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Why canned food to lose weight?

post #1 of 9
10/17/10 at 1:05pm
Thread Starter 
I keep seeing things that to really lose weight, a cat needs to be on canned food. Why is this?

Darko needs to lose weight, so we put him on a high protein, low carb diet (dry, because we free feed all 4 cats). We're trying to get Sven to gain weight, so I've been experimenting on pretty much every canned food known to man with him, just a Tablespoon at a time, and when he refuses them, then I let the other cats at it, and usually it's Darko who hogs the bowl. Well, I figure maybe he'll feel more full and eat less of the dry. (BTW, this only happens twice a day). So far, he's not losing any weight. Is this counteractive because the canned may not be high protein, low carb, or do they need to be completely on canned to lose weight.

Just curious.
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post #2 of 9
10/17/10 at 2:04pm
example time

ave dry has 350-400 calories per cup( roughly 4oz of food in that cup)

ave can 5-6 oz is 150-200 calories..
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post #3 of 9
10/17/10 at 2:58pm
Sharky is right... wet food has moisture so the calories aren't as concentrated. It's like when you try to lose weight as a human and they say drink a light soup before a meal to fill up... the liquid helps you to feel full, fewer calories than say, potato chips, french fries or clam chowder.

It is just like with humans - caloric intake needs to be reduced. Free- feeding is not a good idea for a chubby kitty... because even if you portion out say, 1/3 c for each kitty in a 24 hr period.. who's to say that Darko isn't eating MORE than his fair share. I have this problem with Archie, but because I am not there enough, I don't really have a choice. He kinda plumps up as winter approaches and slims down a little bit in spring and summer.. but he could stand to lose a couple pounds. My vet said it is really hard to take weight off of a cat in a multi-cat household.

Also does Darko like to play... playtime- 20-30 mins a day with a wand toy or something like that... even 10 mins would help. I think Arch eats sometimes out of boredom.
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post #4 of 9
10/17/10 at 11:12pm
My cats guzzle water from a fountain like mad after eating kibble, so their tummies are still getting full.

From what I have read, the concern is that the binder used in kibble to keep it coherent is high in carbs for a given calorie count.

Cats are obligate carnivores and the digestive system isn't optimized to process the high levels of sugar in their bloodstream from the starchy carbs, and it encourages the cat to overeat or feel hungry.

The low-calorie kibble available can't really remove the binder, or the kibble would turn to crumbled powder, and the starches are cheap filler, so they reduce the fat content instead which isn't nutritionally ideal.

So the best plan then is to keep a diet high in protein and fat and low in carbs, and that is most easily done with wet, which has the added advantage of being mostly water (80%) to help keep cats hydrated that aren't big drinkers.

Wet is often impractical and very expensive though, so a mixed diet including wet portions and a kibble that doesn't have too much nutritionally void cheap "filler" which arguably also helps dental health a bit is a good combo.
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post #5 of 9
10/18/10 at 5:08am
Here's one vet's opinion about why dry food can make cats fat. http://www.littlebigcat.com/?action=...needcannedfood This article explains it well and should answer some questions for you. (My girls eat very little dry food, and they are all normal weight.)
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post #6 of 9
10/19/10 at 2:20pm
How about feeding your cats on a schedule? This way, you can feed Darko in a separate room and the other kitties can eat their share. After all cats are finished, then no more food until the next time. My sister-in-law did that with her three cats; one was overweight and he was fed in a separate room. It worked even on dry food and he returned to his ideal weight. She also fed them three meals instead of two - not sure if that helped.
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post #7 of 9
10/19/10 at 2:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SweetPea24 View Post
How about feeding your cats on a schedule? This way, you can feed Darko in a separate room and the other kitties can eat their share. After all cats are finished, then no more food until the next time. My sister-in-law did that with her three cats; one was overweight and he was fed in a separate room. It worked even on dry food and he returned to his ideal weight. She also fed them three meals instead of two - not sure if that helped.
Well written... Yes , many cats loose wt on only dry by either small scheduled feedings or lowering the overall intake... I was shocked at how many people never read the guidelines on the bag( which 99% are generous) ... This si s a dog story but funny... a gentleman told me is dog( 130 lb newfie) only ate two cups a day... He was feeding a IMHO low end big name 'premium" ... after further discussion I asked if he was using a measuring cup ( Ie 1 cup to 4 cup commonly ) .. Oh no he said a SUPER big gulp... lol... I quickly figured it and the dog at 8-10 cups a day, not out of the ball park for the food that was eaten
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post #8 of 9
10/19/10 at 3:32pm
Feeding separately is great... unless you have a cat like my Archie, who will take one or two bites of his separate food and then whine, cry and bang on the door b/c he thinks the other cats are getting something special!
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post #9 of 9
10/20/10 at 5:52am
Obviously a cat can get fat on eating only wet food just as a a human can get fat on eating only low calorie foods. Also, I think you have to take into consideration their "baggage". My cat Ritz may always be food-centric because she lived on the streets the first six months of her life and dumpster-dived for food during snow storms.
So even though I fed Ritz almost 100% wet food, I have to monitor her caloric/fat/protein intake very carefully. She still meows for food after she's eaten, over a 24 hour period, three, 3-oz cans of wet food and 1/8 cup of dry food. I am watching her weight carefully and attempting to decrease her food intake and play with her more. (Ritz, approx. 18 months old, female, spade, tall cat, DSH; formerly feral.)
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