I have *got* to get my cat to lose weight

For the last month or so I have had my cat strictly on a diet. He gets only 1 - 3 oz can of wet food in the morning and 1 at night.  He is 20 lbs. To say that he has noticed and is upset... is an understatement. He meows from the moment I get home at night until I go to bed and starts again in the morning.

Yet... the scale shows up nothing. The only way I can really weigh him is to put him on the scale with me and unfortunately according to that.. he has gained.

I try to keep in mind that isn't the most accurate way of weighing him but still.

I guess the 3oz of food in each can is about 100 cals. So it seems like he is getting a 50% defecit each day.

But I am surprised I am not seeing more of a loss.

Hello!

First off, I have never put a cat on a diet, other than helping my mother with her cat. I'm not an authority in any way, but we do have members with a lot of experience and I am sure some will be along soon.

I do know that it is a very slow process and one that you don't' want to rush. You don't want a cat to lose weight too fast or there could be health implications.

This thread is long, but would be a good read for you:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/245236/mickey-my-27-lbs-foster-and-his-journey-back-to-a-healthy-weight

I would also excersize the cat more too- get him running more after want toys. Tire him out and this way he shouldn't beg and meow as much either.

I think if you look at calories of what he was eating and now you might have cut back too much. Feed small meals more often and stick to grain free (no rice no potatoes no gravy). Look for low cal like soulistic by weruva sold at petco. Did you wean him off dry if so that is why he is always hungry. It should be done slowly do not weigh daily maybe only every two weeks. Feed wet high protein food only. Canned food no dry.

Yes he demanded that I pull him off dry kind of slow... sometimes he does get it. I give him the Royal Canin lite food.  I actually take like 10 pieces put it in a dish and walk up the stairs. When Bucky follows... I run back down the stairs... then, I run back up... and back down. That said, I can't be doing that all day.  I wonder how much that does anything.   I do tend to try to give 1/2 the wet food and then like an hour later... the other half.

I just don't see results.

It is sli

Mommytobuck said:

Yes he demanded that I pull him off dry kind of slow... sometimes he does get it. I give him the Royal Canin lite food.  I actually take like 10 pieces put it in a dish and walk up the stairs. When Bucky follows... I run back down the stairs... then, I run back up... and back down. That said, I can't be doing that all day.  I wonder how much that does anything.   I do tend to try to give 1/2 the wet food and then like an hour later... the other half.

I just don't see results.

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it is slow an ounce every week is good don't starve him maybe a little mor wet and no dry

Stupid question, but are you weighing your self right before you weigh with the cat? 

momof3b1g said:

 
Stupid question, but are you weighing your self right before you weigh with the cat? 

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Wouldn't it just be someone's luck that when they weigh their cat with them, it looks like not a pound is shed but in reality, the cat is losing weight and the human is gaining!?

You don't mention what his diet was like prior, but cutting back gradually is a good step - too quickly and the body can "adjust" itself to store more fat and slow metabolism to make up for consuming fewer calories. You could get him to chase or play, like with a laser pointer or a small bouncy toy, and then feed him after that. Instead of two meals, are you available, or is anyone else available to feed him more smaller meals throughout the day? What about tossing kibble to make him run the length of your home? Hiding kibble in high places where he'll be encouraged to jump or climb when you go to bed so it keeps him busy?

I find our analog scale is so ineffective. We tried to weigh our cats the same way since they usually won't sit still on it. Even if you can get a digital scale (if you don't have one already), especially one that gets the next decimal place rather than the whole pound, you might see the more minute results faster (bear in mind when you weigh him - before or after meals, and before or after YOUR meals, ideally same time of day and not obsessively. weights fluctuate throughout the day whether it's food or water weight). Keep in mind, cats are much smaller and even if you're trying to cut back with them, every ounce lost is a victory and it won't equate to humans dropping pounds right off the bat. Weight loss is hard enough as is regardless of species!

You've really got to find an inexpensive postal scale for accurate weighing.

Your Bucky is hungry, which makes it that much more dangerous for him to lose weight fast.

You don't have accurate calories he was eating before, I know that one too.

I have a very chunky girl who I took completely off of dry food probably 2 years ago now. She did lose weight just from that alone.

Personally I would stop all dry, it's super carby, and crappy for him anyway.

Feed him grain free canned, find which ones he likes, this is a pain if he is picky like Krissy is, I end up mostly giving her Fancy Feact classic type which is the pate and grain free.

She does like maybe 2 of the Soulistic types from petco, and the B.G. (before grain) chicken only pate.

Otherwise it's all about FF around here!

I would allow him to adjust his amts at first. See how much he eats if given as much as he asks for it.

Once he has it figured out you can avoid more wasting of what he doesn't like, and figure out the calories he is eating a day.You really must get an accurate weight for any diet to be effective enough for a slow loss, but slow enough to avoid HL (hepatic lipidosis)

See when more then 50% of his usual calories are removed, the fat stored turns into fuel for his body. It must pass through his liver, and cat's liver's are fairly wimpy when it comes to processing fat, so that fat starts to clog up his liver being bombarded with fat, and shuts down.

This is a BIG deal, and many die from it without immediate vet care and a long road ahead for healing.

So please find a scale you can weigh him with. Once you have one, you can watch every few days if he has lost in grams, rather than thinking you will see him drop pounds by using a human scale.

pinkdagger said:

 

Wouldn't it just be someone's luck that when they weigh their cat with them, it looks like not a pound is shed but in reality, the cat is losing weight and the human is gaining!?

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Wait... I am supposed to weight myself first?

Yeh I am not expecting to see him lose a lb in a month. I just wanted to see something.. like .5 or something. Well I will keep at it. I just have tried before and never saw any results despite patience. So all I can do it keep cutting back.  He is 20 lbs and really he should be about 13 to 15... that is a long way to go.

Lol u would be surprised how many people think there weight doesn't change. Even moving my scale from my bathroom to the kitchen. The weight is different.

I wanted to update you all. In early August I got on the scale with him and he weighed 19 lbs. Still within the margin of error. Tonight however, the scale said he weighted 18 lbs. Though still within the margin of error (I don't find my scale super sensitive)  I think it is enough to show a clear trend downward.  I cannot be sure about my scale because in the past it has shown him as having lost but when we got to the vet... no...

I am adding coconut oil to his food for his asthma so I am sure that is a few calories.

I hope to get him to 16 lbs by the end of the year.