Newbie, help--indoor kitten VERY fat

Hello! I'm a newbie here, first post actually. Anyway, I have a six month old female tortie named Jewel and she's an indoor cat only because I live in a dog neighbourhood. I even have a dog myself. Anyway, I really like feeding her Iams Kitten formula because it helps develop her immune system and is generally a good formula for developing kittens. However, she's a pig. I don't fill her bowl every time she meows at me, but when she's hungry she'll get into the dog food. I know it's bad for her and I try to keep it out of reach, but at the same time I can't let my dog starve. Her belly has become very paunchy (as my mom says) and it hangs near the floor. When I brought her in to get spayed, the doctor told me there are two causes for it: worms and no exercise. I know she doens't have worms, that's a fact. But if I give her anymore exercise she'll end up being an outdoor cat and I don't want this. She has free reign of the house already. What can I do to get her thinner? I know it's not healthy for her to be this big, let alone at such a young age. Any help would be great.

Thanks from the Newbie,

Crimson Nobara

Hey there!

My indoor kitty gets bored too and he would cry for cat food all day..so what I do is leave a good brand of dry chow down for him and then feed him a quarter can (small can) of wet food twice a day. The vet suggested that with exercise and it seems to be working well for him. You have to understand though that he is a male and full grown. It could be genetics as well that your kitty is a bit on the plump side?

Feed both her and the dog on scheduled timetables, or somehow make teh dog food inaccessible. Also, if she's that big, measure out her food. When she meows at you for more...don't give in. She'll learn how to self-regulate. As for excercise, buy a laser pointer. You can sit on the couch and she can chase it all over the place...just make sure the dog doesn't get in on it, as it could be both very loud and quite dangerous for the kitten depending on the size and temprement of the pooch. I haven't met a cat yet who doesn't love laser pointers!! Also, when you're not around, leave some ping pong balls out, or some catnip mice.

I'd also suggest a different food. I'm not a fan of Iams...I don't think it's that great of quality and it has a lot of grain and fillers, which are notorious for making kitties pudgy. Try something like Innova Evo, Felidae, Nature's Variety Prairie Brand, Wellness or Nutro. These have much better ingredients and fewer grain fillers.

Never had a fat cat problem, but I'm purposely fattening up two rescued kittens on Nutro Max Cat as we speak.

You may want to find a toy or two that the kitten adores. Anything to get her running, jumping, and hopping.

And definitely dispense out portions of food and don't free feed since she's an eater.

I can only get away with free feeding my (indoor-only) adult cat because he's a nut about running around and doesn't sit by the food bowl all day.

If the cat isn't very tall, you might be able to put the dog's dish in one of those trays designed to get the bowls off the floor. It might make it more difficult for her to eat and help your dog a bit, too.

Well, as for excersize, try playing with her more with something she can chase a lot....like one of those long colorful strips of fabric on a stick. I also got my cat one of those toy mice that you clip onto a door so that it dangles and when the cat bats at it, it's makes a squeeky mouse sound. This seems to amuse my cat for a LONG time and she does a LOT of jumping at it.

Also, maybe try mixing her kitten food with 1/3 of thw Weight Control formula. That might help her not be quite so plump!

She gets alot of excersize. I have string hanging from the door (instead of a squeeking mouse); I have a couple of fuzzy balls that she'll play with; I have a fuzzy ball with a bell on a spring that she bats around; I have catnips toys for her to play with. Aside from that, she plays with just about anything small in my room, including balls of paper, but she gets board easily. I only feed her three times a day, even when she constantly whines at me.

I've heard of lazer pointers and how cats love them, so I'll try one of those. And thanks for the suggestions on different brands of food. I didn't know that Iams had alot of fillers. The pet store where I got her, and other people, say how good Iams is for kittens. Thanks for the advice.

Crimson Nobara

Originally Posted by lionessrampant

Feed both her and the dog on scheduled timetables, or somehow make teh dog food inaccessible. Also, if she's that big, measure out her food. When she meows at you for more...don't give in. She'll learn how to self-regulate. As for excercise, buy a laser pointer. You can sit on the couch and she can chase it all over the place...just make sure the dog doesn't get in on it, as it could be both very loud and quite dangerous for the kitten depending on the size and temprement of the pooch. I haven't met a cat yet who doesn't love laser pointers!! Also, when you're not around, leave some ping pong balls out, or some catnip mice.

I'd also suggest a different food. I'm not a fan of Iams...I don't think it's that great of quality and it has a lot of grain and fillers, which are notorious for making kitties pudgy. Try something like Innova Evo, Felidae, Nature's Variety Prairie Brand, Wellness or Nutro. These have much better ingredients and fewer grain fillers.

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I just bought a laser pointer for Buddy, and he completely ignored it!!

You could also try a wet food only diet, using a good cat food with no By Products or Fillers. There is alot out there , I like Nutro Max Cat and Nutro Complete Care. Dry food if given too much can cause a cat to become overweight, and so does Supermarket Wet foods, such as whiskas etc.... Buy a cat Dancer, they're great. They are a couple $$, you can get one at any pet store. All it is is a metal wire with these card board bits on the end, but they make all cats go wild, by the time Buddy is done playing with his he is panting!!!

