Cat will not lose weight - HELP

[osuengineer]

I have an 8 year old male cat that is part Maine coon. He topped the scale at over 25lbs a few months ago and I decided it was time to get him down to a more reasonable weight of 16-18lbs for a cat his size. I've steadily reduced his caloric intake and have a spreadsheet documenting his weekly weights. I weigh him consistently at the same time each week before a meal, and diligently measure his food down to the gram. I watch him eat each day to ensure he does not get any of the other cats food during meal times. He eats both canned and dry food, but currently I have reduced his calories down to 230 kcal/day.

Over the last 3 months, on 230 calories per day he has lost a total of only 0.5lbs. Every resource I can find states a cat this size should be eating MUCH more calories than this, even when on a weight loss diet. I'm afraid to reduce his calories even further, but I don't see any other way to achieve this. It doesn't make much sense to me why he isn't losing more weight than this.

Has anyone had to reduce caloric intake even further than this?

 

[Norachan]

So his weight is now still around 25lbs, is that right?

230 calories is nowhere near enough for a cat of his size. I don't think you should reduce his calorie intake any further. The average indoor cat needs 20 calories per pound of body weight to maintain a health weight. For a 25lb cat that's close to 500 hundred calories.

First of all, take your cat to the vet and talk to them about whether he really needs to lose weight or not. If he is a large Maine Coon cross he might not be overweight at all. Ask your vet to do some blood work to check for things like diabetes or hypothyroidism. This is more common in Maine Coons than it is in other breeds and will affect their weight.

Hypothyroidism in Cats - Causes, Signs, & Treatments | Carolina Veterinary Specialists | Emergency & Specialist Vets in Charlotte

Once your cat has a clean bill of health you can think about a better weight maintenance diet for him, but please don't continue on this very low calorie diet without consulting your vet.

 

[iPappy]

I agree with Norachan , I wouldn't reduce his calories anymore. Do you have photos of him viewed from above (preferably while he's standing?)
If he is overweight, some cats absolutely will not lose weight if fed dry food, even in small amounts. Is there any way you could feed him an all wet food diet for a month or two and have the vet recheck his weight?

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. Stop counting calories and restricting food. Just stop feeding the dry and let him have all the canned food he wants for a month and see if he loses a little weight. If he hasn’t, then you can cut back on the amount of canned, but not by much. Just stop all dry food and no treats. Only canned pate cat food.

 

[osuengineer]

Here's a picture of him. He's definitely overweight, and with him starting to get older I really want to get this under control. He will eat wet food, but is very picky and typically will only eat about 20-30 calories worth before walking away, even if he's still hungry. I know this because I will often give him a small portion of his dry food after he walks away and he will scarf that down.

We used to leave a bowl of dry food out for all the cats to eat from throughout the day between their wet food meals. But have stopped doing this several months ago in an attempt to get his weight under control. I suppose I can just give him wet food throughout the day in small increments and see what happens, but I have concerns he won't eat enough of it.

 

[arr]

If he is part Maine Coon, maybe he isn’t as overweight as you think he is? Why do you think he is overweight? My boy has no Maine Coon at all, and he is 17 pounds and healthy, with great body condition. 25 pounds isn’t out of the realm of possibility for a Maine Coon.

Edit: okay, I see the picture, he does look a little overweight. I think silentmeowlook had great advice, feed just wet pate food, it’s virtually carb free, and that should help.

 

[silent meowlook]

Here's a picture of him. He's definitely overweight, and with him starting to get older I really want to get this under control. He will eat wet food, but is very picky and typically will only eat about 20-30 calories worth before walking away, even if he's still hungry. I know this because I will often give him a small portion of his dry food after he walks away and he will scarf that down.

We used to leave a bowl of dry food out for all the cats to eat from throughout the day between their wet food meals. But have stopped doing this several months ago in an attempt to get his weight under control. I suppose I can just give him wet food throughout the day in small increments and see what happens, but I have concerns he won't eat enough of it.

Hi. The technical term for him would be a “ Flooffy Chunky Monkey”. He is adorable, but, yes overweight.

 

[osuengineer]

You mentioned specifically only patte wet food. Just curious why you suggested this specifically and nothing "chunky".

 

[iPappy]

You mentioned specifically only patte wet food. Just curious why you suggested this specifically and nothing "chunky".

