Question: My cat loves Halo cat food so much she had gained too much weight and I had to take her off Halo to keep her from getting too fat. Does Halo have a healthy weight formula for cats?
Answer: First, yes Halo does have a Healthy Weight Formula for Cats: Spot’s Stew® Adult Cat Healthy Weight GF Game Bird Medley (6 lb) and Spot’s Stew® Cats Grain-Free Healthy Weight Whitefish & Salmon (6 Lb). Although these two foods are lower in calories (about 7% fewer calories) than the other dry formulas, it is still a fairly calorie-dense food.
If an owner is having issues with weight gain, I highly recommend the addition of canned food as it is much lower in calories. In general, dry food has 3 to 4 times more calories than a similar quantity of canned food…which means a cat can eat a LOT more canned food and feel fuller without all the calories of a dry food. Canned food is also lower in carbohydrates than dry food which is much healthier for cats—especially those prone to being overweight.
The second issue many owners have is the AMOUNT they are feeding. Many cat owners are still using the free-feeding approach where they just fill the bowl up when it gets low. This is really a disaster for a cat’s waist-line!
Most indoor domestic housecats require only between 150-200 calories per day and with the free-feeding approach sometimes these cats are getting close to 300-400 calories each day. So it might be necessary to deal with the way you are feeding. Meal feeding—where an exact amount can be measured out—is necessary to prevent excess weight gain in most cats.
So, it is unlikely that you need to switch away from Halo. You may just need to change the way you are feeding or maybe consider the type of food you are feeding.
Hope this helps.
Dr. Donna Spector
Answers provided to pet owners by Dr. Donna Spector should be considered information and not specific advice. Answers are to be used for general information purposes only and not as a substitute for in-person evaluation or specific professional advice from your veterinarian. Communications on this site are very limited and should never be used in possible cases of emergency.
Halo, Purely for Pets will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on any information or content contained in a blog or article post. If you have consulted your veterinarian and if you are still concerned about your pet’s condition or if your pet has chronic, complicated or undiagnosed problems, Dr. Spector can offer consultations for you and your veterinarian via www.SpectorDVM.com.
Evelyn K
I have 2 cats that have always had dry food availabe for free feeding, mainly because I was working and wanted to ensure they had food all day. In addition, each also got 1/2 small can of canned food in the morning and again in the evening. Weight was not a problem. I have not been working for almost 3 years, and one of my cats became a begger… always going over to the feeding area and sitting there expecting more canned food, several times a day. I gave in. She eats a bite or two and moves on, and my male would clean the plates of all canned food.
He has put on some weight. He’s not grossly overweight, but still heavier than he was. So I have changed the wway I feed them. I measure out 1/2 cup of dry food every morning. They get about 1/3 can of canned food in the morning, and when the female comes begging again, they split the remaining 1/3 of the can. Any other time she begs, I ignore it.
My male is eating just under the half cup of dry food and seems fine with the reduced amount in his biwl and the reduced amount of canned. He’s not a begger and was always happy to wait until mealtimes for fresh food, but he became an opportunist when the female would walk away and leave canned food on her plate several times a day.
Also, they were both eating the same dry food in separate bowls, which meant there was the oopportunity for my male to overeat. My female now eats another brand of dry food that she likes, but he doesn’t. The female hasn’t had a weight problem. I am hoping my male will lose a little weight and be able to maintain it. We’ve only been working on this a few weeks. My eventual goal is to get back to just the 2 servings of canned food and have the hopefully stop the female’s begging. She is just so polite about, I hate to not give her something. We rescued her 6 years ago from living in an outdoor work shed by where my husband worked, where she was free to run the streets and once she adjusted to living in captivity, loved (loves) being spoiled… I am hopeful…
Lara Wheless
Never knew that about the different nutrition and calories between wet and dry! I have two cats, one small (fat)one who eats all of her portion than intimidates her much bigger (not fat, just bigger) housemate, then finishes off his portion! I have always thought this is why she is overweight, but she eats a lot of dry food, so I need to measure it instead of free-feeding. Thank you!