I Can't Get These Last Few Pounds Off My Cat

[kttn]

My 6 year old rescue cat started around 21 pounds and with a wet food diet I easily got her down to 13 lbs or so. She still needs to lose about another 3-4 lbs. While she's doing a lot better, these last few pounds are holding her back still in a lot of ways.

She is eating two 3 oz cans of Nature's Variety Instinct a day for a total of 210 calories. I know her food isn't amazing at 9% carbs, but it's extremely high fiber which she has to have (vet directed) and it was the best I could find.

I don't think the 20 calories per pound rule is working for her because she's maintaining a high weight on much less calories.

I was thinking 175 calories a day. Any thoughts?

 

[kobata1928]

It is great that you have progressed so far already, you've certainly added many potential healthy years to her life. A 13 lb cat getting 210 calories a day of decent food and maintaining weight sounds like a pretty inactive cat. I've read 20 calories per pound is the suggestion for an active indoor cat, and that some need as low as 15 to maintain weight. If her ideal weight is 9-10 lbs then farther reducing her calories seems fine to me as long as you are vigilant about her not losing weight too fast. Obviously, trying to increase her activity level will help too. I weigh my 3 cats every Monday at the same exact time to try for best accuracy, and keep a spreadsheet to track their weights. On 20 calories per pound my two 2 year old cats were the exact weight this year at the vets as they were last year. My coach potato cat gets 17 calories per pound and he loses about 4 ounces a month which is fine with me since he only needed to lose about 4 pounds total and is almost there.

 

[Summercats]

How active is your cat? Does she have outdoor access or a catio? Try lots of wand play, morning and night to get her moving. I suppose like humans once gained fat is hard to lose.

 

[MissMolly08]

I am working on getting my cat to lose weight too. She definitely needs less than the typical 20kcal/lb. She is also down to 13lbs right now and is getting about 180 calories/day.

 

[lalagimp]

One of my cats is right around that, and he doesn't really lose weight anymore. I have him on 4 oz of raw each day. By comparison - my other 13 lb cat is at his ideal weight and eating up to 6 oz of the same raw food. You can lower the calories further if she is truly supposed to be an itty bitty thing. Try 180 and see if any ounces start to slowly come off. Was she properly measured by the vet's office? I'm pretty sure my 9 1/2 lb girls are eating around 200 calories per day and they manage themselves.

 

[abyeb]

The key thing is not to cut the calories too quickly, because a too rapid reduction can cause hepatic lipidosis. Of course, exercise and playtime is important too! I’ll attach some articles that might help you out:

How Much Food Should I Feed My Cat?

Playing With Your Cat: 10 Things You Need To Know

 

[kttn]

Thank you so much everyone for your help! We're going to cut 10 calories off at each meal time and see if she can shake a few ounces off her lol. If not, we won't stress about it because she's definitely a lot better than she was.

She is not super active with us, but she wrestles and runs around with the new kitten a few times a day.

 

[duckpond]

You guys have really done great to get her where she is. And it may be, like it is with people who loose a lot, she has hit a plateau. Once her body has a while to adjust to her new weight, she may loose a little more. Best of luck to her!

 

[Furballsmom]

If not, we won't stress about it because she's definitely a lot better than she was.

Good for you, with everything!!
I didn't know if you're familiar with adult cat body condition charts and such, I try and go by when I lightly feel his ribs that I can detect a thin layer of fat over them.

 

[orange&white]

I took my senior cat from 16.5 lbs to his current healthy weight between 12.5-13.0 lbs. He got "stuck" at 15 pounds while I continued to decrease the quantity of food he ate, a small decrease every week or two. It was very frustrating for a couple months. I finally changed the composition of his diet to very high protein and very low fat (no carbs) and he was only eating 135-140 calories even with that change. The composition change kicked his metabolism into gear and he steadily lost the extra couple of pounds. He's now eating a more normal, moderate-fat diet, and maintaining his weight within 1/2 pound at 200 kcals a day. The closer he got to his ideal weight, the more active he became...so that helped too.

Hang in there!

 

[xcourtney3]

My girl has been stuck at 14.8 for years. She's eating 180-190 calories and I'm afraid to cut it further than that

 

[duckpond]

My girl has been stuck at 14.8 for years. She's eating 180-190 calories and I'm afraid to cut it further than that

what food are you feeding? If they are high carb or even high fat you could try switching her to a higher protein, lower fat and or carb food. you wouldn't need to feed less calories, just change the diet so that most of her calories are coming from protein, not so much fat and definitely not carbs? I have a boy that if he gets many carbs at all, and he loves them, he puts on weight. Im not a fan of cat diets, so i feed a few foods that i know have more protein than fat, and very few carbs. works for my guys, just something for you to think about.