Fat cat food recommendation

[robert707]

Both my cats are big 20 lbs their imdoor only and I offer then many ways to get exercise and giving them mental stimulation. I currently feed them natural balance indoor formula giving them half a cup twice a day
Recently they have noticed they are turn there nose to it and not wanting to eat right away as in the past...

So my question is what low calorie cat food would you recommend because natural balance isn't working anymore

 

[DreamerRose]

Low calorie food won't help if you are feeding them too much, and I think you are. I adopted an overweight cat 6 months ago and she is now down to a good weight. Try feeding your cats 1/4 cup dry food (buy some other brand if they are tired of Natural Balance) in the morning and one cat of Fancy Feast pate in the evening. They will slowly start losing the weight.

 

[red top rescue]

I would suggest a WET food, not low calorie but low CARB.  Friskies pate, Sheba pate, or Fancy Feast pate (all the chunky, gravy, slices, pieces etc. forms contain wheat gluten and/or various starches to make the gravy.  I'll send you my three favorite basic nutrition links by PM.  Basically, cats need a food that is mostly ANIMAL (not vegetable) protein, moderate fat, and low (under 10%) carbs.  Most of the foods don't list carb counts but you can tell by reading the label  as to which of the contents are carbohydrates.

 

[catwoman707]

I agree with above, the first thing is, if possible wean them off of the dry food, as much as you are able. I know my girl was an addict, and over the years and learning more and more about cat nutrition etc I eventually got her down to 1/4 c of grain free dry and a can of fancy feast pate and she slimmed down nicely.

Natural Balance doesn't taste that great, not that I've tried it but have used it here and there for various reasons and for my own as well as given to fosters of mine for their foster cats, while some are okay with it, some just plain ol give you 'the look' acting like you put out a dish of cardboard bits. Yet the same food from Nature's Variety Instinct went over perfectly with all.

Low fat or calorie dry food is a big no. It actually has more carbs than the regular does! Been there done that, waste of time and lacks flavor too.

Canned is always the best choice anyway, much more satisfying, great for keeping cats well hydrated which goes a very long way for their health and wellness. ANY canned, pate type though. FF will say classic or pate, friskies says pate, sheba says pate, any that say grilled, sliced, chunks, bits, etc are not grain free and do contain wheat gluten as @Red Top Rescue

mentioned.

Canned food contains approx. 80% water, dry is about 7-10%.

 

[robert707]

I agree with above, the first thing is, if possible wean them off of the dry food, as much as you are able. I know my girl was an addict, and over the years and learning more and more about cat nutrition etc I eventually got her down to 1/4 c of grain free dry and a can of fancy feast pate and she slimmed down nicely.

Natural Balance doesn't taste that great, not that I've tried it but have used it here and there for various reasons and for my own as well as given to fosters of mine for their foster cats, while some are okay with it, some just plain ol give you 'the look' acting like you put out a dish of cardboard bits. Yet the same food from Nature's Variety Instinct went over perfectly with all.

Low fat or calorie dry food is a big no. It actually has more carbs than the regular does! Been there done that, waste of time and lacks flavor too.

Canned is always the best choice anyway, much more satisfying, great for keeping cats well hydrated which goes a very long way for their health and wellness. ANY canned, pate type though. FF will say classic or pate, friskies says pate, sheba says pate, any that say grilled, sliced, chunks, bits, etc are not grain free and do contain wheat gluten as @Red Top Rescue

mentioned.
Canned food contains approx. 80% water, dry is about 7-10%.

just double checking you mentioned wet but don't use grain free wet??

 

[catwoman707]

just double checking you mentioned wet but don't use grain free wet??

Yes, pate/classic style is grain free.

It's the sliced, chunks, etc that are not grain free.

 

[robert707]

After reading further it sounds like dry is bad in many ways as a regular diet. So this brings me to my next questions?
How do I make the switch
Do I offer them dry occasionally

 

[lalagimp]

We were on expensive Hills Metabolic for a few years with Tommy eating about 5/8 cup and Stewart eating about a half a cup. I quit. I got them off that junk and onto Nature's Variety Healthy Weight with Stewart getting 55 grams and Tommy getting 60 grams. We continued to see progress. I know what my bubs are supposed to weigh because they were fully evaluated by the vet. Tommy is just a bit larger so he's 13 and Stewart is 12.

All in all, I did take Tommy Gargoyle from 21 lbs down to 13. It took 3-4 years. Stewart was taken from 16.xx to 12 and I believe his was less than 2 years.

And the boys are on raw now. Tommy gets 5 oz and Stewart gets 4.5 oz, and when/if their weight starts creeping up I cut them back a half oz.

