suggestions for dieting?

laureen227

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well, i decided today to weigh everyone [except Pixel, 'cause she was asleep]. Firefox weighs 7.5, Java 9.5, Cable 10 & Chip is at an all-time high of 17 POUNDS!
he's too heavy... but not sure how to go about fixing that. Java, Cable & Firefox are fine [Java's quite slim, in fact]. Pixel's a little pudgy, but she's also almost 11 - the vet said she was fine for her age.
multi-cat household... 2 dry-only eaters, 3 that'll eat wet & dry [Chip's one of those]. Cable is alpha, [not sure if Firefox has figured that out yet] & Chip won't eat until after she's done [most of the time].
the dry is never completely eaten - i've cut down on the amount because of that. the wet almost always is, minus a little smear on the plates.
this is a small kitchen - i have limited space, & the only rooms w/doors on them are the bathroom & laundry room.
so, anyone have ideas? how do i pare Chip down a couple of pounds w/o affecting anyone else?
 
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laureen227

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Originally Posted by sharky

Does CHIP eat wet??
yes, every night - altho he usually defers to Cable if she's in a mood, & waits until she's finished for the moment [she has a tendency to nibble]. some nights he seems more interested than others - not sure why, tho.
 

yayi

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Is Chip bigger than the rest? My QT is the biggest and the heaviest of my kitties.
Originally Posted by laureen227

how do i pare Chip down a couple of pounds w/o affecting anyone else?
How about Chip eating in the bathroom until he loses the pounds?
 

javern

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We have 4 cats, 3 at a correct weight and one near 19 lbs. I built a feeding station in the kitchen with an opening the 3 can fit thru but the overweight cat cannot. The overweight cat gets fed some wet in the am, and dry in very small portions 2-3 times the rest of the day. He has lost 2lbs so far. The other 3 can eat whenever they desire as they, so far anyway, are not over eating.

In my experience cat foods labeled for weight control made the situation worse, way too many carbs I think. I feed high quality regular adult catfood but in controlled amounts.
 
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laureen227

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Originally Posted by yayi

Is Chip bigger than the rest? My QT is the biggest and the heaviest of my kitties.

How about Chip eating in the bathroom until he loses the pounds?
well, i think he'd be just fine @ 15 pounds... he would still be the biggest, even then.

Originally Posted by Javern

We have 4 cats, 3 at a correct weight and one near 19 lbs. I built a feeding station in the kitchen with an opening the 3 can fit thru but the overweight cat cannot. The overweight cat gets fed some wet in the am, and dry in very small portions 2-3 times the rest of the day. He has lost 2lbs so far. The other 3 can eat whenever they desire as they, so far anyway, are not over eating.

In my experience cat foods labeled for weight control made the situation worse, way too many carbs I think. I feed high quality regular adult catfood but in controlled amounts.
oh, i agree, re: the food. i don't want to change foods - everyone's doing well on the current regimen. i'm not a handyman, tho - wouldn't be able to build my own feeding station.
therein lies the problem - he's the only one who seems to be 'overindulging', so to speak. the younger three are fine - Java's actually what i would call svelte [i suspect some Oriental ancestry, there]. Java actually went on a self-imposed 'diet' last summer that left her actually thin - i had to supplement her to get her back up to weight. since she's a 'dry only' cat, i can't really restrict the dry too much, since i don't want THAT to happen again!
 

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You could probably make a feeding station out of a cardboard box--just seal it up and cut an entry way that Chip won't fit through but the rest will. Alternately, if you have a closet, you could block off the door so that only the smaller cats would fit through. That way Chip wouldn't have access to the dry. I'm fortunately in that my chubby, old boy Odo can't jump, so I just put the dry food up high. Actually, that's another possibility as it would force Chip to exercise to get at the dry food.
 

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My Cleo who eats raw is 12 pounds. He is supposed to be 11 pounds. He steals treats so I know how he got chunky. The only chubby raw food eating cat in the Western World.
Perhaps you could get one of those automatic dry feeders since he won't eat first and give him healthy dose of canned in the morning.
 

littleraven7726

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I have 2 cats. My big guy (17 lbs, needs to go to around 15 lbs) likes dry A LOT. My other cat, perfect weight, prefers wet food. I leave out a measured amount of dry 2x a day. If it's not finished off at the next meal, I either don't refill or give a partial measure of dry. Depending on the wet flavors each day, they often only eat 1/2 ration of dry food.

I feed wet 3x a day. Breakfast and dinner are a 5.5 oz can of food split between the 2 cats. The third meal is a 3oz for Nabu, but depending on the flavor Stimpy eats some of it.
The key is finding what wet food is your big guy's favorite. It took a little bit to find what Stimpy likes.

Stimpy really likes Wellness Grain Free Chicken, Authority Chicken, California Natural Chicken and a few other "healthy" brands. He also likes some of the stuff Nabu does ("junk" food). So we have both in our rotation for variety. Nabu surprised me by liking Wellness Grain Free wet. I just hope I can find it for less than $1.39/can or we won't be able to use it very often.


This has actually had Stimpy losing a little since Raven passed on (Raven wasn't eating well and we basically had a kitty buffet out those last few months). At his last weigh, Stimpy was down close to 17 lbs. He was 15 lbs when I adopted him, so that's why 15 lbs is our goal.

I also try to play with a wand toy regularly. His favorite is the Go Cat "Cat Catcher" and the Bamboo Cat Fisher toy. He also loves to run up the stairs, so we "race" whenever we go up and down.
 
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laureen227

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well... if Chip didn't have a tendency to pee in/on cardboard boxes, the cardboard box idea would work!

all of the closets have litterboxes in them - except my clothes closet, that is!

i might try adding another wet meal for the summer, & see how that goes. wouldn't want to do that during the school year - has a tendency to draw ants if left out!

i'll also talk to my dad about maybe making a wooden feeding cover. wonder if the others will go in it? how big a hole can a cat squeeze thru - can't they get thru smaller holes than you would think?
 

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cats will go into something as long as it does not touch the wiskers... or so the old folks told me
 

yayi

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Originally Posted by sharky

cats will go into something as long as it does not touch the wiskers... or so the old folks told me
I believe that as long as the head fits, the rest will squeeze through.
 
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laureen227

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Originally Posted by yayi

I believe that as long as the head fits, the rest will squeeze through.
well, then, making a barrier [assuming i can find the right materials] shouldn't be a problem - he has the biggest head of all of them! [i think maybe he got all the way to maturity before he was neutered - he's very 'tomcat' looking!]
 
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