[kraze1994]

So over the past several months my cat has started gaining weight. I have no doubt that this is because she is an older cat and doesn't really leave the bed anymore.

Anyways I am looking for tips on how I can control my cats food intake. Seems simply to just not feed her but when I don't feed my cat she becomes extremely well annoying is the nicest way I can put it.

She bothers me, meows scratches crap and it all stops when I feed her. I would say I feed her anywhere from 5-10 times a day. I know it is completely terrible but when she gets like this and I am working I cannot take the time and give him that attention so I just turned to food and fed her.

Well no she is fat and I am not sure how I can control it. Does anyone have any good tips I can use?

 

[GhostTown]

lol......... There really is no other way to put this. You are the problem.

You're just going to have to bite the bullet and deal with her behavioral problems that have developed while she was training you when it was the best time to be fed. Cats (even older cats) learn very quickly if you are consistent with your actions. It doesn't matter what the situation is.

I would only feed her twice per day at consistent times and never vary from those two times. You'll have to deal with her cravings and behavioral issues in between those points, but after about two weeks they should subside. You just can't budge from those feeding times though.

I feed at 5 am and 5 pm. Those times work the best for me. If 8 am and 8 pm works better for you, then great. Just be consistent.

 

[kraze1994]

Well I know it was all my fault, since it was my choice to feed her.


Anyways how much food should I be feeding her? Such as one cup every meal?

I would say she is about 9 years old at this point. Also should I slowly get her on o this system or should I just immediately start?

 

[laurief]

What type (kibble, canned) and brand and amount of food are you feeding her now?

How much does she currently weigh, and what is her ideal target weight?

The answers to those questions will help determine how much you should be feeding her for slow, steady, safe weight loss.

Laurie

 

[GhostTown]

Portion amounts will likely vary per cat and there are many different opinions on how and what to feed. I'll tell you what I do, and it has worked well for my three cats of differing sex, breed, frame size and age. Also I only feed wet food so this might differ a little from dry if that is what you feed.

I feed 3 oz cans, one per cat in the morning, and one per cat at night. For your girl I'd feed two cans per day once her weight is where you want it.

When my oldest boy (8-9 years old at the time) was a bit pear shaped, I was feeding him a third to half of a 5.5 oz can per feeding, for a total of 5.5 per day, sometimes less. This took the extra 1.5 lbs off that he needed to lose and he's now at a very health 12 lbs.

As for how to go about getting started on a daily ritual, if it were me I'd start right now. It's going to be tough for a while, but the sooner you get her used to a cycle the better. I've never been a proponent of easing into breaking habitual problems. You either do what is bad for you, or you don't! (I've been forced to quit a few things in my life, so I'm kind of hard nosed about it, even with my cats)

Again, opinions might differ from mine and that is ok. I'm just giving you some insight as to how things work at my house.

EDIT TO ADD: .....and listen to laurief (above), she knows her stuff.

 

[GhostTown]

Kraze,

I can't help but key in to the fact that you've said your cat has gained quite a bit of weight over the last few months. This sounds like a short time to me for you to see a noticeable weight gain. I agree with what has been said by others already, but would hate for you to overlook a possible medical condition that can be triggering your cat's hunger. I know that diabetes can cause cats to become ravenous, and can also help explain the rapid weight gain. Hyperthyroidism would also explain increased appetite, but I don't think weight gain accompanies that (I could be wrong, though). Has your cat started drinking more? or have you noticed an increased volume of urine?

Likely the explanation is overfeeding, but it may not be a bad idea to rule out medical reasons too. A simple visit to your vet might not be unreasonable.

Best of luck!

~Mrs. GhostTown

 

[kraze1994]

First off, thank you for all the replies :razz:

What type (kibble, canned) and brand and amount of food are you feeding her now?

How much does she currently weigh, and what is her ideal target weight?

She currently eats "Kit and Kaboodle" dry food. However that will change based on what I can afford at the time. I do not have an accurate number but I would say a handful 5-10 times a day.

I also wasn't able to get a weight, the scale we had is electronic and I couldn't get her on it or in the right spot to trigger it on. As for an ideal weight I just don't know. Maybe a loss of 5-10 pounds?

Again, opinions might differ from mine and that is ok. I'm just giving you some insight as to how things work at my house.

Probably better to just go your route, only problem is I am very in-consistent with her feeding. Whenever I wake up or she pisses me off the most really :/

I can't help but key in to the fact that you've said your cat has gained quite a bit of weight over the last few months. This sounds like a short time to me for you to see a noticeable weight gain. I agree with what has been said by others already, but would hate for you to overlook a possible medical condition that can be triggering your cat's hunger. I know that diabetes can cause cats to become ravenous, and can also help explain the rapid weight gain. Hyperthyroidism would also explain increased appetite, but I don't think weight gain accompanies that (I could be wrong, though). Has your cat started drinking more? or have you noticed an increased volume of urine?

Likely the explanation is overfeeding, but it may not be a bad idea to rule out medical reasons too. A simple visit to your vet might not be unreasonable.

Several months was a little bit of an understatement, it has been a little longer but it just seems like it was overnight she became bigger. I can look in to taking her to the vet and see what they say. As far as I noticed she has been more attached to her water. I used to never see her drink any and last several weeks(really) she has been really on top of it. I find my self refilling it almost every other time I feed her.

Urine seems to have stepped us as well, nothing that is out of control but I am noticing that she goes a tad bit more often.

 

[shan841]

I would get her to the vet asap! An increase in the frequency of drinking and urination, along with weight gain are all signs of a serious problem. Over feeding an all dry diet is bad news.

 

[doodlebug]

Several months was a little bit of an understatement, it has been a little longer but it just seems like it was overnight she became bigger. I can look in to taking her to the vet and see what they say. As far as I noticed she has been more attached to her water. I used to never see her drink any and last several weeks(really) she has been really on top of it. I find my self refilling it almost every other time I feed her.

Urine seems to have stepped us as well, nothing that is out of control but I am noticing that she goes a tad bit more often.

You really need to get this cat in to the vet asap. The drinking could be due to eating so much more dry food and needing to replace the water the dry sucks out of the system. But then she wouldn't be peeing it out. The whole list of symptoms combined with the extremely poor quality food are really screaming out to me that there's something medical going on here.