Will my cat lose weight on better dry food?

[Grey Mist]

My 10-year-old cat is very overweight and needs to slim down. A couple of years ago she went through a phase of vomiting but all the vet did was put her on anti-nausea meds. She had phases of vomiting but did not have any other symptoms.

Since that time I have become more aware of cat nutrition and GI issues and food allergies. Ideally I would like to transition my cat to raw, but so far I have not had any success. I have managed to change her dry food to a better food. She was eating Purina One Weight Management but I changed her to Farmina Digestion formula lamb (she has been on this food since June). I also tried (with partial success) to get her switched over to healthier canned cat food. She grew up on Friskies but I had some success with Weruva and Fussie Cat and a couple other brands here and there. For a cat who loves food, she sure is picky! Her favorite is the Sheba pate and I think that while it is not ideal, it keeps her away from Friskies.

I have two questions about her diet. First, would she show weight loss on the Farmina because it is a healthier food? I believe that the Purina, even though it is a "weight management" formula, is loaded up on carbs. I found out on Monday based on a vet visit that she has lost one pound since January 10. For the past couple of months I have had this vague sense that she feels lighter but I assumed it was the way I was carrying her. Now, based on what I found out at the vet, I wonder. I ordered a scale so I can monitor her weight. I have not tried any portion control yet because there is another cat in the household, and I will probably have to use the automatic feeders that are specific to each cat. I am a bit concerned about weight loss if I have not been trying and I wonder if the healthier dry food and canned food (even without portion control) could be an explanation.

Also, ever since I tried her on new cans, her appetite seems to be a bit more inconsistent. She used to roam through the house looking for leftover Friskies from her sister (who never finishes all of her canned food). But her food-seeking behavior seems to have diminished. Lately she has also been a bit more picky about Sheba. She had three flavors she liked but now she turns up her nose at two of them, and the last flavor she still occasionally rejects. She still eats some canned food and she is eating dry, but I wonder about her appetite. Lately I have been throwing away more leftover canned food.

My husband thinks that getting her away from the Friskies and trying all kinds of new cans resulted in her being more finicky. I am concerned that she has an underlying GI issue. As of right now she is 19.5 pounds but her bloodwork in January was completely normal (no diabetes or thyroid issues or kidney disease). I just do not know if the changes in her diet are causing natural weight loss or if there is something going on that is causing her to lose weight. Or, is she losing weight because of decreased appetite? In that case I would need to explore why her appetite has decreased. I just didn't think anything of the uneaten food because I was still in the trial and error phase of trying to get her onto a better canned food. Once in a while out of desperation (or if I am away for a few days) I give her some Friskies. So maybe the switching back and forth is causing issues. My husband's birthday was in February and we went away for a few days and I did not want the caregiver to have to worry about uneaten food, so I left cans of Friskies for the morning and Sheba for the evening. The canned cat food trial has been a nightmare because the two cats never like the same thing and it has been hard to get them on the same page. So there is still some inconsistency regarding canned food.

Anyway, I just wanted to find out if the healthier food could be an explanation for weight loss. It makes sense to me. If I stop eating McDonalds every day then I should show weight loss! But I am also concerned about the increased finicky behavior regarding canned cat food and possible loss in appetite. Oh, I should mention that she also tends to wait until later to eat her breakfast. She used to be ready for breakfast when my husband got up at 4 but now she sometimes waits until later to eat. Her activity level seems normal so it is really the appetite and food issues. The vet (not the same vet as the one from a couple of years ago) does not seem overly concerned with the weight loss. She thinks it could be stress (I was away for two weeks in February in addition to my husband's birthday trip). Also my cat had a respiratory infection in January and she was on antibiotics for a week. So that could have had an impact. The vet wants to monitor her appetite but I am a worst-case scenario kind of person and I wonder if her vomiting from a couple of years ago was the start of IBD.

Sorry for the long post. I tried to keep it as short as possible but i wanted to give all the relevant information. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. First, I would say if she has been on Farmina since last June and only this year started losing weight - 1 pound since January 10 - that it is likely not the Farmina. That is assuming all this time you have also been feeding her some canned foods as well since last June. Think about it this way, if you stopped eating McDonalds last June but didn't start losing weight until this year, would you still think it was totally due to your lack of McDonalds? When was she last weighed before January 10?

