Can I Supplement My Cats' Meal with Oat Bran to Help Them Lose Weight?

denimndiamonds

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In eight months my 8yo petite Cali put on a pound.  It's because I bought a programmable automatic feeder so she could eat on time and not deal with my erratic schedule.  I always fed her 1/8 c. three times a day, but the smallest amount the feeder dispenses is 1/4 c.  So, she was getting one or sometimes two double meals.  I rescued 5mo Lexi who is now 11mo and pudgy.  She has been restricted to one room (since Cali doesn't want her here) and I had been feeding her too much kitten food for her level of activity.  I've cut back, but she is definitely hungry.  I have been serving them both cooked oat bran mixed with their evening meal which is a mix of wet and dry food. I am hoping it will serve to fill them up so I can cut back their food intake and get them into healthier shape. I started out with 1/4 tsp (cooked) to 1/2 tsp. to 1 tsp. and today about 2 tsp.  They lick the bowl dry, they seem fine, their stool may be slightly different - not sure.  I also want to add oat bran to their dry food in the morning which is higher protein, lower fat and higher fiber than lots of other brands.  I don't want to cut back their food and leave them hungry.  Will the oat bran do the trick while they are still getting the necessary nutrients from the cat food?  Is 4 tsp. a day too much or just a drop in the bucket?  Thanks.  Anne
 

arlyn

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Grains of any kind are not going to help your kitties lose weight, they are just not designed to use them.

Best bet would be to get them on an all canned diet (much healthier anyway), higher proteins from meat, lower fat, low/no carbs.
 

smitten4kittens

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Grains of any kind are not going to help your kitties lose weight, they are just not designed to use them.

Best bet would be to get them on an all canned diet (much healthier anyway), higher proteins from meat, lower fat, low/no carbs.
I agree, an all wet diet would be the way to go for weight loss and good health in general. Feeding oat bran will only add useless carbs to their diet without adding any nutrition.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I agree that the best way to get them to lose weight is to feed canned.  We tried and tried to get Darko to lose weight, and the ONLY thing that worked is when we finally transitioned everyone off kibble onto canned, so that we could strictly  monitor what he ate.  But if that isn't possible, you may at least need to change the food you are feeding.  The best kibble is high protein, low carb, or "catkins", if you will
.  Wysong's Epigen 90 is probably the very best, however, it's also very pricey.  Also Nature's Variety Instinct is high protein, low carb, as is Evo, however Evo is very calorie dense.  And with all of these, feeding 1/4 cup per serving (via your auto feeder) may be too much

Also, they may need more exercise, I'm thinking.  Since Lexi is confined to just one room, she's probably not getting as much as she could if she had to run of the house.  I know you said Cali doesn't like her, but have you tried all the integration tricks to help them get along (http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats), or is your plan to have Lexi live in that one room for her entire life?  Our Callie didn't like "the boys" when they came to live here, but after 5 difficult months, she finally accepted them
 

Zoren

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Although I agree wet food is a better choice, realistically many people use dry for a variety of reasons. Wet food can not be left out long, and can be costly for example. I'd rather see a cat adopted and eat dry food than have no home at all. Oat bran can be added slowly to the wet food but in very small amount. I'd start with 1/4 teaspoon a day and go to 1/2 max. (I'd ask a vet what is recommended for your cat's size and age). This will not really help for weight loss enough to compensate for too much high carb food. It may help with the microbiome, reducing hairballs and keeping it regular. It has things of nutritional value for cats and is very low amount of carbs compare to the dry food. It's gluten free Overweight cats are better off fed on schedule. I'd stop with the auto feeder and get dry food without grains and at least 42% protein. Protein should be mostly from animal sources so it should be the first ingredients in the food. These foods cost more but will keep the cat healthier and hopefully avoid costly vet bills. I find cats eat less on better food (yes more costly) but LESS of it. If they aren't getting the nutrients from meat (cats are obligate carnivores- needing only meat) they will over consume the food loaded with carbs trying to get enough met protein. Then you have problems. Another bonus in less waste-less matter for the cat litter = less litter. If your cat is altered reduce the amount of calories by 20%. Don't forget exercise. If you are gone a lot the cat will sleep. If you can, get two high cat trees. Most cats will use them (eventually) and then they have to go up and down to use litter box,etc. Often the go high up when your are gone because they feel safe. At least mine do. Just a thought.
 

Cat McCannon

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Cats turn carbs into body fat. Feeding a cat carbs as a filler isn’t going to help it lose weight.

Grain free doesn’t mean low carbs. Kibble has more carbs than is healthy for a cat, grain free or not.

Cats that have something to engage their interest throughout the day don’t sleep as much as cats with nothing to do. Set it up so your cats can look out the window. They love looking out windows, especially when there’s a bird feeder nearby and other activities they can watch.
 

lisahe

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Cats turn carbs into body fat. Feeding a cat carbs as a filler isn’t going to help it lose weight.

Grain free doesn’t mean low carbs. Kibble has more carbs than is healthy for a cat, grain free or not.
Totally agreeing with all this... Feeding something like oat bran (or potato or peas or all sorts of other fillers in many foods both wet or dry) is just feeding empty carb calories. Better to feed more protein, which is satiating for cats since that's what they're built to eat.

The only dry food I'll feed is Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein chicken, which has very low carbs, under 3% dry matter, and no fillers. It's calorie-dense, though, so may not be a good choice for weight loss, which should be done slowly.
 

