Help with Weight Loss in Older Cat?

Hi all. This is in reference to my oldest furbaby, Ginger. She is 10 years old and quite overweight. It is remarkable since my 7 year old and 1 year old are slim and trim and always have been.

Consider that Ginger has always been a bit sickly. She had pneumonia when I adopted her. It almost killed her. She has never been the same since, preferring a more sedentary life. Illnesses have always knocked her down hard. She never showed an interest in toys, or being very active ever.

She has fantastic quality of life, spending a lot of her days on the back of a chair with a window view, or curled up on the rug in the bathroom. She is quick to "run her motor" for me and the first one to shout at me that it's time to get out of bed and feed her. On the subject of feeding. . . The cats get 3/4 cup of dry food between the 3 of them twice daily. The two others get a small can of wet food split between them every morning. Ginger outright refuses to touch wet food. She eats and drinks normally and does not appear to sit with her face shoved in the bowl all day.

I'd like to help her lose a couple of pounds and there's where the challenge lies. With zero interest in toys or playing in general, it's hard to encourage it in her. She's an extremely picky eater. Dry food: Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula. Treats: Whiskas Crunchy Tuna Flavored. These are the ONLY two foods she will eat. If I set anything else in front of her I just get the "look".

Any tips/advice? And possibly recommendations for a good joint supplement to ease her probable discomfort?

First of all, get to the vet and discuss your concerns and get your vet on board with her plan.  What we found, just like for adults, is less carbs are more exercise.  Cut her dry food servings and go to scheduled feedings.  Don't allow free feeding.  Will she eat something like Fancy Feast Classic pate?  Those are grain-free and a lot of kitties like it.  Also, have you tried a grain-free food?  Cutting out grains, if possible might help.

For a joint supplement ,you can try Cosequin.  You can just sprinkle it on her food.  Of course, it works best on WET food. And speaking of that, here are a couple of thread;s on how to switch food.  I used to fill up the food dishes with kibble and that was it, until I developed one overweight cat.  NOTHING I did helped him lose weight.  Not low calorie food, not even prescription weight loss food.  NOTHING until I put them all on scheduled feedings of wet food.  THEN, I could monitor everything that went into his mouth (and the number of calories), and he began to lose weight.  I still have to do that or he will put weight right back on, so at feeding time each cat has their eating spot where I can see them, and Darko is the only one who eats on the kitchen floor.  Everyone else is up high or in another room, and once he's finished I have to watch him like a hawk to make sure he stays out of everyone else's bowls until they are done. 

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/transitioning-free-fed-kibble-kitties-to-timed-meals

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/transit...-to-a-new-type-of-food-canned-raw-or-homemade

BTW, carbs can cause diabetes, especially in overweight cats, so that's just another reason why NOT to feed them to cats.  And it's just a matter of finding something Ginger will like.  Some cats like pates, some like chunks, some like flakes, etc.  Some like fish, some like chicken, some like rabbit, etc.  Some  like gravy, some like broths, some like this, some like that.  Currently I have 3 cats and they all eat something different.  They all eat canned  food, but rarely out of the same can.  That's just the way it is.  So I just put lids on the cans and then warm them up for the next meal, or maybe for the meal after that, since mine like variety.  Too many meals of the same thing make them not like a food. 

Since Ginger likes treats, crush some of these up and use them as toppers for wet food.  Addtionally, use whole treats to get her to exercise.  Toss one or several , or even her entire meal if you cannot convert her to canned,  and have her walk or run after them (one at a time)  to eat them.  Exercise, exercise, exercise.  Just don't make her work out until she's panting.