SOME ONE HELP ME WITH MY FAT CAT!
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I've been worried about my chunky girl, too. There are two others and they all have their special ways in a house with no interior doors except the bath so we free feed. We just lost our oldest to a stroke but she was also toothless for quite a while. That meant only canned food for her which meant some for all of them. I think my chunky Stella just likes it too much. We'll be able to cut that back a bit but I am also starting regular workouts for her. She's somewhat indifferent to the laser pointer but a snakey toy on a wand is irresistible! I just copied down relevant calorie info for both canned and dry to take shopping, too. I have no intention of losing another one any sooner than I have to.0
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Without seeing the cat, my first thought is that the cats are eating the kitten chow. It's way higher in calories than the cat chow. Also, it's unlikely that 3 cats are maintaining or gaining weight on a half a cup of cat chow in total per day unless you're measuring with huge cups. A half cup of Cat Chow is 206 kcals total. The RMR of the 17 lb cat alone is higher than that.
Is Cat Chow the best food? Nope. Will the fact that it isn't nutritionally optimal somehow make a cat gain weight in a calorie deficit? Nope. Cats, while good at ignoring most rules, have to obey energy balance laws too. My day is filled with clients telling me all about how their overweight cat or dog only eats a "little bit of food," but when I get them to measure it, the animal is almost always getting a surplus.
As for weight, weight is useless as a population measure in cats. It's like saying what's a good weight for a person? You need to know frame, breed, size, etc. Body condition scoring is the way we determine whether or not an animal is at a healthy weight. My Maine Coon is at an optimal weight at 14 lbs. My uncle's little domestic shorthair is obese at 11 lbs. If an otherwise healthy cat is so fat she has problems cleaning herself, she's probably not at a healthy weight.0 -
First of all, stop feeding your cats garbage food. Go get them something that has real food in the ingredients (not "by-products") and preferably grain-free.
Any suggestions for brands?
yes-- nature's variety instinct chicken meal. it comes in regular and wt control. there are different meat flavors also. i know rabbit is one. i cant remember the rest, but i dont pay attn bec i only get the chicken. blue freedom and core wellness also carry grain free. just walk thru the aisles at petsmart and look for the grain free brands. and call your vet--see what they recommend.0 -
Are you separating them when they eat? Are you watching them? How do you know they aren't finishing their food, then eating one of the other cat's food as well?0
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First of all, stop feeding your cats garbage food. Go get them something that has real food in the ingredients (not "by-products") and preferably grain-free.
Any suggestions for brands?
Your best bet is to read labels. Meat should be the first ingredient in a dry food and the first ingredient after water in a canned food. The best brand is the one with the best ingredients that your cat will actually eat.
Any canned food is probably better than the best dry food, but all-canned diets are not practical for a lot of people. If you are looking for dry, "Grain-free" is a big buzz-word right now, but like diet foods that play on trends for people, all are not equal. Some of the grain-free foods are actually not as good as some of the ones that use rice as a carbohydrate source. For example, I read the label of an expensive "grain-free" chicken and pea food the other day to discover that a good chunk of the protein in the food was coming from the peas and not the chicken. The food was also high carb. For a cat, this is less than ideal. The bulk of the protein should come from animal sources. If I were buying the food, I'd go with some sort of fowl or rabbit as the main protein source.0 -
Even some of the premium brands (I like Wellness) have rice in them so aren't strictly grain free but what you really want to avoid are corn, wheat and soy. The first two or three ingredients should be meat of some type (and not by-products). If you can get to Costco they actually have a pretty good food under their Kirkland brand that is reasonably priced.0
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One of my cats was spayed at 6 months of age, and since then she's really packed on the pounds - she's now 12.5 pounds. The other two were spayed at 2 months of age, and are both OK (one is 8.5 pounds, one is 10.5 pounds). I did read something about how after spaying they are more likely to put on weight, but I also think that spaying after they've started puberty may alter more to do with their hormone balance than early spaying.
I feed them all grain free food, but the chunky one just clearly has a bigger appetite, and finishes off some of her sisters' portions. I have been thinking of cutting back the dry food, as the skinnier cat doesn't eat much of that anyway - she prefers wet food.
