My cat is fat...please help me make him skinny

I will admit I did not pay much attention to my cat since I am a very busy person, and dont get the chance to throw around a foil ball as much as I would like to or as much as he needs to.

He is not that fat, and I think I can fix his weight problem within a few weeks of anything possible.

Please give me a listing of foods that I can buy at any petstore in Toronto, and any activities or methods I can use to control his intake and increase his activity.

By the way he is an indoor cat. I think the weight problem is just going to get worse, so I think I should fix it now and get him to a healthy weight. Which has been said to be 10-12 lbs for him. He is around 18 now.

Welcome to TCS. Has your cat been seen by a vet?? Whenever I've had any concerns about my cat, I find getting a check up helps to eliminate any health issues. Also...your vet may have some food recommendations. I'm sure other members will have other suggestions...I just always like to rule out anything that could be "health" related.

Katie

My vet said she thinks he is eating to much. Right now he is long and tall, but she said he seems like the cat that can get really overweight. According to her not a health problem, but eating problem. I switched him from Science Diet to Iams, he eats the same amount, I had him eating out of a boal with the food dispenser I think that is where he started to gain alot of weight because as he ate it just keep coming out. I had this system beacuse I was really busy. I am also allergic to him so I dont go close to him as much.

Probably would be a good idea to stop the food dispenser and feed him via a bowl. Most cat foods have a recommended amount per day....my parents have a rather large cat and they feed him twice a day with half the recommended daily amount. They feed their cat Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Weight Management.

I just found this...perhaps it will help:

http://cats.about.com/cs/catfood/tp/litefood.htm

Hope that helps.

Katie

Most cats can control the amount of food they eat, but other's actually have to be given regulated amounts. What pet food stores are near you? Petsmart, Global Pet Foods, etc? I'm just outside of Toronto so I can give you some recommendations if you tell me which store you can go to.

Can you start supplementing the cat's dry food with a good quality canned food? The dry foods are calorie dense compared with canned foods, so by introducing wet food into his diet this will help reduce the amount of calories he will consume. It will also introduce more water into his system which is also very important.

If you can, I would probably introduce a feeding schedule, half of his required portion in the morning and the rest of the portion around dinner. I know many people who provide wet food in the morning and then will give dry food for dinner. You just have to make sure the cat is receiving the recommended amount for his body weight. A weight loss program should always be monitored by the vet, so make sure to confirm with him/her on how much food you should be giving to reach the weight loss goal. A cat losing weight too fast can cause serious health issues, so it's always a good idea to have a vet monitor the progress.

Also, find out what types of toys your cat likes to play with and find some that he can interact with while you are gone? There are so many toys now available, you should be able to find something he likes. Many cats love the laser toys, where they chase the red 'dot' around the floor, and all you have to do is move the laser back and forth. Minimal effort, major fun for the cat!

Petvalue is close by. I will get a laser pointer than! I am looking to increase his activeness.

Please don't try to get your cat to lose that much weight in just a few weeks. Think months or a year instead.

I also have a fat cat. Two of them, in fact. They should weigh around ten pounds, and are 14 and almost 15 respectively. But any way you look at it, 40 to 50% overweight is obese! The trick is to get them to lose weight gradually. As Russian Blue stated, it is dangerous for a cat to lose weight too quickly. Dangerous as in potentially life-threatening! A cat's body just can't convert body fat to energy the way ours can.

My vet recommended a prescription weight management dry food. Unfortunately, my cats don't like it. So what I have opted to do instead is give them the food they prefer, but just less of it than they used to eat. What I did was put out a large measured amount a couple of days, then measured how much was left at the end of the day with them free-feeding. Then I started putting out about 80% of the amount they had formerly been eating. I think you can go a bit lower than that percentage safely, but I am taking no chances. A cat of one of my friends almost died from losing weight too quickly, so I am being extra precautious.

My fat cat (RB) was 22 pounds from inactivity and free feeding.

Vet recommended Hill's weight control at the recommended feeding amount (I don't remember what it is but it's on the package).

He was down to 14 before he sadly passed of FIV (which he had only very recently contracted, so it was not the reason for his weight loss). My other girl was chubby (15 lb) and she got down to 10 within a few months. She is back up again since we had to change her food to Hill's sensitive stomach, though. But only up to 12.

I take my babies for a walk in the evening time and they love it. Even if it's just 15 minutes or so, you have to spare it from your time. 15 minutes isn't much. Sacrifice a television show. Or sit on the floor while you're watching it and use the laser pointer or something. You can even do it while you read.

Yep, add more water and fiber, measure out food with measuring cups, and feed on schedule. And try to get more exercise in. Don't do anything drastic, like Russian Blue said. But it can't hurt to gradually reduce food and add more water/fiber.

Im interested to know, one you said that cats can manage the food they eat, by what means to they manage? So they dont get too fat, or they dont finish all the food?

I am going to put a measured amount and decrease it by 80%

Originally Posted by MyCatRocky

Im interested to know, one you said that cats can manage the food they eat, by what means to they manage? So they dont get too fat, or they dont finish all the food?

