Ragdoll Male Overweight

[amandawalker21]

Hi everyone!
My 6 year old male ragdoll cat is 16 pounds. I’ve always had trouble getting him to lose weight. He plays everyday recently, I make play time for him. But the vet wants him to be 14 pounds for the last 2 years and I’ve had trouble getting him there. He seems to stay at 16 pounds. He eats Rawz wet food. He eats around 220 kcal a day. I’ve put his weight into those cat calculator online but it says he should have 250 to 280 kcals. I feel like that’s not accurate because if I feed him that much he would get fatter. He is round around the tummy. Any advice?
I also have a baby scale I use to weigh him. So I can keep track of it accurately.
He is also lazy. It’s a struggle to get him play. He loves to sleep.

 

[FetchingCat]

Haha, what a sweet kitty. Ragdolls are known for not being very active, are they?

My snowshoe is kind of lazy. He was a little tubby when we lived in a condo. We moved to a bigger house, and he spends most of his time sleeping above the closet. He uses the 6 foot cat tree to climb up. He's slimmed down in the 3 months we've lived here. I think his brother also keeps him active. We have a semi hyper tabby who chases him around.

If kitty likes high perches, get him a tall tree to climb up and down? He's gotta come down to eat, haha.

Our snowshoe is also a lot more active when he's outside. Lots more to explore. Will Kitty tolerate a harness?

Get him one of those treat balls he has to move to get treats?

 

[di and bob]

I get a good quality weight reduction food for my cats, it doesn't let them lose a great amount of weight, but they can feel full. You could also give treats like shaved deli turkey that is low in calories. I am in the same boat, my calculations say the same thing and they don't get that many calories! I have just started doling out their hard weight reduction food in small amounts during the day, almost like treats. all three share one 3oz can of food morning and night and only two-thirds of a cup of dry during the day. They are definitely not losing weight too fast!

 

[Kieka]

The Rawz wet food should be good for weight loss, most commercial marketed weight loss foods are carb heavy which can be counter productive.

Do you have photos? Is your vet a cat specialist or a general vet? Some vets aren't as cat knowledgeable and go with weight charts based on gender instead of body condition. Wanting a ragdoll male to be 14 pounds is on the smaller size for the breed but is the upper end of average for male cats generally; unless he is smaller framed or visually looks overweight I might disagree if he was my cat TBH. If you are feeding small amounts of low carb wet food then weight should stay around a healthy amount even with minimal activity. I say all this with a 7.5 pound boxy female who is slightly underweight and a 16.5 pound lanky male who is upper end of perfect weight according to my cat only vet. Meaning I don't think there is a proper weight for cats in general but rather the right body condition which can vary based on body shape.

 

[susanm9006]

If he is eating any dry food I would cut that out and feed only a high protein wet food. Some cats, like my Willow, gain excess weight from dry food.

 

[amandawalker21]

The Rawz wet food should be good for weight loss, most commercial marketed weight loss foods are carb heavy which can be counter productive.

Do you have photos? Is your vet a cat specialist or a general vet? Some vets aren't as cat knowledgeable and go with weight charts based on gender instead of body condition. Wanting a ragdoll male to be 14 pounds is on the smaller size for the breed but is the upper end of average for male cats generally; unless he is smaller framed or visually looks overweight I might disagree if he was my cat TBH. If you are feeding small amounts of low carb wet food then weight should stay around a healthy amount even with minimal activity. I say all this with a 7.5 pound boxy female who is slightly underweight and a 16.5 pound lanky male who is upper end of perfect weight according to my cat only vet. Meaning I don't think there is a proper weight for cats in general but rather the right body condition which can vary based on body shape.

Hi! He sees just a general vet. A cat only vet is far away from where we live. I actually think he’s maybe only needs to lose a pound or less. He is a little round in a tummy. Why is the kcal for those online calculators not accurate? I attached some photos. He actually doesn’t look that overweight in the photos. The vet always tells me 220 kcal isn’t enough for him but than they say he’s overweight. I know if I feed him more than 220 kcal he would become 17 pounds easily. I dont understand why they think he needs more food, he definitely not skinny.

 

[amandawalker21]

Haha, what a sweet kitty. Ragdolls are known for not being very active, are they?

My snowshoe is kind of lazy. He was a little tubby when we lived in a condo. We moved to a bigger house, and he spends most of his time sleeping above the closet. He uses the 6 foot cat tree to climb up. He's slimmed down in the 3 months we've lived here. I think his brother also keeps him active. We have a semi hyper tabby who chases him around.

If kitty likes high perches, get him a tall tree to climb up and down? He's gotta come down to eat, haha.

Our snowshoe is also a lot more active when he's outside. Lots more to explore. Will Kitty tolerate a harness?

Get him one of those treat balls he has to move to get treats?

