Two overweight cats

[Jamesl83]

Hi everyone,

Reaching out on this forum as I need some help with my two cats They are both around 7 yrs old; one boy and one girl. Both are indoor cats with most of the apartment to themselves. I have come to find out, and was told in the past, that they are overweight. They dont look it other than their stomachs are getting bigger and wobble when they walk. I feed them each a 5.5 oz can of wet food in the morning and each a 5.5 oz can of wet food at night. One can per cat twice a day. I buy them expensive organic grain free wet foods. No dry food ever. Should i switch them to one 3 oz can wet food each twice per day? Will they get too hungry? They both gobble down the 5.5oz cans as it is. Im worried about their health. Perhaps I can buy them more toys so they just dont sleep around during the day and exercise. Thank you for any help

 

[maggie101]

My cats each get a 5.5 oz can and do not finish it all so I have to label the cans as to whose whose. They are fed 3x a day. Very active and I play with them a lot. My cat Coco could lose some but she is still afraid of my cat Maggie which makes it hard. I could lock Maggie in my bedroom but feel bad.

 

[Jamesl83]

Good to know. Thank you. So 5.5oz twice a day per cat seems ok. Not sure why they are both overweight. Maybe I need to get them more toys to keep them active

 

[catapault]

My two 7 year old neutered male cats each get two 3-ounce cans per day. They're active, their weight is good. They would willingly eat more but won't get it.

I should only be as rigorous about what I eat!

Cats may have a flabby stomach, called a primordial pouch. That's not a sign of a fat cat. You should be able to easily feel their ribs when you pet them. And looking at them from above the mid section should not be more rotund than their shoulders and hips.

Also, J Jamesl83 keep in mind that you cannot make an abrupt switch and feed them half of what they are being fed now. I'm sure someone will come and offer better guidelines. You'll have to reduce how much you are feeding them over a matter of weeks.

 

[Jamesl83]

Thank you. I do feel like im going to slowly work them down to 2-3oz cans per day each. Hopefully this helps with the hanging pouchs they developed. Im also searching now for some good interactive cat toys to get them exercising. Thank you

 

[LTS3]

Who told you that the cats are overweight? If it was someone other than the vet, you can ignore the person.

What brand of canned food are you feeding? What is the calorie amount per can? The general rule of thumb is to feed 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily. How much do your cats currently weigh?

3 oz cans tend to be under 100 calories. Two such cans a day may not be enough for your cats. Stick with one 5.5 oz can and add in part of another 5.5 oz can or a 3 oz can to ensure the cats are getting enough calories.

Spayed and neutered cats have a jiggly "pouch" hanging between their back legs. It's normal and does not mean the cat is overweight or anything.

Here's a body condition chart:

 

[She's a witch]

Even grain free food can be loaded with carbs if they contain peas, corn.
I have two active cats, 2-3 yo, and if I feed canned, I feed them half of what you feed yours: one 5.5 or 6oz can for both each morning and each evening. One cat is smaller so she eats less of it, the bigger cat gets more. When they eat everything and seem hungry, I add additional 3oz can a day for both. But it’s mostly calorie dense food, high protein, low carbs, so I’d say it’s very filling. Plus freeze dried treats.

 

[maggie101]

The catfooddb.com might help.

 

[maggie101]

I have a 72inch tower my cats run up and down and run through cubes and tunnels. One of like me to throw a small toy and land in shipping trash. Also variety of wands. They do not like da bird. My cats like to grab things so wand with a mouse attachment or the purrfectleather wand