Oscar is overweight?!

well I took my cat Oscar in to the vet today for a URI. I asked the vet what he thought about his weight at 13.13 pounds. He said that he is a little chunky and that he should probably lose some weight to avoid things like diabetes(which i know about in overweight cats as I have worked in a vets office). Personally, I don't think he is terribly over weight. He has a big bone structure to begin with and I think he'd be a little under weight if he lost too much. I personally thought he was much heavier than what the scale said and so was happy with the 13 pounds. He was almost 15 before we moved so he has lost 2 pounds almost, but to be the same weight as my petite female I think is a little excessive. He does have a little lion pouch, but has had that for a while. He is very active when not sick. He is always doing something like tormenting Kattie, trying to get into my bird cages lol, playing with the dog ect. He is strictly indoors though, but he is still playful.
As too his diet, he already gets controlled amounts of food and isn't free fed. He gets 1/8 cup of dry in the morning and evening of a mix of Natures Variety Instinct Duck and Turkey and Wellness Complete Health Chicken and Rice. The brands will occasionally change, but are always high quality brands and always grain free with grain in. He also gets a 1/4 can of wet in the morning and night of a 6.5 ounce can. He rarely finishes either the dry or wet so I don't see how I can cut his food anymore. !/4 cup dry for a 13 pound cat is very little as is the 1/2 can of wet a day. I don't want him to get diabetes, but i didn't think that he was overweight either.

Here is a picture of him lounging around

I would likely think the vet is correct as they have Loads of training in this in school and when continuing education...

Will he eat wet food?

Personally I will not feed a solely grain free dry to a male cat ( personal and professional experience)

How much did the vet suggest he loose?

Realize a cat of 10 lbs calories needed for reg NON vet supervised diet 150-300 per day..

He does eat canned, but usually picks at it. Sometimes he will go through a phase where he will eat it all. Also on the grain free, I agree with you that I wouldn't feed a soley grain free diet. That is why I mix the grain in and grain free. This also helps my other cat be more regular on her bowel movements because too much grain slows her down. She eats canned as well to help keep moisture in her diet. They both drink from their pet fountain and the dog bowl regularly so hopefully no uti's will come about. I also want to reduce the amount of carbs in the diet as I've read that this will contribute to obesity in cats. On the other hand, looking at the grain free diets, they are super high in protien and calories it seems. The protien content I am concerned about because of the work the kidneys have to do. Oscar is 1 and a half and Kattie is 6 yo. She would be the one I'd worry more about in the kidney function department. As of may though her blood work was perfect. I guess it is a never ending descision with food choices, then you always second guess yourself wondering if you are giving the best possible diet. At least that is what I do...

What types of wets have you tried... I had all three of my males with the "chubbies" one vet said fine the other said house cat fat ( he difined as high end of normal to slightly overwt/// Ie proper wt for the boys as they are now ( one went to the bridge for unrelated issues)/// 15 , 13 and 13 ... they were 16 , 13.5 and 14 ...

I cut back the grain free which also cut the every few months utis to very rare... They eat roughly 18-28cal per lb( I have 2 girls also_ the boys eat fewer calories

Canned food oz for oz aves half the calories of dry...ie same amount far less calories...

What a cute little tiger you have there! I would not worry too much his weight as you are feeding controlled amounts, but it depends on what else vet said. Did he recommend a certain "ideal" weight or do you feel he just mentioned it because you asked?

He pretty much mentioned it because I asked. On his "report card" his body condition was labeled normal. I think he might be borderline at this point and we don't want him to gain more. Right now he is eating not so much because of this dang uri. He is so stuffed up that eating is a chore. He is mostly eating the stinkiest wet food I can get aka tiki cat fish. He doesn't get fish based foods regularly as a precaution but right now I am trying to keep him interested in eating.