Edit: I use the Kirkland brand from Costco already mentioned. It seems like a pretty good ingredient list for the price.
Anyway, I feel your pain.0 -
Thanks, @aleggett321 and @callie006. I'll go read some labels. No Costco locally, nearest one's at least 150 miles away. :ohwell:0
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could be normal, could be thyroid. See the vet.0
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I feed my 12lb 16month old Wellness. She is actually a carboholic, which apparently is not normal for cats. I think its genetic since I love carbs too! Anyway, check out Wellness. My vet loves that I feed her that. She was getting wet food and crunchies twice a day, was down to wet food at supper and crunchies twice a day and is now reversed and gets wet food twice a day and a very small amount of crunchies (which has made her homicidal because she, again, is a carboholic!) He said she will probably lose a few on just the wet but he doesn't seem concerened about her weight. I think it depends on the type and build of the cat too0
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First of all, stop feeding your cats garbage food. Go get them something that has real food in the ingredients (not "by-products") and preferably grain-free.
Any suggestions for brands?
Halo. It's real food and even my picky cats scarf it up.0 -
I feed mine Orijen or Arcana. I have not checked out other brands, but I now Blue Wilderness has several, Organix, Wellness CORE, Natural Balance and Halo Spot's Stew all offer grain-free varieties.
If the cost is prohibitive, one of the best inexpensive foods is the Chicken Soup for Pet Lover's Soul (Cat). Far outshines the ingredient list of any other supermarket brand, including Iams.0 -
could be normal, could be thyroid. See the vet.
The chance that a cat is hypothyroid without previous thyroid surgery or radioactive iodine treatment is very, very, very small. Hyperthyroidism is common in older cats, but those cats are usually skinny.0 -
:laugh:
You should see a veterinarian and switch the cat to a prescription reducing diet with a measured amount (not a grocery store brand). Your vet can recommend a brand but both Hills and Royal Canin carry great weight reducing diets. A proper diet and exercise will help your cat lose weight over time.
Fat cats are only cute until they end up with diabetes or other medical issues that cost a fortune in vet bills.0 -
My baby girl is about 9+ pounds - and the vet told me she was a bit overweight. So I cut down just slighlly on her food and tried to play with her more. They haven't said she's lost necessarily, but they also haven't mentioned her being overweight again. However, she's a Maine Coon and they are supposed to be larger cats, from what I've heard. As long as she's active and doesn't seem to be having any pains or any problems, I'm not gonna worry too much about her. Except of course when she jumps on me at 3 AM (up from the floor landing with her full weight on my tummy) :laugh:0
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I'm going to fall back to the standard MFP line.
Your cat needs to lift heavy!
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:laugh:
You should see a veterinarian and switch the cat to a prescription reducing diet with a measured amount (not a grocery store brand). Your vet can recommend a brand but both Hills and Royal Canin carry great weight reducing diets. A proper diet and exercise will help your cat lose weight over time.
Fat cats are only cute until they end up with diabetes or other medical issues that cost a fortune in vet bills.
This veterinarian says yes to the measured amount and not to the diet food. Diet foods in cats, like diet foods in people, are designed so that your cat can eat more food with fewer calories. They are usually heavy on the carbs and not that satisfying to cats. It's like when people go on diets and eat nothing but "diet food." Most cats do better eating higher quality food in lesser amounts. The best is high quality canned because it's more filling, but high-quality dry will work. I only go for diet food if the owner absolutely cannot bear to do portion control or has to feed multiple fat cats without separating them.0 -
yes, u read it right.. I have a fat girl cat!!
Dusty is my 5 year old torti, she used to weigh in at a whopping 3 lbs! then, we got her spayed.. since then, she has grown to a hefty 10 lb girl. she was small enough at 2 years old that I could hold her in my hands ... now, I am not kidding, I cant pick her up with out the fear of hurting her and shes already got a tough time cleaning her self and she snores. Shes always been "my baby" although I have 3 other tom cats, dusty is my "not so little girl" . the part that I don't get is that I haven't changed her food or her eating schedule! is it possible that maybe shes not eating enough? I give her and her "brothers" 1/4 cup of purina indoor cat food at 530 am and one at 6 pm .. none of them eat table food. the other biggest cat I have, Gypsie,(6 years) is 17 lbs, he was 22 lbs!! and Nibbler is all hair, he may weigh 5 lbs he is (3years) Jax is the baby, he isn't even 6months old yet, so im not to concerned as im feeding him "purina kitten chow" I just need some input on my cat as I don't have the money to go to the vet.
