Lazy Stubborn Fat Cat

[Pacmanmom]

I have an almost eight year old cat who weighs over 20 lbs. We recently brought him to the vet to get his shots updated and of course the vet suggested that we try to get him to lose weight. He's been on weight loss food measured out for a while but getting him to exercise is a struggle. I got one of the food dispenser balls and tried for the first time today. I know he knows the food is there and he should eat if he gets hungry enough but he's barely eaten all day and thrown up phlem a couple times, which he does for some reason when hungry. I don't know how long I should hold out before just feeding him normally and trying again with the ball later. Anyone else have experience with this? I know I'm to blame for how big he's gotten but I love him so much and want him around as long as possible.

 

[maggiedemi]

I would switch over to mostly canned food.

 

[abyeb]

Canned food will make a big difference, because the extra moisture will make him feel fuller for longer. If he doesn’t like the treat ball, maybe try some interactive toys. Also get some cat trees or shelves if you don’t have any already. This article has some great tips about playtime: Playing With Your Cat: 10 Things You Need To Know

 

[stayhomeclub]

He's such a gorgeous boy! Is he on Metabolic food? What sort of food are you putting in the dispenser ball?

 

[Pacmanmom]

He's such a gorgeous boy! Is he on Metabolic food? What sort of food are you putting in the dispenser ball?

Thanks! I've had him on Iams Indoor Weight and Hairball Care for a while. It's the first food I've tried him on that he didn't get tired of.

 

[Pacmanmom]

Canned food will make a big difference, because the extra moisture will make him feel fuller for longer. If he doesn’t like the treat ball, maybe try some interactive toys. Also get some cat trees or shelves if you don’t have any already. This article has some great tips about playtime: Playing With Your Cat: 10 Things You Need To Know

That's interesting, thanks for the suggestion. I used to have him on wet in the morning and dry after but I switched him to dry a few years back. Last time I fed him a pouch he legit pooped a puddle, is there a canned food you recommend? I'll definitely check out that link! He's playful and swats at toys but getting him to move for them more is another story.

 

[jen]

You may just have to do a slow transition. Canned food is SO very important for them. Especially males who can get some major urinary issues from only eating dry. Being so obese he is at huge risk for diabetes. Plus dry food is so full of carbs and starches and therefore sugars, and on top of it all he is dehydrated from eating only dry... it is all a recipe for disaster. Did the vet do any bloodwork to check organ function and most importantly blood glucose levels?

 

[Pacmanmom]

No, no blood work during that visit just a check up. She said he looked healthy aside from his weight and a little gingivitis. We got some spray for his water to help with his teeth. He also doesn't chew dry food like at all, swallows it whole. I feel bad now, I didn't realize that dry food would make things worse not better.

 

[jen]

I love when vets just say they look healthy and send you on your way... I mean, they are right, they probably DO look healthy. Cats do everything to hide when they are uncomfortable, in pain, when anything is wrong, etc. But there is no way to truly know how everything is functioning without bloodwork. When you wait until you SEE the signs of distress, the reason is often far advanced.

I would highly suggest to ask the vet to run some bloodwork and/or at bear minimum check the blood sugar.

 

[Pacmanmom]

I love when vets just say they look healthy and send you on your way... I mean, they are right, they probably DO look healthy. Cats do everything to hide when they are uncomfortable, in pain, when anything is wrong, etc. But there is no way to truly know how everything is functioning without bloodwork. When you wait until you SEE the signs of distress, the reason is often far advanced.

I would highly suggest to ask the vet to run some bloodwork and/or at bear minimum check the blood sugar.

That makes sense. I'll take him in again soon and ask for blood work.

 

[di and bob]

Also try some low cal treats that will fill him up, not out, like shaved deli turkey and baked chicken. Get him to move a little more with a wand and toys you keep in a bag with catnip to keep them interesting. That should help.

 

[LTS3]

No, no blood work during that visit just a check up. She said he looked healthy aside from his weight and a little gingivitis.

Well an obese Human may look health on the outside but may have undiagnosed medical issues like diabetes or high blood pressure. A full blood work is necessary.

We got some spray for his water to help with his teeth. He also doesn't chew dry food like at all, swallows it whole. I feel bad now, I didn't realize that dry food would make things worse not better.

