My cat is obsese...and now its a problem

luvthemhorses09 · 06-09-2005, 02:53 PM

Hello! Im new here, and i have a question about my cats, or actually just one for the most part. My cats are about 10 years old, and from what i can remember they have almost always been fat. I have one male and a female, and they are brother and sister. Sissy (the female) used to be the largest but has since either slimmed down a little, or just looks small compared to the other cat. Frisky (the male) is the one we need to do somthing about. He has been just geting fatter and fatter over the years and now he is so big we think he is either not cleaning himself anymore, or he trys and just cant reach some places. His bottom is now getting nasty from where i guess he cant reach it... i have told my mom that we need to put them both on a kitty diet, but we want to know what exactly we need to do. How do we put them on a diet, obviously cut back on food, but how much do we cut back, right now there is always food out for them to eat, so 24/7 they can eat, and thats basically what they do! Please help!

Frisha · 06-09-2005, 03:09 PM

What kind of food is it that you are feeding them? Generally the food that has alot of fillers such as corn rice and wheat will put weight on a kitty that moving up in quality of food will take soem of that weight off. Changing food took abotu 3 pounds off of one of our girls.

Meowmie · 06-09-2005, 03:40 PM

Hi!

Have to agree with Frisha, the food you feed makes a big difference for your kitty.

I came by mostly to post a serious warning for you or anyone who is thinking of putting a kitty on a diet.

Please be careful, NO crash diet for cats. Rapid weight loss can lead to hepatic lipidosis, a fatal liver disease in cats. Some cats develop liver damage even on a slow, careful weight loss program.

When you put your kitty on a diet make sure kitty does not lose more than 1 pound of weight in a 30 day time period. The easy to follow rule: 1 pound per month.

Before you begin, please take kitty to the vet for a very thorough physical exam that includes bloodwork (a complete chemistry profile and CBC) and ask your vet's advice about a safe weight loss program.

As for keeping kitty clean, a flea comb works very well on the area you need to keep clean. If necessary, also use white wet Kleenex or other soft tissue to clean up kitty's bottom then pat dry with dry tissue. (Using white is safer, clorored tissue can cause an allergic skin reaction.) If necessary, gently clean up kitty's bottom once a day. If you find that the skin in that area is read and irritated, your vet can give you an ointment that will clear that right up.

luvthemhorses09 · 06-09-2005, 03:58 PM

Thanks for your guys help so far! What weight should he weigh? He is currently between 17 and 20 pounds. He may be more than 20 pounds because he would not let me weigh him witout a fihgt. So he is somewhere between there. We feed them both tender vittels in the morning and then as i said they have dry cat food all the time. We also give them milk in the mornings, but frisky rarely drinks it. The dry food brand is Purina Cat Chow: Complete Formula. I dont know if that tells you guys anything...um also what food do you recommend we give them? and also how much? Do we just give them certain amounts during the day? We will obviously check with our vet but any additional information would be greatly apreciated!

Annissa · 06-09-2005, 04:03 PM

I've had tremendous success using an all-canned diet to help my obese kitty lose weight.

Here's before:

And after:

I used Wellness canned and highly recommend it. I strongly recommend against using a weight-loss formula dry food. Those generally have a lower amount of fat and protein and larger amounts of grain fillers which are the cause of obesity in cats. Think "Catkins diet" when putting your cat on a diet.

Sabby was about your cat's size when I put him on a diet and I fed him about 9 oz of canned food split into three 3 oz. meals. One at 7 a.m., one at 5:30 p.m., and the last at 10:00 p.m. As he lost weight I switched to two three oz. meals every day (for a total of 6 oz of food daily).

You might find that simply feeding your cats in timed, measured meals may help them lose weight as opposed to free feeding.