I used to love Purina brand/s cat food...one day while in HT I read the ingredients on all the cat food they had on the shelves...the first 4 ingredients were grain and soy in all of the brands...I had to put them on the indoor formula due to financial constraints...as soon I as I read those, I sacrificed and put them back on Royal Canin brand. My Kit Kat lost 2#'s (more than 20% of his body wt) their coats are shinier, thicker and no hairballs from KK. They each get 1/2 cup per day (1/4 in am 1/4 in pm) NO TREATS, c'mon they are cats, they don't know the difference...and very occasionally a teaspoon of wet food at night.0 -
If worded properly this topic had so much potential. Too bad.0
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I just need some input on my cat as I don't have the money to go to the vet.
You mean right now, right? Please say you mean right now because I can't understand how someone could have animals if they don't have the money to properly care for them.
You really should talk to your vet about your cats weight and what sort of food she should be on.0 -
I didn't read all of the replies.
My cat was chubbing up after we got her spayed. I did some research and changed her food.
I got her a high protein low carb food. I buy her Blue Buffalo Wilderness. She loves it. She's been eating it for about 4 months. She's thinned out a smidge (from 9.9 pounds to 9 pounds), her fur is softer and shinier, and she's less of a *kitten*.
My cats macros are better than mine most days, at least one of us is on target.
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That's a pretty normal weight for a cat.
My cat is 15 pounds. He, is fat.
But I love him so much
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thank you all for your input. I would put pictures up but that I do not want to have to publicize the obesity epidemic in my own home yes I know my kitties are fat , I get it and no I've never read labels but if I'm going to be more health conscious about myself and my son and my soon to be husband and I guess it's time for me to really start being health conscious about my cats. I do have a cat toy mouse pointer but the problem is my cats are too big for them to actually use it. Lol especially dustyy! She can't run, barely jumps.. I'm going to look into some better brand foods0
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:laugh:
You should see a veterinarian and switch the cat to a prescription reducing diet with a measured amount (not a grocery store brand). Your vet can recommend a brand but both Hills and Royal Canin carry great weight reducing diets. A proper diet and exercise will help your cat lose weight over time.
Fat cats are only cute until they end up with diabetes or other medical issues that cost a fortune in vet bills.
This veterinarian says yes to the measured amount and not to the diet food. Diet foods in cats, like diet foods in people, are designed so that your cat can eat more food with fewer calories. They are usually heavy on the carbs and not that satisfying to cats. It's like when people go on diets and eat nothing but "diet food." Most cats do better eating higher quality food in lesser amounts. The best is high quality canned because it's more filling, but high-quality dry will work. I only go for diet food if the owner absolutely cannot bear to do portion control or has to feed multiple fat cats without separating them.
So you're saying putting a cat on Hills Metabolic is no good for weight loss? My whole point was rather than putting on a "weight control" diet from the grocery store, you need to put on a prescribed diet by a veterinarian with a goal of portioning and reducing rather than controlling the weight. Portioning alone in theory is great until your cat starts nuisance attention seeking behaviours because they don't feel full on the smaller portions, hence my comment on the correct weight reducing formula.0 -
:laugh:
You should see a veterinarian and switch the cat to a prescription reducing diet with a measured amount (not a grocery store brand). Your vet can recommend a brand but both Hills and Royal Canin carry great weight reducing diets. A proper diet and exercise will help your cat lose weight over time.
Fat cats are only cute until they end up with diabetes or other medical issues that cost a fortune in vet bills.
This veterinarian says yes to the measured amount and not to the diet food. Diet foods in cats, like diet foods in people, are designed so that your cat can eat more food with fewer calories. They are usually heavy on the carbs and not that satisfying to cats. It's like when people go on diets and eat nothing but "diet food." Most cats do better eating higher quality food in lesser amounts. The best is high quality canned because it's more filling, but high-quality dry will work. I only go for diet food if the owner absolutely cannot bear to do portion control or has to feed multiple fat cats without separating them.
