Your cat will likely never lose weight on dry food. Wet food is best if your cat will eat it. Cut out the dry, give him the correct amount of wet, and he'll lose the weight.

 

Cats use fat differently than us, what you want to cut out of their diet is the carbs... and dry food is loaded with them. The more wet food the better for overall health and especially for losing weight.

Give this a read:
Feline Obesity: An Epidemic of Fat Cats by Lisa A. Pierson, DVM

 

I have to agree with the other posters. The only thing that will really help is eliminating the dry food. I recently switched my two cats to only wet and they both lost weight. Their fur is also softer and less dry. There is a lot of good information on 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 including a chart of the fat, carb and calorie counts in all major brands of cat food. Good luck!

 

It's been interesting observing my 4s weight change as I've transitioned them to raw. They were previously on Orijen and before that Iams with Mme Coco on Hill RD as she was obese and getting bigger every week ..... HA! Waste of time & money! Lisbeth @ 10 months was turning into a small brick kitteh, Effie was getting a bit heavy and Tyrion was ok as he is VERY active.
So since the change (they still get 1 tbsp Orijen as a small snack at bedtime) Lisbeth has become leaner and lighter . Effie has trimmed down a little, Tyrion got a bit too thin so I've upped his portions and Coco? Well, I think she is VERY slowly losing weight. She's certainly changed shape and has built some muscle as well; we also started regular, vigorous play sessions. Until I weigh her at the vets again I won't know for sure, but the change in appearance is a good start I reckon.

 

thanks everyone .
I had thought the wet food is what got him fat . I had no idea it would help them loose weight.
Now is there any special way to switch them from dry to wet food ?
I know when switching dry food your supposed to mix it .
Will my cats be mad or upset if I take away their dry food ?

 

How long has it been since you were feeding them canned food daily? Were they eating the canned food well while they were getting it? If they were eating the canned food happily, and if it hasn't been more than a couple of weeks since they had it, you should be able to switch them over to exclusively canned food quite easily.

Just start giving them canned food again, and cut the dry food down to no more than 1/4 c per cat per day. After a week, cut the dry down to 1/8 c per cat per day. A week later, cut out the dry altogether. Of course, the less dry you feed, the more canned you'll need to feed to provide sufficient calories.

Since your cat is used to eating free choice, and since you'll now be putting him on scheduled, portioned meals, instead, it'll be an easier transition for him if you start him on three meals a day. After a week or two, you can cut that down to two meals a day. He may complain a bit, but he'll adjust to the new feeding schedule. Just stick to your guns and do NOT give in-between meal treats.

Weight loss in cats needs to be accomplished slow and steadily, because rapid weight loss can trigger hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease). The easiest way to accomplish slow and safe weight loss is to buy a digital baby scale and weigh the cat every two weeks. When I was taking weight off of my houseful of fat cats, I wanted to see between .2-.4 lb weight loss every two weeks. Any cat who lost less than .2 lb during a two week period got food portions reduced a little. Any cat who lost more than .4 lb during a two week period got food portions increased a little. It took about 18 mos to get all of my cats safely down to optimal weights that way.

Once you get your boy on exclusively canned food, he'll probably need around 6 oz/day. That will vary, however, depending on his individual metabolism and activity level. Again, the scale will be your guide to adjusting food portions to maintain slow, safe weight loss.

Laurie

 

It is sad that humans and animals think fat is what makes them heavy. It is the carbs.
Carbs spike insulin (in people and animals) and that causes fat/calorie stores. Most dry food has higher carbs than a feline would see in nature. If your cat is carb sensitive, every time he eats the dry, he gets hungrier, so he eats more (like people eating bread or candy). It's a vicious cycle. Not all canned food is low carb either. My big cat lost weight when we went to lower carb dry and a lot more canned.
Some cats are not affected one way or the other. Our other 2 cats eat only when hungry and not a lot, but Stripey has issues so I am maintaining as low a carb diet as I can afford and find..and they are willing to eat.

 

Hello laurie .
Its been about 6 months since i stopped the wet food every morning .
They both ate it all right away when i put it down though .
I was looking at cans in the supermarket . The small fancy feast cans said like 1 can per 3 pounds of body weight which comes out to like 5-6 cans which sounds way too much . But then I looked at other canned food and they say the same thing . Seems like they are suggesting way too much food .

How often do you give your cats treats ? I been giving them the little greenies about 6 peices per day for each cat .

 

Its been about 6 months since i stopped the wet food every morning

In that case, I'd be gradually adding canned back into their diet to give their systems time to adjust to it - maybe 1 oz daily per cat for a few days, then 2 oz for a few days, then 3 oz for a few days. By then, their systems should be adjusted to canned food again. It would also be advisable to add a probiotic to their canned food meals once daily for the first week.

Seems like they are suggesting way too much food

They are. IGNORE the feeding guidelines on ALL commercial cat foods, canned and dry. They are seriously and dangerously inflated, I assume to increase food sales. Most cats do not need more than 6 oz of canned food daily, though some cats will need a bit more or less.

How often do you give your cats treats ?

I don't. Commercial cat treats are generally very high carb - like feeding candy. They are completely unnecessary and nutritionally detrimental. If you feel you absolutely MUST feed treats, buy a dehydrator and make your own. Dehydrate thin slices of raw, unseasoned meats, and feed tiny pieces to your cats when you just can't stop yourself from treating them.

Laurie