My cats are fat pigs

I took both of them to the vet today, Sam for his rabies shot, and Bailey to have her weight checked.

Sam is a big boy, and when we got him we had some trouble finding food that he liked, and he dropped to only 9 pounds. He has been steadily increasing since then, and now weighs in at a whopping 14 pounds. That's about a 1 pound weight gain in one year, but he really should be about 12. I am just worried now, because I don't want him to keep gaining.

Bailey is much smaller, her frame at least, and she has gained two pounds since her spay in mid February, so now she is 12 pounds. Way way too much, she should be about 8 pounds.

Now, when we got bailey, she was a little chubby, partly because she had just had kittens, and partly because she inhales every scrap of food in sight. So I have been feeding her nutro max cat weight loss formula, and Royal canin slim formula kibble. Sam gets regular wet food, and the same kibble, which he loves. Apparently too much.

So the vet told me the same thing as I have been reading here: kibble is high carb, adds too much weight, can lead to diabetes, and should only be used for treats. They should get two small tins of food each day, no free feeding at all.

Sigh.

I can hardly manage my own weight, this is really depressing. And for anyone who has tried switching from free feeding kibble to wet food portions, how long before I might notice some difference?

I may never get any more sleep.

I would increase the kitties play time as much as possible. I would not free feed and would fed the kibble one at a time as a form of play by sliding it across the floor making them "capture" their food. This will not only slow down the eating process, it will also allow them to feel full sooner! Having them run and play before meals will also up their metabolism.
Best of luck!

Maybe you should try another weight loss kibble, combined with a good low fiber wet food! Wet food is good for loosing and gaining weight, depending on how you feed it and what you feed.

Exercise is good, and DL once again has a great idea. Make them work for their food! Every little scrap.

As far as the Nutro Max and Royal Canin lite diets you are feeding. They actually have a higher percentage of Fiber in them!! (aka carbohydrates). Nutro has 6% and Royal Canin has 4.5%.
You need to find a food with 3% or less. Most likely you will find this in a diet of regular adult cat food.

Angel, are you saying that the regular adult formula of those foods would be a better choice than the Nutro weight loss formula? I chose the food based on the fat content, and the fact that the wet food has considerably lower carbs than kibble.
This is all too confusing.

And I tried the "throw the food, make it a game" approach. They both sit and stare at me like I am nuts, throwing away perfectly good food like that. There is definitely not any running after food going on.

my kitties Leo and Roxy eat so much faster than Piper, so I use that trick and spread kibble on the floor so it take them longer to eat, and Piper can enjoy her meal with out swatting kitties away (she is 3 the kitties are 7 months).

They love to capture their food and chase it, we have even caught them trying to pick it up with thier paws to eat, and have succeeded sometimes!

Pay attention to the calories. Excess calories cause weight gain. One food might be low in fat yet have more calories than another food higher in fat. IMO, find a high quality food (non-weight control) with lower calories for successful weight loss. Wellness canned is one such food that would meet these requirements.

ALl right, now I am totally confused. None of the foods I have tell me the calorie content. All I have to go by is fat and fibre (and all of the other analyses).

I have enough for about a month, so for what its worth, they are eating this stuff. And it looks like the "best" regular food is 5% fat, and 1% fibre, the stuff I was feeding sam is 5% fat and 1 1/2 % fibre, but with less other nutrition because is has water instead of broth. Then the two diet versions have 3% fat and 3% fibre, or 2-3% fat and only 1% fibre. Of course that last one is the most expensive by far.

And the stupid cats, after pleading for food all day, have both left half of their dinner sitting there. I guess that means they are not over eating.

For foods that do not list the calorie content you can either check the website (sometimes its listed right on the website) or email the company. Some of the members on the list may know too.
The fiber listed in the guaranteed analysis consists of insoluble carbohydrates which are not digestible and therefore do not contribute calories. Soluble carbohydrates, protein and fat make up the calorie content in the food and soluble carbohydrate percentages are not normally listed in the guaranteed analysis so you would either have to get that info. from the manufacturer via phone or email or use this formula to get an estimate of the carb percentage:
100% - the moisture% - the protein% - the fat% - the fiber% - the ash% = the approx. carb%

High percentages of insoluble carbs(fiber) in a food does not neccessarily mean that the food is also high in soluble carbohydrates.