So you're saying putting a cat on Hills Metabolic is no good for weight loss? My whole point was rather than putting on a "weight control" diet from the grocery store, you need to put on a prescribed diet by a veterinarian with a goal of portioning and reducing rather than controlling the weight. Portioning alone in theory is great until your cat starts nuisance attention seeking behaviours because they don't feel full on the smaller portions, hence my comment on the correct weight reducing formula.
I personally don't recommend diet food unless you absolutely can't do portion control. Even the pricey ones tend to have less than ideal ingredients. For ex, the first ingredients in Metabolic Advanced are: Chicken By-Product Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal. If you get a food with good fat and protein ratios and at, at least some canned, a lot of times your cat will be satisfied. The begging behavior is annoying, but that usually goes away. The thing with diet food is that for a lot of cats, it takes a caloric surplus to satisfy them because the foods are lower protein and lower fat (leading to reduced satiety), so most people don't have success unless they portion control those as well.
Absolutely yes, going to the vet and having your cat's body condition assessed and her caloric needs calculated is a good idea, but it is not necessary to feed a diet food. Like people, cats need a deficit to lose weight. You can feed a diet food if it works for you and your pet, but despite marketing slogans, diet foods are not the solution for all fat cats.0 -
The last vet hospital I worked at, we used Hills w/d for cats with weight problems. It comes in dry and wet, unfortunately only as a prescription. Dry food is better for your kitty's teeth, but if they refuse to eat the dry, then there's your second option! We would sometimes mix with baby food or canned chunk chicken (just a little!) -- just for a bit of flavor. I'm sure you know how picky kitties are about flavor! Anyway, good luck. 0
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Some cats are more likely to gain weight than other cats. Just like some people are more likely to be fat than other people. It's partly genetics.
Here are some things that you can do:
1. Switch your overweight cat to a high quality canned food. For cats eating dry cat food is like people eating dried fruit. They can eat a lot more of it before they start to feel full. Don't switch him all at once though...gradually add canned food and reduce the dry food until he is just eating canned.
2. Feed your fat cat in a separate room from the other cats. That way he won't feel like he has to rush through dinner to make sure the others don't steal it, or worse finish his and then go get their food. You can also feed the thinner cats someplace high up that the larger ones can't get to.
3. Make sure you have play time every day. Keep him active so he'll burn more calories.
4. Weigh him often. You do not want him to lose weight too fast. My vet told me that can cause some serious liver issues in overweight cats. The fastest he should lose is a pound a month. Slower would be better.0 -
To CMW822, Do you talk to everyone with this tone of voice or is just when you're on the internet?0
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I just took my cat to the vet a few weeks ago and she weighs just over 10 pounds maybe 10.4 or something i can't remember exactly. I asked him if she needed to go on a diet and he said i wouldn't change a thing about her food or anything. He showed me this chart:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://media.marketwire.com/attachments/200802/MOD-402887_weight-chart1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.thecatsite.com/t/239177/so-they-hate-the-good-stuff-and-question-on-how-much-to-give&h=600&w=800&sz=58&tbnid=scUSi584BFo5LM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=120&zoom=1&usg=__c88a7KMYQ5Sc5y8xhqPDRgkVX4A=&docid=XjwUqdR4sTUu2M&sa=X&ei=-yqBUq7XFcP7yAHEk4DIBQ&ved=0CDkQ9QEwAg
So depending on where your cat fits on this chart you may or may not need to adjust it's food-intake. my cat is number 4 on this chart..
Maybe there is a vet in your area that does a free first checkup? Almost all of the vets in my town do a free first appointment.
Goodluck!
Thanks for the chart!
I have one cat who is a 3 on the chart and the other is a 4 on the chart (but he's on prescribe food from the vet to control this).
For the OP, just keep in mind that with larger cats, them NOT eating enough (ie you cut their portions to control weight) can actually cause MORE problems than them being overweight. This was something I didn't expect. My vet said that weight loss in cats has to be EXTREMELY slow to avoid abrupt changes in their metabolism, hormones, etc.
Please take your cat in for a check up and ask the vet whether your cat's weight is healthy for her size.0 -
10 lbs isn't fat for a cat.0
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