Fat Cat

Hello. My cat is a little fat. I am trying to help him shed a little weight but that is hard since the other cat can afford to gain weight/has to maintain weight so we have a feeder. The fat cat LOVES treats. He will beg and be all cute until I give in and give him treats. Recently I found out that he thinks a more expensive brand of cat food is treats. I was wondering if anyone knew if cat food would be better than the dry treats? I would assume so, but really don't understand the calories and such of pet foods.

Thanks in advance.

Hi

Welcome to the site     Yes unless it's  a special high quality treat.  Good quality cat food is much healthier for them rather than treats.  

This works if you're trying to lose weight no more free feeding, so fed at particular times a certain amount then offer the kibbles the other half of his regular diet amount as only a treat  to keep things fun interesting (optional) can teach simple commands like touching the treat when and when not to when placed infront of him.  Or even not earning treats this way you are monitoring his food.

Excercise: lazer pointer works great really gets them going.  Other posters with good cat food knowledge will chime in soon... 

I feed Tuff 2 tsp of Fromm dry as a treat.It averages about 10 calories per tsp and can be ordered from Chewys or bought at Hollywood Feed. My advice is to forget the "treats" and feed a good cat food as a substitute. Of course, regular feedings should be a wet food.

Scheduled meals is the absolute way to go.  That way you can monitor has caloric intake.  And any treats need to be counted in those calories.  Calories are usually listed on the cans/bags, and if not, on the websites. 

Low carbs foods are best as they are normally more filling to the cats.  I use either freeze dried raw or things like Purebites or Wholelife as treats for my guys, but you could also use a good quality kibble as your treats.  What I do with my pudge is toss his treats down the hall and make him run for them so he gets exercise.  He loves that game and is the best little outfielder around

Maybe this article will help you with the amount to feed:  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-much-food-should-i-feed-my-cat