I'm a newbie having inherited 2 siamese cats!

[dakittynewb]

I have 2 (Brother and sister) beautiful Siamese cats

that I inherited from my Mother who passed-away from cancer in April 2015. 

I don’t know much about cats and mine are overweight.

I don’t know how old they are, I’d guess about 10 years old?

I don’t want them to have health issues when it can be largely avoidable 

by making healthier choices right?

I’ve tried a so-called “weight control” dry food. But they are still fat.

If I try giving them less food, they meow at me incessantly like teenage girls until I give in!

They only like dry food. And they are still too fat.

​Every time various people see them, they always spontaneously comment on how "BIG" they are!

I call them my Raccoons! Yes I try to lighten my mood about it, but the truth is I'm worried for their health.

Any words of wisdom for my Fat Cats?

Thanks so-much in advice.

DaKittyNewb

 

[molly22]

Oh boy, I have a Siamese mix and they are quite the talkers! How much do they weigh? Do you leave food out all day or feed them at certain times?

 

[margd]

Welcome to TCS!  

Do you have any pictures of your kitties?  We'd love to see them.  And bless you for taking in two senior cats - it must have given your mother great peace of mind to know you would take care of them.  I'm sorry you lost your mother to cancer - I did as well and it does hurt so much. 

One of the best ways to get your kitties to lose weight is to get them to eat wet food.  Yes, I know it is not easy, especially if they have been eating "kitty crack" for ten years but there are approaches that can help. The article below should help. 
[article="31138"]Transitioning Your Cat From Kibble To A New Type Of Food Canned Raw Or Homemade  [/article]
The other thing to do is to encourage them to exercise.  Do you have a laser pen or a wand toy like Da Bird?  Both encourage cats to run around and can provide needed activity.  Again, I realize 10 year old cats might rather just snooze in the sun, but you might be surprised at how they perk up. 

Good luck!

 

[dakittynewb]

Minette.jpg

• dakittynewb
• Jan 21, 2016

PompPomp.jpg

• dakittynewb
• Jan 21, 2016

 

[dakittynewb]

the girl on the top picture is "Minette"

The Boy on the easy chair(how appropriate or him!) is named "Pomp-Pomp".

My Mom was French-Canadian, so she gave her cats french names.

I'm actually terribly allergic to all cats except these siamese cats!

 

[margd]

Oh, my!  They do need to slim down a bit, don't they!  They are not the only ones.  My Paul is getting to be a regular tub.

   

Both Minette and Pomp-Pomp are really beautiful cats.  Just lovely!  I think Minette is a Tuxedo rather than Siamese though, although I am no expert in cat breeds.  Since they are both from the same litter, it seems one of the parents was something other than Siamese.

It's great they aren't bothering your allergies.  So many cats lose homes because of that, it's really sad for everyone involved. 

Below is another article and a thread worth checking out. 
[article="29717"]Is Your Cat Overweight  [/article][thread="307774"]Safe Weight Loss For Cat  [/thread]
Good Luck!  They are not going to be happy at first, but they will feel so much better in the long run! 

 

[molly22]

Minette.jpg

• dakittynewb
• Jan 21, 2016

PompPomp.jpg

• dakittynewb
• Jan 21, 2016

Their looks are priceless. "Silly human thinks we're going on diets."
Going slow is best with cat weight loss. Can you try to sprinkle kibble crumbs on wet food to slowly start transitioning to wet? As advised above, play will help. Try 15 minutes every night maybe? My cats love to chase around a wadded up piece of paper even. I know it's hard listening to their sad little cries for food but hang in there.

 

[dakittynewb]

What's the advantage to giving them Wet Food?

What is a good, healthy wet food to help them lose weight?

Thanx!

 

[2cats4me]

 
I have 2 (Brother and sister) beautiful Siamese cats

that I inherited from my Mother who passed-away from cancer in April 2015. 

I don’t know much about cats and mine are overweight.

I don’t know how old they are, I’d guess about 10 years old?

I don’t want them to have health issues when it can be largely avoidable 

by making healthier choices right?

