Question: I have two cats. One is about 10 lbs; the other is waaaaaaaay over that. Probably close to 20. One is 9, the other 10. The younger is the heavier. They have been on [brand name] weight control for their entire lives. I switched the heavier one to a different brand of diet food a year ago, and she still gains weight.
Neither are very active anymore, although I do try to entertain them and get them off the bed. The only treat they get is two pieces of another diet food (treats are too fattening in my opinion), and they only get that once in the morning, and once in the evening. They won’t eat any people food at all (I’m glad of that), and they turn their nose up at tuna even.
Canned cat food doesn’t appeal to them either. Any suggestions as to what else I can try? The older one has shown signs of slight weight loss over the last year, but the 9 year old just keeps packing on the weight.
They are both strictly indoor cats and have never been around other animals. Any ideas for me? I would appreciate any advise! Thanks so much!!! (mom to 10 yr old Sissy, and 9 yr old StinkerBelle).
Answer: Thanks for writing in. It can be very challenging to get cats on the weight loss path! The biggest problem is feeding the right amount of calories. Most cats should eat only around 150-170 calories per day. Most dry cat foods have 400 or more calories per cup so they are quite high in calories…meaning they are very easy to overfeed.
The first step would be to figure out how many calories are in your food and then calculate the amount they can have to meet about 150 calories per day. Many cats won’t feel satisfied on this small amount of food which is why adding canned food is often helpful during a weight loss program. It generally has fewer calories so cats can eat more of it and feel more satisfied.
Here are some additional weight loss tips: Weight Loss Tips. There is also a good article here Transitioning Dry Food Addicts to Canned Food on how to introduce and transition even the most finicky dry food eaters to canned food.
Hope this information helps.
Good luck.
Dr. Donna Spector
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