What to feed my overweight cat??

maddies momma

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Maddie is a five year old male neutered cat. (why he has a female name is a long story, but he doesnt mind it) I have been doing a lot of research into cat food lately and have become slightly overwhelmed with all the information, so I am going to tell you maddie's story and then hope for some advice. 

Maddie grew up on whiskas dry food with occassional friskies and fancy feast wet food. Shortly after he got neutered i wanted to put him on a better quality food so i chose Authority brand dry and canned food. He did really well on this and stopped having diarreah. However the new food in combination with being neutered caused him to get huge. He put on a lot of weight really fast. So i switched his dry food to the weight control version. He did slim down a fair bit. Now he is a decent size but still has a big belly. he seems to be stuck at this weight. i want to get him to a more slim healthy size but im not quite sure how. I considered switching his cans to hills science diet light or perfect weight but then i looked up the ingredients and reviews and didnt like what i found. So he is still currently on authority weight management dry with one quarter of authority adult canned per day. (i live in canada and can not buy the weight conterol canned version.)  So should i increase the canned and decrease the dry (even though the canned isnt weight controll) or should i switch brands? and if switch brands then what one? All advice is appreciated,Thanks.
 

LTS3

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There is good info here on weight loss: http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity

I suggest feeding only canned food if possible. Canned foods are a lot less calorie dense than dry foods. Most cats don't miss "crunchies" but if yours does, maybe offer a very small amount of a grain-free dry food or hard treats or freeze dried raw. But if you have to feed some dry, make it no more than 50% of the diet. The canned food doesn't have to be a weight control formula. I'm not familiar with Canadian brands of pet food but I think Nature's Variety Instinct is available in Canada.

How much does your cat weight now and what is his ideal weight? It's generally suggested to feed 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight per day. If your cat needs to lose a lot of weight (say, more than 5 lbs), the calorie reduction must be done very slowly to prevent fatty liver disease.
 

lisahe

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So should i increase the canned and decrease the dry (even though the canned isnt weight controll) or should i switch brands? and if switch brands then what one? All advice is appreciated,Thanks.
I agree with @bonepicker and @LTS3 about feeding only canned food. Perhaps you could wean your cat off the dry food, adding in more and more wet foods that are high-protein, without fillers like grains or potato as you go.
 
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maddies momma

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Thank you for all the info. I am not sure maddies exact current or ideal weights. He was about twelve pounds before he was neutered and for him that was slightly underweight. He has is annual exam coming up in a few months so i will find out where he should be at then. I have not fully decided on the best brand of food for him yet so right now I am going to stick with authority but increase the cans and decrease the dry. Any thoughts on authority cat food or reccomendations for better brands would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 

tabbysia

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Weruva Paw Lickin Chicken is pretty low in fat and calories. It's just chicken breast and not much else. My cats don't like it but maybe yours would. You could order it online.
 
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