I’ve tried a so-called “weight control” dry food. But they are still fat.

If I try giving them less food, they meow at me incessantly like teenage girls until I give in!

They only like dry food. And they are still too fat.

​Every time various people see them, they always spontaneously comment on how "BIG" they are!

I call them my Raccoons! Yes I try to lighten my mood about it, but the truth is I'm worried for their health.

Any words of wisdom for my Fat Cats?

Thanks so-much in advice.

DaKittyNewb

They are beautiful .  Since they only like dry food right now maybe you could start buy switching to a low carb kibble . Young Again Pet Food www.youngagainpetfood.com makes a good product that is less than 5%carbs & high protein which is supposed to aid in weight loss . At the same time you can buy a few different  brands of wet food and see if you can find something they like . Fancy Feast Classics are good , most cats like it .

 

[2cats4me]

 
What's the advantage to giving them Wet Food?

What is a good, healthy wet food to help them lose weight?

Thanx!

Wet is very good because it keeps them well hydrated . Some cats do not drink much water which could cause urinary tract issues .  There are so many brands of wet food .  For the more affordable brands you Fancy Feast Classic & Friskies Pate  ( only buy pate formulas ) The others have too much junk .  Tractor Supply has 4 health Grain Free canned which is good ..

 

[lisahe]

I couldn't agree more with Margd's and 2Cats4Me's suggestion to try more wet foods, or, if that fails, to try dry foods with lower carbs and higher protein. Dry foods labelled as "weight loss" very often have relatively high carbohydrate levels plus low protein, a terrible combination that can make cats gain even more weight. Unfortunately, we went through that with our previous cat! She was around Pomp-Pomp's size: I think the main reason she never got much bigger was that we started feeding her some Fancy Feast pates in addition to her dry food.

Feel free to ask if you want some wet food suggestions: a lot of us have tried many, many brands to find things our (picky) cats will eat! It can take a bit of trial and error to find foods that cats will eat consistently (we went through it with our cats, too) but it's definitely worth it for the weight loss and other health benefits that can come from a healthier, meatier diet.

Your cats are very beautiful! I wonder if Minette might be a snowshoe (Siamese) mix: they often have a little brown patch on their noses but Minette certainly has the white feet! Here's a photo that shows Edwina's coloring. (Not to mention her bad behavior and absolute lack of shame!)

P1010096.JPG

• lisahe
• Sep 10, 2015

 

[mollyblue]

My Siamese kitty liked dry food too, until she developed Chronic Renal Failure.  She refused pates all together, but the more gravy on/in a cat food, the better she liked it.  My Siamese has since passed... now we use max cat wet food, and all four of them seem to like it.  I still think the best way to go is good exercise.  All cats like different toys so you might have to try a few different things. Good luck to you!

 

[LTS3]

Weight loss has to be done slowly over the course of at least a few weeks to prevent fatty liver disease. Feeding less calories helps. Reducing food amount doesn't. Most dry foods are too high in calories per cup, even diet formulas, which is why many cats are obese. Canned foods are much lower in calories (usually less than 100 for a 3 oz can, maybe 150 or so for a larger size can), more filling, and healthier than dry food.

It's generally recommended to feed 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily (not per meal). You can be more conservative and do 30 to 35 or so calories per pound of ideal body weight and then once your cats have reached their goal weight, lower the calories down a bit. An average healthy 10 pound cat may need no more than 250 calories, though some may need more or less depending on age, breed, gender, activity level, etc. And don't forget the exercise

There are tips here on how to help a cat to safely lose weight: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity

 

[junglecat]

I just started my Mocha on Young Again for mature cats last week, and she loves it. Mocha is 6 years old. She is not overweight, and she loves wet food, but wet food doesn't always agree with her and would cause her to vomit at times. I called customer service at Young Again to ask them a question, but all of the vets were at a conference at the time. But, the next day, I was surprised when the founder of Young Again, Michael Massie, called my home and answered all of my questions to my satisfaction. I was really impressed by this! So far, my cat is doing very well with this food and it is working for me!