[Leam1307]

I knew my two adult cats were slightly overweight, i weighed them 4 weeks ago and Ashes was 5.6kg and Diesel 6.7kg they are both indoor cats, and nuetered. They are 4years old and just listed as DSH which i think basically means short haired moggie? Since getting the new kitten ive noticed they have been stealing his food when he walks away and today i weighed them again. Ashes is now 5.7kg.. so not too much added but Diesel is a whopping 7.2kg!!! that 1.5kg increase in 4 weeks! He looks chunky but not morbidly obese (i think) but he deffinately needs to loose weight.

I will start feeding Callen in another room so they cant touch his food when he is finished having what he wants, but i dont know how to get them to lose weight, i had already been trying for over a year now. Diesel is VERY inactive total lap cat. he wont chase or run anywhere (apart from to the food bowl) Ive tried all sorts of toys to interest him and unless he can sit in one place and paw at something he isnt interested.

They are both currently fed - (not including what they steal from Callen in the mornings)
50g wet food (Bozita, AC, Smilla, AC Exotic, AC Rafine Soupe) in the morning and 50g of Smilla light dry food in the evening and they get 5 pieces of whiskas tasties at night as a treat before they go to bed. Callen is on the same diet just not the dry food as he wont eat it thankfully but he gets about 200-300g a day out all day (he stays in the livingroom when im at work as i still dont trust the others just yet with him plus its the only time he gets food to himself)

Any ideas on what i can do to get him to lose weight? my mum suggested getting him a harness and taking him for a walk... not a bad idea i thought but will it work??

 

[Leam1307]

Some pics of the fat cats! am i right in thinking Diesel is just overweight and not reached the morbid stage yet or have we past that? he doesnt look big at all from front on or side on, just from above.

Diesel is the brown tabby, Ashes the grey tabby.

 

[Jansheff]

It's a bit difficult to tell from those photos because when you view cats squatting from above, they always look fatter. They have beautiful coats though

The first thing I'd try is knocking the dry food on the head. I know you said it's light, but all wet is better for kidneys, helps avoid UTIs and keeps them properly hydrated. Dry contains carbs, which cats don't need and they put weight on.

Have you got a cat tree? Tunnel? That might persuade them to get moving a bit, especially if they've got a kitten to play with. Also catnip can send them frisky. They might feel more energetic and inclined to play when they start losing a bit. It a vicious circle, like with people, the fatter someone gets, the less they feel like moving, the less they move, the fatter they get and so it goes on.

 

[spotty cats]

Light or diet foods often makes cats put on weight, rather than lose it. Agree with above to ditch the dry all together and treats, go with all wet or raw.

Going out on a harness probably won't have a great effect, but at least it's some activity for him.

Have you tried interactive toys like DaBird or the Cat Dancer? A laser pointer is another many cats love to chase the red dot.

 

[hobbs2004]

Ashes is now 5.7kg.. so not too much added but Diesel is a whopping 7.2kg!!! that 1.5kg increase in 4 weeks!

Just to point out that he "only" put on 0.5kg not 1.5kg in 4 weeks.

My advice, ditch the dry.

 

[Leam1307]

Just to point out that he "only" put on 0.5kg not 1.5kg in 4 weeks.

My advice, ditch the dry.

Oh your right. lol my maths is never great.

The problem i have is they are both really fussy eaters if they have wet two meals in a row they refuse to eat it, same if they have dry two meals in a row. although i have managed to give them bozita a few meals in a row (trying to use up the packet in one day as OH doesnt like the smell of wet food)

I have 4 cat trees for them and apart from jumping up to the top to sleep Diesel doesnt really use them. I have alaser pen and he will just sit and look at the red dot, maybe swipe at it a few times but wont get up off his butt. Ashes is different, he never stops all day, espec now we have Callen, they both go charging about everywhere, but Diesel just sits and watches. Catnip just makes him roll over and drool. lol

We've got lots of interactive toys and balls but unfortunately Ashes usually comes in and takes over so Diesel just sits back down again. Hes always been abit overweight but never this bad, lol its hard to pick him up for long to even weigh him.

 

[spid]

You are just going to have to be tough. They won't suffer too much for it; they have the weight to lose. Just feed wet and if they complain let them.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Yes, definitely ditch the dry food.

I fed my cats dry food for years and believed all the 'scientific' hype about it until one of them became diabetic...

