My Overweight Cat needs help

[snowshoe2]

Cocoa is a purebred Snowshoe, 10 years old and 25 lbs!
During this past year he has gained weight despite having his molars and a top canine pulled. He just eats and eats.
We have 3 cats in the house and he goes from bowl to bowl. I have recently started picking up the others bowls when they are done eating. I also switched foods thinking that might help him get the protien he needs and make him less likely to gorge himself....didn't work.
They were previously eating Purina Indoor Formula almost exclusively. In December I switched them to Eagle Holistic Anchovy, Sardine & Salmon Meal Formula and also feed between the three of them 1 can of Eagle Holistic Canned Salmon & Shrimp Formula.
One thing I've noticed with the Eagle food is that there is quite a bit more fat in the ingredients. 20% compared to 9.5% in the Purina Indoor.
I've been studying different cat foods till I'm dizzy and only get more confused.

I've always read where the "high quality" foods are better, but they all seem to have higher fat contents. Can someone help explain if it is better fat or is fat, fat?

If anyone has had to deal with helping their cat lose weight, I'd sure like to hear about your experience as well as what you fed to help with weight loss.

Cocoa is even having a hard time walking and he is not active at all, mostly just lays around. I am taking him to vets tomorrow, so we'll see what they recommend too, but I'd sure like to hear from someone that has gone through this. Experience is the best teacher

[Catlady711]

Do you measure out the food your fatty kitty is getting each day? If not then you should be.

Most foods have a feeding scale on the side of the bag. Find out what your kitty should weigh (call your vet if necessary) then feed your kitty according to that weight listed on your bag. Break that measured feeding up like 2-3 times a day. That way kitty won't be quite so hungry as when they are fed once a day.

Keeping cats separated during every feeding, or supervising the feeding will help make sure fatty kitty isn't getting more food than he's supposed to get.

Lots of play time, even if it's just laying there rolling around after a toy, will help some.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Some of my cats would also be very large by now if I hadn't stopped free feeding. I now feed them 4 small meals a day and it seems to be working. I'm feeding all of them Innova Evo which is a very high protein grain free food. It also has a lot of calories so they don't need to eat much of it. They probably only eat about 1/2 cup or a bit less per day and one 15.4oz bag will last me about 1 month which isn't too bad considering that I have 6 cats. I also give them some of the Innova Evo wet food and some of Evanger's Organic Butternut Squash and Turkey Dinner wet food which are also grain free.

I hope that your cat will be able to start losing weight. You might also want to consider having his thyroid tested. I think that most bags of cat food also have a feeding amount for cats that are overweight so you should try to follow this. You don't want him to loose the weight too quickly though because this could cause some health problems. You might also want to buy a laser pointer to play with him. Most cats love these and will run and chase after them. Good luck.

[Catty1]

MEASURE. That has worked for me! (and my furkids)

[Tora Oni]

Measuring seems to work well but if it doesn't solve it, I might try one of thous diet dry foods, more kibbles for less calories.

[snowshoe2]

We are back from the vets and Cocoa has gained 4 more pounds since September! He's now 28 lbs.
They did blood tests and all was fine except his Glucose was slightly elevated, but not high enough to worry yet according to vet. The big thing is to get him to lose weight, so he recommended Purina OM and that is what I will try. In my opinion the Eagle Pack was just too high of fat content and that is where the extra weight came on. I got OM canned, as well as dry and will feed mostly canned, and just put some dry in his bowl for over night
It's going to be tough trying to measure and keep him satisfied throughout the day, but I have to be tough, his life is depending on it.
Wish us good luck. I have to take him back in a month for a weighing and hopefully he will have lost.

[orangemm]

My Archy is a bit "tubby" and we are trying to monitor his food intake while making sure his brother gets enough to eat (he's skinny, of course!).

What is Purina OM?

And, yes, we measure.

[Catlady711]

In response to the above poster....

Purina OM = Overweight Management (a prescription diet for tubby pets)



In response to the original poster....

If the glucose is elevated then I can see why it is very important that your cat lose the weight. Chances for diabetes increases with excess weight.

Where I work at we've had good results with the Purina OM. Feed measured amounts at set feeding times as per your vet's reccomendations and you should see improvement at the 1 month weigh in.

Good luck.

[Emeraldgreen]

Snoeshow2, I can sure relate. I have a cat who looks a bit like your Cocoa and he is also 10 and also over 20 lbs. He does the same thing your cat does, going from bowl to bowl, just a non stop eater. I'm constantly picking up and hiding bowls of food. I leave bowls out for my skinny cats but try to monitor Paddy to make sure he's not getting into them.
I'm going to try this Purina O/M food that you're trying and see if it helps my cat.
You might want to consider getting him a harness and walking him. My family sent me one (extra large) to use for Paddy but the weather has been non stop ugly so we haven't ventured out once yet! But I'm hoping the sun will start shining soon and then we're heading out. I'm pretty sure he's going to enjoy it. Might work for your guy?
I attached a pic of him in the harness. I'm guessing that finding a harness that will fit will be difficult, as it was for me. The one that was sent to me is actually for a dog but it's made in such a way that it's safe for a cat.
If you're interested in the harness, let me know and I'll give you the website for it.

