The vet says my youngest cat is too fat, and MUST lose weight

[Critters2]

So, he goes on a prescription food for weight loss, his older brother is on an Rx food for flutd, and their sister is on regular food (so far). They must be on scheduled feedings. This morning was the first time I got to feed them all their special foods. What a pain in the ass! Talk about herding cats! "No, Shadow, that's Leo's food." "No, Leo, that's Sophie's food"


AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH! This may just be the straw that makes me completely crazy!!


Not that anyone would notice.

So, any hints on how to keep a cat's weight under control. I've always free fed my cats, and Shadow is the first one to have a weight problem.

[LynzM]

1. We're facing the same situation, just about

One cat who absolutely needs to lose weight, and two that are normal/healthy weight. How to feed the biggest less without starving the other two? Ugh. I'm gonna keep an eye on any suggestions on this thread!

Good luck to you with your situation, and I hope your cats get healthier!

[sleepyhead]

2. Canned food for everyone.

Cats are obligate carnivores (as evidenced by their sharp shearing teeth and short intestinal tracts - made to digest protein), and can't handle the carbohydrates in dry food (it's about 40% carbs and leads to obesity and pre-diabetes in cats). Even the low-calorie dry foods won't help with weight loss. You want regular high-quality adult maintenance canned food. One 6-oz. can per cat per day i.e. if you have 3 cats, feed 1 1/2 cans in the morning and the same in the evening. Fresh water at all times. They will lose weight on this diet. It is helpful for FLUTD as well - gets their water intake up compared to dry food - and so you will probably be able to feed them all the same food. I did this with my own 23.5-lb. behemoth, and he is now a svelte 16 pounds. (I have another cat who has always been lean, and not only did he not lose weight, but he put on a bit of muscle that he sorely needed - so it was a good thing all around.) Remember, the pounds didn't appear overnight, so they won't disappear overnight either. Be patient and good luck.

P.S. If your housing situation allows, put the food and the litter pan(s) at opposite ends of the apartment/house. This will force your cats to become more active, as indoor cats are normally couch potatoes and don't exercise much.

[allalone]

6. thanx for this advice

my 20 lb. cat is NOT losing weight on the prescription diet. worth a try, eh?

[allalone]

7. ? 4 yu

do you have any hints on brands of good wet food? thanx

[sleepyhead]

8. There are plenty of good diets on the market.

Depends on what your kitty likes and will eat readily. Science Diet, Nutro, and Iams are ok for most cats with no medical or allergic issues. Wellness, Triumph, Innova, Old Mother Hubbard are also very good. Try to avoid fish-based diets for the most part - they can lead to urinary problems due to excess magnesium and phosphorus. My office cats eat Science Diet (chicken, turkey, liver/chicken) and are thriving. My house cats eat Royal Canin Venison/Green Pea (because the older cat has inflammatory bowel disease and can't eat commercial food). In general, you get what you pay for with pet food - so don't go cheap with generic or no-name diets.

[allalone]

11. thanx for the answer

I'll probably try the science diet on. She disappeared for 3 weeks a year ago and came back with 2 kinds of worms, dried out hair and skin and bones. then we moved to an apt. where you had to keep cats indoors. So she ballooned up to 20 lbs. we're living in a big house now so even tho' she's indoors, there's room to run and climb stairs. thanx again.

[Skittles]

16. ???

my mum's cats all live to be 20+ years old and she feeds them only dry food

[Skittles]

17. dup

[swag]

3. They always told us that shit too. Our cat lived to be 22.

She eventually got quite skinny.

[judaspriestess]

4. take him in to have gastric bypass surgery

[trof]

5. OK, I STILL don't get diet food for pets.

I've said this before here.
Unless your cat HUNTS, and is damned good at it, YOU control how much food he gets.

Isn't it possible to figure out how many calories he should have and then just give him that much food each day?

I think 'diet' pet foods is a scam.
What am I missing here?

[Beausoir]

9. We've tried the diet foods...didn't work. Do you have some cat toys?

Can you exercise them a little?

We currently have a cat in kidney failure, another who is obese and yet another who is a kitten and needs protein.

It's like herding..well, as you said....cats.

[flvegan]

10. I have to laugh.

mc2, no disrespect, but some responses without more information are just idiotic.

How old is the cat, and what is his situation?

[Heidi]

12. Did the vet say that within earshot of your cat???????

Man. That's cold.

