Best way to get 1 1/2 pounds off my cat?

I just weighed Robin this evening, and he now weighs 14.3 pounds, 3/4 pound more than before he started on "indoor weight advantage" food.
The vet wants him at about 12 pounds. Right now he gets mostly dry Purina ONE hairball formula. I HAD him on their indoor advantage formula, and it left him massively unsatisfied, so last week I switched back to the hairball formula.

The bag says a 10 to 14 pound cat should get between 1/2-1 cup a day. I give him a teeny bit under 1/2 cup twice a day--just started this--I used to free feed him and I bet he was eating 1 1/2 cups a day, sometimes more sometimes less.

He's not a food a holic but I do give him a little people food occasionally, like cooked chicken. He also gets a can or two of Sheba or Purina Beyond a week, but he rarely eats more than a few tablespoons at a time.

I just need to know from someone with experience with heavy cats if I'm going about this okay. I don't play much with him because he does not seem to want to play very much anymore, [emoji]128533[/emoji]

Thanks.
As you can see, he does have a bit of the tummy, which shows when he lays down. Otherwise he doesn't seem too too bad.

I can't afford all canned--and he is SO hard to switch to new foods. He had been a feral fed people scraps and It literally me 2 or 3 months to get him switched off people food and onto cat food of any kind. If it smells strong or has a weird shape, he won't touch it.

Can I bump for a cat expert? I SHOULD be one, by now, but it's just I've never had to put a cat on a "diet" before, as all my previous cats lived in multiple cat households.

Right now I'm feeding Robin 1/2 c Purina ONE dry hairball formula a day, with a little canned a few days a week. He's 14 1/2 pounds, and I want him down to 13, maybe even to 12 (my vet wants him to 12-13).

Thank you.

I feel soooo guilty. I love to feed my cat..,he likes to eat, but hes put on 3/4 pound since December, and I don't like where his weight is headed.

Ok I just looked up the brand and there are 404 calories per cup of dry. The Indoor advantage weight loss formula had 416 calories per cup.

I don't think a fixed indoor, low activity cat needs 400 calories a day, right??

Can you afford to give some wet food every day? I always find wet food a great help in weight management - its so much more satisfying for them, both because it's higher in meat protein and, being wet, you can give a much bigger portion for the same cals. It might be worth looking online and seeing if you can get the wet food more cheaply. That's what I do, and the price difference can be significant (as I'm in the uk, the sites I use won't be of any use to you, but there may be other members who can help there).

If he's gaining on his current rations, I'd look at dropping to maybe 3/4 cup total a day...less if you do bring more wet food into the mix. Remember to account for every bit of human food you give him too - those treats can mount up surprisingly quickly sometimes

Alongside this, see if you can get him moving more. As well as interactive play with toys, try making him chase down his kibble one piece at a time. It could well be worth looking at treat balls too...anything that means he has to work for his food.

I'm no 'expert' - I've not tried to slim down a cat before, but I've had plenty of battles with canine and equine waistlines, and the principles are the same.

Ultimately, he'll tell you if it's working or not...both by his weight and by whether he's parading up and down with a placard saying 'Feed Me - I'm Starving!'

Thank you, Columbine.

When it comes to the wet food, it's the cost of the waste that makes it unaffordable. Robin nibbles a tablespoon or so of Sheba and Fancy Feast pates, then walks away. The better brand--the Purina Beyond--he likes better, but it's a dollar per can, on sale. I can only buy it now and then. My highest cat food budget is about $30 a month, tops, and I might be cutting even that down, if my hours at my job are cut.

I can do the play thing, IF he wants to go along. He really has the Ragdoll part down pat, a little too much, if ya know what I mean. This is a kitty who howls for 3 hours for me to go to bed so HE can sleep in the Big Bed. [emoji]128518[/emoji]

At the same time, he doesn't get too panicky now at the sight of an empty bowl. I free fed him for years, because as a kitten he was underweight and picky. Today, he pawed at me as I slept, then went to sleep under the blankets, not even waking up when I put his morning dry down.

I wish I could do raw. I can tell he's the kind of cat who would do VERY well on it. I hate the carbs in his current food, but he really likes it. (ONE Hairball). The Purina ONE Indoor Advantage food was horrible though, he HATED it, it made him sluggish--and it put a LOT of weight on him.

I know what it's like to keep wasting food. Up until very recently (the last few weeks) I swear we threw out more food than got eaten. Shadow is the pickiest eater - he'd often just lick at the wet food, and then demand a fresh bowl!

Remember you can feed up to 10% of his diet as unbalanced food. Adding in some plain meats might be more affordable for you, with less wastage.

I'm sure you and he will come to some arrangement! :nod:

Leaving aside the aspects of better food options and so forth:

He probably doesn't need much more than 250 calories per day if he should weigh 12-13.  Just a guess using rough suggestions, but it'll be closer than "1/2 to 1 cup" of dry kibble.  It's amazing the variance that can be, with 400 calories in a cup!