[IMG]

[snowshoe2]

Thank you Catlady for the words of encouragment. I'm glad to know that you have seen good results from feeding Purina OM. Another board I posted on could only give me negative comments about the food since it contains high amounts of carbs. This whole cat food thing has me so confused, but I am going to follow my vets recommendation. Thats why I took Cocoa to the vet was for some help getting him to lose weight, because what I was doing wasn't working. I will measure the food I feed Cocoa and try to keep him out of the other cats bowls.

It's going to be hardest trying to get him to excerise. He isn't interested in playing at all anymore. We got a laser toy, feather toys and interactive toys we use to play with the cats, but Cocoa only sits and watches for a bit, then heads back out to the food bowl and just sits there by it even when it's empty.

Emeraldgreen your Paddy sure is a handsome guy. It doesn't look like he minds wearing his new harness. I'm sure he'll enjoy those outside walks. It's good to get started now with him to help him lose weight before he gets to the point Cocoa is at. Ask your vet about starting him on the Purina OM and let us know how it goes with Paddy. He and Cocoa can be diets buddies.
Our weather here is terrible too, snow or freezing rain for the past couple of weeks. In the summer I do take Cocoa and his brother out for walks in the yard, but I guess I wasn't doing it often enough. I would be interested in seeing the website for the harness, I've never seen one like that before.

One more thing, for those of you that measure, do you give several feedings throughout the day or just the measured amount all at once or what? I feed my cats about 4 or 5 times a day, just a little at a time, because they used to throw up alot if they ate too much at once and Cocoa's brother Bandit is a nibbler and eats very little at a time, so that is why I am going to have a hard time keeping them all happy.

[Emeraldgreen]

Emeraldgreen your Paddy sure is a handsome guy. It doesn't look like he minds wearing his new harness. I'm sure he'll enjoy those outside walks. It's good to get started now with him to help him lose weight before he gets to the point Cocoa is at. Ask your vet about starting him on the Purina OM and let us know how it goes with Paddy. He and Cocoa can be diets buddies.

Thanks, your guy is too! Good idea! We could have monthly weigh ins!
I have the same thing going on here with the serious lack of interest in toys and the laser light. He will play, but once you get him going, he basically paws at a fuzzy ball or whatever once, possibly twice and then promptly rolls over on his side and starts rabbit kicking it. That is about the extent of his 'playtime'. So, I'm hoping regular walks will start to burn some calories and make him a bit more comfortable. He has trouble with the stairs and when he jumps up or down on stuff, you can see it's painful on his joints carrying all that extra weight and I have to help him. We adopted him a few months ago and we just love him to pieces.
I hope your weight loss program goes really well. I'll let ya know if we make some progess.
p.s. Here is the link for the Freedom Harness:
Gooby Fashions

[Catty1]

I feed each of my two cats 3/4 c a day. Usually they get 1/2 c in the morning, and the other 1/4 to keep them through the night.

My vet told me night is when cats gorge.

Also, I added Omega 3-6 to their diet - and my older cat REALLY perked up and got playful! He got down to a perfect weight by his next checkup.

It can take several months - 1/2 lb loss is HUGE in a cat, so stick with it. I bet as Cocoa feels better and lighter, he will feel more like playing.

PS - in dollar stores, you can buy little laser lights - many cats go nuts chasing the red dot on the floor! I think it worked for one of Emeraldgreen's cats! Start out easy with him.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I hope that Cocoa's new diet will work for him. I have a friend who has an overweight female cat and she's tried many different diets and nothing has worked but she doesn't always watch her while she eats so I think she's been stealing food from her brothers bowls.

I also have a few cats with sensitive stomachs and if they eat too much too fast they'll just throw it back up. This is another reason why I feed them 4 small meals a day. I work long hours so I have to feed them 2 times in the morning and 2 more times at night. I'd love to be able to just feed them 2-3 times a day but they won't go for that. I also feed them some healthy treats that have a lot of fiber in them and this helps to fill them up too. The treats that I feed them are Vitakitty Chicken Breast.You can buy them at most of the independent pet stores and I'm able to buy them for only $2.99 per package. Good luck.

[Catlady711]

My kitties get fed 3-4 times a day depending on my work schedule. I measure out the food the night before and put it in little baggies with each cat's name on them. Then when I feed them I just take a bit of food out each time until the last of it is fed up at the late night meal. Makes it easier first thing in the morning to feed rather than trying to measure out food while I'm groggy. Plus I already have to do a complicated soft food routine because of kitty meds every morning I don't need more complications. LOL

[snowshoe2]

Just an update on Cocoa.
On his return check up on March 5 he was diagnosed with diabetes. His blood sugar was 520! He was not doing well on the Purina OM and it probably just contributed to raising his blood sugar level due to the high carb content of that food. Why the vet put him on it in the first place knowing his glucose level was elevated is beyond me, but just reinforces everything I have been reading about most vets not knowing or caring much about feline nutrition, other than what the food companies tell them so they will push their products.
I am now giving him insulin twice a day,(this is not fun for him or me ) feeding him grain free canned food and hoping to someday be able to eliminate his need for insulin.
I have sure learned a valuable lesson about feeding cats food with high carb content and the negative effect it can have on them.