Less active cat

Hi all

Just after a bit of advice on how to moderate the diet of my 12 month old cat. He's always fluctuated between 5.25-5.40 kg but in 10 days he went to 5.65kg. I'm hoping this was just a bladder retention ha! But I am conscious of what I am feeding him.

He's an indoor cat at the moment. Plan is to let him out soon. Letting go for me is a big issue! He's on 100g wet food daily split into two main meals morning and evening. The food varies between feringa, catz finefoods, lilys, wainwrights and occasionally some applaws as a treat. He also gets 50g exactly of royal Canin dry. I haven't changed his intake of food at all. So it's odd he's put weight on unless it's because of the colder weather. I do have a younger kitten too and it could be that he eats her food when I'm at work. They get 50g each but I don't leave all that down when out. I top up when home.

I appreciate any suggestions. The vet wasn't concerned at the moment. She said it would be best to keep him below 6 kg. he's not fat though. Can still see a defined waist and feel his ribs but not see them. He's just a long and tall cat! pic attached. Thanks in advance. Val

If you are leaving dry food out for them to nibble on, especially if it's kitten food, then that could certainly explain a gain in weight.

Was that your question

It is kitten dry indeed. I can't leave adult out as Phoebe is still only 7 months old. Will see what the vet suggests. May mean a mix of adult and kitten kibble maybe? Or just wet food only diet until both are adults.
Weight gain was indeed the question haha

Why not feed wet only?    It's healthier for them and cats gain more weight on dry food.

Well he's officially on a diet. It's been 4 weeks and he's gone from 5.6 to 5.7kg. So still gaining. Vets advised reduction in all food by 20% and if that doesn't work I guess a special diet. Hope this works! I'm starting by cutting out anything extra, treats mainly and taking all food up when I leave the house. I can't monitor which cat eats from whose bowl so time to supervise I think. I know he is greedy and will eat hers when she's had enough! I'm also going to start letting them outside. I've been keeping them as house cats but they're obviously gaining weight inside. The younger one is a healthy weight of 4.3kg and is 9 months old now. She's put on 50g in 2-3 months so not bad. He's putting on too much.

Kitty boot camp begins now!

K

ValG said:

Well he's officially on a diet. It's been 4 weeks and he's gone from 5.6 to 5.7kg. So still gaining. Vets advised reduction in all food by 20% and if that doesn't work I guess a special diet. Hope this works! I'm stayrting by cutting out anything extra, treats mainly and taking all food up when I leave the house. I can't monitor which cat eats from whose bowl so time to supervise I think. I know he is greedy and will eat hers when she's had ebough! I'm also going to start letting them outside. I've been keeping them as house cats but they're obviously gaining weight inside. The younger one is a healthy weight of 4.3kg and is 9 months old now. She's put on 50g in 2-3 months so not bad. He's putting on too much.

Kitty boot camp begins now!

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keep them in and cut the dry food and they should lose weight without the worry of predators and cars. They bring in fleas and get worms when you let them out.

A 1 year old cat is still growing so unless he is decidedly obese weight gain is to be expected. Dry food is high in carbs so is not good for weight control. Furthermore it can lead to urinary blockage in male cats which is deadly left untreated. I would ditch the kibble/biscuits. Next get used to reading the ingredients on your canned food. Many of them are loaded up with starchy fillers such as potato, corn, gluten, etc. you want to find ones that only include meat proteins as much as possible. No veggies.

If your cat is an aggressive eater then I would give him a smaller portion of food knowing that he is going to finish off your other cats meal.

Good luck.

Smaller more frequent meals timed feedings, grain free (says on can). 6 oz day broken up into 3 or 4 meals and no access to dry free feedings

Thank you all for the suggestions.

For wet food they get fed a variety of grain free brands like Feringa, Catz Finefood, Wainwrights (a UK brand) and Smilla. One 200g can lasts both cats one day. I've cut down on kibble. I am in process of changing it to adult so weight gain could be as a result of kitten kibble (higher in protein and carbs etc for kitten development). I am switching them to an adult kibble for neutered cats. It's specifically weight control minded - will know once fully switched. Currently on 1/4 new and 3/4 old. Moving to 50/50 by the weekend. Should add it's also UTI minded so to help the urinary tract. This is the description - "Urine dilution: this helps to maintain a urinary tract environment which is less liable to form struvite and calcium oxalate crystals." Also "Lean body mass: This rich protein diet will help your female cat to maintain an ideal body weight."
Mentions something to do with S/O index too.


