Good morning everyone,

I hope you can help us out. We're having problems trying to control our cats weight problem. Eli is a rescue cat that we got about a year+ ago and he's about 2 now.

He's a shorthair, standard domestic cat and weighs a 'chunky' 6kg! He's been castrated. He's always loved his food since we got him and he was looked 'normal' when he arrived - we were feeding what rescue and the companies recommended and he gradually just got heavier and heavier and couldn't clean himself properly. So we started trying to cut down.

Then we got a rescue kitten, called Indie, cute little thing but she is definitely a grazer and so once food is down for indie and she walks off...Eli comes along and eats it all up.

So we then made Indie a little 'eating house' with an entrance just large enough for her. Seemed to work until Eli rammed himself through the box and gobbled everything up. Well, you get the picture - he eats anything. We tried putting Indie's food on higher places as he's not too keen on/can't get to them but after a few weeks of calculating he soon finds it.

It's difficult as we don't know during the day when we're working or when we're asleep whether or not Eli has eaten all of indie's food, so we could just be feeding him double. Do we put lots down and see how much he eats or do we try to control? He could also be munching food elsewhere, and could be anything! So it's a catch 22 really. feed him loads and watch him gain weight but stops eating elsewhere or cut back on food and he'll go find it elsewhere.

This isn't very fair on poor Indie and it's just becoming ridiculous and frustrating. We feed them both on Applaws Complete dry food and Indie gets one pouch of felix and Applaws to graze on (or at least try to!).

We tried Eli on a mix but found it difficult to work out how much to give, so we then tried Light dry food that did make a little weight loss but then you could tell he got bored. So we transitioned on to Applaws dry only as it contain natural stuff, etc.

On the packet it does a recommend for 3-5kg : 40-60g a day and 5-8kg 60-100g a day. So do I feed him the allowance for a normal 6kg cat or do I feed a slightly less amount as he's meant to be a 4kg-ish kinda boy?! He's currently got 4 x 15g meals a day as the vet said about not starving him (we were doing 3 x 20g). Is that too little, too much?! He's not an indoor cat but he just seems unhappy and he doesn't want to play and just lounges around. The vet also said that maybe he's just a big boy, as we've had him on a the 4 x 15g a day and he hasn't lost anymore weight. Went from 6.4 down to 6 in about 7 months!

Also, he's been scratching/biting at the base of his tail for a few months now - took him to the vets and she said he could have flea allergies, just one bite could set him off, so we have him on advocate. He goes through phases of pure aggression on his back and it's just so horrible to see these bare patches. So we just want him to be happy and healthy but just finding it difficult.

Any suggestions or ideas are welcome and I apologise for the essay!

Hey welcome to PF

Maybe there is something in what your vet said, with Eli, 'you just got a big boy' and if your vet wasn't concerned about his weight and or Eli being overweight, try not to worry too much else it might become an 'issue' when perhaps right now, the itching at base of tail is what needs to be tended to more. Just a thought, you know your cat best and as to whether you trust what your vet is saying and if Eli doesn't have any underlying medical reason to account for his huge appetite.

We have a girl and a boy, the boy is a grazer and not as chunky as the girl. I got worried the boy wasn't putting enough weight on as boys often are bigger, heavier than the girls. Yet he looks perfectly healthy and our vet isn't concerned and said to me, 'he's just a small cat'. The girl could eat for England, she is stocky, is neutered, again no concerns, health issues, vet said not an ounce of fat on her, is all muscle. Three years ago, the girl's weight was a little higher, she would have been about 3, however now it has remained consistent and she's 6 now. Think so long as weight doesn't fluctuate, cat's eating can change with age, also other factors like weather and how active they are or not.

I guess the question is what type, sort of food you're feeding, is it good quality like raw and or not the usual commercial cat food loaded with sugar, too much carbs, grain maybe just let cats be. I used to weigh stuff, now I don't as I've gotten to know my cats more and how different they are when it comes to feeding. Also what kind of lifestyle in the sense of 'activity' does each of our cat have.. For us, we feed our cats a bit of raw, home cooked with premix and instead of kibble, they have ZIWIPEAK, I don't leave food out all the time, is good cats have set times for feeding so at least, you are not at their beck and call so to speak and they get into a routine. Also because the girl could eat the boy's food as well, I monitor feeding times and this seems to work for us.

From what I understand, cats don't generally over eat and know when they have had enough. Don't think it benefits trying to make a cat eat more unless in special case i.e. illness. Cats who are overweight are usually fed the wrong kind of stuff, that's my opinion.

Bit like us humans, different shapes, sizes, weighing food is not a good way to go, better to be in tune with one's body and you become more aware if you need to lose fat, rather than weight loss.

Maybe you might have to work out something that works for your cats and around your household, principles are good, however not one formula fits the packet so to speak.

Hope this helps