Diet questions

Hey all! well, the other day all of the group went to the vet for checkups shots, etc (with the exception of Luna) and well, the vet told me that they are getting to heavy and need to be on diet food. They are on Pro Plan for sensitive stomachs now, and I'm kind of nervous switching them again to a diet food.
Twig is 21 pounds, Isis is 13 pounds, and Rocket is 12 pounds and they are all growing (bigger bellies I'm afraid). The vet said early on when we first got Rocket that he had an allergy to chicken so we stayed away from anything with chicken in it, hence the Pro Plan. We started out with Beef and rice, and switched to sensitive stomach within the last year. Isis eats nothing but dry food and is VERY finicky about her food so I'm nervous about switching her food and having her just not eat anything. The other three, split a small can of wet food in the AM ( now every other morning since the vet visit on the 16th) (are you still with me???) Ok here goes all my questions:::
if I put them all on weight control food, the vet said the cats that are ok in weight shouldn't loose much weight because they don't have excess fat to loose, is that correct?( which in our cats cases would be none of them but still I'm worried about that)
after I switch them over, how long should I have them on it? Can I still free feed them, since my schedule is not stable enough for scheduled feedings? what is a good weight for an Abyssinian(rocket), two former ferals(isis and Luna) and a farm bred cat(Twig)??? and when I reach this miracle goal, should I change their food back to normal food again?
ORRRRRRR.........Should I try the indoor formula cat food first and not the weight food? Are they basically the same thing? Oh goodness, so many questions and the vet said I should have them on some sort of diet food within a month. Shs said to slowly switch their food so they don't get upset tummies this one I knew, everything else, I'm clueless. Anyone have ANYTHING to help me?

barb, i would first slowly cut down on the amount you are feeding them and I do mean slowly. If they lose weight to quickly they can really get sick. I would also increase their excercise- feed them on high points in your home, not on the floor, work with them with Da Bird or one other interactive toy and really make them move around a bit.

Hissy, they don't eat on the floor only. They eat( sorry if I gross anyone out) on the counter and have to jump from the floor, to the table, to the counter to get to their food. I have food and water in our bedroom on the floor, should I take that out and put it up in place of the smaller bowl of food I have on the counter? I just wanted to give them two places to eat because there were four of them and I didnt want them to fight over food rights. I try and get them to play more, but they don't seem to want to play until late at night when we are sleeping. I've gotten ALL sorts of toys, just ask Brad! LOL! I've given SO many toys away and still have two boxes full! I've given my friends cat a box full of toys my cats don't even sniff at, and she LOVES them! At PetSmart, I always get new toys to try and get them more active.
As for switching their foods, if it comes to that, I'm going to do it very slowly because I don't want them to get sick. I'm so concerned about diet food.
It's all my fault though, I've fed them scraps from the table once in awhile, treats to spoil them, licks from my ice cream bowls. I just keep thinking "if only I didn't do that they wouldn't be so heavy now." Ya know???

How much are they eating per day or at each feeding time?
Are you following the recommended amounts on the back of the bag?

Isis eats nothing but dry food, but the other three split a can of Pro Plan wet food in the AM every other day since their vet visit on the 16th( they used to get one everyday in the AM). As for dry food, they free feed all day and night because we have such erratic schedules that there would be no real way to work out a feeding schedule and be able to stick to it. Without a set schedule at work, it's very hard.
I was looking at both Pro Plan indoor and weight management formulas, and the indoor seems like it's a weight management formula of sorts. Plus it's turkey based so that's a plus for Rocket. Do you think it'd be a good thing to SLOWLY try and switch them to and see if that works for their weights?

I agree with Hissy ... wt loss should first be tried with lowering the intake and increaseing the activity

So should I start by taking one of the food bowls away ( after awhile of course, not all at once.) and just having one? Or will that start cat fights because there are four of them and only one place to eat. Or should I take one away and cut the other one in half and in essence, keep the two bowls where they are now?

Originally Posted by jugen

So should I start by taking one of the food bowls away ( after awhile of course, not all at once.) and just having one? Or will that start cat fights because there are four of them and only one place to eat. Or should I take one away and cut the other one in half and in essence, keep the two bowls where they are now?

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I would just cut down slightly each bowl

Originally Posted by sharky

I would just cut down slightly each bowl

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ok, but I really just fill the bowls when they get low, so should I just start to weight out the food, or not fill them as far up, or UGH! I hate this! I feel so stupid when it comes to cat weights. I know about human weights, but not cats. I've stopped giving them any table scraps and started to feed them wet canned food every other day. The vet said to weigh them each week too to make sure they aren't loosing too much weight, and I will like my life depends on it. Now how to get them more active. I found out that I have DA bird in my box of toys for the cats. I took it out and played with them last night and they were NOT the least bit interested. I need something more. They liked balls at one time, but really don't chase them, just watch them roll around and bat at them once in awhile. They like cat nip though. so maybe I could spray the toys with catnip and that'll make them chase them??? UGH!!!! so many questions.........

Yes start wieghingh the amounts...You have four "kids"??? see what your giving now ... if your giving a cup in each bowl try takeing out just an 1/8 th of a cup from each..

if your schedule is too erratic, you can try one of those feeders that releases food on a timer at certain times during the day.

Originally Posted by MeowsersMom

if your schedule is too erratic, you can try one of those feeders that releases food on a timer at certain times during the day.

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Never thought of that....I swear there's to much that goes into diets for kitties. Someone should write a book on it!

barb, i'm having all the same questions as you are. my visit with the vet last year started a weight loss program that i followed pretty well, i thought. after 3-4 months mister pickles had lost just a couple of ounces. what i did differently in that time was to stop wet food completely and give 1/4 c. indoor cat formula each day. he would meow so annoyingly throughout the day that i started doing an 1/8 of a cup 4x a day. at that point he was just about 2.5lbs overweight. now, a year later (i slacked off on the diet) he's 5 lbs overweight so i'm having to start all over. only now the vet recommended i do it with prescription diet food. i have my kitten stanley who is still eating kitten chow so now i will have to feed them in separate rooms to ensure they're eating the correct foods. i too am like you because i don't have a set work schedule so i can kinda hit and miss within a few hours of feeding times, but not everyday at the exact time. it is so difficult to diet the babies because i just want him to be happy, but then i have to think i've reinforced his eating habits and thats hard to deal with as well. we just need to get over this first couple weeks. they say they're the hardest!

I thought about indoor formula, but I'm not sure I want to change their food again since I've changed it already in the last year. Maybe I will look into it and ask the vet if it'd be a good alternative to what they are eating now...