The canned food might only be causing diarrhea because she isn't used to it. A slow transition from the dry food to the canned food could very well be tolerated much better. Really, when weight is an issue for a cat there is no dry food that will really be good for weight loss. They are pretty much all too high in carbs.

 

Dry food is not good for any cat's health. Period. It is too low in moisture content - 10% when a cat's natural prey is 65-70%. Cats need to get their moisture IN their food. The protein source is plant-based rather than meat-based. And dry foods across the board to too high in carbs - cats don't need carbs in their diet, and a carb load of 10% or less is optimal.

Eating a dry diet puts a cat at major risk of FLUTD, obesity (especially when it is free-fed), CKD, diabetes, IBD.

Please read and have your girlfriend read, internalize and put into practice, the information on healthy diet for cats on the following websites:

Feline Nutrition
cat nutrition - Home
Little Big Cat | Mind-Body Consulting for Cats - the nutrition section has plenty of articles discussing the dangers of dry food.
healthypets.mercola.com - chock full of articles on healthy diets for both cats and dogs.
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition :: healthy cat diet, making cat food, litter box, cat food, cat nutrition, cat urinary tract health - this is the definititive website on the health dangers of dry foods, the benefits of a canned and homemade raw diet, as that subject is a passion for the webmaster, a vet who specializes in feline nutrition. A couple quotes from that website that IMO should be taped to the wall of where ever all cat owners keep their cat food supply:

There is nothing in bags of cooked-to-death, water-depleted, heavily plant-based protein, high carbohydrate diets that makes any sense to me.
Nothing about dry cat food comes close to resembling the properly-hydrated, low carb, animal protein diet that a cat is designed to eat. When looking at bags of dry food, I see plenty of moisture-deficient species-inappropriate, profit margin-driven ingredients that make the stockholders of pet food companies very happy.
Dry foods are also contaminated with bacteria, storage mites, and dangerous - and life-threatening - mold spores and toxins which make cats sick more often than people realize.

Many cats suffer each day because of the water-depleted diets (read: any dry kibble) that humans insist on feeding to them. Out of all of the subjects discussed on my website, urinary tract health - especially urethral obstructions - is the subject that I am most passionate about.
If the reader had to witness the tremendous suffering that a cat must endure when his (or, rarely, her) urethra becomes obstructed they would understand why this subject is so important.
To be quite frank, if humans - including my veterinary colleagues - had a cork inserted into their urethra until they experienced the excruciating pain secondary to bladder distension and rupture, I have no doubt that they would start to take this issue much more seriously.
And while urethral obstructions cause tremendous pain and suffering and can result in death if the bladder ruptures, cystitis (bladder inflammation) is also extremely painful. Many of these cats, understandably, develop litter box aversions secondary to associating the litter box with their pain. This results in house soiling and cases of abuse when the poor cat is punished.
If I could have the reader of my website leave with one word firmly imprinted in their mind it would be "water". If your cat is on a properly hydrated diet of 100% canned food - and no dry food - you stand a very good chance of never needing to read this webpage.

 

Also, canned food doesn't have much in the way of fiber in it, unlike dry foods where powdered cellulose is a common ingredient. If diarrhea is a problem, she can always add a 1/2 teaspoon of psyllium husk to the cat's food once a day (be sure to add extea water to the food, as psyllium is a soluble fiber, which means it soaks up excess moisture). When I switched my Shelly to an all-canned diet she had a touch of diarrhea. I started her on the psyllium, and now she has formed stools every time. Plus, psyllium doesn't contain carbs, unlike the plant ingredients in dry foods.

Another thing about dry foods - don't be swayed by the fact that meat products are listed first on the bag. You have to look at the ingredients on a dry matter basis - after the moisture has been removed (cook out). Science Diet is changing their formulations so that chicken is thefirst ingredient - BUT... when taken on a dry matter basis, chicken actually drops below the powdered cellulose, corn gluten meal, wheat flour and other assorted junk they put in their foods.

And they aren't the only ones who use that stuff, either. You'll see posters on here pushing Orijen/Acana as being "good" - go look at Orijen's Guaranteed Analysis page - 10% moisture content, and 20% carb load. So, that "good" food fails two of the tests, even though it brags about being 42% protein content.

Stay away from dry foods and strive to feed a species-appropriate diet.

 

I agree that canned food is the best choice. But a cat's weight can be controlled on a high quality dry food...the problem here is that she free feeds. Unless she controls the number of calories going in, the cat will never lose weight.

 

I think that if a person is going to focus on improving their cat's health, they need to go all the way. The drawbacks of feeding dry are too well-documented - the cat may lose weight with portion control, but is still at risk for other ailments that dry food exacerbates. I think Dr. Pierson's first quote I posted above speaks for itself.

 

And sometimes it's obvious that a situation calls for baby steps. A piece of advice that they may be willing to accept that can help the situation is better than having them do nothing.

Another point is to feed the amount of food for the weight you want the cat to be. According to the feed chart on the package. Don't feed him by what he weighs now, he won't lose a thing.

Taking this approach can be dangerous. If a 19 lb cat needs to be 12 lbs, cutting the food that significantly may lead to hepadic lipidosis. A safe weight loss rate is .5-1 lb per month. Weigh the cat, cut the food amount by 10-15% and weigh the cat 2 weeks later, adjust accordingly but never more than 10-15%.

 

Hi Melgrj7,
You said one ting that matter the most in this conversation. Your girlfriend free feeds.
THAT is the problem.
If you ran around eating all the time you may have a weight issue too! lol This is a common problem with cats that are free fed and are indoor only.

I'm not debating the indoor only decision, that's not important here. What I am trying to suggest is that an indoor only cat doesn't get anywhere near the exercise as an indoor-outdoor cat. And free feeding an indoor cat is a sure fire combo for cats to gain weight.
Why not try to set up three set meals for the cat instead of worrying about which food to switch it to. If that does NOT work, THEN look to switch.

Another point is to feed the amount of food for the weight you want the cat to be. According to the feed chart on the package. Don't feed him by what he weighs now, he won't lose a thing.

Good luck and keep us posted

 

I'm well aware of the advantages of canned over dry. My cat gets mainly canned food and some freeze dried raw and some kibble (a very small amount). I'm just trying to help this cat within the confines of what her owner is willing to do. I guess things will just remain as they are until the point we move in together and I can take over feeding. -Melissa

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My vet told me that when weight is an issue for cats she recommends they be taken off dry food - and unlike a lot of vets she does seem fairly good nutrition-wise although her office does sell the dreaded prescription diets. I guess you could control their weight if you restrict the dry food enough, but then I would think you would have a very hungry cat versus a more satisfied cat being able to eat more of a lower carb wet food.

 

Oh, she had a full check up and blood panel done. Kitty is healthy aside from being so overweight, no diabetes or other issues. -Melissa

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I have no doubt that is why my Shelly is overweight - because her previous owner was free-feeding her.

 

Fair enough, I didn't make myself clear, and I whole heartedly agree with doodlebug and MowMow, that you should not just suddenly jump to the desired weight caloric amount. Gradualy reduce the amount you are feeding him, as has been suggested.

My apologies for not making myself clearer and thanks to the members who caught it and said something.

 

For the cat to lose weight, to get scheduled feeding is important, and transitioning to wet seems to be the priority. I'd also try more interactive play with the cat to at least some kind of activity or get that "prey drive" revving again if possible. Try "da bird"? or other wand teaser toy? It may also help your friend develop a closer bond if she hasn't...