And yes, wet food IS smelly and 'orrible. And sometimes some of it goes to waste. And you have the hassle of recycling the tins. BUT, the fact is that cats can't process carbs like we can. They are obligate carnivores and need to eat meat, not cereals, peas, potatoes or any other carbohydrates.

I know that weaning cats off dry food can be tough. I've been there, and seen those pathetic pleading looks that cats send our way... But think of it as 'tough love'. It can be done. And your cats may lose a little weight too, and lower their risk of becoming diabetic!

 

[Sussexplumber]

Yes, definitely ditch the dry food.

I fed my cats dry food for years and believed all the 'scientific' hype about it until one of them became diabetic...

And yes, wet food IS smelly and 'orrible. And sometimes some of it goes to waste. And you have the hassle of recycling the tins. BUT, the fact is that cats can't process carbs like we can. They are obligate carnivores and need to eat meat, not cereals, peas, potatoes or any other carbohydrates.

If some of of goes to waste, feed a bit less. I feed only what she`ll eat straight away. Keeping her lean helps her stay healthy and active. But she never seems to put weight on, partly due to her diet and partly because she spends half her life in the garden. She managed to have hold of a woodpigeon yesterday but it broke free and escaped.

 

[Leam1307]

Heheh unfortunately the bottom pic is of him standing up, not crouching! I will try taking away their dry food and see how it goes, how much do you's suggect feeding? just the 50g? Its amazing how little it looks in a bowl, i think a few of us might be guilty of thinking its not enough so putting alittle more in??? :wink:

 

[monkeymummy32]

I also have a portly cat! Loki is a 7 year old silver tabby British Shorthair and he sounds just like your Diesel. He's SO lazy, he barely budges for any toy except maybe to grab it and not let go of it so he can lick it to death. Laser lights - he'll chase for about 30 seconds then he's had enough.

5 weeks ago we got MC kitten so I was conscious of trying not to let him polish off the kittens food. I weighed Loki so I could start monitoring the situation, and he was 6.7kg. I then decided that I was going to get some raw food and some other wet foods, and cut right back on the dry (in fact he hasn't had any dry for a few days now). I weighed him tonight and he was fluctuating between 6.1 and 6.2kg (settled on 6.2kg), so I do think that cutting out the dry is the way to go.

Good luck, I know how hard it is to get them to lose weight!

 

[Leam1307]

Thank you for that, its nice to read that it can be done. I have stopped their dry food (still have an unopened bag of smilla dry though) and as long as i alternate which wet food they get at each meal they seem to be eating it fine. I have started just giving callen a tiny amount at breakfast as he likes to eat with the "big" cats and then i put the rest of his breakfast into him when he is in the livingroom. I havent weighed them again yet but will see how it goes.

Off to order more Bozita and Animonda Rafine as they seem to love this. Any more recommendations for food? While Callen likes the pate style of AC the others arent too keen on it, prefering chunks in jelly or gravy.

I have also noticed that when they were fed a single brand (Felix) they had very jumpy tummy's in that any variation made them either sick or poopy. now im changing it about every meal and not one bit of sickness or diarreah!!!! I know i cant spell. lolzxxxxxxxxxxxxxhn| <<< Callen sends some kisses!!

 

[monkeymummy32]

Thank you for that, its nice to read that it can be done. I have stopped their dry food (still have an unopened bag of smilla dry though) and as long as i alternate which wet food they get at each meal they seem to be eating it fine. I have started just giving callen a tiny amount at breakfast as he likes to eat with the "big" cats and then i put the rest of his breakfast into him when he is in the livingroom. I havent weighed them again yet but will see how it goes.

Off to order more Bozita and Animonda Rafine as they seem to love this. Any more recommendations for food? While Callen likes the pate style of AC the others arent too keen on it, prefering chunks in jelly or gravy.

I have also noticed that when they were fed a single brand (Felix) they had very jumpy tummy's in that any variation made them either sick or poopy. now im changing it about every meal and not one bit of sickness or diarreah!!!! I know i cant spell. lolzxxxxxxxxxxxxxhn| <<< Callen sends some kisses!!

Yep cutting out all dey is definately the way to go! My fatty weighed 6.0KG on Monday - so that's 0.7KG lost in 5 weeks since dropping the dry.
What about trying an order from Natural Instinct? My boys like it and it's good for weight loss due to the very high protein content. I also feed AC, Smilla, some Felix, Hi Life, and [email protected] brand food (the name escapes me) which also has good meat content. It's nice to know I'm not in this dieting malarky alone! I've started taking my boy to weigh in clinic at the vets - I'm finding that this is keeping me going because I don't want to take him and find he's either not lost any or he's put some on!

