Dry cat food that won't put weight on? Or wet food help!

I have a 5 year old spayed female that had previously been given dry food. She was only given about 1/3 cup a day, with a little bit of wet food at night. Well, I made the switch to grain free - all wet to help her lose weight (2-3lbs) and be healthier overall. However, she's not eating it all! I put it down at night and in the morning, there is still almost half of it left over. I take it away in the morning because by that time it's just nasty. She was a grazer on dry food, and is doing the same with the wet. I tried the feed half in the morning and half at night route too, and she still won't eat all of it. 

So, any suggestions for dry cat food that can help her lose weight? At one point I had her on Blue wilderness at 1/2-1/4 c a day and she was still not losing weight. 

Her thyroid has been checked and she's good, just lazy. I do play with her at night after work to help her get some exercise. 

I would not recommend dry food for weight loss. It tends to be more carby than wet. You can try crunching up some dry food on top of the wet food like "sprinkles" to entice her. You also should try different textures. Some cats won't eat pate, some won't eat anything but pate (like mine.) So try pate, shredded wet, pouches and minced. Cats definitely have texture preferences. 

You can also try sprinkling some Bonito Flakes on top of it. Most cats love them. You can find them at most pet stores. 

Just so you don't waste food, try putting out smaller portions and refrigerating the rest. I'd also take away the free feeding of dry food and switched to timed meals. Offer the wet first, and if she doesn't eat it within a couple hours, give her the dry. She won't eat the wet if she already has dry sitting out. 

She does not have dry anymore. I made the switch to all wet about 3 weeks ago. I have noticed she is losing weight on it, but that may just be because she is only eating about half of what she should. 

She is currently on the pate style, which I thought may be one issue why she's not finishing it all. She would eat it all when she was only given a tablespoon for her medication. She's not picky about food at all and will eat any style of wet given to her previously (even the same brand the she's on now). Any ideas about grain free shredded or minced? I prefer the 5.5 oz cans or the 13oz. I would love to stay at about $1 a day as well. 

Oh there are a ton of options. 

On the higher end: Tiki Cat, Wuerva, Redbarn, BFF, Nutro, and Merrick all have minced or shredded. Anything in a pouch is usually shredded or minced with gravy. Keep in mind, gravy tends to have more carbs though, but it's a good "intro" to wet food. It's still less carbs than dry food though. 

Cheaper options are: Grreat Choice from PetSmart has a poultry platter and other flavors that are grain free, and Friskies has a few minced grain free options as well. Sheba also has grain free food, some are pate, some are minced... just check the label. Sometimes it's helpful to just buy like one of each of the cheaper options to see what the cat likes.  

If you are wanting her to lose weight, it honestly sounds like you are in the perfect situation! She's only eating as much as she needs and losing weight naturally. Cut down on the amount of food you put out so you don't keep wasting it

Minka said:

If you are wanting her to lose weight, it honestly sounds like you are in the perfect situation! She's only eating as much as she needs and losing weight naturally. Cut down on the amount of food you put out so you don't keep wasting it

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Haha. I love that she's losing weight, but I was worried it was because she was practically starving herself. It would be fine for now, but not good over the long term, and losing 2-3 lbs is not a lot to lose. I went out and bought 5 different brands (Authority, Nature's Variety Instinct, Wellness, Natural Balance, and Blue Wilderness) and different styles and tried the 2x a day thing again. 

Her favorite was Authority Shredded. It was the only one she completely finished. All of the others she left half eaten (She only licked the Natural Balance gravy and left the rest).  I know it has wheat-gluten in it, but if I can keep her on canned and she'll eat it all, I'm fine with it. 

Kaitie09 said:

 
Haha. I love that she's losing weight, but I was worried it was because she was practically starving herself. It would be fine for now, but not good over the long term, and losing 2-3 lbs is not a lot to lose. I went out and bought 5 different brands (Authority, Nature's Variety Instinct, Wellness, Natural Balance, and Blue Wilderness) and different styles and tried the 2x a day thing again. 

Her favorite was Authority Shredded. It was the only one she completely finished. All of the others she left half eaten (She only licked the Natural Balance gravy and left the rest).  I know it has wheat-gluten in it, but if I can keep her on canned and she'll eat it all, I'm fine with it. 

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I'm glad you found something she likes. Honestly, getting her on any wet food is awesome right now. She may be open to other brands and flavors once she gets used to eating wet. Good luck!

For a cat, 2-3lbs is quite a lot. I would get a baby scale if you don't already have one and weigh her to make sure she isn't losing too fast. I can't think of the percentage but I know catinfo.org lists it.

The last time she was at the vet she weighed 11lbs. The vet wasn't too concerned, she just said not to let her gain weight. Personally, I think she should be around 8-9lbs. She gained a lot of it when she went on fluoxetine a couple years ago. I haven't weighed her, but I can feel a noticeable difference when picking her up, and her stomach isn't as round anymore.