Kitten food is formulated for growing kittens. At 6 months old, and if she is fat, I would suggest switching her to regular cat food. Then she gets to eat a little more, satisfying her, and have less calories!

1) switch her to adult lite cat food, kitten food is very fattening.

2) find something better then Iams, Iams almost killed my cat, I will never use it again, it also is not very good quality, vets just promote it because Iams sponsers a lot of different animal things. Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul makes a lite version of their food which is very good, no fillers and crap in it.

3) maybe get another cat for her to play with? or a cat tree for her to climb.

4) don't feed her 3x a day. I am not sure what the specific amount for Iams is but cats only get about 1/2 cup of dry food a day. Chicken Soup brand is 1/3-2/3 for a 5-10lb cat. I bet that is her weight range so that is roughly all she needs for the entire day. put it out at a certain time everyday and leave it and she will learn to nibble all day and not scarf it down all at once.

How much are you feeding her at each of these feedings 3x a day?

I cup my hand and pour the food into it. That's how I measure it out. I just bought a small bag of Purina One weight management formula for her to try. I looked for the other brands that have been suggested above, but none of the stores I went to (Zellers, Wal Mart, PetValue and our local Corbret's) had any of them.

I would also highly recommend switching foods. I started my kitten on Iams( before I found this site and knew better ) and now I feed her nutro complete care for kittens. She LOVES it and it is so much better for her. I also feed her a quarter of a can of nutro wet food kitten 2 times a day and leave a little dry food out all day. I will also second the "cat dancer" toy. Jasmine LOVES it as well. In Washington its only 3$ and it gives her hours of fun. Our two labs even like to play with it! Good luck on slimming her down. Since she is just a kitten, she might grow into it and just be a big cat.

My Cat Duke was the cutest little fuzz ball when we got him at 8 weeks. We fed him Preformatrin Kitten food from Pet Value, by the time he as 6 months we had to take him off kitten food and put him on weight management food as he was 20 lbs. I am currently trying to get him slimed down as he is now a whopping 25 lbs. I am making sure he gets as much water as he wants I am feeding him a Weight management food called natural which puts a tiny bit of cyanne pepper in their diet food that increases the cat's want for water. The cat drinks more water and is less hungry for food. I was a little concerned about the cyanne pepper, I thought it was a mean joke to play on him but he seems to like it and I notice he is drinking more water and not yelling at me every time I turn around for me to feed him.

The pet store and vets will really try and sell you on certain foods. "Wined and dined" by the food companies is a term I've heard passed around though this is far more common in vet clinics. I also started out with Iams about 12 years ago with my cat but after about 3 years we switched to Eukanuba which I don't know how it is in the scheme of things but I always thought it was moister and the cats seemed to like it better. But now if my cats weren't on a raw diet I would go for Innova, Wellness and some of the ultra-premium already mentioned, high quality brands. Nutro you can get at big pet stores but many of these brands are only carried by small pet stores that cater to high quality.

Okay unless I read this wrong there is no mention of a vet saying your kitten is fat... Please take kitty to the vet , it could be worms ... How old is kitty?? If older than 8 months I would suggest adult food , but I think she need s the vet... I like Nutro , Royal canin these are both high quality and widely avail....I avoid garlic in cat foods and also anyone claiming"human grade" until AFFCO staes what is or isnt human grade..

My 1 +1/2 yr old cat (Billy Ray) is overweight also and needs to lose 3 pounds before the vet will do surgery for his broken hips. The vet put him on Hill's RD formula dry food and Billy Ray just loves it! He can only have up to 1 cup a day in order to lose the weight slowly. He has lost about 11 oz. Young Kittens though I would worry about not getting enough of the right mix of vitamins, etc...that the kitten foods give them. Your vet should be able to help you coordinate a good diet. Good luck and kisses to your kitten!

Thanks everyone for all the advice. I just recently brought her to the vet tho, when she got spayed about three weeks ago, and he said he would test for worms for $150 with everything (you know all the extras vets throw in there). I just paid $500 to get her spayed so I was like no, can't afford that right now. But she doesn't have worms. I can tell because my neighbour's cat and dog had worms and Jewel isn't doing any of the things they do. She's strickly an inside cat so I moniter her closely. They just opened up a PetSmart so I'm going to go check it out next week and see what kind of food they carry.

He is testing for worms for $150.00? Did I read that right? And a spay was $500.00? Cripes, I would find another vet if I were you!

Oh my gosh, Hissy is SO RIGHT! This vet is abusing you royally!

Please, go find someone else (NOT the Banfield that will be located in your new PetSmart store -- not a good choice) and take your kitty in. You can't diagnose by behavior alone, and your kitty really needs to be checked out properly, by a GOOD vet who isn't in it just for the outrageous fees he can charge.

grrrrrrrr

Originally Posted by Crimson Nobara

Thanks everyone for all the advice. I just recently brought her to the vet tho, when she got spayed about three weeks ago, and he said he would test for worms for $150 with everything (you know all the extras vets throw in there). I just paid $500 to get her spayed so I was like no, can't afford that right now. But she doesn't have worms. I can tell because my neighbour's cat and dog had worms and Jewel isn't doing any of the things they do. She's strickly an inside cat so I moniter her closely. They just opened up a PetSmart so I'm going to go check it out next week and see what kind of food they carry.

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$500. My vet charges $60. And the local low cost vet only charges $20