Cat on a Diet

bob'smom

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The vet has Bickford on a diet (Purina OM). He won't eat the wet OM, so it's all dry. My other cat isn't restricted so I still feed him wet (Meow Mix Market Select) separately. It went well for a month or so, but now Bickford suddenly doesn't want the dry food and I have to snatch the wet food up before I let him out of the bedroom. He'll eat the dry if he's really hungry. Is there something else I can do? Both cats have been giving me sorrowful looks and meows lately!
 

sharky

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talk with your vet... see if OTC is a option or if another RX would work
 

javern

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I have 4 cats and one is over weight, the other 3 are at optimum weight. The 3 like to free feed and the overweight cat eats all the time. I'm building a cat feeder cage to keep him out of the food and I will feed him a couple times a day. He's too big to get into the cage and get the food where the other 3 can get in there when they want.

http://dodgingtheapocalypse.blogspot...tem.html#links
 

cloud_shade

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I don't know what your relationship with the vet is like, but I would ask the vet to do some research on canned food and weight loss in cats. Canned food is less calorie dense while still allowing the cat to feel full, so many cats lose weight when fed canned only. Canned also has more protein (to compare to dry, you have to convert to dry-matter values or use food tables like these for wet and for dry) and fewer carbohydrates. A lot of cats don't do very well on high-carb diets--my Odo gained weight even when fed only a very small amount of regular dry food (he now gets a little bit of grain free dry along with mostly canned). I would talk to your vet about the options--if he/she isn't willing to do research or suggest anything other than Purina OM for weight loss, I would get a second opinion. Vets make money off the veterinary diets, which means they might sometimes suggest them when they aren't really the best option.
 
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