Need Ideas With Helping One Cat To Lose Weight

[dbcatperson]

I hope I’m posting in the right area for this topic. We have two female cats and one male feral that we brought in from outside. We adopted the two girls from a shelter about a year ago and one of them (Tigger) was on the chubby side. They have seen the vet and Tigger’s weight is about 17 pounds. The vet said she has to lose weight.


Currently they eat some canned food and some dry food and I also give them treats. Tigger is not very active and lays on her side more because her tummy is too big. The two girl cats like to eat little bits throughout the day and don’t eat all their food in one sitting so this is really hard. Also, Tigger is a big pest about getting her treats. I know I need to be tougher for her own good but it’s so hard.


I’m hoping for any tips that may have worked for someone else when there is more than one cat and they were able to help the other lose weight.

Thank you for your help.

 

[orange&white]

The kibble that's out 24/7 has to go, unless you plan to confine Tigger to a separate room for months while she loses weight. Sorry. Cats on a weight loss diet cannot have free access to food.

You need to know how many calories she currently eats per day. If you have kibble out for all 3 cats, you don't know that number right now, but that will be your starting-point for calories.

Let's say she's eating 250 calories per day. You'll cut her calories to 220-225 for two weeks. You will need to weigh her, preferably once per week. I weigh all my pets on Sunday. Once a month weigh-in is a minimum. You do not want her to lose more than 1/2 pound per month, tops. At 17 pounds, she is at high-risk of hepatic lipidosis, which could be caused by a "crash" diet (removing too many calories too quickly).

As long as she is slowly losing weight, you can maintain the calorie count. She will probably need several calorie reductions, in steps, in order to keep her losing weight but not too fast.

Tigger can lose weight on any diet, but carbohydrates in kibble are the most likely culprit (after just plain too many calories) to blame for her obesity. The protein from corn, peas, wheat...any plant source....do not satisfy a cat's appetite and nutritional needs for meat protein. So they keep eating and eating and eating. Preferably you can switch her to a canned food only diet, or homemade cooked or raw diet. A diet which contains calories primarily from animal-meat protein and fat will help her lose fat weight and maintain muscle mass.

As far as having several cats, you will have to schedule meals and watch to ensure that Tigger is not eating her food and then mooching of the other cats' plates. Alternatively, she can be fed in another room and be let out after the other cats have finished their meals and plates are picked up. I'm sure the last thing you wanted to hear is "scheduled meals", but there really is no other way to make sure that Tigger only eats the calories she is allowed for that day.

I just got my fat senior from 16.5 pounds to 13.3 pounds over the last 13-14 months while raising a kitten who needed all the food she wanted to eat, but is a "grazer"...taking a long time to eat her meals. My senior eats in the kitchen and my kitten eats in the bathroom. They each get 3 meals a day. I have been able to hurry her along by picking her plate up after 1 hour, whether she finishes or not. If she doesn't finish one meal, she usually scarfs the next two..."scarfing" for her means finishing in less than an hour. She also gets more food the next meal if she didn't finish the previous one, so that she is getting the right calories.

Congrats on helping Tigger get back to a good healthy life. My senior had also gotten to where he did nothing but lie on his side, eat and pee/poop. His eyes are bright and he's much more active again. It's definitely worth it!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I have almost the same story. I had four cats at the time our Vet told us ONE needed to lose four pounds! So, they all had to stop being free fed kibble. We transitioned them to 3 meals of wet food per day and now our little piggy looks pretty sleek. We still have to closely monitor him or he will try to finish off everyone else's food, and he cannot get as many treats as the others do , but I make up for it with cuddles. His health is too precious to give in.

Here is an article on how to transition to scheduled means you might find helpful: Transitioning Free-fed Kibble Kitties To Timed Meals

 

[dbcatperson]

Thank you both for so much helpful information. I really appreciate it. I'm sure I'll be back for more help and also to give updates.

Thanks again!

 

[orange&white]

Yes, please do give updates. This can be Tigger's Weight Loss Thread, or start a new diet thread just for her when you get her diet planned and started. I've found it helpful to post Tangent's weekly weight and progress, even if only a couple people have kept up with reading it. It has definitely kept me motivated and lets me look back at his progress.

 

[Kieka]

Great advice so far on the subject. I really can't add much other then learn your cat labels. Avoid products with lots of grains or starches as those will be counter productive.

I second the keeping us updated on how it goes. Accountability in any weight loss regime, cat or human, is beneficial.

 

[dbcatperson]

That sounds good. I keep thinking I should join her and start losing weight too!

Thanks again!

 

[sweetblackpaws]

I have 3 cats, and one of my girls is 20 pounds. One is on prescription food, which complicates things. So I started logging in her caloric intake (there are online resources that will give calorie amounts per can). I also take away the Rx kibble, and only put out at mealtime. The vet said NO MORE than a pound per month. Your kitty probably needs around 230 calories per day to lose no more than 1 pound per month at her current weight (and then adjust again as she loses weight), but confirm with your vet, of course!

 

[dbcatperson]

I appreciate all the help and wonderful ideas. So far I’m trying to cut back on the treats and I’m putting less dry food out—I also am breaking down the canned food into three smaller meals through the day to see if that helps with not going so much for the dry food. I didn’t want to take too much away at once and I want to see how everyone else does with this too. I hope this will be okay to do gradually and to see what’s working and what’s not working.

I saw a feeding type ball on one of the shows on the animal planet. It would slowly dispense dry food if the cat would bat it around enough. Has anyone tried this? I was wondering if this could help with getting her away from too much dry food?

 

[orange&white]

A puzzle/exercise ball is a great idea for putting her kibble in and making her work for it. She'll burn some calories.

Going gradually is the best way to do it. My senior cat should have been able to lose 3.5 pounds in 6-7 months at 1/2 pound a month, but it took 14 months because I was worried about hepatic lipidosis. Best to err on the side of caution.

 

[dbcatperson]

Thanks! I'll see if i can find that ball and give it a try. She definitely could use some exercise.

Making small changes and doing this more gradually seems more doable for us. I guess we'll see how it goes. I hope it will make a difference for her.

 

[orange&white]

You can take a clear plastic drinking water bottle and gouge a few holes in the sides for a puzzle toy. The fewer holes and the smaller the holes the harder the puzzle. You might make an "easy" one first so the cat can figure out the game, then make harder ones.

 

[dbcatperson]

Oh that's a great idea. I never would've thought of that. I'll give that a try--i have some bottles here.

Thanks!

 

[orange&white]

(Just be sure the bottle is really dry inside before putting kibble in it.)

 

[dbcatperson]

i will definitely do that. thanks again!