I wouldn't cut the calories too drastically if he really was getting 400+ by eating a whole cup.  If you've only just gone to portion control, he can eat half a cup plus some extra nibbles of this and that (treats or whatever).  He's still going to wonder where it went and probably be more insistent about food. The dry food just lends itself to them overeating and being not that satisfied.

I don't know what the dry food costs anymore.  It would be good if you can throw some wet into the mix as mentioned.  He'll be a tough one to convert probably if he doesn't show interest in wet food now.  But even some dry food that gets you more meat and less carbs would likely be more satisfying.  The formulas don't much matter (indoor, hairball, etc, it's mostly marketing) as long as he doesn't actively have some kind of reaction or get sick from them.

My cats were 21lbs and 17 lbs April '14 and I switched them entirely to canned food. Now they are 12.4lbs and 13lbs. I use Friskies pate. Not "top quality" but it's what I can afford and they like it so that's fine with me. I spend $35/month feeding both of them all Friskies. (One gets 1 full can a day the other gets 7/8th of a can a day)

xcourtney3 said:

My cats were 21lbs and 17 lbs April '14 and I switched them entirely to canned food. Now they are 12.4lbs and 13lbs. I use Friskies pate. Not "top quality" but it's what I can afford and they like it so that's fine with me. I spend $35/month feeding both of them all Friskies. (One gets 1 full can a day the other gets 7/8th of a can a day)

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Thank you. Unfortunately my cat didn't use to like Friskies, but I might try it again. Can I ask what you were feeding them before you switched?

Yes, I might try a little people food. Just a little, in substitution for the dry. He's nuts over chicken.

The thing about the dry is, maybe it's my imagination or maybe it's normal cat aging, but when I first got him he ate ONLY chicken breasts with a little canned and cat vitamins, and his energy level was enormous. Now he literally sleeps all day, and his interest in play almost entirely gone (except if I drag a string around lol). I wonder if it's the carbs in the dry.

2bcat said:

Leaving aside the aspects of better food options and so forth:

He probably doesn't need much more than 250 calories per day if he should weigh 12-13.  Just a guess using rough suggestions, but it'll be closer than "1/2 to 1 cup" of dry kibble.  It's amazing the variance that can be, with 400 calories in a cup!

I wouldn't cut the calories too drastically if he really was getting 400+ by eating a whole cup.  If you've only just gone to portion control, he can eat half a cup plus some extra nibbles of this and that (treats or whatever).  He's still going to wonder where it went and probably be more insistent about food. The dry food just lends itself to them overeating and being not that satisfied.

I don't know what the dry food costs anymore.  It would be good if you can throw some wet into the mix as mentioned.  He'll be a tough one to convert probably if he doesn't show interest in wet food now.  But even some dry food that gets you more meat and less carbs would likely be more satisfying.  The formulas don't much matter (indoor, hairball, etc, it's mostly marketing) as long as he doesn't actively have some kind of reaction or get sick from them.

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misterwhiskers said:

Thank you. Unfortunately my cat didn't use to like Friskies, but I might try it again. Can I ask what you were feeding them before you switched?

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I was feeding 4health indoor dry 

Maybe try some of the Fancy Feast cans (the classics) sprinkled with a little Fortiflora? I know you said money is an issue but if he'll only eat a little - 1 can a day would probably cost you only ~60/70 cents a day.

I just discovered that Sheba has something called "Perfect Portions"!!!! They are a little more expensive but each one is only the size of half a can, so this really IS perfect!!!! And Sheba is grain free--so I'm pretty happy about this!!!!

That's great That should save on wastage :nod:

misterwhiskers said:

I just discovered that Sheba has something called "Perfect Portions"!!!! They are a little more expensive but each one is only the size of half a can, so this really IS perfect!!!! And Sheba is grain free--so I'm pretty happy about this!!!!

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How many oz are they?

I believe they are 1.6 ounces each, and there are two per "pack". From what I can tell, they sell for about 79¢ before a sale; the case price at Walmart.com is cheaper (about $9?). Not sure but am hoping the stores sell them too.

Here's the link; the case of "24" (which is 12 double packs) is $8.40 at Wamart.com

http://mobile.walmart.com/ip/Sheba-Perfect-Portions-Poultry-Pate-24pk/42425074

That would be good for a late night snack but not enough for a meal

You're right. But my cat needs just a little something to break him of the all-dry routine. He never really eats more than 1/4 can at one time, even the 3 oz. cans, so for him, at least, it's a good thing.

You wouldn't happen to know about how many calories is in a 3 oz serving of Sheba chicken pate, would you?

misterwhiskers said:

You wouldn't happen to know about how many calories is in a 3 oz serving of Sheba chicken pate, would you?

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Try the chart here: http://catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

According to this, the chicken pate is  42 kcal ME/ portion.