 

[lalagimp]

After reading further it sounds like dry is bad in many ways as a regular diet. So this brings me to my next questions?
How do I make the switch
Do I offer them dry occasionally

Dry is notorious in males. Tommy got a urethral blockage and was immediately moved to canned with Stewart and then onto raw by the end of the month.
Wet food keeps your cat more hydrated, even if you see them drinking from the water fountain or bowl.
One of my girls refuses, and they eat together as well, so the girls are still on dry with a water fountain on each side of the house.
I didn't have to transition my males. They love the tastes. We used Nature's Variety Instinct canned Duck, then Nature's Variety Instinct raw chicken medallions, then I moved to making my own from catinfo.org , and I told my boyfriend if for some reason I can't make it, then we would order from Darwin's.

2 males go through approx 20-22 lbs a month.
and raw is so much cheaper than quality canned. My flat of 5.5 oz cans was pushing towards $30 a month.

 

[DreamerRose]

I had to transition Mingo slowly because he had never had wet food before, and it gave him diarrhea. I gave him one wet meal every other day or so, and then as he tolerated it, I gave it to him more and more often. Now he has no problem at all with it. I would feed him wet all the time now, but usually I am too sleepy in the morning to fix it. So as long as he doesn't get crystals, I do give him dry (Purina One for urinary tract health) in the morning.

 

[robert707]

Mine have eaten wet natural balance indoor formula but I would buy it once in awhile 10 cans and feed them at night dry an wet in morning but when cans where gone within a two week period I wouldn't​ buy again for another month since I buy in bulk dry the natural balance indoor formula . I am thinking of switching to a completely different brand I currently have about 2 to 3 lbs of dry left now...

 

[LTS3]

You may find this thread helpful: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/245236/mickey-my-27-lbs-foster-and-his-journey-back-to-a-healthy-weight

I posted a response to someone else who wanted food suggestions for an overweight cat here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/334996/foods-to-help-my-cat-lose-weight#post_4217604

 

[red top rescue]

Transitioning from dry is easy for some, hard for others.  What worked for my FLUTD cat that I could not take a lot of time for (because of her urinary problems, she needed to get off dry immediately), was a combination of totally grain-free turkey & giblets (there are two kinds, Abound from Kroger and 4Health from Tractor Supply) with some baby food chicken mixed in (Beech Nut, not Gerbers, because Gerbers adds corn starch to their baby food meats), and then I put some dry food through a food proocessor to make crumbs and sprinkled that on top.  In licking off the crumbs, she got some food, and she got used to the food, and eventually ate it with no dry food at all.  Now that's she has been well for 1 1/2 years, I add 5 or 6 pieces of Iams kibble to her food, buried inside it, because she likes the crunch. 

 

[robert707]

thanks to everyone for all the links,info and advice....i have read as much as possible and now realize i have been doing my cats wrong.i have narrowed down to three different brands of wet canned .wellness corenatures variety instinct weruvai plan to feed them dry occasionally only and to always mix with wet when i do and to make it three small meals a day as opposed to just two. .with a goal of 25 cal per/lb a day eventually in hoping to drop their weight down from 20 lbs to under 15 lbs within the next year...

 

[lisahe]

thanks to everyone for all the links,info and advice.... i have read as much as possible and now realize i have been doing my cats wrong. i have narrowed down to three different brands of wet canned . wellness core natures variety instinct weruva i plan to feed them dry occasionally only and to always mix with wet when i do and to make it three small meals a day as opposed to just two. . with a goal of 25 cal per/lb a day eventually in hoping to drop their weight down from 20 lbs to under 15 lbs within the next year...

You've chosen three very decent brands of wet food that will give your cats some great variety, so that's a very excellent start! (There are a few foods from those brands that you might want to feed less frequently because they have potato or, in the case of Weruva's Cats in the Kitchen pouches, tapioca as a "gravy" thickener... but even so, those foods are far less carby than dry food, so that's a huge improvement right away! Our cats, by the way, loved Wellness Core's kitten food when I used to feed it to them.

)

We transitioned our cats off dry food in about a month, first feeding it only at night. We gradually increased wet food during the day and decreased dry food at night. Eventually we got to where we fed a sprinkling of kibbles on their bedtime meal, then it was fewer kibbles, then just a bit of dust... and then one day we all forgot about kibble. Our cats had always preferred dry food, they even waited for it. We did best by just taking dry food completely off the menu but there are lots of people who feed it occasionally or as a treat.

It's great that you're making these changes: we fed our previous cat, who was also quite overweight, wrong, too. She had lots of health issues that taught me all the same things you've just learned, too: all those lessons have come in very handy for the two cats we have now. I've noticed that a lot of us have learned this way, the hard way, about feline nutrition. Good luck with the new foods and the diet! And just ask for help if you need it.

