diet cat food question from funny felines

[allmycats]

I cannot get signed on no matter what I try so I finally had to re-register.

what kind of dry diet cat food do you all suggest? I wonder if there is a difference from one to another? Has anyone tried Evo? is Purina healthy weight as good as the more expensive kinds?

also a question for anyone who has had cats lose weight-- I have 2 overweight cats, how much is safe for cats to lose per month?

[krazyaboutkatz]

I currently feed all of my cats Innova Evo which is a very high protein grain free food. I don't free feed them any more so I give them 4 small feedings a day. Each cat eats about 1/2 cup of dry food per day and Storm and Sunny also eat some of the canned food too. I use the 95% Chicken & Turkey canned food. Since this food doesn't have any grains and is very high in protein 5 of my cats did lose weight. They don't have to eat as much because of the high protein and high calorie's that this food has. Starr is on prednisolone so this is why he's still on the heavy side.

I know that your cats shouldn't lose weight too quickly or else this could cause health problems. You may want to ask your vet about the amount of weight that they should lose and how quickly to go about doing it. Here's a link the tells how much to feed a cat: http://www.askthecatdoctor.com/howmuchtofeedcat.html.

This is what part of it says:
Oh, and PLEASE follow this rule. Do not let your cat lose more than 1/2 pound per month. If a cat loses weight too quickly, he is in danger of developing hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver syndrome) and trust me, you absolutely don't want that to happen!

So, again, no more than 1/2 pound of weight loss per month. Even if your cat needs to lose 10 pounds,(look at the picture below if you don't think that's possible!) don't let him lose more than 6 pounds per year.

Good luck.

[allmycats]

K.A.K
thank you. is that innova evo a diet or low calorie food?

I will watch that they don't lose too quickly.

[allmycats]

what do you think of science diet adult light formula or hills r/d? is that for reducing diet--r/d ? what does anyone think of Purina? I went on a website and asked about cat food, the person does not recommend any kind of Purina. this is so confusing, there are SO many types of food in stores and at vets etc, of course alot of the stores brands are alike. and the ingredients! HOW are you suposed to know whats good and what's not? someone else suggested to me the brand SoHo, that has grains, herbs , nuts, sea vegetables. nuts?? another brand says grains are bad... what do I believe? I think I'm deciding between hills, the science light or that innova evo....

anyone else with fat cats that have lost weight? I would like to hear about it...

[krazyaboutkatz]

K.A.K
thank you. is that innova evo a diet or low calorie food?

I will watch that they don't lose too quickly.

No, Innova Evo isn't a low calorie food so you have to be sure to measure it out so that your cats don't eat too much of it. Since it's grain free and high in protein, many cats lose weight on it. My vet said that it's kind of like the Adkin's diet for cats. I think that Innova makes lower calorie foods and maybe even diet foods for cats but these will contain grains and they won't be as high in protein as the Evo. Good luck.

[Moesha]

Here is my experience with Science Diet Light. My cat was on a STRICTLY rationed diet of the Science Diet Light for several years. Every time he went to the vet, he had gained weight! I don't know how it happened. But it did. I wouldn't go back to the Science Diet for that reason. Morgan developed diabetes and the vet put him on Purina DM, a prescription diet lower in carbs and higher in protein. He did well on that with the diabetes and also even lost about a pound. Recently I had to change his food for a month or so due to crystals in his urine. He refused to eat the DM after that. Now he is on the EVO and has been for about a year. He goes to the vet next month for a blood sugar test, even though the diabetic symptoms look fine right now on the EVO. I'll see what his weight is then also. Again I am very cautious about how much he eats. I hope you'll find a food that will work well for you and your kitty.

[happylabs]

My 4 cats eat dry Naturals Plus Vitamins and Minerals from Purina. I keep dry food down for them all of the time. In the evening they split a can of Friskies with gravy. Some of them just lick the gravy off and leave the meat. Even though the cans say "beef" or "chicken" I think it is all just mystery meat. Mack is the only one that is a bit overweight. I have been trying to figure out how to put him on a diet without the others having to suffer.

[allmycats]

thanks for all the info so many foods, so many ingredients! grain and greens, veggies... grain free..! I have also heard of the "catkins" diet, but with canned food , certain flavors, that were high protein, didn't work. tried them for a few years... well I will think about it this weekend and let you all know how it goes, next week. it is hard with multiple cats, these 2 don't get along, have to be separated, but these other 2 over eat, have to be fed separate.... then one or 2 will not eat at the time I feed the others, and then want to eat later, so I am going crazy with cats lately! spoiled little things. I keep them separate in the living room and bedroom, and am going to have to separate others in the other room now I guess so i can feed them all and the skinny ones can eat without being pushed aside or having THEIR dish of food eaten by the others, and the heavy ones won't overeat,. here's how it goes, read this and maybe get a headache LOL

2 heavy ones have to eat separately so neither one will eat the other heavy one's food. so thats one in living room, one in bedroom. the other normal weight ones, can eat together except for the 2 that don't get along, there's 2 more rooms needed...ugh! I have 2 bdrms and 2 bthrms, luckily. it is enough to drive a person crazy. I was at petsmart yesterday and even though I still like to look at the cats and dogs, it is easy these days to resist. between cats sick and needing surgery and the overweight cats, I can resist any more cats. I still hate to see them in those cages though! the people at the volunteer desk tried to get me to adopt a dog, they had at the desk petting, oh he is very good with cats! I told them well my cats AREN't good with dogs!
I said if I get my cats under control then maybe I will adopt again!

[allmycats]

K.A.K.

where do you buy the innova evo food, ? is it RX only?

[krazyaboutkatz]

K.A.K.

where do you buy the innova evo food, ? is it RX only?

Innova Evo isn't a prescription food but it seems like only the smaller independent pet stores sell it. Here's a link to their website ,just scroll down to see the cat foods, and you can just click on the where to buy to find a store that sells it near you:http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp. I have 6 cats and luckily I can feed all of them in the same room but I watch them as they eat. One dry food bag of Evo usually lasts me about 1 month. Good luck.

[allmycats]

K.A.K.

thank you so much!

[krazyaboutkatz]

K.A.K.

thank you so much!

You're very welcome. I hope that everything works out well.