Weight - am I fighting a losing battle?

Both the boys had their monthly weigh in yesterday - Tom is 8.6kg (which is what he was last time at the vet nurse, but he was only 8.5 a couple of weeks ago with the vet) - and due to his recent bout of cystitis, he has to be fed wet food only, so not sure how much that will affect his diet - she has recommended 6 pouches a day for him. My friend asked about the human equivalent of his weight, and apparently he is the equivalent of a human being 25 stone, so it is quite serious. Ginger has gone from 5.61kg to 5.68kg, despite my neighbour assuring me he doesn't get any food in his house (and I know he hasn't this week as he has been eating all his tea and asking for more) and I know that I don't feed him enough to make him put weight on. She also said that due to their ages, it will be harder for them to lose weight. Ginger is even harder as he isn't a playful cat, doesn't seem to respond to catnip, and his exercise consists of walking to the neighbours house (and generally has to be carried home, cos he sneaks off to get back in - might ask them not to let him back in once I have taken him home, then I can make him walk, and if he sneaks off, it is a bit extra exercise!!). I have so many kinds of toys, and I think there are only 2 that Ginger will play with, and only if he is in the mood.

I dont know how many pounda a stone is but i do understand kg... My silly question is what should they be and what diet are they on?? is it rx??

My 13-year-old torti (The Colonel) and I had an ongoing battle against her weight for a while. She was FIVE POUNDS overweight when I adopted her at age 11; we immediately began trying to slim her down. We started with a prescription diet made by IVD called HiFactor, both dry & canned. She really liked this food, but despite measured portions and very few snacks, she kept the weight on. The vet then switched her to Hill's Prescription Diet r/d (also dry & canned), which she didn't particularly like (but, being a vacuum-cleaner-type kitty, still ate) and also did not help her lose the weight. After about a year of this, I did some research myself & found that many people are currently recommending an all-canned food diet for cats & that this diet should also help her lose weight. On some advice from the owners of our local natural pet food store, we started her on measured portions of canned Wellness (not a light or diet formula) and her weight FINALLY began to come down. 2 years later, she is at her target weight of 8 pounds. She is far more active & able to jump higher than ever before. And I no longer fret about the possible health risks associated with her obesity. Here's a link to one of the articles that got me started on the Colonel's canned food campaign: http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...needcannedfood

Good luck with your babies!

Amanda

Originally Posted by Seppolina

I did some research myself & found that many people are currently recommending an all-canned food diet for cats & that this diet should also help her lose weight.

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Sorry for the short reply, but I have been recommending an all-wet food diet for years.

Has your vet recently done blood tests on the cats? Just a possibility that I thought of is maybe there are thyroid issues going on... my 11-year-old dog randomly put on a bit of weight and after some tests we found that she has a thyroid problem - she's on medicine for it now and is back to a great healthy weight and back to acting like her old puppy self - running and playing like she's not a day over 3... I'd talk to your vet and see if he/she agrees that you should do some blood tests - the problem may be deeper than just diet...

Just giving a Small opinion.... Correct me if I am wrong.... Well About food.. You Might wanna watch out the amount of Proteiin and FAT in the CAT or Dry food itself.... Beside I have a over weight CAT which is about 8 KG when she is 3 years old... BUT NOW i manage to reduce her weight until 6 KG now... Where i am comfortable with... Well I didn't change much of her diet except change to a lower protein and fat food (Royal Canine - Indoor) version... and Regularly bring her out for a walk and make her run around in the house... so finally after 3 month of work she reduce slowly.... now she is 5.7KG i am more happy..

Originally Posted by kwonghow

Just giving a Small opinion.... Correct me if I am wrong.... Well About food.. You Might wanna watch out the amount of Proteiin and FAT in the CAT or Dry food itself.... Beside I have a over weight CAT which is about 8 KG when she is 3 years old... BUT NOW i manage to reduce her weight until 6 KG now... Where i am comfortable with... Well I didn't change much of her diet except change to a lower protein and fat food (Royal Canine - Indoor) version... and Regularly bring her out for a walk and make her run around in the house... so finally after 3 month of work she reduce slowly.... now she is 5.7KG i am more happy..

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Your opinion is one school of thought.... But many of us are now learning dry food with its around 40-60% carbs may not be the best for a obligate carnivore animal... Some cats do respond well to high carb levals many many dont since there GI tracts are really designed for it..

Tom had the Hills r/d, but developed struvite crystals so was put on c/d, but has had another bout of cystitis, so my vet has recommended wet food only - he prefers dry food though, so am having a battle with this at the moment!! The vet nurse would like to see him weighing 6-6.5kg, whether that will ever happen is a different matter - if he carries on the way he is, it will take about a year to a year and a half to manage that. I also don't know if once he has lost his weight whether the strain on his organs will be reduced enough to no longer be an issue (but he could be 13 + by that point, so could still get them due to age). He hasn't been blood tested yet - might suggest it to the rescue. Surprisingly enough, he can scale a 6ft bed, jump from the same bed, and is one of quickest cats in my house to run up and down the stairs!!
Ginger had his yearly blood test last month, and he is perfectly healthy for his age, but the vet nurse would like to see him weigh about 4.5kg - I personally would be happy just to maintain him under 5.5kg. I am looking into getting him back on Senior food - the only one I can get is Whiskas/Felix, and I no longer like the ingredients, the only other senior wet food I can get (he has no teeth, so can only manage a few biscuits at a time) is via home delivery, so need to contact them tomorrow to see what times they deliver as I work 9-5. HE does eat Senior/Light dry food though - exercise doesn't happen with him though, he just isn't playful - except when it is sunny, he acts like a kitten then.
I also have an overweight lodger, so am trying to get 3 cats to lose weight!!

Well, Ginger had his weigh in on Thurs, and he is down to 5.46kg, so I am really happy he is back under 5.5kg. I have managed to get him back on Senior wet food (and it has a 30% meat content), cut him down to 10 biscuits a day (I count them!!) - think another big factor is that my neighbours got a dog, so they dont have food down as much now (plus the door is shut more, so he can't always get in). Tom should have been weighed too, but the vet nurse wasn't in, so although he could have been weighed, I wouldnt have been able to get any advice, and that is what I need with Tom, so he is up on Thurs (as is my underweight female!!). No idea if the foster has lost weight, and her owner told me that she doesnt play with them like I do, so unlikely it will be kept up with (not that it will stop me)

Originally Posted by BuzbyJLC10

Has your vet recently done blood tests on the cats? Just a possibility that I thought of is maybe there are thyroid issues going on... my 11-year-old dog randomly put on a bit of weight and after some tests we found that she has a thyroid problem - she's on medicine for it now and is back to a great healthy weight and back to acting like her old puppy self - running and playing like she's not a day over 3... I'd talk to your vet and see if he/she agrees that you should do some blood tests - the problem may be deeper than just diet...

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Generally dogs get HYPOthyroidism, which makes the thyroid function slow down, and they GAIN weight. 99% of cats get HYPERthyroidism, which speeds it up and makes them LOSE weight. People can get both HYPO and HYPER thyroidism. There is about a 1% chance that a cat can get HYPOthyroidism, but in my 10 years being a vet tech, I have only seen it once.