Fat cats, and people who feed them....

Don't free feed. IDK if you are, but your animals should have meals, just like you, and if there is constantly food available, they will definitely get obese!

I used to overfeed my cats, thinking I was "treating" them. Now I have adjusted my thinking. It isn't kind to allow them to harm their health, and shorten their lives. My cats eat very little, a few tablespoons for breakfast and again for dinner. That's it. They are a healthy weight now.

Good luck!

My cat is 23lbs. WOW He is SOOOOOO fat, but I have another one who is full grown but only about 7lbs and she eats way more than he does. I think just like with humans, some of the animals issues are genectis/DNA/Decided chromosomes. Who knows.

I have 4 cats. They all get fed the same and 2 are fat and 2 are normal. They are free fed (have food all day long) so I can't help you. I figure if they are happy and healthy leave them be

:[ My cat is overweight ! Loo used to be a slender cat that liked to play about often,
now he mostly lays around (like me!) & eats whenever he can.
I attributed it to the fact that I feed him literally every time he meows, & I'll give him the wet cat food instead of the dry all the time. For some reason, I feel like it's more fattening...
...then again, it's probably my fault, feeding him so much !
So for now I give him one can per day...(along with dry food meals, of course) & I try to ignore him when he begs; though it's so hard.
But you know.
I never actually thought of the correlation between my pet's weight & my own.
Interesting.

I have a big fat orange cat, Pumpkin, who literally eats 1/4 C. of food a day. That's it. He's still obese. Thyroid and all that are normal. Our other cat, Stella, weighs just under 4 lbs., is skinny as can be (no health issues), and we leave food out for her all day long and she definitely eats more than Pumpkin does. She lives upstairs, Pumpkin lives downstairs and she usually wins the fight when he tries to come up and raid her food (because he's relatively slow) so I don't think he gets away with much. Seems mostly genetic to me.

Like others have said, don't free feed. But, some cats need that. If my two cats can't eat throughout the day and night they will vomit when they do get to eat. You can also try playing with your cat more. Get some fun new toys, maybe a play structure or even a friend!

I have one cat who is at a healthy weight, around 10 pounds. I put about 1/4 cup of food in her dish every evening and it lasts her until the next evening. It works for her.
Now, I know this is about cats but my problem is with one of my dogs. This past spring we adopted a Jack Russel (Leroy) from a rescue group. The lady we got him from not only fed him kibble but gave him all kinds of table scraps too. He was fat and had no "waist" at all. I took him to the vet who said Leroy needed to lose about 3lbs; he weighed 17lbs. We started measuring his food (Iams Weight Control), only feeding him in the morning, and we eliminated all people food. When I took him back a month later he weighed 16lbs. Yeah! We were on the right track.
In July I went on vacation with my mother and aunt and Leroy stayed home with my husband. Everyday my DH would come home to find something else Leroy had gotten into and eaten. At first I thought he was acting out because I was gone since I was his primary care giver. But now I can't leave anything on the table or on my countertops.
He has eaten everything from a whole loaf of bread to a bag of chips to a package of tortillas. The Friday before Halloween we had a snack day at work and I brought my husband home 4 donuts and 6 pieces of (his favorite) strawberry cake with cream cheese icing. Everything was in the donut box and I sat it on my countertop thinking it would be okay. We went out to dinner, but returned home to find the box on the floor empty! We were only gone a few hours!
I'm being more diligent about making sure everything is in the cabinets or pantry and am taking Leroy with me when I go walking at the local park but his weight just doesn't seem to be coming off.
Maybe some of the suggestions for cats will work for Leroy too. :happy:

I'm thin - my cat is not!!!! I even have her on an automatic cat feeder; she gets about 1/3 of a cup twice a day. My husband gives her treats at night. She is just big boned and I love her!!!!!

Like others have said, don't free feed. But, some cats need that. If my two cats can't eat throughout the day and night they will vomit when they do get to eat. You can also try playing with your cat more. Get some fun new toys, maybe a play structure or even a friend!

All 5 of mine are sick if not free fed. if I come down in the morning and the food bowls are empty I get the kitchen roll, anti bac spray and a couple of plastic trays ready to try and catch the inevitable. Fun fun fun with 5 of them! I have1 fat cat, I solid muscle cat, 2 normal weight and a skinny minnie who I feed kitten food to because she only picks so need higher calorie food. Strangely my household is made up of me being fat, one child being slightly heavy (but within normal range) 2 normal weight and a skinny...I do think its just a coincidence tho as its a normal weight and the skinny minnie cats that are my babies (sleep with me, cry at the door if they can't follow me etc)

My cat used to be overweight, and I was confuzzled as I never fed her overly much - enough, but not heaps! Well, the little bugger is a semi-outdoor cat, and I discovered she was getting fed at more than 3 other houses!

I moved house about 5 years ago and she's been steadily losing the pounds since then. I guess my current neighbours aren't cat people ;-)!