Milo's Plan
- I have two cats that are brothers. One is a fairly healthy weight and the other is quite the chubster. We had a scary time last spring due to oxolate crystals. The ER vet said he was too big. He has also developed food allergies. I've been trying to help him lose weight for nine months now, without much luck. I was feeding 70 grams a day (over three meals) of Royal Canin Venison dry. Recently, I discovered that he likes the canned food of that brand, as well, so I'm slowly transitioning in the hopes that a wet diet will help. He and his brother get 15 g twice a day of the dry and half a can before bed. The problem is that they both seem to be hungrier between meals and they've both gained a few ounces. (I weigh them on a baby scale.) I probably give in too often to their pleadings. My vet says Milo may just be genetically predisposed and that the best I can hope for is weight maintenance, but I'd really like to help him, even if all i can achieve is a pound or two.
- —Guest tetsutahime
This is why I got a third cat
- I was serving a half can a meal since mid fall, hoping that the extra food wouldn't cause too much trouble. It hasn't done anything except see that both cats put on a couple extra pounds. Working through the Lisa Pierson article I figured out that I needed to feed 160 to 190 calories per cat, and guestimating from typical data and the actual info for the few brands I use with published info, that was just right. So - since I was feeding 3x daily, I just had to adopt another cat to eat the last third of the can every meal. Adding a second two year old hasn't hurt on the activity front either. and guestimating the calories on the food I'm feeding (it sure would be nice if Natural Balance published their info!) , I worked out that a bit under a can a day would be just about right (160-200 calories is a typical cat food can, and the right level for a 11 lb target weight)
- —fellcolor
Slimming Beautiful Down in 2009
- I've been trying to help one of my cats, Beautiful, lose weight since December. My other cat, GT, is at a normal weight. I began by giving them only a half cup of dry food (need to get that Wellness formula you recommended though...) in the morning and giving each half a 3 oz can of wet food in the morning and half a can in the evening. I was using Fancy Feast but just switched to Natural Balance after reading your articles, Franny. Beautiful has not changed much from her beginning weight of 14.5 lbs. I only have a human scale to weigh her with (taring myself and holding her), so there may be more actual fluctuations than I've been able to detect in weekly weigh-ins. At one point she weighed in at 13.5, then she'd go up to 14 and back up to 14.5. I think that I need to be a bit more careful about portion control and I need to remove the 1/2 cup of dry food if it goes uneaten in the morning. (I leave it there because GT eats so little and I'm worried about her starving...)
- —Guest JOBRAINEZ
Chubby vs Skinny!
- Two years ago, our family adopted two cats named Ace and Alex. They are brothers and do not share the weight at all, for Alec (as we now call him) was a major fatty lumpkin and Ace was a skinny baby cat. They don't look at all alike. Ace is a black cutie who when he gets lonely he howls. Alec is a white and brown tabby, with a bump on his nose. Since Ace was so skinny my mum started giving him extra helpings of food. Alec soon caught on to the little game and would put on his sad face and squeak his little heart out so he started getting extras. That really didn't help but Ace is chubby now and Alec is really fat. So Bye For Now!
- —Guest Gracers!Acers!
i have a fat cat
- i too have a fat cat, don't know what else to do about his fat, i have taken away all table food and limited his dry and wet food
- —Guest buzzygranny@comcast.net
Our vet did her own research
- We started to see a new Veterinarian to follow our cat for weight management. She told us that in her previous practice, she had many overweight cats who simply could not lose weight by all traditional measures. We have a cat that fits that type perfectly. The doctor's research study discovered that by putting the cats on a high protein/low carb diet, almost all her cats did lose weight. It makes sense as cats are carnivorous. She compared the diet to be similar to the South Beach plan. She does like to monitor weights and blood work to watch for any unforeseen issues. Our cat is very happy/satisfied with this diet and his still limited portions. He has lost some weight consistently, finally. There are prescription brands your doctor could order. Also, there is one similar store brand - Innova EVO, "the ancestral diet". Please note, we've been doing this for sometime - diabetes and thyroid ruled out, increased activity and strictly controlled portions we do and have done. Good luck.