I do think that her respiratory infection and the changes she went through with you being away from home probably played a bigger role in her weight loss than her diet. However, you will only know that if you continue on her current food regimen and see if in another month that she has lost more weight.

I don't know the ingredients/content in Farmina, but most all dry foods contain more carbs that most canned foods. Carbs are what generally make the dry food more 'calorie dense' than canned foods. And Sheba products are not as bad as you seem to think they are. Some of the Weruva and Fussie Cat foods have a greater amount of junk in them - not all but some, depending on which ones you are giving her.

If she is no longer vomiting as she was a couple of years ago, odds are she doesn't have IBD - unless you just happened to hit the 'jack pot' in foods that don't set her off. Given you are trying so many different ones, that doesn't seem to be the case. Also, it is very common for IBD cats to lose weight due to the vomiting and in many cases malabsorption - and they tend to also have stool issues sometimes leaning toward loose stools or even diarrhea, another potential weight loss factor. Her food back then could have been causing digestive tract issues and the changes you've made helped from that aspect though.

Lastly, only my personal opinion/experience, but I do tend to think that cats that have been on dry food for a long time become 'enamored' with the carbs and are happy eating the same food over and over because of that. Once they start on canned food, they do seem to become a bit pickier over time about flavors. Aging cats can also become pickier than their younger counterparts regardless of the food type.

Hopefully, other members will come along soon and offer their insights as well!

 

[Grey Mist]

Hi FeebysOwner,

Thank you for your very detailed and helpful reply!

I see your point about McDonalds and weight loss. Unfortunately I do not have a weight for her between last June and her vet weigh-in back in January, so I can only monitor it going forward.

I just got really nervous when the vet mentioned the weight loss because my mind went to all kinds of worst-case scenarios. She is actually very bonded to my husband and I always joke that she does not really miss me (she gets my spot in the bed), but it is still disruptive to her. And I had not thought about the effects of the respiratory infection until I started typing my post. I know she did not feel well for at least 10 days so that surely had an effect.

I had always assumed Sheba was a step above something like Friskies. But it is what she likes so I figured Sheba is better than dry food. I am glad to know it is not as bad as I thought. I will have to look into the Weruva and Fussie Cat and look at the ingredients on the cans I have. Thanks for letting me know about that!

I am reassured by what you said about her being finicky. I had not been too concerned until the issue of weight loss came up, and that is what made me re-evaluate her canned food eating habits. She was purely a Friskies cat and then she started getting a Sheba for dinner and everything was fine. But once I started trying new cans, things got really difficult. She will love a can the first time around, and the second time act as if I am torturing her by expecting her to eat the pile of garbage in front of her. My neighbor has an older cat and she told me once that her cat had 3 flavors of Fancy Feast she liked but now she is down to only one flavor. So the older cat issue and then the lifetime of dry food makes a lot of sense for my cat. I still want to get both cats away from dry food as much as possible but they sure love their kibble!

Thanks again for your reply. I appreciate your time and your insights!

 

[Jcatbird]

I think that fionasmom pretty well covered it! My cats love dry food too and of course better ingredients are just better but mine are not given dry to graze on all the time. They would love that though! Lol Mine are also finicky about wet foods. I try to switch around to better foods too but cats can get picky! Sometimes I have good luck by just adding a little bit more water to a food they normally like. That has been working well. I consider that a win! I also have multiple cats here so I do feed different foods to different cats. It can be a little bit of a juggling act but well worth it if you need to do that. I try to keep all the kitties, even my elder cats involved with play as much as I can. Time can be limiting to us all but my oldest guy still loves his catnip mice and more recently I have added new climbing spaces. So far it is a success. The cats are running around a lot more!

 

[Grey Mist]

Thanks JCatbird! (Sorry for the late reply, by the way... I started to reply way back when but my computer blipped out on me and I never got back to the forum!)

I will try adding water to some canned food and see if that helps. She is still eating but it is more hit or miss these days. Unfortunately I think we developed some bad habits with the Friskies and dry food. Even the other cat will gobble something down on one day and then pick at the same food the next day. I have probably bought every brand under the sun and I tell the cats this is the best food - like a gourmet steak meal at a fancy restaurant - but they just roll their eyes and walk away. I think I spend more money on food for the cats than I do for the humans!

Congrats on your success with the new climbing spaces! I have seen those systems where you put different posts and platforms along the walls. I would love to do something like that.

Thanks again for your response!