I'm feeding two meals daily due to work during the week. I do feed 3-4 at weekends so can spread out the meals and this is when I notice they eat their own food only.

Personally we don't think he's overweight. He is 5.7kg and has a waist when viewed from above. The thing the vet doesn't like is the 'primordial pouch' he has. It does hang a little bit. I always thought this was normal. My old cat had one but weighed 4kg which was fine for his size. I think she may be airing on the side of caution but she wants him to get back to 5.5kg. Will attach photos when I'm home so you can see his profile.

If the reduction in both dry and wet fails (I am following the vets advise to reduce amounts by 20%) then I will ask about cutting dry. I want to aim for small portion of dry a day only rather than two.

Feringa - grain and gluten free, soya and lactose free. It's rabbit flavour I feed. Has 11.1% protein and 4.2% fat. Assuming per 200g can.

Catz Finefood - again grain free, low proportion fruit/veg. Also free from soya, bone meal, form meat, artificial colours, flavourings, attractants and aromas. Tend to be 50% offal content.

Wainwrights - tuna - only 2% peas/carrot. 9.5% protein and 2.5% fat. Completely hypo-allergenic, grain free and all other additive free.

Well day 3 of the diet. Frankie is not impressed. AT ALL. He now follows me wherever I go thinking he's going to get food and watches me prepare my own. He's never had table scraps so it's not anything he's missing haha. He's misbehaving more too. So the Pet Remedy plug in is on again

Why do all cats have a way to make owners feel bad for doing good?! Cheeky monkeys haha. I have so far resisted. Only another 24 days to go ey???

zoneout said:

A 1 year old cat is still growing so unless he is decidedly obese weight gain is to be expected. .
 

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 I completely agree with this statement, 100%.

To ValG:

I have two cats, a 15 month old spayed female, and a 16 month old neutered male.  While they are no longer growing like weeds, they both are still very much growing. I think Dory, my 15 month old, is just about done....she gains at a rate of 1 to maybe 2 ounces per month, these days. George my 16 month old, on the other hand, is still gaining at a rate of 3 to 4 ounces every month.  Both are slender and both have primordial pouches (don't ALL cats? ... I've personally never met a cat of any size, without one!). 

Dory is almost 9 lbs, and is eating about 275 calories of low-carb, zero grain wet food per day. George is slightly larger at almost 10 lbs, and packs away 300 calories of low-carb, zero grain wet food per day.  Once they stop growing, I'll lower that by 25-50 cals per day, but they're still a few months off at least....especially George.

Perhaps I've misunderstood your posts, but I feel like your vet may have you unnecessarily concerned right now.

(edited for spelling mistake)

ValG said:

Well day 3 of the diet. Frankie is not impressed. AT ALL. He now follows me wherever I go thinking he's going to get food and watches me prepare my own. He's never had table scraps so it's not anything he's missing haha. He's misbehaving more too. So the Pet Remedy plug in is on again

Why do all cats have a way to make owners feel bad for doing good?! Cheeky monkeys haha. I have so far resisted. Only another 24 days to go ey???

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Poor Frankie, and poor you.  I've been thinking lately I should have called Mouse (Starvin') Marvin the way he's been meowing pitifully for food every time anyone goes near the kitchen.  Soooo hard to resist when they look at you all cute and sad like they haven't been fed for a week....  not.  Stick with it, hopefully he will get the message that you can be firm and the behaviours will settle down.  It is worth it to keep them healthy.  

