Weight Loss Tips?

matts mom

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Matt has become quite large over the years, now at 24lbs. As he carries it so well, no one realised HOW heavy he was getting until the most recent vet appointment, when we realised he'd gone up from 18.6

Two major factors at play here: Friskies, and wandering around eating from the other cat's bowls.

From those who have brought their cat's weight down: how did you do it? I know before I ask him that my vet will want me to put him on a HILLS prescription diet for weight loss. I also know that HILLS foods give him diarreah. So the vet isn't very helpful on this one- his response to most things is a HILLS diet :/

NAtural Banalce has a food for Fat cats, and the protein/carb/fat count looks like I could get away with feeding it to all three cats. Helen could lose a few...Midnight only has a teeny pouch, so would need to eat a tad more maybe?
 

Furballsmom

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Hi!
One of the ways is with canned food as it is less carby than kibble, and also increasing activity levels. Would you have a way to start playing with him more, and even begin going up and down stairs (a few at a time at first), and also take him outside for walks?
 

lisahe

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I'm totally with Furballsmom on this: low-carb canned food and activity are the way to go.

Our experience with diet dry food for our previous cat wasn't good -- what we fed her was like many diet foods (including the Natural Balance for fat cats) because it was filled with the carby stuff that Furballsmom mentioned. The Natural Balance (I pasted in the beginning of ingredients below) contains a lot of vegetables, particularly legumes, some of which are used for protein even though cats are carnivores built to process meat, not vegetables. The calories may be lower than foods with more animal protein, but lots of cats just don't feel filled up without meat protein. I think the only thing that kept our cat from gaining more weight was that we also happened to start feeding her a can of Fancy Feast a day. We didn't know then that carbs are basically empty calories for cats and our vets were no help. (Though at least I'll give them credit for not suggesting a Hills diet!)

Some easy and reasonably priced low-carb wet food choices include Fancy Feast Classic pates and Sheba pates. Avoiding ingredients with corn, wheat, other grains, tapioca, peas, and potatoes is a good start, too.

Chicken Meal, Salmon Meal, Pea Protein, Garbanzo Beans, Peas, Oat Groats, Dried Beet Pulp, Pea Fiber, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Oat Hulls, Natural Flavor, Dried Tomato Pomace, Chicken Fat (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols), ... <snip!>
 
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matts mom

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Ok, I'll try the FF

I'd tried Friskies Wet, but he only kept gaining weight. That was why I was considering the weight loss food. How many cans for his size? His ideal is 12lb, so I don't want to cut his calories too quick....

I'm letting him go out back with Shamas and I. I was originally worried about letting him out without his harness...but he's so lumbering now that I dooubt he could run faster than I can catch him to get him back inside. He gets VERY hissy and ornery at inside-time
 
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matts mom

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Right now he's at 2/3 cup of the Natural Balance, and what he mooches from the other bowls....that's the X-factor
I don't have the bag, so I'm not sure the calorie count....so that's 213 plus extras.

I have been feeding each cat from a 1/3 cup scoop, twice daily for a while now. Matt finishes his, and then eats what the others leave behind.

Midnight is 12ish pounds, and Helen was 9 at last weigh...though I'd put her about 10-11 now. she's pudging up since the dog came and she refuses to associate with him.


My best bet is probably to feed him seperately, and pull up the food 1/2 hour later so I know what they all eat
 

lisahe

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Right now he's at 2/3 cup of the Natural Balance, and what he mooches from the other bowls....that's the X-factor
I don't have the bag, so I'm not sure the calorie count....so that's 213 plus extras.

I have been feeding each cat from a 1/3 cup scoop, twice daily for a while now. Matt finishes his, and then eats what the others leave behind.

Midnight is 12ish pounds, and Helen was 9 at last weigh...though I'd put her about 10-11 now. she's pudging up since the dog came and she refuses to associate with him.

My best bet is probably to feed him seperately, and pull up the food 1/2 hour later so I know what they all eat
Yes, individual dining can be a seriously big help! Cats adapt quickly: we feed our two cats separately because one eats so much faster than the other and would eat the other's food if we let her.
 

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The Natural Balance Fat Cat is 320 calories per cup. So about 233 calories for 2/3 cups daily.

The general recommendation is to feed roughly20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily. For a 24 lb cat who needs to shed a lot of weight, you need to very slowly over weeks if not months reduce the current calorie intake until you reach the ideal calorie intake. This will prevent fatty liver disease.

Adding more canned / wet food to the diet while reducing dry food is helpful to many overweight cats. Canned / wet foods are a lot less calorie dense than dry foods so while it seems like a whole can of food is more than enough for an entire day, calorie-wise it's not. 3 oz cans have around 70 calories or so while 5.5 oz cans have around 150 calories or so. You may need to feed more than one can per cat to meet their daily calorie need.
 
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matts mom

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The Natural Balance Fat Cat is 320 calories per cup. So about 233 calories for 2/3 cups daily.

The general recommendation is to feed roughly20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily. For a 24 lb cat who needs to shed a lot of weight, you need to very slowly over weeks if not months reduce the current calorie intake until you reach the ideal calorie intake. This will prevent fatty liver disease.

Adding more canned / wet food to the diet while reducing dry food is helpful to many overweight cats. Canned / wet foods are a lot less calorie dense than dry foods so while it seems like a whole can of food is more than enough for an entire day, calorie-wise it's not. 3 oz cans have around 70 calories or so while 5.5 oz cans have around 150 calories or so. You may need to feed more than one can per cat to meet their daily calorie need.
That makes sense. I often swap him to Friskies wet in summer, and do 1/2 can each twice a day, with Matt finishing the other's food to suppliment his own intake. I'm probably not feeding enough in the first place, thus encouraging the foraging behavior......whereas the smaller cats don't eat all of their portions. Helen eats about 2/3 of what I put in her bowl. Midnight eats all but a few bites. Matt eats all that's left. Under this circumstance, it's difficult to track his intake- especially with people feeding them entire cans when I go to work late.

I feel like smaller can sizes will offer more control there. 70calories x3cans/day=210 calories plus a few kibbles sprinkled on top to add the last few calories
 

MoonstoneWolf

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Where on earth do you find the calories and other information on cat food. I looked for hours and can't find. Am I missing something?
 
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