IMO, the water dental additives are useless. Cats aren't going to drink enough water for the additive to have much of an effect. Plus, many products don't last long in the water so you have to dump the water daily and add more of the additive.

Brushing the teeth with pet toothpaste is best.

This thread may be helpful: Mickey, my 27 lbs foster and his journey back to a healthy weight

Ditch the weight loss dry food and put your cat on canned food. Prescription food is not necessary. Measure out the calories daily. Feed around 20 to 25 calories per pound of body weight. A 20 lb cat would need about 400 calories daily or so. Very very slowly over the course of a few months if not longer, reduce the amount of calories to achieve weight loss. It has to be done slowly to avoid fatty liver disease.

 

[Kflowers]

While you're at the vet you should get x-rays, it might take 3, to see if part of the reason he won't exercise is that he has arthritis and it HURTS to run around. Chubby cats without joint problems can and do run around. Like anyone else cats, can and do get arthritis at any age, even as kittens, and at any size.

 

[Furballsmom]

Here are a couple of websites that might help for the food search;

CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat

Pet Food Guide

Also, along with the food puzzle try getting him to move, (gently since you don't want him to be in any kind of pain and you don't want to overstress his joints), with whatever food he will eat by placing it on something that he has to step up to get to, like the first or second step of stairs.
When that becomes easier for him try increasing the steps up that he has to go. Eventually you could obtain a laser light, but at first don't use it for very long.
Best of luck!!

 

[Pacmanmom]

Thanks for all the recommendations everyone. I clearly have some work and research to do. I gave him dry today and picked up some Crave grain free wet cat food to try him on slowly starting tomorrow. He used to love wet so I don't see him being too picky about it. I also changed the attachment on his wand toy I have to one that looks like a bird with feathers and a bell, and got him to move around when playing a little more than usual today. Hopeful that I can get his weight back under control and I'll take him back to the vet as soon as I get a chance.

 

[Furballsmom]

let us know how things go,

we're rooting for you both

 

[Pacmanmom]

Another question... If I end up feeding him exclusively wet and he's 22.8 pounds and the suggested serving size is 3.3 servings per 8 pounds I would need to give him about 9.5 servings a day to start before slowly reducing to lose weight? The math and trying to figure out calories seems complicated right now lol. Especially since illI be doing a mix of wet and dry at first.

 

[Furballsmom]

That's about what I came up with
and, you're right, you want to go really slowly.

 

[LTS3]

How many calories are in the Crave canned food? Is it a 3 oz can or a 5.5 oz can? I'd feed by calorie than by the feeding chart on the label. Pet food companies often overestimate how much to feed. Personally I feel that they do that so you go through the food much faster and have to buy more food more often which means more money for the company.

22.8 lbs should be around 456 to 570 calories daily. Feed that for awhile and then slowly reduce the calories by 50 or so. Keep that up for a week or so and then reduce a little bit more. Repeat until the goal weight has been achieved and is maintained.

 

[lisahe]

I'm very glad to see LTS3 's calorie figures, since get right to the point on that! The big thing is to take the weight loss slowly.

I agree about feeding wet food: it's really the best (most often only!) way to help a cat lose weight. Our previous cat was pretty heavy because we fed her only dry food for years and we dutifully switched her to diet dry food, on the vet's recommendation, but she only gained more weight. Many of those foods have less protein and more carbs than a brand's regular food, which is the last change you want to make with an overweight cat! The vet we take our new cats to is a big advocate of wet food only, high protein, low carbs, which means avoiding grains, potato, peas, and other odd things like lentils and chickpeas that companies often put in as filler. We stick to that!

P Pacmanmom , you may find this thread about a 27-pound cat helpful. @mschauer fed the cat Fancy Feast Classics, which are low in carbs, reasonably priced, and pretty universally loved. If you want to compare carbs for various foods, have a look at this gigantic PDF chart of cat food nutritional information. It's a bit overwhelming at first and it doesn't contain all foods but it's pretty helpful. Some of the canned foods our cats particularly like are Wellness Core (kitten food and turkey/duck are the lowest in carbs) and Fancy Feast Classics. Sheba pates are also a very decent one, though our cats don't like them as much!

Finally: I totally agree about blood work, too! We even had basic blood work done on our cats when they were about two, just to have a baseline. Your cat -- what is his name, by the way? -- is at a good age for doing a basic test, too. So many things can be caught early and treated!