Weight management

I took Bob to the vet to get his backside shaved. He's gained a pound in the month since he last saw the vet for his rabies shot and is now up to 17.5 lbs. He's a Maine Coon mix, but even so it's the upper level of their weight range and it seems the extra pound or two is affecting his ability to clean himself. How do I get him on a diet? Currently he eats 1/4 a can of wet food mixed with 1/4 cup of Friskies 3 times a day and Royal Canin 27 Indoor food is left down 24/7. Thanks for the help.

Maureen

Maureen, since this is more about Bob's diet than his grooming, I'll move this to Health & Nutrition.

It sounds like you might want to consider restricting bob's calories. There are several internet sites that will tell you how many kcal/day your cat need based on the wet you want him to be (i.e start looking for 1lb less...then when he gets near there, you can always decrease it again to get off some more weight). The best idea is to get bob on a only wet food diet. The excess carbohydrates in dry food is a significant factor for weight gain and diabetes in cats. The better the quality of wet food you can afford, the healthier the weight loss, and bob's health will be.

(i'm going through the same struggle with Lucky, and you would be surprised just how little food a cat actually needs compared to what humans generally leave them with).

Good luck

Continue the three times a day with wet only portions but lose the free feeding dry food.

Originally Posted by Cearbhaill

Continue the three times a day with wet only portions but lose the free feeding dry food.

Click to expand...

For the dry I would also move to a higher protein and fat formula so Bob will think he is getting a treat but dont continue to free feed...

I agree try feeding more canned food then dry and cut the free dry food.
Only dry 2 x a day in a measured quantity. Cut the amounts of dry
by measuring and go from that point. But dont starve him, do this
cut back slowly.
Get a feather stick toy or something he likes to play with and play
a couple times a day, that makes alot of difference, trust me.
Get their furry butt in the air and moving.

Brenda

I've already stopped feeding the Friskies with the wet food and I'm planning on cutting the dry food gradually over the next week or so. Bob loves playing with Da Bird so a few more sessions won't hurt him.