Lower fat, lower cholesterol diet?

One of my cat is overweight with high cholesterol level. The cholesterol level 325 was obtained about 40 minutes after meal, so maybe it should have been not this high were it done after 12 hour fasting.  The vet who did this blood test still said it's still to high, so I'm trying to research about the ways to reduce cholesterol level.

In human, the way to reduce cholesterol is to eat high fiber low fat diet.  I wonder if we can do the same for cats.  Is it a good idea to mix some oatmeal and broccoli in my cat's food?  Does anyone think it is safe to use human method to lower cat cholesterol?

What did your vet suggest you do?

The vet suggested me to get Hills low fat dry...

OK. I asked because high [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]cholesterol can be a symptom of disease but obviously you vet doesn't think that is the case here.[/color]

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Are the foods you are currently feeding high in fat? I've never heard of a cat with diet related high [/color][color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]cholesterol. Of course that doesn't mean anything, there are lots of things I've never heard of that I'm sure are quite common![/color]

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]I assume you are trying to avoid the RX foods? If so, I would start with looking at the fat levels in the food you are currently feeding and see if there aren't lower fat options.[/color]

I would check into the "weight management" cat foods out there first. Wellness, Wilderness, EVO and I am sure there are other's as well. I would always recommend a wet diet over dry. EVO has some good wet reduced canned foods too. There are actually many brand's available. Unless it is really a health related necessity to feed the Hill's - then I think you could look elsewhere for a weight management type cat food. :nod:

I just saw post in the "What should I feed my 12 year cat" thread.

Over there you say all of your cats are on a wet/raw diet with no kibbles, right? What exactly are you feeding for both raw and wet? as far as I can tell from a tiny bit of Googling, non-disease related high [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]cholesterol in cats is caused by too much fat in the diet just as in humans. [/color]

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]How long have they been on raw/wet only?[/font]

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Edit - I would get him retested after a 12 hr fast before worrying too much. Also, work on getting his weight down.[/color]

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Edit2 - Did your ver do a urinalysis to rule out disease?[/color]

Originally Posted by space1101


One of my cat is overweight with high cholesterol level. The cholesterol level 325 was obtained about 40 minutes after meal, so maybe it should have been not this high were it done after 12 hour fasting.  The vet who did this blood test still said it's still to high, so I'm trying to research about the ways to reduce cholesterol level.

In human, the way to reduce cholesterol is to eat high fiber low fat diet.  I wonder if we can do the same for cats.  Is it a good idea to mix some oatmeal and broccoli in my cat's food?  Does anyone think it is safe to use human method to lower cat cholesterol?

Click to expand...

No. Cats are not humans, not even close. They are obligate carnivores, and lack the ability to properly process anything that isn't animal-based. In addition, they *need* a relatively high amount of fat in their diet for basic bodily functions (and *don't* need fiber). You can't feed a cat like it's an omnivore without negative consequences, and I really wouldn't do it if I were you.

Your other thread states your regular vet doesn't think the cat's cholesterol is high, and that the test should have been done after a night's fast, so the results are faulty even as they are. I think, before you start doing something to address "high" cholesterol, you need to find out if the cat even has a problem to begin with.

As for food suggestions, mine are in your other thread.

AC

THanks mschaur and AC for the suggeston.

I've been feeding mostly Nature's variety, and lots of  freeze dried.   I haven't had urinalysis.  I will have cholesterol level retested.   Maybe it was caused by the egg yolk I occassionaly gave them...

You Vet suggested you switch from wet/raw to DRY?  And it doesn't really sound like he suggested you switch to a prescription dry, just low fat? Cats normally lose weight better on wet than they do on dry.

Well, I guess that's neither here nor there at this point, because I think, since you've got two threads running on this, and AC gave you excellent advice on this one, you're on the right track.  I'm just kind of surprised at that first Vet's advice (but then again, I certainly didn't go to medical school!!  OR Veterinary school )