Multi-cat diet

I have four cats that are fed together (five total, but a long story LOL).  The four eat dry Iams.  The four year old (Beef) is a chubby 10lbs.  Nathan & Creamy (2 years old) are very overweight at around 16lbs.  The baby (Rusty), is around 7lbs, but still growing at 7 months.  In the past few months, Creamy has had two bouts of anorexia, diarrhea, and vomiting - vet thinks it's pancreatitis (possibly brought on by canned food, so that's out).  I feel like getting the weight off couldn't hurt her health.  They are strictly indoor kitties.  I looked up how many calories they should be getting, began feeding at a deficit, and two months later there was no change.  I feed twice a day, and they were running out shortly before the next feeding.  I cut them back a bit more around a month ago (from two rounded 1/2 cups twice a day to two level 1/2 cups).  I'm still not seeing any weight loss, though I have a pretty cheap scale which may not be entirely accurate.  They now run out of food within about an hour of being fed, and beg constantly.  I feel bad that they're going so long between feedings, but is this ok?  I know that wild cats would not eat constantly, I just don't want them to lose too fast.

I am always hesitant to offer dieting advice for cats, as if done wrong it can make cats very ill. Have you talked to your vet about a diet plan for them?

Normally I suggest canned food, but I know you mentioned it's out.

The carbs in dry food make weight loss very difficult. There are as many different kinds of canned foods as there are dry foods, so finding one that has the proper fat/protein ratios so as not to set off her pancreatis shouldn't be too hard. What brand was she eating when she got sick?

I agree that any time you start drastically cutting calories you need to be working closely with a vet.

Are there other vet options where you live? Because dry food is not better for cats with pancreatitis. The current thinking takes into consideration the cat's special dietary requirements (as an obligate carnivore), and many vets base recommendations for cats off of their knowledge of dogs.

This is a very good article for you: http://www.2ndchance.info/pancreatitiscat.htm

They REALLY need the moisture from wet food. This would also help with the goal of weight loss.

If you need to/want to stick to kibble, would you consider giving our kitties meals in a treat egg? Something like this: http://www.baxterboo.com/cat/suppli...=google+base&gclid=CMONlNrvyrMCFY-d4AodxiMA5g

I've had pretty good success getting my one tubby cat to lose weight at a healthy pace with this. She was forced to get some exercise in order to eat. Sometimes she would lose interest before she had eaten her entire meal and one of my skinnier kitties would work at getting the remainder.