Fat cat food recommendation

[lisahe]

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

Is that the Merrick limited ingredient food? Those are pretty good (even with the peas... it doesn't seem like there's too much...) food. Our cats used to love the turkey and duck but then decided they didn't when the recipe changed to include the peas!

You're lucky your cats aren't finicky.

 

[robert707]

Just giving a update.
So ultimately I chose to go with natural balance but use can an dry.
I feed them 1/4 cup of dry ea.. Early morning then my girlfriend who is home around 12/1pm splits half of a 5.5 oz can of wet between them then at night before bed we feed rest of the can..
Progress is in 6 days my cats have lost over a lb each roughly

 

[catwoman707]

Just giving a update.
So ultimately I chose to go with natural balance but use can an dry.
I feed them 1/4 cup of dry ea.. Early morning then my girlfriend who is home around 12/1pm splits half of a 5.5 oz can of wet between them then at night before bed we feed rest of the can..
Progress is in 6 days my cats have lost over a lb each roughly

Yikes that's too fast!

This needs to be altered immediately, it means high risk of fatty liver disease which can actually kill them. Overweight cats are especially prone to this.

Hepatic lipidosis or fatty liver disease means, when they don't consume enough calories to sustain themselves, which should be close to their normal amt daily, then their body will turn to stored fat for fuel, which should be fine but it is not, because while a cat's liver functions well enough to do it's job appropriately, it is not capable of excess work, so when the body has to use fat for fuel, it gets filtered through the liver, and liver is unable to keep up with the amount of fat that comes to it, so it gets backed up/clogged and shuts down, causing an emergency situation.

Cats MUST lose weight slowly.

 

[orange&white]

I completely agree with catwoman707...that is too much weight loss too fast.  As someone who nursed a cat through hepatic lipidosis (and he did not start out overweight), trust me, you do not want to go through that experience.  Overweight cats are at much higher risk.

On catinfo.org, there is a case study on two cats named Mollie and Bennie.  Bennie weighed 30 pounds at 4 years old before being dumped at a shelter and turned over to Dr. Pierson.

Dr. Pierson recommends, "Please pay close attention to the area around your cat’s backbone and the back of his head.  Establish a baseline ‘feel’ for this top line area before you start his weight loss program.  If these areas become excessively prominent, this is a sign of muscle mass loss which can be an indication of protein malnutrition.  The key is to go slowly with a goal of no more than 1-2% weight loss per week."  Source:  http://catinfo.org/feline-obesity-an-epidemic-of-fat-cats/#Bennie_

I have a cat on a diet right now, and have been somewhat disappointed in his progress.  He has gone from 16.5 pounds on September 23rd to 14 pounds January 25th (I didn't have a terribly accurate scale until a couple weeks ago, but was weighing myself with him on an old analog scale then subtracting my weight).  We backslid in February when I brought home a new kitten and my fatty cat went off his food for a day and a half, and I syringe fed him for 2 and a half days until he started eating again.  I let him eat all be wanted for about two weeks and he bounced back to 15.4 pounds by March 3rd.  He has not gained or lost since then.  Anyway, I'll be happy if he loses 1-2% every two weeks, as long as he keeps losing...and keeps eating.

It is a tremendously great thing that you are paying attention to getting your cats down to a healthy weight.  Just take it slow and easy please.

 

[lalagimp]

I took 4 years to get Tom to lose 8 lbs. Stewart lost 4 lbs in a year and a half.
The vet body evaluations said Tom is supposed to be 13 and Stewart at 12. So Tom started at 21 lbs and Stew at 16. 
Tommy got up near 14 recently, so I pulled back his food 1/2 oz per day and weighed him 2 months later. We're back at 13.
When he had kibble during the dieting phase, it was 60 grams or roughly 5/8 cup each day for Tommy, and Stew was 55 grams of kibble/roughly 1/2 cup per day.


They eat five small meals a day

http://petnutritionalliance.org/calculator/cat.php may be useful for you.

I didn't have that tool. Most regular bags of pet food give serving suggestions that don't apply to all cats.

 

[orange&white]

I didn't have that tool. Most regular bags of pet food give serving suggestions that don't apply to all cats.

I dare say that the serving suggestions on nearly all dry foods will make most cats fat. 

 

[LTS3]

Weight loss should be slowly done over a period of weeks if not months. A pound loss in 6 days is too much too fast. Not only are your cats at risk for fatty liver disease, but they'll be extra hangry and screaming for more food because they're not used to eating so few calories.

 

[robert707]

Update I increased their food intake an look to cut dry out completely within the next month or two...

 

[orange&white]

Update I increased their food intake an look to cut dry out completely within the next month or two...

Nice job!  You'll get there.