Helping my cats lose weight
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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!
Oopsie Daisy. My bad Vikka.1 -
GymGoddessGoals wrote: »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).
She is beautiful 😍😍😍1 -
GymGoddessGoals wrote: »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).
She is beautiful 😍😍😍
Thank you. Dont be deceived by her beauty though; she's the only cat Ive had that is a complete *kitten*. She is spoiled rotten!2 -
GymGoddessGoals wrote: »GymGoddessGoals wrote: »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).
She is beautiful 😍😍😍
Thank you. Dont be deceived by her beauty though; she's the only cat Ive had that is a complete *kitten*. She is spoiled rotten!
I don't believe it for a second, all cats are angels!2 -
GymGoddessGoals wrote: »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).
She's beautiful! (I have no advice - just here for the kitty pictures)1 -
@tinkerhellraiser I do not know why I did not think of this sooner. Considering how well this works with humans, it MUST work with cats, too!
Genius! I am also going to start putting up pictures of cats with the ideal body weight around the house and slip laxatives in their food. I will also tell them they are "handsome for fat cats" and that at least their faces are pretty.
(And just because I am actually really sensitive bout this stuff but honestly trying to take it as the joke it was intended, I must of course, note than I am in no way serious and would never say these things or take these actions and do not condone fat shaming any living creature.)4 -
I've been considering buying a cat exercise wheel for my indoor cats, but I'm afraid they'll just sniff around it and lay on it instead of using it.
That's a lot of money to spend on a cat bed.2 -
At one point, I had 5 cats, and my big boy was a Russian Blue, he weighed in at around 18-19 pounds at his heaviest... and I was never told to put him on a diet! He was active, an indoor-outdoor cat, bi-annual vet visits, but was never told he was too heavy! Maybe you just have large cats? OH, and Smoke lived to 22 years old, so the weight didn't cause him to suffer! When he got older (after age 16 or so) he did drop in weight about 4-5 pounds over the years, but not because I was told he needed a diet.1
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poisonesse wrote: »At one point, I had 5 cats, and my big boy was a Russian Blue, he weighed in at around 18-19 pounds at his heaviest... and I was never told to put him on a diet! He was active, an indoor-outdoor cat, bi-annual vet visits, but was never told he was too heavy! Maybe you just have large cats? OH, and Smoke lived to 22 years old, so the weight didn't cause him to suffer! When he got older (after age 16 or so) he did drop in weight about 4-5 pounds over the years, but not because I was told he needed a diet.
Yeah but I had a cat get diabetes who never seemed too over weight and I feed it really good dry food. The problem is I free feed him because the other cat would rather starve to death then eat wet food.0 -
IDK, I have a Russian Blue as well; she isn't that heavy but appears to be a rather large cat. They typically are in the 7-15lb range and about 10-12" tall. So maybe your cat was just barely over weight and didn't require weight loss or even the right weight for his height. I have seen some rather large male blues before. And blues do tend to have a longer lifespan of around 15-20 yrs; especially if they are indoor cats.
I would say you took really good care of your big boy.
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If you have the space, and the patience to deal with your cat
, it might help to invest in a baby scale. Then you can weigh your cats regularly without having to go to the vet. When I had cats that needed to lose weight, the vet suggested freeze-dried chicken breast (it is almost like flakes) as a snack. It gives them a little treat but it's not very many calories. I don't have cats any more but I can ask my mom where she gets her chicken or if she does it herself. It is not easy to take cats from food down all day to meal times, etc. Best wishes to you and your cats! :flowerforyou:
Edit - put a fave comfy blanket or a shirt that smells like you on the scale and keep it there, don't just plop them on the cold metal/plastic each time you want to weigh them.
My mom's cats use the scale as a napping place now. 
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Thanks everyone for the advice! The boys are on day 2 of their "diet" and they seem to be doing ok, they like the new food and aren't mad at the raised bowls. Boregard also isn't regurgitating anymore either, so now I know to definitely stay away from Crave for him.
I am going to weigh them once a month on my scale, and hopefully these changes will help them.
They are definitely big cats, so I think 14-15 lbs will be a good target for both right now.3 -
At their routine check today, the vet said that Honey could do with losing a little weight. She advised cutting out treats to start, which is fine. I think her issue though is that she’s a scavenger and a good hunter- we’ve had several mice delivered in the past two weeks and a five inch Polish sausage....
Yes, a sausage.
She also managed to wrangle a very large, cooked chicken breast through the cat flap..
I guess she just likes food, a bit like me..
strangely, she’s also the most active of them all.
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