Hi,

My lovely cat who's approaching one and a half yrs is 5.2 kg, when he should 4.5kg. I've been feeding him Royal Canin Fit 32 as well as some wet food (Feline Fayre tuna white meat and prawns, to be precise!). He still hasn't been outside (he didn't initially as he had problems and operations on one of his knees), and as there are quite a few wild cats near to our garden I just keep putting off letting him out. So, he's a house cat at the moment. He does get some exercise as we have a 3 storey house and he races around and charges up the stairs like a lunatic, plus we do play with him quite a bit.

I'm looking to find a quality dry food that is either for indoor cats or has a weight control element. My cat loves Royal Canin, and we love it as it has eliminated his extremely stinky poos, so I do want to find a quality one. All I can find so far is Iams, which I won't consider, Hills Science Plan Light, which I don't know much about, Pets at Home's own (again, is that going to be ok?), and a James Wellbeloved one that says it's for senior or those wanting a light diet.

I would be grateful for any advice on what food would be effective, or on any other tips on how to reduce weight. I know the obvious solution is to let him out, but he's a very timid cat around strangers and the unknown, so I can't see him wanting to be out for long. Plus, we don't have a cat flap and don't want one, so he wouldn't spend much time outside anyway.

Thankyou so much!

Hello !!!

Royal Canin do their own dry food.

Royal Canin Indoor cat food for cats that live indoors

If your not doing so already, I'd suggest paying special attention to how much kibble he's getting. It can be hard balancing the wet food with the dry food. It can be tempting to just put out however much it is they will eat but some times thats a bit too much.

The way I work it out is this.. 120g a day is the recommended average. If you divide that by three (as three is the recommended pouch amount). Thats roughly 40g of dry to substitute for a pouch. I weigh out 50g for each of mine at the start of each day. I mix it half with their first pouch and the other half of their kibble with their second pouch in the evening. I've been doing that for almost the past year. Though please bear in mind I have not had any one tell me I am doing it properly it just works for me and seems to make snese !

Have you tried getting him a treat ball? Instead of mixing the kibble in with teh food your kittie would have to work to get his crunchy food. They are really good I keep meaning to get one for my babies.

Look at the treats you are giving him too. Chocolate. Crisps. Chips. Noo no no. That might be a little treat to you or I but that has a huge amount of calories in it for a cat! Have you ever tried a raw treat, such as a chicken wing or a tiny bit of liver. These are a lot healthier for your cat than a shop bought treat. My old saying of a apple flavoured candy over an apple.

Cat trees are expensive but I think a really good investment. He will be able to have a full body work out doing what felines do best climb and reach hard to reach places.

I would advise not to go for the cheaper kibbles as I've read not so good things about the carbohydrates in them bloating cats up. Good quality drys tho like royal canin I think arn't at all as stodgey.

Well hope that helps. If not a kitty sized treadmill and a fitness DVD with an aerobic siamese might be good a idea.

!! NOTE !! Just to edit in - If you don't see any change or he seems to actually be continueing to put on weight I'd suggest getting some advice from your vets to rule out any medical conditions. Given his age though it sounds like more of a case of what he's eating over his actual health IMO.

!!NOTE!! Oh and one more thing. Felix has a minimum of 4% actual meat and I have read they use a lot of cereal (maize etc.) to fill out their food. So if you can maybe have a look at better quality foods (with less cereals and more actual meat). Royal canin do their own... Natures menu, Applaws to name a few.

The best way to prevent excess weight gain is to cut out dried food altogether - all dry foods are too high in carbohydrates to be suitable as the major part of a cat's diet. The "lite" foods are no better, so don't be deceived by the marketing hype!

As has been suggested, try to go for high meat content wet foods such as Natures Menu, Applaws, Hi Life etc.

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Rc do a "light" food

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(formally clare7577)

If I may just slightly defend dry food a bit. I think its good for them to have the jaw exercise that comes with crunching up the hard kibbles.

But I certainly wouldn't feed a cat purely on kibble. Kibble should only really be a small part of their diet if your going to be using it.

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If I am sitting on it then it is mine.
If it is shiny then it is mine.
If I am eating it then it is mine.
If it makes an interesting sound such a tinkle or a crinkle then it is obviously mine.
If my velvet paw is on it then it is mine.
If I have scratched it, it most definatly is mine.
and finally.. if it is yours it most certainly is mine mine MINE !!
The gospel according to Nefertiti

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Chewing raw meat / bones is far better jaw exercise and isn't damaging to cats' health

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royal canin wet food contains wheat, or some sort of grain, can't remember exactly - so again too high in carbohydrates
their dried food also contains a high proportion of grains.

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Raw is by far the best. Theres no better food than mother natures Maybe OP you could have a look into raw feeding. It's by no means a quick fix. A lot of reading and research must be done first but IMO kibble and kittie foods aside you can't get better than raw.

__________________

If I am sitting on it then it is mine.
If it is shiny then it is mine.
If I am eating it then it is mine.
If it makes an interesting sound such a tinkle or a crinkle then it is obviously mine.
If my velvet paw is on it then it is mine.
If I have scratched it, it most definatly is mine.
and finally.. if it is yours it most certainly is mine mine MINE !!
The gospel according to Nefertiti

FONT]

just out of interest... what breed is your cat? also looking at your cat from above, does he look fat or does he have a nice dip/waist after his ribs? running your fingers under his fur you should be able to feel his ribs with a gentle squeeze...

I just ask as my 18 month boy Indy is a whopping 6.5-6.7 kilos but is *not* fat, just big and well muscled... he's a moggy btw

Thank you so much for all the helpful replies.

My cat is a lovely ginger and white moggy. It was actually the vet who told me he was overweight, and he wants me to take him back in a month or so to reassess, after trying to get his weight down by cutting down on food, so I think it is just that he has been overeating rather than anything more serious. Fingers crossed, anyway. My cat is really quite long, but he does have a largish belly that hangs down a little. Looking from above he just seems straight, rather than having a defined waist, but his weight is on the back end, rather than around the face and neck..

I have tried cutting out dried food altogether, and have bought Hi-life and Encore, which he refuses to eat, Applaws, which he ate then threw up straight away (maybe he gobbled it too quickly, greedy boy), and I've just bought some Nature's menu, so we'll see how that goes. I did consider Royal Canin wet, but that has "derivatives",which rules that out. Likewise, he doesn't have anything like Felix, Whiskas, etc. The only wet food he really likes is Feline Fayre, which I'm happy to buy as it has at least 50% real meat/fish content. He won't eat that on its own, though, and really prefers dry, which I have now cut right down. It's hard, though, when he eats the litle bit of dry and leaves the wet, as I don't want him to then be eating too little.

I also haven't ruled out a raw diet, but I haven't done enough research into it yet.

He gets an occasional treat from a packet of cat treats, or a piece of raw chicken, and a very occasional sneaky lick of an empty porridge bowl, but he has nothing cooked from our plates, and he never tries to scave anything.

He does have a couple of scratching posts, as well as lots of toys, and has a few daily playtime rituals with us, so he does get quite a lot of play. The cat treadmill sounds a fantastic idea - I'm sure someone could make a fortune with that!!

Thanks again for your help!