Fat Cat

julieann503 · Feb 11, 2018

Hello..I hope I am posting in the right place. My girl was spayed a few months ago and she went from a little 7lb cat to a porker!! She has gain ed some serious weight. She ears 1/2 cup of whole earth grain free and about 2 tbls. of BFF wet food in the pouch per day. We have had a mouse problem this winter and she is always hunting. I am not finding any bodies so I am assuming she is eating them? She begs for her food and never leaves any. I'm not sure what to do. It worries me that she is getting fatter all the time. Any advice welcome

julieann503 · Feb 11, 2018

I think it has been 8 or 9 months since she was spayed. The weight gain has happened over the last 3 or 4 months

duckpond · Feb 12, 2018

how much weight has she gained? Have you had her to the vet for a check up?

Dry food, or wet food with a lot of carbs can cause a weight gain, as can kitten food if it is very high calorie. Whole earth has a fair amount of carbs. Wet foods often have less carbs, but not always you will need to check. Cats need high protein, moderate fat, and low carbs.

I use the cat food database to check a lot of these totals. CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat you might check on the foods you can get?

Fancy feast, the classics , are one wet food a lot of people feed, and seem to be accepted by most cats. Instinct has several dry foods that are lower in carbs. I feed my cats Dr. Elseys which is very low carb, i get it from the dr. elsey site, or chewy.

maggiedemi · Feb 12, 2018

I would try decreasing the dry food a little bit and increasing the canned food.

di and bob · Feb 12, 2018

Are you sure she is getting fat, or is she just getting a 'mature' adult cat body? Seven lbs seems too little for a normal sized adult cat. Most weigh that as a minimum.and average is around 10 lbs. It depends on the breed too, my Siamese eats constantly (PLUS 4-5 mice a day) and stays thin and lanky, but he still weighs 11 lbs. That breed can weigh normally as little as 6 lbs. But mixed breeds will weigh more with normal builds. She may be getting an 'apron', the low hanging skin that develops on the abdomen even on some males, as they mature. That is perfectly normal, and MOST cats develop it over time. Press along her ribs, can you feel her ribs at all, if you can she is normal. Stand over her and look down, how does her 'waist' look? (right in front of her hips)Does she have one, or does her stomach stick out at both sides? My cats eat a can a day of wet food and free feed dry. 4 are normal weight and only one is slightly pudgy. I would say increase the wet food and play with her with a wand to increase exercise, that would help. I wouldn't decrease her food, it sounds like she is getting very little. You might offer low cal treats to fill her up, like shaved turkey breast. Mice are a normal, low cal food for cats, high in protein and containing taurine which they need. Just make sure they are not poisoned somewhere. They do have pine scented mouse repellents that I have used and they work very well if you want to eliminate the mice, I get mine at a farm supply store for my shed.