slowly reduce the calories until the cat loses weight. This may take weeks to months so have patience :)

Dry food is very calorie dense so losing weight on a dry food only diet will be tough. Sure you could feed less than half a cup a day but really half a cup of any food a day isn't going to satisfy a tummy. Diet dry foods are still too calorie dense. If you can include canned food in the diet and try to reduce the dry food to no more than half a cup daily, that would help.

There's a recent thread with more info:

 

Furballsmom

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As LTS3 mentioned, slowly is the best and safest way for a cat to lose weight.

Can you get her to exercise more? Is she active at all right now? If not, try gently starting her out by having her follow you a little distance with the just-filled food bowl in your hand, and gradually increase the distance you travel so that she gains the benefits of exercise 🙂.
 
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michele spontak

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As LTS3 mentioned, slowly is the best and safest way for a cat to lose weight.

Can you get her to exercise more? Is she active at all right now? If not, try gently starting her out by having her follow you a little distance with the just-filled food bowl in your hand, and gradually increase the distance you travel so that she gains the benefits of exercise 🙂.
Yes, she does move. But getting her to move more is a great idea.
 
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