Unexplained Weight Gain?

[wizegrl00782]

Hello! my one kitty, Peeky (shes indoor/outdoor) seems to be getting sooo huge! When I had her at the vet last (like 2yrs ago i think?) she was 9lbs. She seemed to stay a nice slim size. Now it seems like when I pick her up I bet she weighs close to 15lbs! all she eats is just plain dry kitty food. It just seems so odd to me that every time i look at her shes getting bigger? How tho? I'll try to get a picture of her (if I can get her to be still!). Is this something to be concerned about?
TIA!

 

[DreamerRose]

Has she been spayed?

 

[jen]

Dry food is packed with carbs and I am guessing she is free fed? Plus if she is outside she may be eating at someone else's home or hunting wild critters and eating them. It is rarely unexplained. She is most likely being overfed. Switch her to canned food will help, twice a day. Plus get a scale and weigh yourself, and then weigh yourself holding her to get accurate weight. Do this every couple weeks to see if she loses any.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! yes it's something to be concerned about.
Do you know if she's accessing food while she's outside?
Are you free feeding her, in other words is dry food available to her all the time?
Here are ideas;
She should go to the vet.
If you are free feeding, you'll want to consider starting scheduled meals and not leaving food out all the time. Also consider adding canned food meals.

 

[jen]

And yes it is something to be concerned about. Assuming she is spayed, why has it been 2 years since she has been to the vet? How old is she? She is overdue for a check up from the vet who would hopefully help you with a diet plan. This is how you end up with a diabetic cat, dry food = carbs = sugar...

 

[wizegrl00782]

Has she been spayed?

Oh yes indeed shes spayed! 3yrs ago she got fixed

 

[wizegrl00782]

Dry food is packed with carbs and I am guessing she is free fed? Plus if she is outside she may be eating at someone else's home or hunting wild critters and eating them. It is rarely unexplained. She is most likely being overfed. Switch her to canned food will help, twice a day. Plus get a scale and weigh yourself, and then weigh yourself holding her to get accurate weight. Do this every couple weeks to see if she loses any.

I will weigh her tomorrow & update. She does hunt (not often tho) but I dont think she roams off our property like Tux does (her momma). I'm guessing either she just literally sits at the food dish all day & chows down or something else is going on. Seems like when I dewormed her last month shes been steadily gaining weight. Her head almost looks like a pimple on a watermelon!

 

[wizegrl00782]

Hi! yes it's something to be concerned about.
Do you know if she's accessing food while she's outside?
Are you free feeding her, in other words is dry food available to her all the time?
Here are ideas;
She should go to the vet.
If you are free feeding, you'll want to consider starting scheduled meals and not leaving food out all the time. Also consider adding canned food meals.

Yes she is free fed (I leave the food dish outside so our other kitties can eat too). I just brought her inside & after petting her she went straight to the food dish. I will feed her on a schedule & see if that helps.

 

[wizegrl00782]

And yes it is something to be concerned about. Assuming she is spayed, why has it been 2 years since she has been to the vet? How old is she? She is overdue for a check up from the vet who would hopefully help you with a diet plan. This is how you end up with a diabetic cat, dry food = carbs = sugar...

Peeky is 3yrs old (born April 11, 2015) & spayed. My Pap has a cat thats diabetic & hes HUGE! He has to get insulin shots. So I'm wondering if thats whats going on with her? She is UTD on shots when she was last seen.

 

[wizegrl00782]

I just took these pix of Peeky. I'll try to find an older pic of her

 

[jen]

From those pictures she doesn't look too overweight. But you it is good for you to be cautious of it early on. The person with a diabetic cat needs to get the cat to lose weight. My boyfriend had a 21lbs diabetic cat and let it go for 2 years before I moved in and got her completely off dry food and onto a low-no carb canned diet and slowly weaned her off the insulin. Now she doesn't need it anymore, but it used to cost a FORTUNE. You definitely don't want that to happen.

 

[wizegrl00782]

This is Peeky taken last month. Can't really tell tho how big she is then & now

 

[Daisy6]

Hello! My one kitty, Peeky (she's indoor/outdoor) seems to be getting sooo huge! When I had her at the vet last (like 2 years ago i think?) she was 9 pounds. She seemed to stay a nice slim size. Now it seems like when I pick her up I bet she weighs close to 15 pounds! All she eats is just plain dry kitty food. It just seems so odd to me that every time I look at her shes getting bigger? How though? I'll try to get a picture of her (if I can get her to be still!). Is this something to be concerned about?