[CC]

13. I switched all my cats (5) to

Innova Evo when two got diabetes. One is off insulin completely after 6 months and the other is down to half the original dose. The healthy cats are looking even better and my fat cat lost weight. They get canned Evo twice a day and are allowed to free feed off the dry Evo (important for the diabetic one)24/7. I also switched the dogs and ferrets to Evo. They all look better and both my vets have now switched their pets to Evo. I wish I had known about it before having diabetic cats and that they had ferret food before last fall.

[radfringe]

14. have similar problem

the two oldest cats (ages 21 and 18) have hyper-thyroid problems) in addition to their daily meds, they get extra canned and dry food

the 3 youngest (age range 1-1/2yr - 6 years) are all tubbies, they get just canned food.

two oldest get fed in the bathroom with door closed so the 3 youngest hog in

3 youngest are fed in another room with a gate so the 3 dogs won't woof it down.

[ScreamingMeemie]

15. The vet said that about Merlin once too...

Once...

He's very happy being more than a bit overweight and, aside from arthritis, he's quite comfy. Before anyone jumps on me, we've tried all the prescription cat foods etc... He's just a big boy.

[Skittles]

18. introduce a new cat like my hairy evil bastid Riff Raff into the pride

your cats will lose plenty of weight running from a Riff Raff

[bluhoodie]

24. Looks like mine

Your Riff Raff looks SO MUCH like my chubber Henry -- has that exact same look in his eyes! Expecially just before he bites me, which he does very frequently. He obviously thinks it's TOUGH LOVE. (He gets the meaning of that confused: "Tough noogies for you!" he seems to be saying. "This is my way of showing it, so tough noogies for you.")

[Skittles]

27. Henry is a hairy tuxedo?

Riff Raff constantly gives me the evil eye....he is just waiting his chance I tell you

[China_cat]

19. Cats need between 10 and 20 calories per pound

of body weight. 10 to reduce, 15 to maintain and 20 to gain. So, to reduce a 20 lb. cat, you would need to feed him 200 calories/day.

Here's the chart of canned food information, broken down by company and variety. Calories is the last column. For losing weight, you might also want to pay attention to the carbs column and buy the lowest you can find.

http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/canfood.html

Here's the same for dry foods:

http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/dryfood.html

[China_cat]

20. I should have added

That if you add up all the calories he's already getting per day (don't forget to add in treats) and just reduce from that number, even if you do it slowly, he'll lose weight and get used to having less in his stomach. Which will probably give him more energy to play, leading to even more weight loss and muscle building.

[dropkickpa]

21. Be CAREFUL!!

VERY slow and steady is the way to go when trying to get a cat to lose weight (actually, this is good for people too). Too rapid a weight loss can cause hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) which can be deadly in some cases. Cats are not like dogs or people. When they have a sharply reduced food intake, their bodies will begin to try to process fat for energy. Unfortunately, cats livers SUCK at doing this, so there is a buildup of fat in the liver, which begins to affect function, sometimes to the point of shutting it down (very severe cases). A slow gradual reduction in calories is the way to go, not "BAM! your daily caloric intake is now cut in half!!" Consult with your veterinarian about ANY significant changes in diet for your cat.

As for hints, do you have 3 carriers for them? If so, I would place each cats food in a carrier and place them in there to eat (this is easier than trying to run around to 3 different rooms in the house). This will keep themout of each others food and faces and you will be better able to monitor their intake.

[China_cat]

22. I screwed up.

on my post about the number of calories needed per day. I had written it down wrong as 10 to 20 when it's actually 20 to 30 with the same distribution.

I'm sorry.

[bluhoodie]

23. Recalculation

So then a 20 lb. cat to reduce should get 400 cals.?
Based on:
20 cals./lb. to reduce, 25 cals./lb to maintain and 30 cals./lb to gain?

Thanks for the wonderful, useful charts!

It looks as though, ever since I switched from prescription dry to prescription canned. I'm now underfeeding my little chubbie. No wonder he seems so much hungrier. (The bag of dry food had feeding/measurement instructions, like yours above, but the canned didn't so I have been guessing at one can per day.)

[China_cat]

25. Yes, and lower the amount of calories

accordingly as he loses weight. At 20 lbs. he'd get 400 calories, at 18 lbs. he'd get 360 and so on until he gets to the weight your vet recommends and then you can calculate 25 cal/lb to keep him there.

[philosophie_en_rose]

26. feather on a string?

My cousin uses those sticks with feathers attached with string. The cats (and my mini-dogs) chase after it like crazy.

I'm not sure what else you can do as far as exercise goes.

As to food, I recommend a gradual reduction. Figure out how much you need to feed them and very slowly reduce to that amount.