Helping my cats lose weight

sammidelvecchio

I have two male cats, and they are big boys. I try to keep them active, and I don't give them treats ever since I've had them on a diet, but they still gained weight ! At the vet yesterday, both of them checked-in heavier than last visit, and they've been on a diet for 6 months.

I discussed a new food with my vet. I was feeding them Crave, 1/4 cup in the morning and 1/4 cup at dinner time with nothing in between. I was already planning to switch because one of my cats was regurgitating it quite often. We decided to switch them over to Purina ProPlan Weight Management food. They are still getting "1/4 cup" twice a day, but I am weighing it now to the gram. This should get them to 12 lbs within 6-8 months but I am worried it won't work again.

My vet also suggested to get raised bowls so they don't eat laying down. This should aid digestion.

They love to play together and run around, and otherwise they are both VERY healthy and happy cats. Does anyone have experience helping their pet lose weight? Is there anything else I can do for them?

They are 6 years old and 3 years old.

cee134

It sounds like you have to adjust their food until you find something that works. It will take awhile probably.

weatherking2019

I have 3 cats and the 2 are similar in age. 6,7yo. All female. They are all indoor, outdoor cats and they roam around our acre yard. However 1 is EXTREMELY heavy and the others are not. They all eat the same food and it doesn't seem to differ in activities... The vet doesn't think she's too heavy. They have suggested wet food over dry so I tried but they are a bit picky. So I just accepted the fact that it's genetics. 😺🐱🙀

CoffeeAndContour

I believe @vikka_v is a vet. She may be able to help.

GymGoddessGoals

Yep, my Fleabug has been on a diet for about 5 months and has lost mere ounces. She's very active. As per the vet's recommendation, she is now getting 3oz of Fancy Feast with 15 pieces of dry food twice a day. It's aggravating a little because now she wakes me at 2am because she's starving (or so she says).

LyndaBSS

I've had the same issues with my dogs because my husband was feeding them treats when I wasn't around.

I chose Blue Life Protection Weight Management dry food for them. They've done really well. Most of the treats they get are fruits and veggies.

My cats were always a good weight. I fed them dry foods, also. They ate dry foods throughout the day versus eating wet food all at once.

Is anyone else around the cats who could be giving them treats?

sammidelvecchio

awww she is beautiful!! Yes, as soon as my boys hear the alarm go off they are howling for food. Same when they see me start to cook dinner.

This is Lennox, he just weighed in at a whopping 18.8 lbs. He is 3.


This is Boregard, and he just weighed in at 17.8 lbs. He is 6.


I wish I could tell myself it's just genetics, but I want my cats to live long, healthy, comfortable lives. My vet said they are healthy, but the bottom line is that cats at healthy weights live longer. At age 6, I know it is only a matter of time before Boregard starts to feel his weight in his joints so I really want to do everything I can to help them!

tcunbeliever

Many years ago I inherited 2 dogs that were morbidly obese, one was younger, but the other was quite old...I took a good year and a half or two getting them back down to a healthy weight...you are already working with your vet, so good job there...changing food to less calorie foods is good because then they still get volume and don't feel super hungry...it may become necessary to cut the volume of food further.

Assuming you have a digital scale with at least a tenth decimal, you don't need to wait months for the vet to weigh them, you can weight yourself on the scale, weigh yourself with the cat, and subtract yourself to find out from week to week (or month to month) if the amount you are feeding them is producing results.

sammidelvecchio

@tcunbeliever thanks for the encouragement! I guess we will all be doing weigh ins together!

Also, so awesome you helped those dogs. So many people wouldn't have had the patience, or dedicated the time.

sammidelvecchio

@LyndaBSS Nope, I live alone. I switched from treats to nip because it makes them roll around and chase each other. I had a cat for 15 years, she passe at age 18 and she never had weight issues. She was very petite, about 8 lbs her whole life. Now I have these two lil piggies and I gotta get creative somehow! I can only call them fluffy for so long

Truth is, though, they are honestly huge cats. Length, height, build, etc. So I think even getting them down to 14 lbs would fit well for them. Hopefully I see positive changes over the next couple of months with the new food.

