Mattie needs to lose weight. At her last vet visit in October 2008, she weighed almost 11 lbs and the vet thinks she should be closer to 9 1/2.
I've reduced her calorie intake since then by about 10% (per vet's recommendations) but it's not really helping. I did this by reducing her dry food intake by switching her from 1/4 cup of Natural Balance Ultra (553 calories per cup) to 1/4 cup of Wellness Indoor (464 calories per cup), it came out to be about 20 calories less per day than what she ate before. She still eats the same amount of wet food each day (3 oz). Now, we're feeding her even less than 1/4 of a cup of the Wellness Indoor.
I'm soon switching her to 1/4 cup of Taste of the Wild for her dry food (in addition to her regular 3 oz of wet food). TOTW has 390 calories per cup and is higher in protein and grain-free. I'm hoping this helps.
It is impossible to get her to play with any sort of toy to help her lose weight. She is not playful and only wants to sleep all day. Nothing interests her (da bird, laser pointers, string, etc.).
My question: how long should it take a kitty to lose 1 1/2 pounds, safely? Maybe I just have unrealistic expectations on how long this will take. I know it has to be a slow thing, but how slow is normal?
I've reduced her calorie intake since then by about 10% (per vet's recommendations) but it's not really helping. I did this by reducing her dry food intake by switching her from 1/4 cup of Natural Balance Ultra (553 calories per cup) to 1/4 cup of Wellness Indoor (464 calories per cup), it came out to be about 20 calories less per day than what she ate before. She still eats the same amount of wet food each day (3 oz). Now, we're feeding her even less than 1/4 of a cup of the Wellness Indoor.
I'm soon switching her to 1/4 cup of Taste of the Wild for her dry food (in addition to her regular 3 oz of wet food). TOTW has 390 calories per cup and is higher in protein and grain-free. I'm hoping this helps.
It is impossible to get her to play with any sort of toy to help her lose weight. She is not playful and only wants to sleep all day. Nothing interests her (da bird, laser pointers, string, etc.).
My question: how long should it take a kitty to lose 1 1/2 pounds, safely? Maybe I just have unrealistic expectations on how long this will take. I know it has to be a slow thing, but how slow is normal?