Obese cat, not losing weight at all

Hi all,

My cat has been slightly overweight most of his life and truly is big-boned. However, he was briefly on Hills c/d which skyrocketed his weight. He is now obese and weights 19.2 lbs. I have spoken with three vets about getting his weight down and I have worked diligently on it with no success. One vet recommended him to be on 390 kcals per day and another recommended 156 kcals per day. I tried adding water to his food and even switched him to a wet food diet. Even on 156 kcals, he is not losing weight. He isnt actually that lazy...he runs around and plays chase. I am at a loss. He has now beendieting for a full year with only a 3 oz.loss. Coyld he have a health issue preventing weight loss? Besides obesity, he is healthy. I dont even know how much to be feeding him anymore and I am concerned about health issues. Also, I am worried that a very low amount of calories will leave him nutritionally deficient. Please help. I am lost with this and the vets do not seem to care and all their suggestions with calories are so vastly different. He is currently only eating one 5.5 oz can of wet food (Trader Joes) plus 1-2 Tbsp of dry food (Taste of the Wild.) His blood work is good...no uti issues..no known health issues. He is 5 yrs old and nuetered.

I should mention his goal weight is 16lbs.

If he had blood work with his last check up and the vet found him to be in good health, maybe all he needs is extra play time to get more exercise in . Maybe a wand toy like Da Bird would be good. Most cats love these and don't need an excuse to play when it's around. Maybe a lower calorie food would help too. Weruva, Tiki Cat and Soulistic are good ones. They are shredded meat in broth. Weruva and Tiki Cat are found online and at specialty pet stores. Soulistic is Petco's house brand and is made by Weruva. All 3 of these are very high quality foods. For the Soulistic, I'd avoid the ones in gelee as they are higher in carbs. My cats love the Soulistic Good Karma (white meat chicken in a broth like gravy) and the Harvest Sunrise (Good Karma with bits of pumpkin). They also liked the Weruva Paw Lickin Chicken which is pretty much exactly the same as the Good Karma. No surprise there as they are made by the same people. The Soulistic is usually more budget friendly than the Weruva and easier to find if you have a Petco near you

He actually plays with wands already and likes playing peeka-boo. I have had him on high-end cat food in the past but I lost my husband and its not a possibility to pay more than I already am.

His weight has not budged, despite eating half the calories and being playful. His belly nearly rubs the ground. I no longer have any idea how much he should eat and if hes not losing weight on any calorie amount, I am struggling to see a reason to keep him on such a strict diet. He would much prefer dry food over wet as well.

How much should I feed him? Could there be another health concern that I am missing?

KittyCort said:

He actually plays with wands already and likes playing peeka-boo. I have had him on high-end cat food in the past but I lost my husband and its not a possibility to pay more than I already am.

His weight has not budged, despite eating half the calories and being playful. His belly nearly rubs the ground. I no longer have any idea how much he should eat and if hes not losing weight on any calorie amount, I am struggling to see a reason to keep him on such a strict diet. He would much prefer dry food over wet as well.

How much should I feed him? Could there be another health concern that I am missing?

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This link is a good reference to use. Dr. Pierson is a highly respected expert on feline nutrition. 

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity

Are you currently feeding him 156 calories a day? It seems like a 5.5 oz can plus a little dry would be more than that, unless both are very low calorie.

Typically, a can that size is around 150-200, and dry food is around 25-30 per tablespoon.

However, that amount (5.5 oz can plus a little dry) does seem reasonable for a cat who's a bit bigger than average.

156 cal seems very low. If he is really eating so little, it may be that his metabolism has slowed down and is preventing him from losing.

Does he seem satisfied with his food? Is he always hungry, or does he leave any of his food uneaten?

Ive used that link in the past.

He was on just 3/4 can of food a day but I knew that was way too little...and he was howling from hunger. Thats when I moved him up a bit at a time to what hes eating now. I was worried about a lack of nutrition, his metabolism, and I didnt agree with keeping him so hungry. I also have a Maine Coone, who is skinny, but eats one can of food a day abd sometimes up to a tablespoon of dry food with it. My maine Coone, in both weight and bobe structure, is smaller than my cat who is obese. That should guve you an idea of my concern with feeding him so little.

With his current mealplan, he is definetly preferring a bit more food and I think hes still hungry, but not starving. I have tried increasing food/calories as well....but no weight gain and no loss. It simply does not budge one way or the other.

*bone structure

momto3cats said:

 
Are you currently feeding him 156 calories a day? It seems like a 5.5 oz can plus a little dry would be more than that, unless both are very low calorie.

Typically, a can that size is around 150-200, and dry food is around 25-30 per tablespoon.

However, that amount (5.5 oz can plus a little dry) does seem reasonable for a cat who's a bit bigger than average.

156 cal seems very low. If he is really eating so little, it may be that his metabolism has slowed down and is preventing him from losing.

Does he seem satisfied with his food? Is he always hungry, or does he leave any of his food uneaten?

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I was able to locate a chart that tells how many calories are in a couple different cans of the Trader Joes's, and per that chart, the 5.5 oz cans range from 176 to 182, so already that's more than the 156 calories.  Then, as mentioned here, add in the dry and you're over 200 I'm thinking.

But as long as you're feeding a nutritionally complete food, he's getting nutrition.  And as long as he isn't losing weight too fast, he should be ok.  the goal is to NOT lose more than 1 - 2 % of their body weight per week.  I think you're ok there   My personal opinion is that maybe this food is a little too high in fat.  Maybe not, but maybe so.