Your cat may not necessarily be over weight at 5 K and with that little pouch but perhaps your vet feels he could be heading that way being 5 K and still young and growing.  Some cats seem to develop that little pouch / spay belly after they have been neutered, no matter how lean and fit they are and if Frankie does loose weight he may retain the little pouch.  Mouse developed it pretty much from 5 or 6 months having been neutered very early and he was a very lean, muscular, and active cat  until he was nearly 3 years old.  I can't say the same over the past year as he sleeps a lot more these days: .   He could be a little leaner but it is hard to achieve when I have a lodger that thinks every time my boy squeeks at him it's because everyone else is too mean to feed him.  Mouse is now almost 4 years old and around 4 1/2 K but at 1 year he was about 3 K. He was still growning and gained about 1/2 K the following year.  Once he was 3 years old he settled a lot and slept more, and since then his weight has definitely crept up and I need to keep a much closer eye on it.  Mouse has always been quite food driven so a lot of our games have been around food, finding food at the end of chase games and so forth so he's had to work for his calories.  

Burkey you're right. She has a little. But it doesn't take much to get me worried. I almost take it to be in not doing the right thing as their owner (aka mum). I love them to pieces. But have never over fed them. They do get the best quality grain free food I can afford and a lot of toys (but prefer the food delivery box haha) but other than that it's 2 meals a day. Half kibble portion and half meat.

Like you and MServant (good name ) I have yet to see a cat without a primordial pouch. Frankie got his about 6-7 months old and it's stayed with him since. I have attached a photo of his profile from above. As you can see he is lean. So she probably is airing on the side of caution. I think he's ok. I know people who have cats weighing 6kg and are perfectly ok. Frankie is 5.70kg and Phoebe is 4.30kg but she is 9 months so will probably gain more. Frankie is 13 months now.

Thank you for your kind advice. I just feel a bit down about it.

Should add that his head it to the left. So you can see he has a waist on the right

@ValG  Frankie looks goreous and you should not feel down about what your vet has said at all!  Your vet has given you a guide weight that allows for a little growth, and who knows, perhaps they are not a regular cat loving vet familiar with the little pouch many get.        If you want a laugh you should take a look at some cat show judge comments that have been made about my Mouse over the past couple of years.....  Last year the first judge to award him a first prize described him as 'a little portly around the middle', and this July another judge who was decidedly less kind all round said he was 'verging on chubby'!      It hasn't got in the way of him winning his Premier Certificates and his Premier title being awarded this Septmber.  He is beautiful, he is fit, and he is healthy but he is towards the higher end of the weight both I and the vet would like him to be.   There are many who think all cats should be skinny and lithe but that is not the case, different genetic backgrounds tend to produce different body builds, and like people body shapes vary nicely.  Enjoy your boy and do not panic about his health - he is a growing 'teenager' and the main thing is to keep him active and happy.  And yes, I can see a waist line there!    

Awww thanks and well done to Mouse for winning!!

He is towards higher end. Most people assume that 5kg is the max weight a cat should be. He seems ok to me at nearly 6kg. Won't do him any harm to eat fewer calories mind. Just it's made me a bit too conscious about it now whereas before I was just aware.
Hopefully once I've switched his kibble to the neutered cat version he will stabilise his weight

They say hi

ValG, I'm not a vet, but I think Frankie looks fantastic! That top view is one of the best ways to decipher whether a cat is carrying around a little pudge or not....and to my untrained eye, Frankie looks great.

Here's my George. His shape is very similar to Frankie's, with that ever so slight inward curve just before the hips. This photo is from a slight angle, not directly top down like yours...


And George's belly pooch... (don't tell him I shared this photo publicly, he'll never forgive me 
I think 6 kg is equal to about 13.25 lbs.  Here in the US a vet wouldn't bat an eye at that weight, provided it was proper for the individual cat's frame.  I've seen healthy cats much bigger (18+ lbs), and healthy cats much smaller.... it's an individual thing, no one proper size to fit all cats across the board.

ValG said:

They say hi

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   They sure do!  Neither strikes me as being the shy, retiring violet type shunning the lime light.      What a cute photo of 2 cute cats.

I think @Burkey  has given a lovely illustration there of how that little pouch does not relate to overall weight and is more reinforcement for you to enjoy Frankie and Phoebe and not worry too much about your boy over eating yet.  He is young and ,going by the size of his front paws in that tunnel photo earlier in your thread, he still needs to grow in to his paws.     I can assure you Mouse is definitely a little closer to being lithe than either Frankie or George.