GymGoddessGoals

Indoor cats tend to be heavier because they aren't as active as outdoor cats. This is not a genetics thing... this is an environment thing. I have a total of 4 cats. My eldest Kit-Ten (part Maine Coon), who is 14yrs old, was a heavy girl at nearly 30lbs in her younger days. Since she is elderly now she's around 7-8lbs and I fear I will lose her soon. Baby and Squirrel, who are 13 and 12 yrs old respectively, are just slightly heavy in the 8-10lbs range. My Fleabug, 2yrs old, is a whopping 12lbs and reminds me of a furry little sausage. None of my kitties have ever had treats other than a little catnip. However, I am guilty of leaving dry food in the bowls for them all day. Its a bad habit that I need to fix to keep my babies healthy.

sammidelvecchio

@GymGoddessGoals wow 30 lbs?! I cannot even imagine. I hope your remaining time together is as amazing as possible. Losing a pet companion is so hard.

Someone suggested another cat to spice things up, an energetic kitten. But I feel that is only temporary fix and my boys love each other so much, I wouldn't want to risk a third wheel situation.

lahan505

I have one that has been told to lose weight. She weighs in at almost 14 lbs, but she is tiny. She should be in the 8-9 lbs for her size. I was told to switch to high protein food or even kitten food (higher protein than normal weight loss food) as that will help her to keep full. I was also told to let her have treats that are high fiber/high protein in small quantities so she doesn't feel deprived and start stealling the other cat's treats. The biggest challenge is getting her to be active as she is the proverbial couch potato.

JeromeBarry1

Automatic feeder. I have an automatic feeder programmed to drop 3 times per day, 1/4, 1/4, and 1/2, for a total of 1 cup dropped daily at 6 am, 12 noon, and 6 pm. Both adult male indoor cats maintains a healthy weight. They know when to expect the drop and they will hover around the feeder in the minutes before.

sammidelvecchio

@lahan505 yes I thought high protein food would work too! That is why I switched to Crave, but they gained instead of losing

When I adopted Boregard and he was on kitten food, my vet told me to make sure that my adult cat didn't get into it because kitten food is really high calorie and she'd gain weight like crazy so be careful if you pick that option.

sammidelvecchio

@JeromeBarry1 Thanks for that advice! I honestly love the interaction we have at meal times, but I will keep this in mind if I keep having trouble seeing progress with them.

GymGoddessGoals

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

Automatic feeder. I have an automatic feeder programmed to drop 3 times per day, 1/4, 1/4, and 1/2, for a total of 1 cup dropped daily at 6 am, 12 noon, and 6 pm. Both adult male indoor cats maintains a healthy weight. They know when to expect the drop and they will hover around the feeder in the minutes before.

I need this in my life. I've asked our engineer here to build me one that could serve my four babies. We are still working on it.

Vikka_V

CoffeeAndContour wrote: »

I believe @vikka_v is a vet. She may be able to help.

Not a vet!

Adjusting the amount fed, balanced with exercise for the individual is key.

Weight loss should be very slow with cats.

Be patient and consistent.

Canned food is often recommended for weight loss, but some kibble can help with keeping teeth cleaner.

Try making them "work" for their food, place their daily rations around the house and on different levels, or in food balls and puzzles to try to increase activity.

Our clinic cat has been on a diet for 2 months, with no weight loss! Admittedly I sneak her treats...

Get your vet clinic staff to make a personalized "diet" plan for your cat and do monthly weigh ins and they will give you reccomendations if your pet isn't losing. We love helping, and seeing "success" stories!

weatherking2019

I just looked up a feeder for multiple cat household. PortionProRx - Automatic Pet Feeder I think I have to get it!

sammidelvecchio

Thank you, @Vikka_V !

angel7472

Natural Balance makes a cat food called Fat Cats. Higher protein higher fiber less calories. I've got 4 cats. 2 are normal size and 2 are overweight. I was trying this for the overweight ones but then we found a 5 day old kitten in our back yard that a mamma cat dropped and the fatties started sneaking the kitten food when we weened her to hard food. So I gave up. They eat the Natural Balance LID high protein chicken now.