  We have a pudgy cat ourselves, and finally got him to lose some weight by cutting out ALL dry food, and measuring all his wet food intake, basically counting calories as you do.  Our Vet said not to go any lower with him (he's at 180 calories, and he is at a standstill, plus seems hungry.  She suggested adding in some canned pumpkin to his food, which is pretty low in calories but high in fiber which should make him feel more full. 

Anyway, have you seen this thread?  this cat was REALLY obese, and at one point was eating I believe around 160 calories per day.  He's lost lots of weight since this thread started.  A HUGE success story.  Maybe you can get some tips from this.  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/245236/mickey-my-27-lbs-foster-and-his-journey-back-to-a-healthy-weight  Oh, BTW, Fancy Feast was his main food, I think.

I dont think I was clear earlier. I know how many cals he is currently on. He, at one time, was at only 156kcals but that was far too low. Hence where he is at now, calorie-wise. At his lowest cal amount and highest, he weighed the same. Clearly, a few minutes more of exercise isnt going to drop his weight by ovver 3lbs, nor is calorie reduction. He has been on different foods and canned, u til recently. Again, no difference. It is more important to me to have him taking in the right nutrition than to starve him in attempt to lose weight. Simply eating does not mean heis getting the nutrition he needs. My concern that I want him to be healthy and clearly, something medically incorrect is going on here be auehis weight is not budging. His weight, however, is appearing to be the sole issue. Hence why I am lost with it.

Have you had a blood workup done on him lately.  Maybe is thyroid is out of whack

mrsgreenjeens said:

 
Have you had a blood workup done on him lately.  Maybe is thyroid is out of whack

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Did you already say, @KittyCort that his bloodwork all checked out?

FWIW, our vet often seems to recommend two timed feedings a day, of as much wet food as the cat will eat. Which worked beautifully for a friend's cat that put on a lot of weight post-adoption. About the only other thing I might suggest is feeding only very low-carb wet foods (for example, most Trader Joe's is higher in carbs than, say, Fancy Feast classics), to increase satiety and decrease emptier carb calories. Even so, his lack of response is a bit mysterious!

Hi all..

Yes, he had bloodwork done and it was fine.

He has the "my way or the highway" attitude and sometimes I swear he has some kind of magic power where he makes sure he stays big...you know....just to win this battle.

He eats three meals a day right now. How many meals was your cat having prior to switching to two meals a day? Maybe Ill give that a try, in hope that he will burn off those calories throughout the day.

Im very hesitant about doing the Fancy Feast food. The ingredients make me cringe. I dont like the carbs in TJs food but I dont feel too great about the by-products/lower quality ingredients in Fancy Feast. He also happens to hate canned food anyhow.

KittyCort said:

Hi all..

Yes, he had bloodwork done and it was fine.

He has the "my way or the highway" attitude and sometimes I swear he has some kind of magic power where he makes sure he stays big...you know....just to win this battle.

He eats three meals a day right now. How many meals was your cat having prior to switching to two meals a day? Maybe Ill give that a try, in hope that he will burn off those calories throughout the day.

Im very hesitant about doing the Fancy Feast food. The ingredients make me cringe. I dont like the carbs in TJs food but I dont feel too great about the by-products/lower quality ingredients in Fancy Feast. He also happens to hate canned food anyhow.

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There's nothing worse than a cat getting stubborn about food! It's so difficult.

It was my friend's cat that did better with two meals a day: she was free-feeding him dry food after she adopted him and he gained lots of weight very fast.

Fancy Feast was just an example; I don't feed it, either, also because of some of the ingredients. And ouch, how unfortunate that your cat doesn't like canned food much, now I'm starting to understand why the weight loss is so difficult! (He really is "my way or the highway"!)

Nutro Natural Choice is one brand that seem to appeal to a lot of picky cats, including ours: not all the flavors have carrageenan, there's no menadione, and there aren't by-products, either. They're high-calorie but the calories are in protein and fat, not carbs, so we feed them at night, and they really do keep the cats full. (Our cats are small but active, and always claiming to be hungry. )

Thanks...Ill check out Nutro and see how the price compares also.

Because he is upset about the canned food, I added the little bit of dry...it was my way of negotiating. Funny enough, he will step right on the scale all by himself to get weighed.

Even if he doesnt get to 16 lbs, I would at least like to see him down some. When I got him, he was 14 lbs and looked like skin and bones. Either way, hes handsome though.

KittyCort said:

Thanks...Ill check out Nutro and see how the price compares also.

Because he is upset about the canned food, I added the little bit of dry...it was my way of negotiating. Funny enough, he will step right on the scale all by himself to get weighed.

Even if he doesnt get to 16 lbs, I would at least like to see him down some. When I got him, he was 14 lbs and looked like skin and bones. Either way, hes handsome though.

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Nutro Natural Choice is a good food. It comes in a lot of flavors and textures like pates, chunky pates, minced and sliced. All 3 of my picky eaters like that one. The price is generally about $1 for a 3 ounce can. They don't make any other size. 

I bet he is handsome. Do you have a picture you can share with us? 

Hi all.

I apologize for my lengthy disappearance. A small bit of rain knocked out my internet for days and my other kitty has been having some megacolon issues.

Anyways, I have moved Jazzy boy back to TOTW dry and am feeding him two meals and one small "snack." He is happier with being on the dry with added water and two meals seems to suit him. He will be having his first weigh-in since the switch tonight or tomorrow so cross those fingers and say a prayer please! By switching him back to dry, he is no longer eagerly making every attempt to eat everyone elses food. I imagine those mishaps add up in the calorie department. He is now on 190-195 kcals. Ill post a pic soon as well.

Fingers crossed that he's going to lose something

My handsome boy

KittyCort said:

My handsome boy

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Yes he certainly is very handsome