Overweight cat

Hello I have a four year old cat who weighs about 15 pounds. I feed her rachel ray dry food which I would like to change to cans. I am considering Natures Variety Instinct. Is that a good brand? The label seems to say feed 1 5.5 ounce can for every 6-8 pounds per cat but the website feeding guide says I need to feed her 6 ounces a day. Which one is right? I am really scared to put her on a diet because I read if she loses weight too quickly she could get sick but she is really heavy and I don't want her to get sick from being overweight either. Thank you everyone.

Yse, Nature's Variety Instinct is a very good brand I wouldn't go by the feeding amount suggsetion on the can. Pet food companies often overstate how much a cat really needs to eat. Kind of a subtle way for you to go through the food faster and have to buy more food more often which means more $$$ for the company, IMO.

The general rule is to feed 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight. How much weight does your cat need to lose? Figure out how many calories your cat is currently eating right now (calorie content per cup should be listed on the bag) and then figure out how much she should be eating at her ideal weight. Then sloooowly start decreasing the amount of calories over the course of at least a few weeks (can take longer)  until your cat starts to lose weight and eventually reaches her ideal weight. Excercise with interactive toys will help burn off extra calories your cat doesn't need.

http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity has more tips on how to help a cat to lose weight safely.

NV is a good brand but Instinct is high in fat. I've got a fat cat because that's what she's been eating the last 3 years. I switched over to Weruva in Aug & now I raw feed her. She won't even touch canned food now.

I would find a canned food that is lower in fat, then you can feed her many cans & it won't be a shock to her system instead of feeding her a little at a time.

Nature's Variety is much better than Rachel Ray. Anything with high amounts of animal protein and lower carbohydrate levels is going to keep her fuller for longer and make dieting much easier.

How much a cat needs to eat varies a lot depending on the cat, but usually those feeding recommendations always seem to be on the high side. I had to get my 14 pound cat down to 180 calories a day (around one 5.5 oz can a day, depending on the food) before she started losing any weight at all, and now at 12 lbs she needs even less, so you're probably not at risk of underfeeding her. To make sure she's losing weight at a healthy rate, weigh her every few days. As long as she's not losing more than 2 percent of her current weight a week, then she's safe.

Yes, the cans really do overstate the amount to feed. I adopted an overweight cat of about 11 pounds, and I've been feeding her one small can of Fancy Feast per day. She's ravenous and will eat anything in sight, but the weight is coming off. I can't weigh her because she's so squirmy, but her belly fat is decreasing. She is a small cat and I estimate she should probably weigh about 9 pounds. She's nowhere near as lean as my other cat, who doesn't overeat.

I feed first nutrion so in the am its either 3 oz can then in the pm its 1/4 dry or i do dry in the am and wet at night i do switch it up