IIRC, pate style foods are much lower in carbs than those in gravies, and lower carb foods will help with the weight loss.
If he's super picky on wet food and prefers the gravies, I'd personally start with those and slowly start adding a bit of pate mashed into them, slowly, until he's eating pate.

 

[silent meowlook]

The gravies are higher in carbs. Still better than dry but not as good as pate. Sometimes you have to compromise, and many dry food kibble addicted cats have to first be transitioned to the foods with gravy and then to the pate.

 

[stephanietx]

Go to scheduled feedings and switch to grain-free food or mostly grain-free food. Also, get him moving in play so he's exercising and burning off some of the calories.

 

[osuengineer]

The main issue I'm having with canned food is the little cans we buy are only 80 grams (about 60-80 calories each). So we'd have to feed him 5+ cans a day. If we try to give him one of these cans we're lucky if he eats half of it before walking away still hungry looking for dry food. Tried many brands and pretty much the same result across the board.

 

[lisahe]

The gravies are higher in carbs. Still better than dry but not as good as pate. Sometimes you have to compromise, and many dry food kibble addicted cats have to first be transitioned to the foods with gravy and then to the pate.

Yes to all this. And even when/if you're able to switch to pates, watch out for ingredients like tapioca, potato, peas, and the like, which can increase carbs and calories. Pates from brands ranging from Rawz to Fancy Feast pates have none of those ingredients. There are also a few shred foods that are in broth (Tiki comes to mind, plus there's a Chewy knock-off, Landmark, I think) that are very basic foods with no thickeners or carby anything. I wish our cats liked those more consistently!

There is one dry food, Dr. Elsey's with chicken, that is very low-carb. We use it as a topper for one cat and a sort of fill-in/snack food for the other, who's stubborn (but improving!) about eating wet food. It's very calorie-dense, though, so may not be good for a heavier cat who eats only dry food.

Good luck!

 

[Kris107]

This thread seems to have the food stuff covered. What are you doing for activity for/with him?

 

[silent meowlook]

One thing to mention is that even a young overweight cat can have joint and mobility issues if they are overweight. It is best for the time being to allow him to exercise on his own. Once he has lost some weight you can encourage more play.

 

[osuengineer]

This thread seems to have the food stuff covered. What are you doing for activity for/with him?

He wrestles and plays with our 1 year old cat daily. But aside from that he spends his time laying down the rest of the day. He doesn't really chase after toys much anymore.

 

[Kris107]

Any way to increase his play time might be good. New toys. Move his food further away. Sometimes the more weight they lose they regain some of their energy. 8 isn't that old!

 

[stephanietx]

I have a male cat who weighs 13.7 pounds at the moment (thanks to Prednisolone). He eats maybe 1/2 of a 5.5 oz can of food a day, with very small dry food "snacks" at other times in the day. He is not free-fed, but we have scheduled feedings.

When I had a female kitty many years ago who needed to lose weight, scheduled feedings was a lifesaver and it did help her lose weight. I had to learn to discipline myself to say no when it wasn't time to feed her.

 

[iPappy]

The main issue I'm having with canned food is the little cans we buy are only 80 grams (about 60-80 calories each). So we'd have to feed him 5+ cans a day. If we try to give him one of these cans we're lucky if he eats half of it before walking away still hungry looking for dry food. Tried many brands and pretty much the same result across the board.

Some cats have a literal addiction to dry food. They prefer it over anything else and it's pretty common. Could you give him a can with maybe 10 pieces of dry, and gradually phase that out? Frustrating as it is, you're really very lucky that he'll even eat some wet food because a lot of cats who prefer dry food won't even touch it, making it very difficult to switch them over completely.

 

[iPappy]

I have a male cat who weighs 13.7 pounds at the moment (thanks to Prednisolone). He eats maybe 1/2 of a 5.5 oz can of food a day, with very small dry food "snacks" at other times in the day. He is not free-fed, but we have scheduled feedings.

When I had a female kitty many years ago who needed to lose weight, scheduled feedings was a lifesaver and it did help her lose weight. I had to learn to discipline myself to say no when it wasn't time to feed her.

Sarah is getting very good at letting out a "help me I'm dying" yowl when she's hungry. She is hyper-T, so, I do give her something usually but I feel like I'm being trained.