- —2009julianna
Limited Free Feeding
- My cat used to be 19 lbs and after 3 years, is down to 15.5 lbs. He is a big muscled cat so the vet thinks 15 is fine. We give him 1/4 cup of California Natural Chicken and Rice mixed with Wellness (Salmon) or Katz-n-Flocken Cat Food (lamb). This has to last from 4:30 am till about 6 pm. He then has 2.5 oz of premium canned food, usually one of the Wellness (no grain) flavors e.g. Turkey, Chicken, etc. For treats so I could get brush his teeth in the morning, he gets a very small helping of Sheba canned chicken breast. One small can lasts for days refrigerated. For exercise, we try to get him to swat at toys from inside a transparent shopping bag. Or he gets to go up and down the stairs to use his litter box. He drinks plenty of water using his pet fountain.
- —Guest Aida
My fat Cat Sport
- My fat kitty is 19 lbs and should weigh about 15. We started with a weigh-in and continued feeding at the normal amount to see if there was a gain or loss. He maintained his weight so that gave me my starting point from which to reduce. He now gets 1/4 of a 5.5oz can in the morning and once at night. No food is left out for munching and is strictly watched so he does not eat the "leftovers" of any of the other cats. So far, so good, we weigh in again tomorrow at the vet.
- —Guest janet49424
Butterball black cat
- Our youngest cat, Lucy, had been a shelter cat all her young life and the only thing to occupy her was eating, so she was a butterball when we adopted her. I thought she had lost some weight during the year we owned her but discovered she had gained instead. We've cut all 3 cats down to a small 5 oz can of food split 3 ways in the morning and evening, and split a cup of chow during the day. Lucy still has some weight to lose, but she's lost that "stuffed sausage" look that she had in December and actually has hips. She too discovered she has a tail We don't give them Wellness or other of the specialized brands as our cats simply don't like them. Even when hungry, they'll turn up their noses at it. And they're not the only ones dieting - their owners are too
- —Whalehugger55
My big boy
- My Vlad is my biggest cat. He's been steady at 18-17 lbs since he reached a year old. He will be 2 this month. While he's never had a weight issue, I have found he and his brothers and sisters have all maintained their weights with the following regimen. In the morning and again in the evening each cat (I have 5) is served 2 to 3 tablespoons of food. I do give them treats, 5-10 pieces nightly according to the package. What they do not finish in their feedings they go back and munch on as the day and night wears on. On the weekends they will have a treat and get an afternoon snack. I've been feeding them like this for over a year and a half and they have all maintained a safe and normal weight. Vlad is 17 pounds because he is a very large cat, but the others are from 8, 10, 10.5 and 11. I feed them high quality foods. I like to switch up now and then so they don't get bored. I buy Innova Evo, Merrick, Tiki Cat and Wellness.
- —Guest Nuria
fat cat
- I have two cats which one is obease 17# (or was) and one is so skinny 7#. Both were eating the same food. The skinny one spit up all the time. Vet did not find anything wrong with her. The fat cat began to have breathing problems, vet called it ashema-- and awful anal gland problems; vet said cat must loose weight. Vet recommended Hills r/d. She lost 5 pounds over a period of 6 months or so and somethat healther, still has ashema attacks sometime but no anal glad problems--skinny cat wanted the same food that fat cat ate and finally refused to eat anything except the r/d. She rarely spits up now and has not lost weight. Strange.... I feed them 1/4 cup each morning/night. They are READY to eat both times!!
- —Guest ldavis@utm.edu
Diet Plan
- [Reply to other poster deleted by site Guide] I have three cats and they are fed three times a day (granted it is a small amount and they are fed in different rooms as they each eat at a different pace) but I have three healthy happy cats.
- —kismutt
Bonito flakes
- I discovered I had to keep these in the refrigerator!
- —acter
He's Discovered His Tail!
- My (almost) aerodynamic cat formerly known as fat went from 24 lb to 19 lb - he is a big boy, so 19 is a pretty good weight for him. I started feeding my two cats separately, changed their diet from dry to canned, and decreased the amount of food they get. I feed them twice a day, bigger cat gets 2 and 2/3 s of a small can, and smaller cat gets 2 and 1/3 of a can. (one can each in the morning, the rest in the evening). He'd grown so fat that he could not lick his rear end properly - once he'd lost enough weight he discovered he had a tail - and has been chasing that ever since - talk about increased quality of life! :)
- —Guest Skinny Kitty
Share Your Cat's Plan
- Huge smile! Reading the words "Share Your own Fat Cat's Weight Loss Plan and Progress" I thought you meant put myself on a weight-loss program too, alongside my cat. What I've done is to swap to lite versions of the dry food. Our vet said it wouldn't do the young cats in our household any harm, and it'll help the older ones not put on weight.
- —paintingperson10
Previous16-30 of 30
