How to get our cat to lose weight? We almost tried everthing we can !

We adopted our two girls Cotillion (approx 3 years old) and Mini (approx 1.5 year old) almost 1 year ago. Now they both on a diet to manage their weight. Mini's 9.4lbs which is a good one I think while Cotillion is 11.6 lbs who's need to lose some weight.

Since last time we took them to our vet, vet said Cotillion should lose some weight (under 10 lbs would be great), we tried Hill's Science Diet Weight Loss Formula (vet recommonded). However, our girls almost ran out of the food with no change. 

I usually feed twice daily and 1/4 cup per time dry cat food according to the instruction durning weekdays and wet food durning weekends. We know wet food will help, but both my husband and I are too busy durning workday morning.

We bought da bird, a laser, and other toys to get Cotillion move. However, Mini is the one who always pays more attention to the toys or responds to us while Cotillion is lying on the floor and watch.  I tried to play with Cotillion in a private room but nothing change.

My husband bought a Food Dispenser and a slow feed bowl, Cotillion still shows no interest to them. 

Finally, I found Cotillion always sit near the window to watch birds. So I thought maybe taking Cotillion outside for walking would help. I asked our vet and followed the advices. After 2 months training, we thought Cotillion should try to walk outside.

She escaped!! The first time I take her outside! It never happened before. Leaving the leash, harness and me!  I followed her to the grove near our house for 30 mins and got her back. Now I'm too nervous to get her out again.

Is anyone can help me? give me some more advice? Is there another brand of cat food shows better effect?  we don't want Cotillion to take the prescription cat food cause she's absolutely not at that stage.

Thanks a lot!

A few ideas:

1. When it comes to cat food, both carbs and fat matter. Science Diet restricts carbs (as much as is possible in a dry food) but not fat. Royal Canin Adult Light restricts both carbs and fat, so you may have better luck with that.

2. Don't assume the fancy "grain free" foods are better -- they aren't always. A carb is a carb whether it comes from grain or some fancy non-grain ingredient like squash or blueberries. Look at the nutritional analysis on the bag. If it doesn't show carbs, plug the other values into the calculator at http://scheyderweb.com/cats/catfood.html to get an estimate. If it's over 40% carbs, don't buy it.

3. Switching either completely or partially to canned food may also help -- it'll lower her carb and fat consumption even further (even a good dry food has more carbs than a canned food). Our vet recommended still feeding *some* high-quality dry food or dental treats though, as canned food on its own won't keep the teeth healthy and clean.

4. Be careful which canned food you feed -- most of the ones with "gravy" have starch/flour in them, and can have carb content almost as high as a dry food! Most brands "pate" options don't have starch/gravy, and Fancy Feast also has a "flakes" option with no gravy if your cat won't eat pate. There is a good list of the carb content of canned cat foods here: http://www.catinfo.org/docs/SortableCatFoodChartCatinfo.org2-22-13.htm

5. Be sure to measure the food, and don't give "heaping scoops" -- a heaping scoop is a small increase in food when you're person-sized, but a pretty big increase when you're cat-sized!


Good luck!!!

Thank you so much for your useful advice and the information you provieded! I will calculate them and try a better way!

We tried the Royal Canin before. It seems like both Cotillion and Mini are not into that,  so we fed that bag of food to a outside cat around our house. Are you familiar with the Natural Balance Weight Loss Formula? One of our friends fed her cat for 1+ year, she said there is some improvement. so I am wondering to givie it a try.

Thank you again!

Actually,  you need to focus on how many calories the cat is getting daily rather than fat or carbs. Too many carbs is more of a concern for diabetics and borderline diabetics. The general rule is to feed 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily. An average 10 pound cat may need 250 calories daily. Other similar weight cats may need more or less. Activity level, age, gender, breed, affect how many calories a cat needs.

Canned foods are lower in calories than any dry food so it's preferable to feed only that. A combo canned and dry diet can work. You don't need any special diet formula, prescription or a commercial brand. See http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity for more tips on how to help a cat to safely lose weight.

No food keeps teeth healthy and clean. Only regular teeth brushing and dental cleanings will keep a cat's teeth healthy. Vet school doesn't teach very much about dental care or even how to do a proper oral exam so many vets just don't know how to best keep a pet's teeth healthy. A couple crunches on something dry and hard isn't going to remove plaque and bacteria and stuck food particles. Pet stores sell pet toothpaste and brushes. Never use Human toothpaste because there may be an ingredient (xylitol, a sweetener) that is toxic to cats.

I posted a response to someone needing help for her fat cat here: http://www.thecatsite.com/forum/newestpost/308580 There are many other similar threads in the Nutrition forum on what to food and weight loss.

Thank you so much! I will try to find out another way to keep my cats healthy!