cat diet

[bowiefan]

my cat weighs 18lb and needs to lose weight but he only eats one tin of cat food a day and never has biscuits or snacks. has anyone got any advice

[FP]

With a great user name like that I just had to reply. One tip is to put small amounts of food in lots of different places so he has to hunt for it. I don't know whether your cat does get enough exercise but this tip was given to me by a vet to ensure that the cat is using up more calories whilst hunting for his food. Also you can get low calorie cat food from Hills (usually sold at vets) which is nutritionally balanced.

[bowiefan]

thanks i will give it a try. have tried to get him to play but all the cat toys seem just too scary for him!!!!!

[FP]

Ah bless! I have a lovely picture now of a big fat moggie running away from a toy mouse. Now, that's an idea, get a clockwork robot mouse and chase him round the house with it. Only joking. Good luck.

[MrsCheeks]

does he go out at all? maybe its worth getting him one of those cat scartching things that have different levels?

[stillwaters]

Invest in a good quality dry food (because he has to chew dry foods it will stop him wolfing it down) the brands I can personally recommend the light varieties of are Royal Canin, James Wellbeloved and Hills science plan. Tinned food only contains about 4% real meat the rest is bulking out and most contain sugar as well.

[undercovers]

have a word with your neighbours, my fat old cat (beaten and battered black tom cat with one crushed a flapping ear)would have his carefully calorie controled breakfast or dinner stroll out for the day and convince about 3 of my neighbours that he was a deaths door until i fed him - watched him at work once, he even affected a fake limp on some occations... it was a bit embarrasing going around the neighbour hood asking people not to feed this cat - but it did help him lose weight - eventually (little sod then started following younger cats around when they were hunting, wait until they'd catch something and beat the crap out of them and pinch their kill - i miss that cat)

[FP]

Lovely answer undercovers. LOL

[zgma]

Exercise is probably the key, as people here have said. I have a fat cat, and restricting her to small amounts of dry diet food has done nothing to help her lose weight - and it just made her meaner than she already was. I suspect that just like humans, some cats are just prone to being overweight. I have noticed with my fat cat that no matter how much food she has access to (very limited, or always accessible) she stays the same weight. I prefer her happy and fat rather than mean and fat, so I no longer restrict her food.