Aquiel · 06-09-2005, 04:14 PM

There are some foods made spefically for overweight cats, maybe you can look into switching to one of those.
Also, is there food left over after 24 hours?
Do just keep their bowls continuously full?
Perhaps you could try cutting their food back slowly, like an 1/8th less, then a 1/4 less..etc... over a few month span.
Or just split their feeding into two a day, or three?
Also a trip to the vet, to rule out any medical reasons for teh obesity, might also be helpful. They can also be helpful in designing a weighlost program, and maybe recomend another type of food.
We have one cat who has a bit of an underactive thyroid, so he kinda tubby, even though he doesnt eat alot.
Good luck!

Aquiel · 06-09-2005, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvthemhorses09

Thanks for your guys help so far! What weight should he weigh? He is currently between 17 and 20 pounds. He may be more than 20 pounds because he would not let me weigh him witout a fihgt.

i dont think theres a "set" weight, every cat is going to be different.
I cant quite remember what the ideal conditions are, ill so a searching for it though.

Aquiel · 06-09-2005, 04:26 PM

Iams
NutrtoMax
Royal Canin
Authority
Science Diet
Eukanuba
Purina

all have specific formulas desinged for overweight, or less active cats...
Just remember to look at the ingrediants too make sure that its not going to hinder your efforts.

Aquiel · 06-09-2005, 04:34 PM

heres a good article on obesity

http://petplace.netscape.com/Articles/a ... ?artID=592

Aquiel · 06-09-2005, 04:39 PM

"The best way to tell if your cat is overweight is by checking the cat. Move your hands along the sides of the body and gently try to feel the ribs. If the cat is within range of its ideal weight, you should be able to easily count the ribs. The ribs should be covered with a layer of fat, but not to an extent that would make it difficult to feel them.

With obese cats it is easy to see that they are larger than usual, have a large abdomen, and experience difficulty walking and grooming themselves. Obesity can sometimes be a side-effect of a more serious disease and requires urgent veterinary attention."

i copied that from an article, kinda tells you how to gauge the weight of your cat.

06-09-2005, 02:53 PM	#1 (permalink)
luvthemhorses09 Kitten Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Danville, IN Posts: 5	My cat is obsese...and now its a problem Hello! Im new here, and i have a question about my cats, or actually just one for the most part. My cats are about 10 years old, and from what i can remember they have almost always been fat. I have one male and a female, and they are brother and sister. Sissy (the female) used to be the largest but has since either slimmed down a little, or just looks small compared to the other cat. Frisky (the male) is the one we need to do somthing about. He has been just geting fatter and fatter over the years and now he is so big we think he is either not cleaning himself anymore, or he trys and just cant reach some places. His bottom is now getting nasty from where i guess he cant reach it... i have told my mom that we need to put them both on a kitty diet, but we want to know what exactly we need to do. How do we put them on a diet, obviously cut back on food, but how much do we cut back, right now there is always food out for them to eat, so 24/7 they can eat, and thats basically what they do! Please help!

06-09-2005, 04:14 PM	#6 (permalink)
Aquiel Jr. Cat Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Ladner, BC Posts: 73	There are some foods made spefically for overweight cats, maybe you can look into switching to one of those. Also, is there food left over after 24 hours? Do just keep their bowls continuously full? Perhaps you could try cutting their food back slowly, like an 1/8th less, then a 1/4 less..etc... over a few month span. Or just split their feeding into two a day, or three? Also a trip to the vet, to rule out any medical reasons for teh obesity, might also be helpful. They can also be helpful in designing a weighlost program, and maybe recomend another type of food. We have one cat who has a bit of an underactive thyroid, so he kinda tubby, even though he doesnt eat alot. Good luck! __________________ -- you can't soar with the eagles, when your surrounded by turkies

06-09-2005, 04:26 PM	#8 (permalink)
Aquiel Jr. Cat Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Ladner, BC Posts: 73	Iams NutrtoMax Royal Canin Authority Science Diet Eukanuba Purina all have specific formulas desinged for overweight, or less active cats... Just remember to look at the ingrediants too make sure that its not going to hinder your efforts. __________________ -- you can't soar with the eagles, when your surrounded by turkies

