Vet's advice on weight loss

Here is some info I got from a Vet today. I went to my Mom's vet for her dog. I have two cats: one just right and the other a fatty! She has been on Science Diet RD for about 8 months and only lost very little. (it's hard food) So I asked him for some information on his thoughts on weight loss for my cat. He told me to feed her a canned food for about 3 months, (no hard) she should lose weight as it contains about 80% water. Has anyone else tried this method and how is it working? Sounds reasonable to me.
Thanks, Ruth

I had a cat on dry R/D - fed strictly in accordance with manufacturer's instructions - he gained weight. There has been research conducted in the USA indicating that dry food may be linked to diabetes in cats. Cats switched to a quality canned food, high protein low carbohydrate will lose weight - allow 20 calories per pound weight of the cat per day. If you have a kitty that needs fattening up, feed 30 calories per pound per day. E-mail me if you want site addresses for quality food manufacturers - they use only human grade meat and poultry, no meat or poultry by products and minimum carbohydrate.

patcatpet

Yes I would like the sights for quality foods for cats. I couldn't email you, as it said it was private. Thanks for the information.
Ruth

Yes, you will have to be carefull on what you feed, and how much.
Feeding wet food is also a great way to fatten a cat up! lol

Look for a food which does not contain too much carbohydrates, a lower fat amount, but at the same time not sacrficing too much protien.
You should also encorporate a "work out" plan with your cat, schedual activies as often as possible. Buy interactive toys for them to play with, when you can't be playing with them, buy them a TALL cat tree, so they can jump around on all the levels.
You could also make him work for every morsal of food he gets. Have him do a trick before he gets about 1/4 teaspoon of wet food, another trick for another 1/4...etc etc. You get the idea.
If your feeding him treats, cut back on them, or stop them all together, cats do not have to have treats, unless you have a treat which is in the form of a cat multi-vitamin.

Oh yes, I also wanted to say that feeding the directions (amounts) on the back of the bag/can, are not always what is best or proper for your cat. You can either do what she stated above, or you can start out with the foods recommened amount for her weight, and slowly decrease the amount you give her each day until you start to see some weight loss, but also as long as your not feeding too little.

Sometimes I am totally confused. I want to do what's right for my cats. The food issue is driving me crazy. Does it say on a can how many calories it contains? Do I have to take a magnifying glass to read them? I did go on the net and looked up some foods. The ones I saw was: Natures, Innova and Wellness. I did not see anything that says calorie content. I will be going to Petsmart or Petco this coming week, and plan on doing some changes. Thanks for all your help and I surely need it. I just hope my fatty doesn't gain weight or I'll be back to square one. I do have a cat tree for them. I try to play with her, having lots of feathers and things. She doesn't chase anything, her habit is to lay on her back and try to catch them, she is very lazy. That's part of her problem.

Go to the site and ask them how many calories per can - Wellness www.oldmotherhubbard.com - you could do the same with Petguard, Felidae, Eaglepack, Innova, etc. Nutritious high protein low carb foods are much more satisfying so your pet should eat less. Feed no more than 20 calories per pound weight of the cat per day. She must have enough food to maintain health but not so much to put on weight.
I have found quality companies more than happy to tell you exactly what goes into their food and the calorie content of the can.
Good luck.

patcatpet

Yes, there are quiet a few good foods out there, but you have to find a place locally that sells them, which isn't always an option so you might have to order online. Petsmart and Petco don't sell things like Wellness, Felidea, or Innova, (least not all the ones I have been to.) But those are not the only foods you are limited to.

Unfortunatly with pet food they do not put calories and such on their products, like they do for humans.
But pat is right, if you call their information line they should be able to help you.

When I got Bailey she was a little chubby. That was about a month ago. I tried to limit her food intake, but that was virtually impossible with Sam around. She has that stray cat mentality, and eats as if every meal is her last. But I did put both cats on Royal Canin Slim kibble (both because I free feed dry, and there was no way I could talk her into staying away from Sam's bowl).

Sam also gets wet food, because he doesn't drink a lot of water, and needs that for moisture. I gave her a little spoonful of his canned food, but gave him larger portions. And now both cats are very active - I can only imagine that she is getting more exercise than she had been getting in a cage at the SPCA.

So, after a month of diet kibble, and an occasional treat of wet food, she went from 10.5 lbs. to 9.2 lbs. We're aiming for another pound, and this should get Sam into optimal shape as well.

Some of the company websites list the calorie content.

Innova
13.2oz can = 538 kcal
5.5oz can = 224 kcal

Wellness turkey & salmon
(check their webpage for details of the other flavors)
3oz.can = 92 kcal
5.5oz. can = 168 kcal

Felidae
13oz. can = 437 kcal
6oz. can = 202 kcal

Thanks for all the help. If you want to see a web-sight that helps figure out calories, and talks alot about the obese cats, I found it today. It certainly helped me. I hope I can find the best food possible. This sight is very interesting, take a LOOK!
http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/ca...html

Thanks for the site address - I will take a look.
patcatpet

Well, if you're really frustrated and ready to try anything, I'd personally go for raw. I know it seems weird to feed raw meats, but it actually gets to be very normal very quick and it's easy and cheap. It doesn't work with all cats though - I have one that would rather die than live without kibble! But it's worth a shot and I've never heard of any raw fed pets being overweight.

If you do go for raw meat (preferably organic) - be sure to balance the Ph:Ca ratio, add taurine and thiamine or a complete multi-vitamin, mineral and amino acid supplement. Include Raw chicken necks - free range - for dental health. Add two heaped teaspoons of organic raw bran softened in warm water and mix well with meat an dsupplemnts. If your cat will eat it (and mine totally ignore it) add one teaspoon steamed organic green beans,, finely mashed or one teaspoon fresh finely grated organic carrot and zucchini. Mine wille at all of the meat and bran, supplements and leave every bit of vegetable!! Ah well, they are obligate carnivores and I don't suppose a mouse had been feeding on beans, carrots and zucchinis - more likely a rabbit! Look for a site to learn how to balance the Cah - my file is still with my Vet and I can't recall the precise address.

patcatpet