How much to feed for weight loss?

belochka

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He is overweight.

We've been to the vet and he weighed in at about 14-15lb, but the vet said he should be about 10lb.

So, there are 4-5lb to lose.

I've read the articles here, but they weren't very helpful because they all recommend regular vet visits, vet monitoring and so on. Unfortunately, we cannot afford such frequent vet visits - we do visit the vet, but to come every week/bi-weekly for weight check-up is beyond what we could afford at this time.

The vet said that we could limit his food intake, but didn't give any specifics thinking it was not a big deal.

But there must be at least some general guidelines for a healthful cal consumption (just like for humans).

What is an average daily cal requirement for an average tabby cat - neutered, indoor and not very active?

We do encourage moving and exercise, but his exercise bursts are rather short. Maybe, it is not easy for him given he's wearing  a few extra lbs.

So, does anyone know how to calculate a daily cal consumption?

Als0, we've found no-grain kibble with freeze-dry raw pieces - very good quality stuff. There are 433kcal per cup.

Any thoughts on how we could feed this for weight loss and then maintenance? A cup per day? Half a cup per day?

We do not want him to be constantly starving either.

We will appreciate all the collective wisdom on this board.
 

tunacat

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Strict diets are usually not good for overweight cats as it can easily lead to health problems. You'd be better off with more exercise and maybe trying to switch his food to one that is less fattening. If you do that introduce the change gradually over the course of a month or so. (like 90% of the old food and 10% of the new food at first (if not even less) and continue to increase the amount of the new food to old food ratio if he takes to it okay. Don't decrease the amount of food you give him. I've found vets can be very unhelpful with weight loss issues. If your vet thinks your cat needs to lose 5 pounds then it needs to be a very slow process over a long period of time regardless of how pushy they get about it. That's a lot of weight for a cat.
 

LTS3

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It's generally recommend to feed 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily. You can feed more like 30 calories or so instead if you want to do a very slow calorie reduction to prevent fatty liver disease.

First figure out how much your 14 pound cat is currently eating. Here are some charts:

http://www.petobesityprevention.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Cat_Dry_Food.pdf

http://www.petobesityprevention.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Cat_Canned_Pouch_Foods.pdf

http://catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

A 10 pound cat may need roughly 200 to 250 caloires daily but it really depends on the individual cat, age, activity level, etc. Some cats may need more or less calories so there isn't a specific number of calories that can be recommended. Aim for 250 calories daily and adjust to your cat if needed.

Calorie reduction must be done slowly over a least a couple of weeks if not longer. You can't just go from like 400+ calories in one meal and only 200 calories starting with the next meal. You'll end up with a very cranky cat who will constantly scream for more food and may develop bad behavior like peeing outside the litter box, getting into the trash can to find more food, etc.

Here is a good article on how to help a cat to lose weight safely: http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity
 
Als0, we've found no-grain kibble with freeze-dry raw pieces - very good quality stuff. There are 433kcal per cup.

Any thoughts on how we could feed this for weight loss and then maintenance? A cup per day? Half a cup per day?

We do not want him to be constantly starving either.
Is that the Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Bosot dry food? It's a good product but at 433 calorie per cup, it's not ideal for weight loss or maintenance. Even if you feed just 1/2 cup of food a day, it's not a whole lot of food to keep your cat's tummy happy.

Feeding only canned food will help with weight loss. Canned foods are much lower in calories than dry foods, around 150 or so for a 5.5 oz can and under 100 for  a 3 oz can. A good quality canned food that contains real meat will keep a cat's tummy full longer. Small meals daily seems to work best for most cats, not two strict meals. There are ways to provide canned food during the day when you might not be at home, such as using a programmable timed feeder.

Weight loss can be achieved with some dry in the diet. It just might take a bit longer.

Here are some TCS threads that you may find helpful about weight loss:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/245236/mickey-my-27-lbs-foster-and-his-journey-back-to-a-healthy-weight

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/306378/obese-cat-not-losing-weight-at-all

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/296164/best-dry-food-for-weight-loss

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/306378/obese-cat-not-losing-weight-at-all
 

molly92

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How much a cat needs to eat varies wildly from cat to cat, so the best way to figure out if you're feeding an appropriate amount is to weight the cat daily or every other day. A sensitive scale like a baby scale is really best for this, but you might be able to use a human bathroom scale if it's accurate enough, I'm not sure. I actually got a kitchen scale, which was cheapest, and then glued a plastic bin to the platform so it was large enough to hold my cat. The one I got only goes up to 15 lbs, though.

It's important for a cat not to lose more than 1-2% of its total body weight a week to stay in a safe range. So if your cat starts at 15 lbs, he shouldn't lose more than .3 lbs (4.8 oz) the first week. Say by the second week he's down to 14.8 lbs, then he shouldn't lose more than .296 lbs (4.7 oz) that week. And those are generous estimates, because it's usually takes a bit of tinkering before you get to an amount of food where the cat is actually losing weight. I had to cut my then 14.1 lb cat down to 180 calories a day before she started to show any weight loss. In the last few months her body had adjusted and her weight was plateauing, so now she's closer to 170. She's at 12.8 lbs now, though (goal weight is around 11)! That's after 10 months of "dieting," but in the beginning she was also having constipation issues and I was more focused on fixing those and adjusting her food according to that rather than looking at calories.

The more protein in the food, the better! Grain-free is good, but just because it says grain free does not mean there are no starchy fillers! So check the ingredients for potatoes, peas, tapioca, anything from a plant. These kinds of carbs are empty calories, and are also not very filling, so your cat will be much fuller for longer on a high protein diet. 

Mine is not a very active cat. Even when she plays, she manages to do it while laying down as much as possible. I think a lot of that is the extra weight just making her lower-energy. I've started taking her for "walks" outside on a harness, and while she does a lot of laying down outside too, I think the exposure to fresh air makes her a bit more active and alert overall.

If she is having a really hungry day and she's eaten all her dinner, I will sometimes put some freeze-dried meat treats in a puzzle ball. I'm not sure exactly how much energy she burns trying to get the treats, but at least it's better than just sitting and eating at a bowl. Sometimes she will just give up and not even finish those treats (did I mention she's a bit lazy?), so I figure she can't complain that I'm not feeding her enough if she can't be bothered to get the rest of the treats out!
 
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belochka

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Thank you very much, Tuna, Molly and LTS3 - I feel like you've been replying to every question I post. Thank you so much! :)


Yes, we will try to do it gradually, although, of course, my human impatience wants it all gone asap so that he is trim and healthy.

LTS3 - yes, it is Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Boost dry food. And yes, after calculating calories and all that it is way too high in calories. What a shame! Such good stuff. Maybe, once on maintenance we could use it as a little treat occasionally.

Thank you all again!!!
 
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