His case study is here: Feline Obesity: An Epidemic of Fat Cats
Thanks for the support and kind words. I know the free feeding isn't good but Timmy will scarf and barf otherwise! I am hoping now that I am getting them to eat larger portions of wet they will desire less dry and the free feeding can end. Oh...a girl can hopeMy senior cat has been dieting for 10 months. He lost a lot in the initial few months just by removing the dry food. I think you have a good plan to keep reducing the amount of dry food you leave out, given Timmy's health issues. It would be ideal if you want to feed dry to the 3 healthy cats to get to a point where dry becomes only fed-by-hand treats.
You're doing great with the weekend weigh-ins.
I think you will need to get a handle on how many calories per day the 2 "diet" cats are eating right now, and the only way to do that is to not leave bowls of dry food sitting out. Timmy probably will eat more canned if he's hungrier...he may be going bowl to bowl right now on the dry food to get most of his calories.
It doesn't really matter if the "right number" of calories is 150, 200, or 250...you're right, that just confuses things. Every cat is different. After an intitial strong start by taking away the dry food, my cat plateaud on weight loss until I started to cut his calories each week. He can eat the same calories for a week, and if no weight loss, 20 calories/day less for the next week. On canned food, he didn't start losing weight again until he was around 180 kcal/day.
In January, I switched him from canned to raw and he gained a little because I didn't know how many calories were in my raw mixes.
But same plan. On raw, food is measured by percent of food per body weight. So we've been cutting back an ounce or so each week he doesn't lose weight, and I recently started making him some lower-fat food than what my kitten eats. They eat timed meals in separate rooms.
Anyway, you're doing really good. The only thing I think you are missing is that you can't ever free-feed when you aren't home to see which cat is eating most of the food. The 3 healthy cats may be healthy because the two fat cats are scarfing all the dry.
Look forward to reading about progress with the diet!
I did not see you note that fact, but I will take your word for it. My bad. Fair point, fair point - but that is why my cats in particular have access to a lot of straight up pure meat wet food, too. I am gradually easing them into it. I am for the time being using both pate and grilled slices in gravy, but I am eventually going to phase the grilled slices out and then later the dry food. I'm a sneaky, sneaky human.Yes, I also noted that fact in my first reply.Eventually counting calories and slowly reducing is the only way weight loss is going to happen.
A cat can lose weight on any food if you slowly reduce the amount of food over time, so that is the most important thing is to get the cat to a healthy weight.
The reason I prefer an all (or at least mostly ) animal-protein/animal-fat diet, is because there is a risk of the cat losing its muscle mass while losing weight if it isn't eating enough assimilable protein.
I have read up on that sweet guys case before. So bittersweet. Funny you brought up tossing the dry around though because today I ordered one of those pioneer pet ceramic puzzle feeder bowls to put the dry in. I am tryingDr Pierson (veterinarian cat nutrition expert) gave Benny 20-25 pieces of Evo to Benny every day...but she threw the kibble one piece at a time around the room to make him exercise for food.
Though sometimes we only think we are sneaky. These little kitties are pretty darn smart! Oh I hope it works out for both of us!I did not see you note that fact, but I will take your word for it. My bad. Fair point, fair point - but that is why my cats in particular have access to a lot of straight up pure meat wet food, too. I am gradually easing them into it. I am for the time being using both pate and grilled slices in gravy, but I am eventually going to phase the grilled slices out and then later the dry food. I'm a sneaky, sneaky human.
So I don't want to sound like an idiot, but you statedYes, I also noted that fact in my first reply.
A cat can lose weight on any food if you slowly reduce the amount of food over time, so that is the most important thing is to get the cat to a healthy weight.
The reason I prefer an all (or at least mostly ) animal-protein/animal-fat diet, is because there is a risk of the cat losing its muscle mass while losing weight if it isn't eating enough assimilable protein.
Yes, you are changing the composition of their diet first with more wet and less dry. I think that's a good move.
Anyway, we're back on track now. He's slowly gone from 16.5 to just over 15 pounds now with some hills and valleys...and a lot of plateaus.
Oh, that's great for you guys! I am committed. I just want them happy and healthy. And I sure appreciate the guidanceYes, you are changing the composition of their diet first with more wet and less dry. I think that's a good move.
When I put Tangent on a canned diet exclusively (cold-turkey on the kibble), I wasn't exactly sure how much canned he could eat per day because the composition of his entire diet changed. I started him around 240 calories per day on canned, but that was sort of a "stab in the dark" starting point. The weekly weigh-in's proved that 240 was too many calories for my boy. He gained a bit for a week or two until I started adjusting calories down 20/day each week. So we went 220 for a week, 200 for a week, and he lost a bit for a couple weeks then plateaued. So we went 180 and he started losing again.
Then I completely blew it and switched him to raw food with no calorie "label".
Happy and healthy is the main point, yes? Tangent really shouldn't have taken 10 months to lose 1.5 pounds, but there was a lot of trial and error going on...on my part...with a couple of major diet composition changes. I'm shooting for 2 ounces loss per week, or 1/2 pound per month. So far, he's losing a lot more slowly than that, but there is also a lot of risk if they lose too fast.Oh, that's great for you guys! I am committed. I just want them happy and healthy. And I sure appreciate the guidance
Yes, fatty liver disease. It freaks me out. I would like Timmy to lose 3 lbs and Runt to lose 4 lbs. And I know that should take 6 months plus and that's ok as long as it happens. I love these darn cats and would do anything for them. Happy and healthy is definitely the goal!!!
