Cooked rice & prescription food?

katnaps · Aug 5, 2016

Hi Cat Site Community -

Long story short, my cat had his PU surgery about a month ago and his recovery couldn't have gone any better. He is back to his normal cute self. He has been on a strict prescription diet. He loves to nap, so on most days he only consumes about 2 "real' meals (breakfast and dinner). I've read that cats can eat cooked rice. I was wondering if I can mix cooked rice with his prescription food twice a day, everyday. I noticed that he doesn't get that hungry when I do that, plus he's suppose to try and drop a few lbs.

Any advice/input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Mamanyt1953 · Aug 5, 2016

Brown would be better than white, but unless his vet is totally against it, rice is pretty inert, and what is given to cats AND dogs with sensitive tummies. I'm wondering, though, why you want to add the rice if he needs to lose weight? Rice is very starchy, and won't help at all with that.

LTS3 · Aug 5, 2016

Rice and other grains won't help with weight loss at all. Rice is considered a filler ingredient and doesn't add any nutrional value other than some fiber. Most of the time the rice just causes smelly poop since it's not digested. I'm not sure why you want to add it to your cat's diet?

To help a cat shed some extra weight you generally want to feed enough calories to reach the ideal weight. The typical suggestion is 20 to 25 calories per poundof ideal body weight daily. This is most easily achieved with an all canned food diet or a mostly canned food diet. Dry foods are too calorie dense per cup which is why many cats gain weight. Prescription dry foods, even the ones for weight loss, are not much lower in calories than a junky brand of dry food.

There's more in depth details here on how to help a cat to lose weight (and a separate section on prescription fodos ad urinary issues): http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity

Some cats eat two main meals a day and a few smaller snacks in between. Kind of like how some Humans eat only lunch and dinner and snack throughout the day to keep those hunger pangs in check. There's nothing wrong with leaving your cat a bowl of a very small amount of food to snack on during the day or night.

katnaps · Aug 5, 2016

Mamanyt1953 said:
Brown would be better than white, but unless his vet is totally against it, rice is pretty inert, and what is given to cats AND dogs with sensitive tummies. I'm wondering, though, why you want to add the rice if he needs to lose weight? Rice is very starchy, and won't help at all with that.

Hi Mamanyt1953 -

Thanks for the response. I've noticed that when I add rice to his diet, he doesn't seem to want to eat everything in between his meals.

I haven't spoken to his vet or pet nutritionist yet. I just wanted to get some feedback/advice from the cat community. Speaking to his vet would be my next step.

katnaps · Aug 5, 2016

LTS3 said:
Rice and other grains won't help with weight loss at all. Rice is considered a filler ingredient and doesn't add any nutrional value other than some fiber. Most of the time the rice just causes smelly poop since it's not digested. I'm not sure why you want to add it to your cat's diet?

To help a cat shed some extra weight you generally want to feed enough calories to reach the ideal weight. The typical suggestion is 20 to 25 calories per poundof ideal body weight daily. This is most easily achieved with an all canned food diet or a mostly canned food diet. Dry foods are too calorie dense per cup which is why many cats gain weight. Prescription dry foods, even the ones for weight loss, are not much lower in calories than a junky brand of dry food.

There's more in depth details here on how to help a cat to lose weight (and a separate section on prescription fodos ad urinary issues): http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity

Some cats eat two main meals a day and a few smaller snacks in between. Kind of like how some Humans eat only lunch and dinner and snack throughout the day to keep those hunger pangs in check. There's nothing wrong with leaving your cat a bowl of a very small amount of food to snack on during the day or night.

LTS3 -

Thanks for the tips & website! I will check it out.

He use to eat 2 main meals and have snacks in between. I started mixing his meals with rice because I was trying to eliminate the habit of him snacking. I'm afraid that's what caused him to gain weight.

Thanks!

lisahe · Aug 5, 2016

I couldn't agree more with LTS3 about feeding canned food instead of rice. It's meat protein, not carbs, that keeps cats satiated. Beyond all the empty calories that rice's carbs would bring, a significant amount of rice would also throw your cat's nutrients out of balance.

Mamanyt1953 · Aug 6, 2016

As both the above posters pointed out, and I, too, although I wasn't quite so specific, rice is empty calories. I'm not sure about the amount you are adding, but it would be better, nutrition wise, to add a bit of additional canned food, rather than the rice. I know your frustration. There is nothing so determined as a cat who is convinced that s/he is starving. (says the woman whose own cat is currently SHRIEKING for Temptations, and cannot have them for another 1 1/2 hours, and then only three...I am the Evil Mama in her eyes!)

minka · Aug 30, 2016

On top of what everyone else has said, rice is not species appropriate for cats.
It irritates their digestive tract and puts a strain on the pancreas.

My other advice would be to get off the prescription food and if you are feeding any dry, to get rid of that as well.
The most important thing for preventing blockages is water. Both in bowls around the house that your cat enjoys drinking from, and in the food itself, which requires a moist diet.
Here is some more information about that:
http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

Cooked rice & prescription food?

katnaps

TCS Member

Thread starter

Mamanyt1953

Rules my home with an iron paw

LTS3

TCS Member

katnaps

TCS Member

Thread starter

katnaps

TCS Member

Thread starter

lisahe

TCS Member

Mamanyt1953

Rules my home with an iron paw

minka

TCS Member

Latest Posts

Connect with us