weight loss food

Alright, so I guess I have my first question after I have been doing some reading of other posts.

Nero has always been a bit pudgy, around 15 ish pounds...yes, bad I know. Toby has turned out to be a very small and slender kitty, thus far (he is only 8 months though). We thought bringing Toby in to the house would get Nero up and moving around a bit, and it did, but he wasnt loosing weight, he seemed to be gaining. We couldnt figure out why for a while, and I finally realized that the kitten must have been leaving food in his bowl and Nero was going down and finishing it off. Toby was previously eating Iams kitten food, but I now have him on TOTW, which I knew was a better food all along, but some people dont always want to listen to me haha. By the time we figure out why Nero was gaining weight he weighed about 16.5 pounds ( he has been eating kirkland food for about 6 months now).

So I went and picked up some Wellness Healthy weight. He has been doing fantastic on it and is back down to about 15 pounds now. We are coming to the end of the bag and I am wondering if I should be getting a different food as I read that "lite" and "healthy weight" or "indoor cat" foods arent the best option. What food should he be eating to help continue on his weight loss journey? Should I stick with the wellness since its working? or switch to TOTW ? I was also looking at Go! and some other grain free foods. I would like to eventually have Nero down to 10 or 11 pounds.

Both of the kitties get half a can of wet food or tuna in the morning and 1/4 cup of kibble for supper. Toby has had a fantastic, shiny and soft coat since the day he came home he also down shed much, Nero on the other hand has always been soft, but never shiny and sheds a good bit,could this be food related?

It can be food related, but IMO its mostly genetic. Wesley and Buttercup eat the same food on the same schedule, but he sheds and she is a freak in that even with the furminator I can't get anything off her. Her coat is also one of the softest I have ever felt on a cat... just lucky genes IMO.

I'm not a huge fan of diet foods, but if what you have works, I don't see a big need to fix what aint broken. Just make sure obviously that he's not getting into the kitten food and go slow and steady with the weight loss. No more than 1-2% of body weight max a week.

Best of luck on your fitness and diet program.

Yep, we fixed the problem of him eating the kittens food, we lock up Nero while he eats and we put out the kittens food at the same time and get rid of any leftovers either leaves and then everyone is free to do as they please.

What about diet food do you not like? Is there something not good for them in it?

All of the 'diet' foods I have seen cut back on protein.
Cats need high protein and fat content, what they don't need is empty calories from carbs, which is what most diet foods use.

I would stick with a high quality maintenance food and just increase exercise and possibly decrease amount of food.
Wet food is better at reducing weight than dry as it is usually pretty calorie dense so they tend to eat less as they feel full on less.

Originally Posted by Arlyn

..
Cats need high protein and fat content, what they don't need is empty calories from carbs, which is what most diet foods use.
...
Wet food is better at reducing weight than dry ...

Click to expand...

This.

In fact, cats utilize the calories from protein and fat so differently - so more efficiently - than those from carbs that you can switch a cat from a high-carb, middle-calorie kibble to a high-protein, high-calorie canned food and the cat will LOSE weight (and it's body will gain more nutrition from the food).

Go for canned products that are grain-, fruit- and vegetable-free and have a high percentage of a named meat (i.e. "turkey" instead of "poultry"). Wellness, Natural Balance and Felidae all have grain-free varieties, and Nature's Variety Instincts and Evo 95% meat products are all grain-free. A "grain-free canned cat" search on petfooddirect.com will yield a veritable cornucopia of options, and you can conduct a side-by-side analysis of the ingredients and nutritional profiles.

Feline-nutrition.org has a nice article on deciphering pet food labels under their Nutrition section that offers additional insight into choosing products.

I'd also recommend feeding a rotation of canned foods, as this will keep them from becoming fixated on any one product (a problem if they change or stop producing it) and protect them from potential quality control issues by diluting their impact. Since cats can develop hypersensitivity when continually exposed to the same proteins or ingredients for extended periods, it will also help prevent food intolerance issues (and the associated diarrhea and vomiting).

Dr. Hofve has a great article with even more reasons for rotating foods: Switching Foods.

Finally, I'd suggest ditching the tuna right along with the kibble - fish, including tuna, should be fed sparingly and as a small treat only, as it is unhealthy for cats (Why fish is dangerous for cats).

Best regards!

AC

I recall seeing this post by low carb diet blogger Jimmy Moore. He typically writes about diets for humans, but saw he placed his overweight feline friend on a low carb “Catkins†diet recently. From the pictures taken, Muffin is looking pretty decently slim, or maybe better said slimmer now.

http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/p...ber-2011/12033