 

[Leam1307]

I will try some natural instincts in my next order, also Honey's is meant to be good?? Thats what got me, my vets have always said hes a little overweight, so i have until his vaccs in March to get him to lose some, really dont want to take him in and he's gained it!!

It seems to be working ok with Callens food locked away, if hes out of the room playing he then comes and cry's at me, put him back in to eat for 5mins and then back out again. lol The other two are'nt happy about being locked out the room when they know there is food there. :bored:

 

[Leam1307]

Ok i really think my scales must be broke! just weighed the "fat cats" and Ashes is back to 5.6kg so has lost his 100g again but Diesel is down to 6.6kg!! i dont think thats right and if it is im sure thats wayyy to much to lose so quickly. Thats 600kg in 13 days! does that seem alot? it seems high to me but then he did put on about that in as much time.

I used the same scales as last time and weighed myself first, then picked each of the cats up and re-weighed. But then the weight it said for me is about what i expected it should be.

They have had their dry food cut out for the 13 days although they did go 2 days with only very small meals as i didnt realise the conversion from dry to wet should be upped.

They are now both on approx 325g - 350g of bozita/AC rafine a day.

Also Callen was 1238g 13 days ago and on these scales it still shows 1.2kg, surely he should have put on some weight? He is 14weeks tomorrow and gets approx 400g per day although it varies ever so slightly as i leave it down for him but he doesnt always finish it all.

*** Just re weighed them all still the same figures for the big cats but Callen is now showing as 1.3kg so put him into the wee dish i have and measured him on the small kitchen scales i normally use for him and hes 1388g.. im happy with that for 14wks, just Diesel to worry about now.

 

[monkeymummy32]

Wow, well done on the weight loss! As for how much is safe, another forum member (sorry can't remember which one) told me that she read that 1 pound a month is safe for a cat to lose(1lb = 0.453kg). So you really don't want him losing any more in the next couple of weeks!

Does you vets have a weight clinic that you could take Ashes and Diesel to? Might just keep things on track and you can discuss feeding routines etc. My vets have a nurse led weight clinic most evenings which is free, so I've started taking Loki there. In fact he goes tonight 6pm. It's been 5 weeks since we were last there and he was 6.3kg then, and I weighed him yesterday, he was 5.9kg - so we're getting there gradually!

I also have a Maine Coon kitten who is growing rapidly and eats like a pig, so I'm weighing him to make sure he is putting on weight, and weighing Loki to make sure he's losing weight! .

 

[Paddypaws]

'Human' scales are really unreliable for weighing cats. Keep an eye out on ebay or Gumtree for a second hand set of Digital baby scales which are far more accurate.
Weighing your cat all through it's life is an invaluable tool in early detection of any health problems so this outlay really is worth it especially with multiple cats in the home.

Good luck with the dieting....I will admit that I have one really fat cat. She has always been fat despite me moving from dry food to wet and then raw. She does not even eat so much, but she never loses weight! Mind you she has never been back to the vet since she was spayed and she is nearing 18 now so I just let her be.

 

[monkeymummy32]

Yes I will keep an eye out for some baby scales. I do find that the human scales can vary a little despite being digital and accurate to 2 decimal places. I like to take Loki to the vets to be weighed because (a) I know their scales are more accurate and (b) it gives me chance to discuss any issues with the nurse whilst there. Poor Loki though, he gets weighed almost every day - probably a little excessive but I think I'm hooked now!

I think if my cat was 18 and couldn't shift any weight, I'd just leave him/her be too. 18 is a grand old age to reach so it sounds like she's doing just fine

 

[Leam1307]

Will keep an eye on his weight to make sure he doesnt lose too much more just now. Im sure 600g in the month wouldnt be too bad but to do it in weeks even if he doesnt lose anymore this week sounds excessive, but then he always has fluctuated wildly with it.

Bought them a new dangly toy today at [email protected] (can never go in and come out empty handed) its a wee reindeer with a fluffy feather tail and Diesel actually started to play with it, chased it a few times then Callen decided he wanted a go so Diesel dissapeared upstairs.

What do you think would be an ideal target weight for him? im not too fussy about Ashes as he really does look more muscle than fat when hes standing up.

Im at the vets on Saturday for Callens 2nd vaccs so will see if they have a kitty weight watchers. lol