Cat is over weight

Hi there my cat chirpers got spayed about 4 years ago.she was not skinny but in nice shape.,since she got spayed she plumped out like a balloon.She is 7 years old now and doesn't over eat.What can do to get her to loose weight?I feed her friskies and or meow mix traditional cats foods plus she gets a canned treat every day in a small amount.She is a munchkin breed with very short legs so normal weight for this breed of cat would probably be about 8-9lbs.she weighs about 12 as of right now.Shes pretty active for her age and gets to roam around while getting walked on a leash.Im very protective of our extended family so I wouldn't ever just let them roam freely.What can I do/

Put her on a grain free wet diet and cut the carbs found in most dry foods.  Use dry crunchies as a snack or treat.  Get her moving by playing with her using wand toys or a laser pointer.  Just like with humans, low carbs and exercise will help her take the weight off.  You don't want her to lose too quickly; you just want a gradual lowering of her weight.

I did forget to mention that we get her to chase the a laser light pretty regularly back and forth across our living room.Even though shes quite plump she can run very fast.

stephanietx said:

 
Put her on a grain free wet diet and cut the carbs found in most dry foods.  Use dry crunchies as a snack or treat.  Get her moving by playing with her using wand toys or a laser pointer.  Just like with humans, low carbs and exercise will help her take the weight off.  You don't want her to lose too quickly; you just want a gradual lowering of her weight.

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This is exactly the way to do it.  Cut down on the carbs.  Cats don't need them.   Here is an article to help you figure out how many carbs there are in the food you are buying.  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-compare-cat-foods-calculate-carbs-dry-matter-basis

Now I'm guessing from your user name that you have more than one cat?  If that's the case, you need to monitor when you feed them that Chirpers doesn't finish her food and then try to finish up her sisters' food as well, because it's not only important that she eat low carb food, but calories still count too!  Believe me...I've got a pudgy cat also, and I have to monitor him all the time.  And at treat time, when the other two are on the counter getting theirs, I break his into smaller pieces and throw them as far away as I can to make him run for them for more exercise for him.  AND, I have to count the treat calories too, into his total calorie intake, AND buy carb free treats. 

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-much-food-should-i-feed-my-cat

Chirpers doesn't realy eat a lot of dry cat food compared to our other 2 .Shes prone to eating a lot of grass which of course she ends up coughing it up later.One of our cats "lovergirl" is a huge cat her best friend is at the food bowl yet she doesn't look over weight.

Our3girls said:

 
Chirpers doesn't realy eat a lot of dry cat food compared to our other 2 .Shes prone to eating a lot of grass which of course she ends up coughing it up later.One of our cats "lovergirl" is a huge cat her best friend is at the food bowl yet she doesn't look over weight.

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Dry food isn't the only food with carbs in it .  Lots of canned food is high carb also. 

As to Lovergirl, is she long haired?  Long haired cats are, obviously, harder to tell on their weight.  If the food dish is her best friend, especially if it's dry food, she may very well be.  What does your Vet say about ALL their weights.  (even Chirpers?)  You could ask at their next exam whether or not they need to lose some weight, and even how much.   

Thanks for your reply as for chirpers she doesn't eat a lot of wet food either,she gets a small amount as a afternoon treat ans my 2 others.for some reason reason lovergirl doesn't eat much wet food but make ups for it with eating dry food.This is a cat that once infested with worms so bad she only weighed 8lbs when we got her.she now weighs a wopping 21lbs but doesn't look fat per proportional size.Shes just a big cat and whatever breed she is ,I call her a marble tabby they are just large cats.She had a identical twin that was male and his eating habbits were the same way.Now on to lovergirls she is medium length hair so its not hiding anything as for a looking fat factor if you perceive it that way.She loves to be picked up and held but as heavy as she is it sometimes hurts my back.Chirpers has this huge fat wide belly like I said earlier this happened after she got fixed.She also loves showing it off.