06-09-2005, 04:34 PM	#9 (permalink)
Aquiel Jr. Cat Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Ladner, BC Posts: 73	heres a good article on obesity http://petplace.netscape.com/Articles/a ... ?artID=592 __________________ -- you can't soar with the eagles, when your surrounded by turkies

06-09-2005, 04:39 PM	#10 (permalink)
Aquiel Jr. Cat Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Ladner, BC Posts: 73	"The best way to tell if your cat is overweight is by checking the cat. Move your hands along the sides of the body and gently try to feel the ribs. If the cat is within range of its ideal weight, you should be able to easily count the ribs. The ribs should be covered with a layer of fat, but not to an extent that would make it difficult to feel them. With obese cats it is easy to see that they are larger than usual, have a large abdomen, and experience difficulty walking and grooming themselves. Obesity can sometimes be a side-effect of a more serious disease and requires urgent veterinary attention." i copied that from an article, kinda tells you how to gauge the weight of your cat. __________________ -- you can't soar with the eagles, when your surrounded by turkies

06-09-2005, 03:09 PM	#2 (permalink)
Frisha Kitten Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 29	What kind of food is it that you are feeding them? Generally the food that has alot of fillers such as corn rice and wheat will put weight on a kitty that moving up in quality of food will take soem of that weight off. Changing food took abotu 3 pounds off of one of our girls.

06-09-2005, 03:40 PM	#3 (permalink)
Meowmie Cool Cat Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: USA Posts: 1,076	Hi! Have to agree with Frisha, the food you feed makes a big difference for your kitty. I came by mostly to post a serious warning for you or anyone who is thinking of putting a kitty on a diet. Please be careful, NO crash diet for cats. Rapid weight loss can lead to hepatic lipidosis, a fatal liver disease in cats. Some cats develop liver damage even on a slow, careful weight loss program. When you put your kitty on a diet make sure kitty does not lose more than 1 pound of weight in a 30 day time period. The easy to follow rule: 1 pound per month. Before you begin, please take kitty to the vet for a very thorough physical exam that includes bloodwork (a complete chemistry profile and CBC) and ask your vet's advice about a safe weight loss program. As for keeping kitty clean, a flea comb works very well on the area you need to keep clean. If necessary, also use white wet Kleenex or other soft tissue to clean up kitty's bottom then pat dry with dry tissue. (Using white is safer, clorored tissue can cause an allergic skin reaction.) If necessary, gently clean up kitty's bottom once a day. If you find that the skin in that area is read and irritated, your vet can give you an ointment that will clear that right up.

06-09-2005, 03:58 PM	#4 (permalink)
luvthemhorses09 Kitten Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Danville, IN Posts: 5	Thanks for your guys help so far! What weight should he weigh? He is currently between 17 and 20 pounds. He may be more than 20 pounds because he would not let me weigh him witout a fihgt. So he is somewhere between there. We feed them both tender vittels in the morning and then as i said they have dry cat food all the time. We also give them milk in the mornings, but frisky rarely drinks it. The dry food brand is Purina Cat Chow: Complete Formula. I dont know if that tells you guys anything...um also what food do you recommend we give them? and also how much? Do we just give them certain amounts during the day? We will obviously check with our vet but any additional information would be greatly apreciated!

06-09-2005, 04:03 PM	#5 (permalink)
Annissa Cat Addict Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Northeastern Ohio Posts: 3,168	I've had tremendous success using an all-canned diet to help my obese kitty lose weight. Here's before: And after: I used Wellness canned and highly recommend it. I strongly recommend against using a weight-loss formula dry food. Those generally have a lower amount of fat and protein and larger amounts of grain fillers which are the cause of obesity in cats. Think "Catkins diet" when putting your cat on a diet. Sabby was about your cat's size when I put him on a diet and I fed him about 9 oz of canned food split into three 3 oz. meals. One at 7 a.m., one at 5:30 p.m., and the last at 10:00 p.m. As he lost weight I switched to two three oz. meals every day (for a total of 6 oz of food daily). You might find that simply feeding your cats in timed, measured meals may help them lose weight as opposed to free feeding.

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