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I saw this on the new pet show on HMC. A vet said if you have an overweight cat you should feed them only wet food. The reason is if you 'free' feed kibble some cats just like the taste of the kibble and will overeat.
OK.. So I have a one cat that is huge. I feed my cats can and dry kibble but he is the only one that is FAT.
Has anyone ever done this to get a cat to lose weight?
My mom was advised to only feed wet food by her vet and it did help her cat lose weight. It's difficult at first to transition them. Maybe start giving less and less dry food until you're only feeding wet. Also try feeding them the wet food more frequently. I feed wet food 3 times per day so my kitties mostly eat that.
I saw this on the new pet show on HMC. A vet said if you have an overweight cat you should feed them only wet food. The reason is if you 'free' feed kibble some cats just like the taste of the kibble and will overeat.
OK.. So I have a one cat that is huge. I feed my cats can and dry kibble but he is the only one that is FAT.
Has anyone ever done this to get a cat to lose weight?
There are mannnnny reasons to feed wet, but one of the reasons not to free feed dry kibble IS due to obesity and other medical issues.
Our vet recommended an all wet diet due to another medical issue, BUT he also explained that our "fatty" would also lose and maintain an optimal weight eating a species appropriate diet.
Due to trial and error (on my part), it took about a year for our fatty to achieve a healthy weight.
I didn't want him to drop weight too fast or starve, so I weighed him often to keep a close eye on his weight loss. (The felines that weren't fat, did NOT lose weight.)
PS I did start off by slowly "transitioning" from dry to wet. Slowly cutting down on the dry and adding more wet. If I had to do it all over again, I would make a clean break. I found many of our felines wanting to "hold out" for dry. As long as they knew dry was available... it got ugly here at times. lol
We feed three small meals a day. Vet said two meals would be fine. 3 small meals keep them all happy... since they were used to eating whenever for so long.
I agree with the above post. Cats who are overwieght should lose weight very slowly, it is very dangerous for an obese cat to loose weight too fast. no more than a pound every six months.
Canned food, as was said is better for cats for a ton of reasons but one of the reasons it is better for weight loss and weight maintenance is because it is higher in protein and (most) lower in carbs, which is what cats need to thrive. Plus you can add a little water to the canned food which gets them more of that crucial moisture they need, slows down a gobbler, and makes him feel more full.
I recommend a complete check up including blood work and urinalysis before starting any cat on a reduced food weight loss program.
Two of our cats were overweight. Switching to canned food got one to a healthy weight. The other is improved, but still overweight. (She has other issues.)
Thanks.. I have moved the kibble so he can't get to it. I just found it interesting that he stated that some cats will overeat the kibble because they like the taste of it, not because they were hungry. (sounds like me and cheeze-its )
I'm going to try (once again) to feed wet. The cheeze-its analogy is what I worry about. My girl is very petite, a VERY fussy eater when it comes to wet food, cat treats, human food, you name it. I seldom give them fish but once in a blue moon I give them a small spoonful of tuna, and she's crazy about it half the time, totally uninterested the other half. The only thing she eats consistently is her kibble. She doesn't need to lose weight at all, which is why I think I need to transition gradually for her sake. But if I feed fatty-boy wet food AND have kibble available I worry he'll just get bigger. Any thoughts anyone?
I'm going to try (once again) to feed wet. The cheeze-its analogy is what I worry about. My girl is very petite, a VERY fussy eater when it comes to wet food, cat treats, human food, you name it. I seldom give them fish but once in a blue moon I give them a small spoonful of tuna, and she's crazy about it half the time, totally uninterested the other half. The only thing she eats consistently is her kibble. She doesn't need to lose weight at all, which is why I think I need to transition gradually for her sake. But if I feed fatty-boy wet food AND have kibble available I worry he'll just get bigger. Any thoughts anyone?
My thoughts are that my cats being indoor cats no-one can give them additional food. They are fed both wet food and kibble.
They only eat what they need, their dishes are never empty.
Cats also need exercise, its easy for an outdoor cat to keep active, it isn't as easy with indoor cats. I find having more than one cat and having lots of climbing frames etc helps.
There is a difference between a normal small, medium and large cat as opposed to a fat cat. ie my two DSHs are small cats, my Ragdoll is huge guy but he isn't fat.
He is an indoor cat mainly. He does go out on the deck but he never leaves my yard. He surely can't jump the fence.
Ironically since I put the kibble up he really isn't eating that much. I feed him 1 1/2 can a day.
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