 

[robert707]

You've chosen three very decent brands of wet food that will give your cats some great variety, so that's a very excellent start! (There are a few foods from those brands that you might want to feed less frequently because they have potato or, in the case of Weruva's Cats in the Kitchen pouches, tapioca as a "gravy" thickener... but even so, those foods are far less carby than dry food, so that's a huge improvement right away! Our cats, by the way, loved Wellness Core's kitten food when I used to feed it to them. )

We transitioned our cats off dry food in about a month, first feeding it only at night. We gradually increased wet food during the day and decreased dry food at night. Eventually we got to where we fed a sprinkling of kibbles on their bedtime meal, then it was fewer kibbles, then just a bit of dust... and then one day we all forgot about kibble. Our cats had always preferred dry food, they even waited for it. We did best by just taking dry food completely off the menu but there are lots of people who feed it occasionally or as a treat.

It's great that you're making these changes: we fed our previous cat, who was also quite overweight, wrong, too. She had lots of health issues that taught me all the same things you've just learned, too: all those lessons have come in very handy for the two cats we have now. I've noticed that a lot of us have learned this way, the hard way, about feline nutrition. Good luck with the new foods and the diet! And just ask for help if you need it.

Ya I actually saw that also was considering avoderm,
Tiki cat...
I also read to look for 78% max in moisture...
If I had the time and patience I would go raw unfortunately I don't....

 

[robert707]

What about Merrick?
It's the same price as natural balance what I am feeding my cats now but there chicken an liver pate is higher protein and less fat an carbs..
I believe it's
10% min protein
1.0% min carbs
5% fat.

I didn't see much about it and only came across it by chance while looking around my local pet store...
Also I see blue Buffalo is really high in fat but they get so much TV promo saying what a superior brand they are....

 

[DreamerRose]

thanks to everyone for all the links,info and advice.... i have read as much as possible and now realize i have been doing my cats wrong. i have narrowed down to three different brands of wet canned . wellness core natures variety instinct weruva i plan to feed them dry occasionally only and to always mix with wet when i do and to make it three small meals a day as opposed to just two. . with a goal of 25 cal per/lb a day eventually in hoping to drop their weight down from 20 lbs to under 15 lbs within the next year...

That's a really good plan. You should have success with that. Your kitties will feel much better and be more active. Good luck to you!

 

[lisahe]

Ya I actually saw that also was considering avoderm,
Tiki cat...
I also read to look for 78% max in moisture...
If I had the time and patience I would go raw unfortunately I don't....

Of those two, I'd go for the Tiki over the Avoderm. (And our cats agree...)

Also, commercial raw food can be pretty easy to feed: we feed some frozen and quite a bit of freeze-dried. The cats love it.

What about Merrick?
It's the same price as natural balance what I am feeding my cats now but there chicken an liver pate is higher protein and less fat an carbs..
I believe it's
10% min protein
1.0% min carbs
5% fat.

I didn't see much about it and only came across it by chance while looking around my local pet store...
Also I see blue Buffalo is really high in fat but they get so much TV promo saying what a superior brand they are....

Merrick's not bad, either, as long as you go for the ones that don't have fillers like peas added. For weight loss and maintenance, you want meat, meat, and meat without the fillers! I'm not a fan of Blue Buffalo, either. (And neither were our cats when we tried it on them... we realized that one of them can't eat potato anyway!)

Of course a lot of this will boil down to what your cats will eat! And don't worry if that ends up being Fancy Feast pates: they're pretty decent foods and they're definitely low-carb. (Personally, I'd far sooner feed byproducts than peas or potatoes. Byproducts aren't all bad!)

 

[robert707]

Of those two, I'd go for the Tiki over the Avoderm. (And our cats agree...)

Also, commercial raw food can be pretty easy to feed: we feed some frozen and quite a bit of freeze-dried. The cats love it.


Merrick's not bad, either, as long as you go for the ones that don't have fillers like peas added. For weight loss and maintenance, you want meat, meat, and meat without the fillers! I'm not a fan of Blue Buffalo, either. (And neither were our cats when we tried it on them... we realized that one of them can't eat potato anyway!)

Of course a lot of this will boil down to what your cats will eat! And don't worry if that ends up being Fancy Feast pates: they're pretty decent foods and they're definitely low-carb. (Personally, I'd far sooner feed byproducts than peas or potatoes. Byproducts aren't all bad!)

ya it would be Merrick LTD ingredient line only chicken, turkey,duck.. no fish
My cats aren't finicky at all.. especially my older cat who has taken a bite while I step away of my pepperoni pizza, scrambled eggs before