Fat Cat

[midnight]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has ever been successful in getting a cat to lose weight? My cat, Pepper, weighs 23 lbs. (!). He looks like a bowling ball with a head and a tail. We have had him on a combination of ProPlan weight reduction formula and Science Diet r/d. We feed him the minimal amount of food that the vet suggested and have discontinued the kitty treats. He still is not losing weight. He is an indoor cat and that's part of the problem as well. I wish he could do a Cathe tape. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
--Lois

"Don't forget to breathe!"

 

[Shelbygirl]

Have you checked with your vet to make sure your cat doesn't have some sort of health issue? Otherwise, I'd suggest some interactive play time with your kittie to get him to move around more. One of my cats loves to chase those little mice toys. I keep a basket of them handy and then I just keep throwing them across the room until I run out, then I gather them up and start again.

I think we need to suggest to Cathe that she should create a Cat Max workout!

Good Luck,
Shelbygirl

 

[solara]

We had to put our Oliver on a diet. He's down to 17 lbs. He's on weight management food and I measure everything. He's grumpy tho!
Just like someone who's dieting to strictly! He goes to the vet annually and he's healthy...just likes to overeat and lounge around too much!

~ Kim

"Welcome the challenge...Embrace it...Don't fear it." -Cathe Friedrich

 

[ColleenM]

Did you ask your vet for food that is more of a "filler"? I don't know if this works for cats, but for overweight dogs we feed frozen green beans (thawed, but canned is too high in sodium) as a filler.

Colleen

 

[kathryn]

Get him a companion so he'll get some exercise by chasing the guy around! (I always think people with pets should have more than one anyway!).

I was just watching a natural pet care DVD, and they stated that, being carnivores, cats are built to eat once a day, with long periods of fasting in between. I'm sure my cats (two of whom are not skinny minnies!) would rebel if I did that, but it's a thought!

 

[midnight]

Thanks for all your input.
We did have Pepper's thyroid tested and it was normal.
Since I have put him on this diet he has been waking me up at 6:00 am to feed him! I wish he had a snooze button.
We try and play with him but he seems to get bored quickly. I get the feeling that he just can't be bothered.
He does have companions, another cat who is 16 and a Lab who is 3 and just adores him. They hang out together but the dog wouldn't dream of chasing him. I kind of wish she would. Getting a kitten is not in the plans right now as we have already inflicted 2 children, another cat and a dog on my 16 year old. Plus, we lost her littermate in January. For right now, we are a two cat family.
The Science Diet r/d is primarily a filler food so I may have to increase it in proportion to the regular weight management food.
Otherwise, I could do biceps curls with him instead of my dumbells!
He is a really nice kitty, just a tubby tabby!

--Lois

"Don't forget to breathe!"

 

[aseay]

my indoor cat weighs 10 pounds. i play with her alot by throwing atomic balls and strings. she likes running threw boxes. she is 4. maybe try and find out what your cat likes to do?

laura

 

[Gayle]

Hi Lois,

YES! I have a cat who was once fat and was able to get him to lose weight. Chance was over 20lbs and we successfully got him down to about 16, which is a good weight for him as he's a bigger framed cat.

My vet recommended that we feed him wet food only, one 6 oz can per day. She also recommended this same approach with my Boston Terrier who was overweight.

Her rationale was that dry food (even the premium food that I was feeding) has so many fillers in it too keep it dry, that the animals need to eat more in order to feel satisfied and have any energy. The wet food gives a bigger nutritional bang for the buck, so to speak.

This method worked great for both animals. The weight came off relatively quickly and they both have tons more energy. They're like totally new pets!

I do give both a small amount of dry food or a hard treat every day to help keep their teeth clean.

Good luck!

Edited to add: We previously tried increasing the exercise level of both Chance and Chelsea to get the weight off, but it didn't work. Chance is an indoor/outdoor(when the weather's nice) cat and gets a fair amount of activity.

 

[materialsgirl]

>We try and play with him but he seems to get bored quickly. I
>get the feeling that he just can't be bothered.

What kinds of play have you tried? We have 3 cats, and find that they all have different preferences for playtime. One of them loves playing with a fishing pole style toy. One of them loves playing with the laser pointer. And one of them has a paper ball that he loves to play "hockey" with on the hardwood floors. So, you may need to experiment with several types of play and toys in order to find out what floats Pepper's boat. Exercise will be the most helpful thing in helping him lose weight - so try to find something he enjoys.