It is obvious why Peeky gains weight so fast: her diet. Dry food alone causes cats to get fat (and sick) by itself just by being kibbles This is fully explained in a lot of Nutrition section threads, along with suggestions for how to switch Peeky to a wet diet with no kibbles unless they are freeze-dried raw.

 

[wizegrl00782]

From those pictures she doesn't look too overweight. But you it is good for you to be cautious of it early on. The person with a diabetic cat needs to get the cat to lose weight. My boyfriend had a 21lbs diabetic cat and let it go for 2 years before I moved in and got her completely off dry food and onto a low-no carb canned diet and slowly weaned her off the insulin. Now she doesn't need it anymore, but it used to cost a FORTUNE. You definitely don't want that to happen.

Gosh we can't afford to put her on insulin! idk how my Pap can afford it either! I see that he does feed his kitty canned food. I asked my hubs today if he thinks Peeky has gotten huge & he agrees. Its crazy that cat food has carbs & sugar in it!

 

[jen]

Do you know what kind of canned food your Pap feeds? Some canned foods can still have a lot of added carbs too so it is important to try the ones that have less. Plus if the cat is still getting bigger then your Pap is simply overfeeding which is very serious with his cats health. He at least has to cut back on food regardless and get the cat running around more.

 

[Daisy6]

If you think paying for insulin is bad, don't forget the needles, syringes, etc. Also, one common complaint on this forum is the high prices of wet food that a diabetic cat would do great on. So you would be paying thousands of dollars treating a cat who has diabetes! And all this time, you would also be worrying about when a cat needs to see the vet again. Do I need to say any more about diabetes prevention?

 

[wizegrl00782]

If you think paying for insulin is bad, don't forget the needles, syringes, etc. Also, one common complaint on this forum is the high prices of wet food that a diabetic cat would do great on. So you would be paying thousands of dollars treating a cat who has diabetes! And all this time, you would also be worrying about when a cat needs to see the vet again. Do I need to say any more about diabetes prevention?

I agree! I would much rather change Peeky's food & get her more active than spend a ton of money on the insulin & whatever else would be needed.

 

[wizegrl00782]

Do you know what kind of canned food your Pap feeds? Some canned foods can still have a lot of added carbs too so it is important to try the ones that have less. Plus if the cat is still getting bigger then your Pap is simply overfeeding which is very serious with his cats health. He at least has to cut back on food regardless and get the cat running around more.

I'm not sure what kind of canned meat he feeds his kitties. They r both old kitties tho. 16yrs I believe. I guess Molly (his diabetic cat) is doing better tho. Still big but he has cut back on the amount he gives them.
But as far as Peeky goes shes 3yrs old & has a lot of spunk in her! Lol I'll try cutting back the food intake & change her food. Hopefully that will help her.

 

[Furballsmom]

.

 

[LTS3]

If you think paying for insulin is bad, don't forget the needles, syringes, etc. Also, one common complaint on this forum is the high prices of wet food that a diabetic cat would do great on. So you would be paying thousands of dollars treating a cat who has diabetes!

It does not cost thousands of dollars to manage a diabetic cat. Maybe over a few years but not within months. I used to have a diabetic cat. There were months where I didn't have to spend a dime on anything (food, insulin, syringes, test strips, etc). Vet visits were just once a year, not weekly as some vets may insist so they can do (inaccurate) blood glucose curves.

There are cheap insulins that can be used for cats but they don't work very well. Humulin N is one such insulin. The better longer lasting insulin for cats do cost quite a bit but there are ways to cut costs.

The FelineDiabetes.com message board is a great place to get help and resources on managing a diabetic cat for the OP's Pap.

For the OP's own cat, which is the original question, stopping free feeding of dry food and switching to scheduled meals will help. Eating too many calories daily, and some brands of dry food have as much as 600 calories per cup (and few people even measure food with a measuring cup), causes weight gain. Few cats need more than 300 or so calories daily. Many dry foods are coated in animal digest and other yummy tasting things that some cats are addicted to. A better quality dry food and more canned food in the diet can also help with the weight loss and help lessen the chance for diabetes.