Recommended cat food brands/types?

[gabriellalaws]

Hi everyone,

I recently adopted Jade, and she is a little bit overweight. She is a four year-old tabby who is currently twelve pounds, the vet told me that we should try to get her to nine.

With that in mind, I have been doing some research as well as speaking with multiple people about what food to feed her. I have experimented with Hills Science, Blue Buffalo, and Purina Pro Plan weight management. She really isn't a picky eater and seems to eat everything, so that isn't a problem.

Some people have been telling me to use diet food while others have been saying to nix it and stick with regular food but count calories. Has anyone had experience with cat weight loss and could give me any insight on what brand/type of food to feed her? Or just a general meal schedule and how to proceed?

 

[LTS3]

Skip the diet foods and just feed your cat enough calories daily for her weight

The general rule of thumb is to feed 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily. A 10 lb cat may need roughly 200 to 250 calories daily to maintain weight. Every cat is different so adjust calorie intake as needed. For weight loss, very gradually decrease the calories over time (be patient! This may take weeks if not months. You don't want to risk fatty liver disease) until the cat achieves the ideal weight and maintains it. There info here on weight loss: Feline Obesity: An Epidemic of Fat Cats

TCS has lots of threads about weight loss and tips:

Search Results for Query: weight loss

Dry foods are extremely calorie dense. A cup of food may have as much as 600 calories, far too much for any cat. If you can, feed only canned food to help with the weight loss. A 3 oz can typically has around 70 calories or so while a 5.5 oz can may have around 150. Every brand / variety is different so check the can or this chart: https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf Some people do feed a little dry food in addition to canned and just make sure the cat isn't getting too many calories.

Scheduled meals work well for most cats. 3 or 4 meals daily is typical. A programmable time feeder works great, even for canned food.

 

[kittyluv387]

It's great if she isn't picky. Yes stay away from diet foods. They contain empty calories and more carbs which isn't healthy for obligate carnivores. But a good overall choice would be wet food. Great for keeping kitties healthy.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
Along with the great advice above, the two things that will help you more than anything are as mentioned utilizing canned food, and exercise.

For example get her to follow you while you walk around the house with her food dish in your hand (short distances at first, then longer) and if you have stairs, you could put the plate up one step at first, then up two steps (depending on her abilities). Maybe you can take her for walks if you have a backyard at some point, that sort of thing.

Here's a body condition chart which can be helpful as well

Fit or Fat: Your Pet's Body Condition Score (BCS)