I am going to put a measured amount and decrease it by 80%

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Hi,
I've read some excellent suggestions in this thread - I can suggest simple toys for self-entertainment or exercise while you are away from home such as balls toy (try a variety, those with catnip in them are one variation, as are those made of a crinkle material for a delightful sound as they are batted, or a sturdy ball with bell inside), and there are wand toys for interactive play that feature a wand that is a good 36 inches long and then add the length of the cord coming off the wand with a toy at the end..this would allow you to play with your cat at quite a distance (I noticed you said you are allergic).

I wanted to ask you what you mean about decreasing a measured amount by 80%? I strongly hope you do not mean decreasing the total food you give to your cat. As you can read by doing a search on "hepatic lipidosis" there are other members here dealing with what can happen when a cat does not eat...severely curtailing the food to your cat can cause harm, so please do not do that.

Hopefully, I am mis-understanding what you are saying you plan to do.

Best suggestion...increased play as others have suggested, try feeding small meals more often versus free-feeding, choose a good quality (meaning not full of poor nutritional quality fiber products such as peanut hulls which yes, I've seen in one diet cat food) cat food designed to help your cat gradually and safely lose weight.

You mentioned you just switched your cat to Iams...you might want to consider an Iams product called Eukanuba Weight Loss Management food (may not be the exact name) which though I need to go read the ingredients list, should be one to consider.

Please keep us posted and remember this needs to be a gradual, steady process...use little tricks such as putting your cat's food dish where your cat must go up or down a flight of stairs to get to it

Originally Posted by Weatherlight

Don't do anything drastic, like Russian Blue said. But it can't hurt to gradually reduce food and add more water/fiber.

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Sorry, but I don't think my first post was clear enough. When dealing with changing a cats diet, nothing is ever done quickly, only gradually. By suggesting controlled feedings, I meant feedings that can be done anywhere from 2-4 times a day, rather than free feeding in a 24 hour period.

Again, any advice given here should always be seen as extra information that should be discussed with your vet.

Originally Posted by MyCatRocky

I am going to put a measured amount and decrease it by 80%

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I'm assuming that what you mean here is that you will give him 80% of what he was formerly eating while you were free feeding him. That's a decrease of 20%.

Pat & Alix, do you consider a 20% reduction a drastic reduction? From some of the things I've read, that seems to be well within the range of recommendations, though I'll admit that so far I've only found a couple of sources that offered the choice of just cutting down their normal food instead of special diets. But if the cats don't like the special diet, it seems like a good alternative, and is far from a problem of "not eating." If the cats were previously eating too much to maintain an ideal weight, a 20% reduction will certainly not make them lose weight rapidly.

Since I'm retired and home most of the time, I still give my cats many little meals a day, like they had when they free fed. They just have to wait longer between meals and the meals might be a bit smaller. Someone who is working or otherwise gone a lot might have to make it two or three meals, though.

I just came across an interesting quote on another website, which illustrates the importance of a gradual weight loss for cats: "A fifteen-pound cat should not lose more than half a pound in four weeks." They recommended weighing the cat at three or four week intervals and modifying the weight control program on that basis.

Originally Posted by twofatcats

I'm assuming that what you mean here is that you will give him 80% of what he was formerly eating while you were free feeding him. That's a decrease of 20%.

Pat & Alix, do you consider a 20% reduction a drastic reduction?
Since I'm retired and home most of the time, I still give my cats many little meals a day, like they had when they free fed. They just have to wait longer between meals and the meals might be a bit smaller. Someone who is working or otherwise gone a lot might have to make it two or three meals, though.

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Hi, nope...20% makes good sense to me (but best authority on that would be their vet) however I read it to mean cutting the portion by 80% since they used the words "decrease by 80%". I wanted to be sure I was wrong in my interpretation!

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

Hi, nope...20% makes good sense to me (but best authority on that would be their vet) however I read it to mean cutting the portion by 80% since they used the words "decrease by 80%". I wanted to be sure I was wrong in my interpretation!

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Sorry my mistake I meant to say Decrease By 20%

I was just reading this post and was wondering if you have taken the cat to the vet yet to find out what they suggest as a diet? It might be a good idea just to be safe before you make any changes.... Also the play time is so important. I am really busy and wasn't taking time out to spend 'quality time' with Dori, but 10 or 15 mins a day isn't to hard to fit in

Originally Posted by MyCatRocky

Sorry my mistake I meant to say Decrease By 20%

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I was hoping so

Rosie went for her yearly check up two weeks ago, and the vet said she was 2lb overweight.

She told me to cut back on the treats and to give her the "light" kibbles.

I have a 12 week old kitten who is making sure Rosie has plenty of excercise as well

I have a VERY fat cat! We have been 'dieting' for over 12 months and Katy just takes of a couple of pounds and then puts on a couple of pounds. Very frustrating. It takes such a long time but dont despair IT CAN BE DONE. Just not in my case I guess. Katy has no interest in playing with toys and stuff - I have a house full of discarded toys to prove it. The vet can give you food that you cannot buy over the counter that it better for dieting cats - pricey but probably worth it.
Best of Luck
Alexis