That’s a good idea. We don’t have any tall cat trees. He currently doesn’t get any treats because if he does that’s the only food he will eat. He gets feed three meals a day of Rawz wet food. It’s a premium only meat cat food, no grains. I’m bringing to think maybe he’s not overweight and he’s just a big ragdoll. I have never taken my cats outside, not sure if I should. My vet isn’t a cat only vet.

 

[Kieka]

He's a fluffy boy, which can be deceiving. When you pet him, do you feel his spine? If so, pressing lightly or pressing more firmly? Pet along his ribs. Do you feel the individual rib bones? Does it feel like you have to press to feel them or do you just feel them? Your boy appears to have a primordial pouch (skin flap on belly). Is it round and solid or more loose?

I don't see a stomach sticking out on the sides, which I would expect to see with 2 pounds to loose on a 16 pound cat (12% weight loss). Here is a top down of my short hair 16.5 pound boy. Slight pinch after the ribs and before the hips, but if he was fluffy he wouldn't be much different from your boy. My boy is just really long and lanky. This photo doesn't show it but has to duck under the dining room chairs.

He looks built like my girl with shorter legs and a thicker torso. Which add to the fluff to really create a situation where it is hard to tell body condition. This is my short leg, barrel chested girl. She doesn't have as much of a pinched waist as my boy above because she is more compact but my vet has said to make sure she doesn't loose weight because she is almost too skinny. Her spine and ribs are almost visible sometimes when she has her summer coat and you don't feel any fat on them. I don't starve her, she's eats a lot but she is skinny in a not apparent manner.

If you can feel the ribs and spine when petting and it doesn't feel like you have a layer of fat on either, I wouldn't worry about weight too much. Maybe watch the diet and don't let him gain but it wouldn't actively try to loose. IMO it sounds like you have a vet who doesn't understand the differences in body condition and shape variances with cats.

Now if you can't feel the ribs or spine, yes need to loose weight. If the pouch has subsistence to it, yes need to loose weight. But already wet diet and low calorie so keep working on activity level. Maybe tall cat trees, maybe do structured play time before meals, maybe just keep toys around and play sporadically. Something that increases movement and challenges your cat.

 

[amandawalker21]

Thanks so much for your detailed response. So I felt to see if I could feel his ribs and spine. Yes I can feel his spine without pressing in a lot. I have to press a little bit to feel his ribs, but he has a lot of fluff. I don’t have to press in a lot to feel his ribs, I can feel each bone. The pouch thing probably explains why I feel his round tummy. I think maybe he would be fitter if he lost a half of a pound. He was 15.5 pounds earlier this year at one point and he felt healthier. How do I adjust his food to get him to 15.5 pounds? Do I just play with him more and keep him out his current calories? I’m definitely looking into a cat tree.

 

[Kieka]

I'd try adjusting activity rather than food. His calorie count is already low and if it is just a few ounces adjusting activity should do the trick.

 

[Meowmee]

He is a beauty Fluffy cats can look overweight but not be and I was also going to say that his tum could be the primordial pouch too. Plus ragdolls are big. I am having the same issue with Merlin who is a big orange tabby tux dsh. He was thin when he first showed up outside then became overweight outside, when I took him in I got him to lose some weight after treating numerous digestive issues but now he begs me nonstop to feed him and he’s gained some back. He’s on a home cooked no carb diet so I am not sure why and I’m limiting the portions but he will hound me nonstop for food. While Quinn will not. Merlin also has a huge primordial pouch from being outside etc. and he’s a big cat. He is also on the fluffy side for a shorthair. See pic I also just noticed he does have some long paw tuft hairs as well on his paws.

 

[Caspers Human]

Is there any chance that he's getting food from somewhere else beside you?

Cats are really good at manipulating their humans to give them food and treats?

Casper will come to me to get a treat and I'll give it to him but, within five minutes, he'll be begging his Girl-Human for treats again. If the two of us didn't coordinate our treat-giving, Casper would be quite pudgy. I only give him treats in the evening and she only gives him treats in the daytime. Only one treat per human, per day.

Even though Casper knows the rule, he still acts like he's starving and hasn't eaten in a week.

Is it possible that your cat is pulling the wool over his humans' eyes like Casper tries to?

 

[suzeanna]

You could try cutting 10 calories for a couple weeks and seeing how that goes (i.e., try 210 for a few weeks). The calorie calculators online vary wildly in accuracy for each cat. My 18.5 lb cat is down to 14 lbs now after over a year of dieting (started around 220 kcal and has been steadily on 120-140 the past few months).

 

[Purr-fect]

I showed your cats picture to my boys, greg and arnold. They said they dont see any issue.

He doesnt look overweight to me either. If he is, I would guess it to only be a pound or so.

Ragdolls are large thick, heavy boned cats with big chests. Apparently show ragdolls are allowed to have a "belly pad". They simply dont look like typical, sleek cats. I would feed him high quality food and keep him active.