Time for a diet!

My cat Isabelle has been getting bigger and bigger, she isnt obese yet, but she could get that way if I dont do anything about it. Im wondering, will playing with a cat teaser or lazer pointer everyday for a good amount of time, sufficiant exercise to help her loose weight? Im also thinking of putting her on a low calorie food. There is only one problem.

I have 4 cats including Isabelle, one is the same age as her, about 1-2 years old, he has a little pouch too, but he is definitly thinner then Isabelle. Then I have two kittens who are perfect. The kittens need food down at all times. I have a cat room where I keep the food,water, and litterboxes.

I was thinking of puting Isabelle and the other older cat on a low calorie food and keep the two kittens on the current food. They also get wet with their dry. If Isabelle needs to loose weight do I cut out the wet in her diet? And how do I control who eats what? Also if i end up not free feeding the two adult kittys anymore, how quick will they learn to eat when I put the food down? Cause right now they are all grazers, the only time they eat food when it is put down is when i am giving them wet.

Also whats is a good low calorie dry food? I work at an animal hospital so Im sure I can find something there, but im not very impressed with the foods the Vet carries.

So I guess what I need is some tips and suggestions, on how to feed them all, including the two kittens, and what kind of food to use, and anything else I need to know to put a cat on a diet. I know not to let her loose weight fast, thats not good, but I just want to make sure Im doing everything right.Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

First and most of all - before you put your ktties on a diet have then check by the vet and let him/her suggest the best food and method of dieting for your babies since it can be a health risk if they loose too much weight too fast.

I think the first thing I'd try is the daily play session to see if increased exercise is enough for Isabelle to slim down a bit. Next, I'd consider increasing the *wet* food, decreasing the dry - won't hurt the kittens either, so long as it is a "for all life stages" approved canned food. Or...check out Innova's EVO (need my morning coffee, so at the moment, do not recall if it's approved for kittens or just adults) which is a very low carb dry food.

Basically...get her off the carby stuff, and more into quality canned food (or go for a homecooked diet)...that would be my approach IF the increased exercise alone does not do it.

Innova Evo is for cats and kittens and mine have done well dieting on it. Its great if you want/need to leave food down all the time (which I do because of the sporadic hours I work sometimes and I have one kitty who throws up at the sight of wet food)

I second going to the vet for help in your cats diet - my local vet has a weight clinic that is very cheap as they weigh all the cats at once and just do that all afternoon.

Cats should lose weight slowly so its always best to check.