Trying to get my 12 lb domestic shorthair to lose some weight

Hi all, I have a 12 year old, 12 lb black cat kept indoors 100% of the time and she is currently on Science Diet Advanced Protection Senior. I noticed its about 3800 kcals for cup.

The vet told me to get her to lose weight, find a food with less calories. I have used SD forever , but they don't have a light senior formula. They only have Indoor Cat Adult and Light Adult.

Can anyone recommend a food to try? I was only using SD because the vet recommended it, but many of you in the past have told me that it isn't that high quality.


I have been feeding her smaller doses throughout the day and she gets two capsules of Cosequin joint supplement a day, sprinkled on her food.

She's at about 1 cup a day.


Here is a picture of her:

12 lbs.? That's it???? Must be nice!

Let me be the first to tell you that it take a long time to get the weight off. First, I would suggest switching her food to something more nutritious; Science Diet is full of corn and grains that are not good for cats. But, then again, if she's doing well on it then just cut her portions back... WAY BACK. A cup a day is way too much. When my cat was on Science Diet, she was on 1/3 cup in morning and 1/3 cup in evening. Even then my vet said to still cut her back. I put her on 1/4 cup in a.m. and 1/4 in p.m.

Then I switched her food to Orijen, which is a grain free food and more digestible. Believe it or not, she's on 2 TABLESPOONS in the morning and 2 at night. She's thriving on it, losing weight, is more energetic, and just healthier all around!

I've also heard that switching to an all-wet diet helps them shed the pounds.

Of course, buy some interactive toys and play with your kitty. A laser pointer works wonders. Anything tied to a string and dragged behind you is an instant toy! Or, chuck a kernel of her food down the hall and make her run to get it!

Good luck; I know how you feel.

Talk to the VET about portions.. your 12lber may be ovwt but DO NOT cut the portions to far back without the vet okay... IMHO I would send you to the petstore to find a higher protein higher fat food...WHY cats are carnivore s ... Grains arent evil but MEATS are better If you want some ideas I will give you a few

I would also suggest giving wet food if you and the cat can agree

Sure give me some suggestions. I appreciate all the advice I can get.

Look at

Nutro
Natural balence ( very low fat light with decent protein)
Solid gold
Senible choice
Royal canin
Blue spa
these are higher quality foods IMHO ... and can be found at BIG pet stores

Our Siamese boy, Bijou, was up to 18.5 lbs. I put him on wet food morning and night (he and Mika share a 5.5 ounce can per day) and changed his dry to Orijen (1/2 cup per day shared between he and Mika). Neither cat cries for food so they are obviously getting enough nutrition. Bijou has slimmed down beautifully (I haven't weighed him to check out how much he has lost which I mean to do tonight). He lost the weight gradually which is the only safe way for cats to lose weight.

Orijen is a GREAT one... if you can get it;(

Which is the very highest quality?

I wish consumer reports did ratings on pet food.


I've been reading about the Innova brand. http://www.innovapet.com/products/de...nel=ga&id=1416

Innova Senior Dry Food. Anyone use this? I'm thinking of giving it a shot.

Innova is high quality but HIGH grain IMHO the same quality can be had at a big box store...

LOL Pet food is very subgective IMHO ... as every one has a different opnion on the "BEST" ... To me it comes down to what you want the food to do ... is wt loss an issue ( like you) , skin issues?? , litter box odur ...

then there is ingrediants and then quality of... DONT just go by advertising or what the companie will tell you.... take that info and research...


there are multiple ways of wt loss ///

the low protein low fat High carb ... this is the typical and doesnt IMHO make sense for a OBLIGATE carnivore ...

next is HIGH protein mod/high fat and low carb .... EVO Orijen COre Raw insticts ....these are new and the long term effects of the dry are relatively unknown... IMHO this form is best WET ..... but this makes the most sense for a carnivore

then balenced protein carb and fat ... this often works for slightly overwt cats who are possibley just eating a bit too much

Ok, so would it be okay to give Orijen to a 12 year old cat? It seems they just have one formula.

YES and no .... IMHO , cats over ten should nt eat dry at all .. as they are digesting like in there youth .... but being grain free it may help with the wt

So what would be the very best option. It doesn't need to be dry I suppose.

A nice low grain to no grain wet ... this list is LONG ...

Grain frees companys that have

wellness
evo
natures variety / prairie
merrick


Lower grain

nutro
natural balence
solid gold
innova
cal natural
meow mix ( yes the wet is decent )
tiki cat
eagle pack
not a full list but should give you ideas ...

Originally Posted by coldfusion

Which is the very highest quality?

I wish consumer reports did ratings on pet food.


I've been reading about the Innova brand. http://www.innovapet.com/products/de...nel=ga&id=1416

Innova Senior Dry Food. Anyone use this? I'm thinking of giving it a shot.

Click to expand...

I use Evo which is made by the same company as Innova. It is a no grain food. Try this web site: http://www.naturapet.com/