Ok, it's official. My cat is fat.

batan

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Sigh...
Ferdinand is fat. Wasn't when I got him, but now he is. I feed him Technical "urinary" health food, not cheap stuff but it seems pretty good, his coat is gorgeous. Urinary health due to the fact that I read somewhere that tabbies are prone to UTI. And I want to minimize the chance of that since I have had a cat with it and it's not fun.
That said, we're feeding him 1 cup a day like the bag recommends or slightly less sometimes. However he gained quite a bit of weight as you can see from the below pictures. Still one handsome dude but I'm wondering if we should put him on a diet. Any suggestions?
He's not very active(indoor cat) and is about 2 1/2 years old. He does not play very much and is too smart for his own good.... just waits for the laser pointer to come back to him. LOL

Anyway, for comparison here are the pics. Not the same angle but it does not need to be, a few months ago when we got him in August or September:


And today!


He looks like a freakin' oil tanker compared to the first pic!



Here's one for the nice pic's sake:
 
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batan

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Oops, this should go into Health... mods can you please move the thread?
 

whuckleberry

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Aww, he's a cutie pie!

I would definitely cut back on the food. Ask your vet what would be a safe amount to feed him for weight loss.

You could also cut back on the dry food AND add wet food. Many agree that wet food helps the urinary tract and is better for weight loss.
 

rebochan

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Really? My vet told me to cut back on wet food if I was feeding a dry food diet. Lot of calories in those.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Rebochan

Really? My vet told me to cut back on wet food if I was feeding a dry food diet. Lot of calories in those.
ave 5.5 oz can = 250-300 calories

ave cup of dry premium food= 4 oz and around 400 cal

Feed him to the weight HE SHOULD be talk with the vet..

Male cats are more UTI prone ... tabby is a color not a breed
 

angelyco

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You should talk to your vet before putting him on a diet, they can give you specific instructions on how much to cut back, suggestions on what to feed him, etc. Plus, they can weigh him and find out how much he needs to lose, it might not be that much and he might not need much (or maybe more) of a food cutback. You need to make sure that he still gets the amount he needs for nutrition.
 

darlili

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My boy was overweight - I took him, the empty bag of Nutro dry, and a can of the Nutro wet, to the vet. She helped me determine quantity to put down, as well as what Dante should weigh.

Believe me, I was convinced the amount was too small (1/2 cup of dry, one-half small can of Nutro Max wet - the wet is divided into two treat meals, morning and night, the dry is down all day). Well, Dante lost three pounds and is now considered just right. The vet also encouraged me to interactively play with Dante more - I did notice as he lost weight, he became more playful. He was about 4 years old when this all started - I had adopted him from a shelter.

But, I'd definitely sit down with the vet on this. And, some vets even have formal weight loss programs for overweight/obese pets (scheduled weigh-ins, etc.). I think these programs are popular in the UK as well.
 

goldenkitty45

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Oh wow - he has a good amount of weight to lose. I'd talk to the vet on how to reduce slowly. You'll need to figure out how to get him do a little exercise.

But a cup of food is far too much. Is this a cup PER meal or a cup PER day?
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Oh wow - he has a good amount of weight to lose. I'd talk to the vet on how to reduce slowly. You'll need to figure out how to get him do a little exercise.

But a cup of food is far too much. Is this a cup PER meal or a cup PER day?
the last part

on ave a 10-12lb kitty on premium would need a half a cup
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by Rebochan

Really? My vet told me to cut back on wet food if I was feeding a dry food diet. Lot of calories in those.
You'll find most of us here will disagree with your vet. Dry food is packed with calories. Bijou was getting very large on dry food. I changed him over to wet food morning and night (1/2 a 5.5 ounce can in morning, rest of the can in the evening which he and Mika both share), changed his dry food to Orijen which has no grains and cut back to 1/3 cup per day that again they both share. He has slimmed down and Mika is perfect weight-wise.

More vets are starting to realize a wet diet is a much healthier diet than an all-dry diet. As another poster noted, male cats are more prone to UTI's and crystals.
 

shellysservant

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Hello

First of all...just wanted to say..what a handsome boy..it seems Shelly has a long lost twin brother.

Regarding increasing his exercise...Have you tried different toys with simba? I'm sure you have...but I know over the years I've bought so many creative cat toys (including a laser) and in the end..Shelly's favorite is a string from an old pair of sweatpants. She can play "string" forever and not get bored.

That's all from me

good luck ...(by the way, from his photos I don't now if I would call him "fat" ..maybe just a little plump)
 

darlili

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Zane is beautiful, and he's going to be even more handsome as he gets trimmer. It's hard, though - they look at you with those big eyes as you put in that little portion of food in their bowl...but it'll be worth it.
 
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batan

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Originally Posted by ShellysServant

Hello

First of all...just wanted to say..what a handsome boy..it seems Shelly has a long lost twin brother.

Regarding increasing his exercise...Have you tried different toys with simba? I'm sure you have...but I know over the years I've bought so many creative cat toys (including a laser) and in the end..Shelly's favorite is a string from an old pair of sweatpants. She can play "string" forever and not get bored.

That's all from me

good luck ...(by the way, from his photos I don't now if I would call him "fat" ..maybe just a little plump)
Yeah, plump is about right. However, the vet told us he should stay at the weight he as at when we took him there the first time, a couple of days after adoption. He was about 12.75lbs. The vet told us that he was at his perfect weight...and that's the first photo. The next time we went he was about 1lb more, and that was about a month and a half or two after. Now, he's got noticeably bigger. I don't have a proper scale to weigh him but I'm assuming he put on another couple of pounds?
He does like chasing aluminum foil balls...the ones you make from chocolate wraps. I find those and laser pointers to be favorite for a lot of cats. However, he's too smart and too lazy to play for more then a minute or so.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Oh wow - he has a good amount of weight to lose. I'd talk to the vet on how to reduce slowly. You'll need to figure out how to get him do a little exercise.

But a cup of food is far too much. Is this a cup PER meal or a cup PER day?
It's a cup a day. We realized he's not the type to be left with dry food since he overeats and pukes. So we started measuring it a while ago. I've had many cats who do not need attention when it comes to feeding with dry food but Ferdinand does.
We're going away for couple of weeks and will have our cat lover neighbor take care of him. But, when we come back I was going to take him in anyway for a check-up and to get hims some vet insurance. I will talk to the vet about his weight.

Thanks for the replies everybody.
 

kcwm

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I did the same thing with my siamese when I got him...except I severely overfed him. I didn't know that cats didn't regulate their own feeding, and so I just filled up both sides of his bowl and let him have at it.

A few years ago, I put him on the weight loss food, and, from the top, he looks like he's supposed to look, but from the side, it still hangs. I thought I'd read that the skin of a cat doesn't have the elasticity of a human, so when they lose a good chunk of weight, especially as they get older, their stomachs do not quite return to their normal shape.

I very well could be wrong about that.
 

booboo1

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aww he is a cutie!! I have an overweight cat as well. With the vets advice I have cut down on her food (1/4 cup dry purina nf food throughout day, 1/2 can wet purina nf a day). She is going back to the vet in three weeks so I will find out then if she has lost any weight but I suspect not as she still feels quite portly. But aside from this, one thing I have found that she loves is da bird. I bought the toy on the recommendation of everyone's advice here and I was amazed. Boo has NEVER been big on physical activity (she is 8 years old) and she will sit in front of the cabinent where I store da bird and literally howl for someone to play with her. So she has been getting significantly more exercise then she did previously as a an expert lap cat, but even so I dont think she has lost weight.
 
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