CyberTiger

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The following link is what I've been following for helping my cat lose weight. As a WARNING, there are some images of surgical insides and also hurt behinds from obese cats being unable to groom. Feline Obesity: An Epidemic of Fat Cats

My cat only put on an extra pound or two, but I have found it very helpful. I knew exactly what her calories were and decreased by about 10% instead of the 20% recommended as I switched her from 3 meals of 1 wet + 2 dry to all 3 being wet meals. It's been slow, but I keep in mind that it's a marathon and not a sprint. She is doing better and seems happier.

You have to decrease the calories to lose weight. If you want more filling, you should use wet food where you can. But I'm at the stage of all wet food and had to cut down some of that and my cat has to accept it. But I'm trying to go slowly to lessen any discomfort.

I'm doing just enough to keep weight being lost. Cats can't lose more than 2% of their weight per week. If they do, they can develop fatty liver disease because the fat loss is too much for them to process. So I try to aim for 1% but am alright if it's less than that. I weigh her 3 times a week and keep track.

Enough protein is also important.

I'm fine leaving wet food out for 6 hours. The link I gave suggests up to 12 is alright. My cat doesn't have immune system problems, is young, and cats eat meat out for days in the wild. I very thoroughly check each can for problems before and after opening, where I think is where issues are more likely. Because of how filling the wet food was, despite me trying to be slow about it and make it line up with my 10% deacreasings, it would take my cat 6 hours to finish meals at times. Now, she eats her food in one sitting most of the time. Maybe leaving some bits for an hour later.
 
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CyberTiger

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I rescued 5mo Lexi who is now 11mo and pudgy. She has been restricted to one room (since Cali doesn't want her here) and I had been feeding her too much kitten food for her level of activity. I've cut back, but she is definitely hungry.
I didn't catch Lexi's current age the first read through. It's often said around here that "you can't overfeed a kitten." It's probably not 100% true, but I wouldn't worry about her being slightly overweight until she hits at least the 12-month mark. If she's not near to or crossed into obese, then I wouldn't try getting her to lose weight now.

If you want to go for more filling with less calories, I would try to up the wet food if possible.

As you transition Lexi from eating like a kitten to eating like an adult, you're going to need to transition on calories anyway. So if you're waiting for the 12-month mark to do it, you can do it then. But definitely go slowly either way.
 
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Zoren

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When people write and want advise or ideas, I try to be flexible, non judgmental, and realize some people have limited resources. Many people use dry food. I'm fortunate to be able to take my animals to the vet and buy quality wet food but I have no need or right to tell others not to feed dry food. There are many cats that are healthy and live 18-20 years on dry food-even run of the mill chow. Many are slim due to their genetics and others tend toward being Chonky do to genetic predisposition. Some are overfed. I have known plenty of free fed kibble eaters that are slim and muscular. There is no total consensus within the Veterinary community that dry food, in proper amounts, causes obesity or diabetes. All dry kibble has carbs. Grain or otherwise. However, grain free often focuses more on higher protein content. What matters is how much meat protein a given brand has. Basically, I think making sure cats are getting sufficient water and not overfeed is very crucial when feeding dry. Try to get 42% or more protein (mostly from meat) and as low of carbs as you can. If possible feed at least some wet food. If animal digest is in the ingredients beware this is often used as a coating to entice cats to eat the kibble and may play a role in overeating if you free feed. Note that not all wet food is good either. Check their meat protein as well. As with everything in life nothing is perfect and we just do the best we can.
 

CyberTiger

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That's why I add in "if possible" and things like that when I mention it. Because whether or not something is better, people can only do the best they can. My cat gets Fancy Feast Classics and Tiny Tiger, which is definitely not the best of the lot, but it's what I can do now. Pretty high protein though.

Anne said she's currently feeding dry, wet, and cooking these oats. (Seems like the wet and oats are only for dinner time though?) The oats really ought to go. But if Anne is able to feed more wet, then that would be great. But definitely do the best possible if not.

She is concerned about making the two cats feel hungry while decreasing their food amount, which seems to be why this started. Suddenly dropping the calories to where they would ideally be and adding oats for filler is not a fitting idea for a cat though. Well-intentioned and I could see why the idea came up, but just not a good fit.

And so I think decreasing calories slowly on Cali (with regular weigh-ins) would be a good idea while not trying to rush young Lexi who is not across the 1 year mark yet and may still need higher calories than an adult cat at this time. More wet food, more better. But do the best possible.

So with that said, if they've had a sudden drop in calories over this, I think those calories need to go back up to at least 80% of what they were originally getting. 90% if you want the decrease to be slower. And without the oats. (Maybe let Lexi keep at a higher amount until her birthday.)

If the dry food dispensers are deemed necessity due to schedule, would it be possible to only fill them the amount needed for the day? Then no extra food can come out because there is no extra food.
 
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CyberTiger

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at least 80% of what they were originally getting. 90% if you want the decrease to be slower.
For clarity, by "originally" I mean by the recent big calorie amount with the automatic feeders. Not the original-original amount of 1/8 cups x 3. Since the bigger amount was what they recently got used to.
 

Alldara

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Can they have site swaps where the larger one gets the run on the house for a few hours? You can get her really playing on the extra space (or on some stairs if you have them!)

the oat bran might make her gain more weight.
 
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