Overweight Cat

PLEASE ADVISE HOW TO MAKE A LB19 CAT EXERCISE TO SHED A FEW POUNDS.:confused:

ARE THERE ANY TOYS OR SPECIAL WHEELS FOR CATS LIKE THE HAMSTER WHEELS THAT CAN HELP MY CAT EXERCISE

Pudge,

If I were you I would do the following,

1-take the cat to a vet to make sure there are no health problems,19 pounds is a pretty big cat. Obese cats have many health problems especially as they get older. Get the vet to suggest a light cat food, there are many out there.

2- I am going to take a wild guess here and say that your cat started off as a normal weight cat and became this weight through inactivity and overeating. [Kind of like many human friends that I have ; ) ]

In my opinion there is no way your cat will start exercising on its own. It needs your help. You can buy the best toy in the world....

But if YOU the cat owner take the time to play the cat might play.
Cats are natural hunters. Just take a rope and wiggle it on the ground, run around the house with it. Get one of those 2 dollar lasar flashlights and move the dot on the floor. Basically go to a pet store, spend 10-20 bucks and see what the cat likes to play with...but you try and make him play through fun.

Good luck

O

I have the same problem! My 8 year old 18 pound cat Elim started out at 1.1 pounds at 6 weeks old, and the vet said he'd never get over 8 pounds because he was so tiny for his age. I have three cats: one obese, one slightly heavy, and one skinny. I've been feeding them Purina One diet food hoping to get Elim and Edmund (the slightly heavy one) to lose some weight, but nothing's happened. I feed all three together, just two scoops a day of about a half cup each: one in the morning and one in the evening between the three of them. I don't give them scraps or treats.

They're all very active, but for some reason Elim's blown up and I don't know why. I've taken him to the vet about this and he's healthy, but they always tell me to feed him less because his weight puts his health at risk. I don't know what else to do.

If it helps, he constantly whines to go outside and eat grass by the mouthful. Every time I open the door he tries to sneak out to sit in the yard and eat grass. :confused:

blkadr. Any dry Purina product is not for overweight cats,or any cat for that matter.I would look for a more nutritious brand,stay away from cheap foods from the grocery store,where the contents is mostly fillers.
Also by feeding 3 cats out of the same bowl,how do you know who is getting enough,or not enough?
You are feeding your cats the way you would feed a dog,cats are nibblers,dogs just swallow everything:D
I also have 3 cats,none overweight,well,one slightly...3 dishes for their canned food(twice a day,they share a small can)1 big dish for good quality dry food 24/7 and of course fresh cool water.
Sorry,but I kind of feel sorry for your cats never getting a treat or anything good other than Purina dry food :sad:
I take my 3 cats outside with me every day and eating grass,is not because they are hungry,it fills a need that cats have..maybe to cleans the tummies or help with digestion.

I did read the ingredients... meat was listed first... so I thought it was good food. No? I've gotten Iams the last two times... is that good?

And I have to ask you Chico2: how do you get your cats to eat out of their own bowls so you know who eats what amount? That sounds like the duck crossing sign.... Also, since Purina is bad... what do you suggest?

I did let Elim out regularly to enjoy the outdoors... but I haven't lately because he wolfs down grass and then comes inside and throws it up all over the carpet. I let Woody out to explore and ended up spending the entire night looking for him... and when I gave up he was at my window wanting in. I feel like a jailor. :(

I really did think I was doing the right thing by putting my boys on a diet... I'd love suggestions! That's why I registered.

blkadr,I'll try :D
First,I have the advantage of being home,hence I am able to make sure my one cat,Vinnie,does not finish all 3 canned food dishes,since my other 2 cats
always leave some.
Secondly,go to a pet-supply store,like Pet-Smart or the like,there are several good quality foods on the market...I do not buy any food where ground corn,or cornmeal is an ingredient.It does nothing for your cats/dogs.
It is difficult when one cat is overweight,but you have to somehow watch what he eats.
The good thing with free-feeding(leaving dry food out 24/7)my cats are probably never so hungry they will gulp down any food,yours will be very hungry and as you give them their one dish of dry food,they are probably gobbling it down :D
My cats will eat a little bit of dry food as they see fit,but seem to look forward to their 1 tbsp each of canned food twice a day,which is their main meals and they also get treats at a certain time of the day,we all need goodies,if I were a cat,I would hate to eat the same old,same old every day :D
As for going out,I have a big fenced in backyard,again I have the advantage of being home and liking the outdoors,I've trained the cats from kittenhood not to jump the fence and they are perfectly happy being out there with me for a couple of hours(winter 5 min :D ).
I would never let them outside on their own.Throwing up grass is normal,they all do it,I guess it somehow cleanses their tummy,I am not sure..
I hope I answered some of your questions..

my cat lost about 5 pounds when we moved because in our new house we have stairs so excerise your kitties
run around and get them to chase ya if ya got stairs make a game out of going up and down it thats how smokey lost his weight lol he was 22 pounds luckily he never had any health problems while he was that big
at pet stores they have lil mice toys for a buck get a few of those tie em to a shoelace and play play play
try to make it fun for em or they'll just lay there lol

1 tbsp of canned food twice a day is the main meal? Wow. My boys are never hungry. They love their dry food... when I feed them there's always a few bits left uneaten. They don't scarf it down, but they do line up at the bowls!

I don't have the opportunity to stay at home, so I can't monitor their eating habits very well. I have no stairs. I do have a laser light, which the two biggest love. The smallest doesn't seem to see it at all. I play with them a lot with that. I have no fence, so I have to sit outside with my cats as they eat grass so they don't run into the street.

blkadr,like I said,I tbsp canned food each,morning and night,but they also have good quality dry 24/7....
If you feed only dry,get the best you can afford,less chances of UTI and obesity...

I had 4 cats, 2 normal weight, 1 hyperthyroid so he was thin and one 18 pounds. I always fed them from their own dishes. The overweight cat was either fed in a seperate room or the food for the other 3 was put on top of the fridge or microwave so they could reach it and he couldn't. Cats shouldn't loose more than about a pound a year or it can cause liver damage. Health issues can be really serious in over weight cats. Smudge my overweight guy had irratable bowel which it took years to regulate and came back in full force in the later stages of his life, he also developed diabeties later in life. At the end of his life I was giving him two insulin shots a day.

I would use a high quality food with less fillers and other garbage in it and be really diligent about how much food he gets and do a gradule increase in activity levels if the cat is older and doesn't move around a lot.

I would also have my vet do a complete blood profile to make sure there is no health issue causing the weight problem.

I'm sorry for your loss... that must've been tough.

Elim can get to all the places the other two can with no problem. Of course he tends to knock things down on the way. It's hard to feed a cat separately since they don't eat on cue like dogs do. Nobody answered me whether Iams is a good quality food... apparently mentioning brand names is taboo.

Elim had a lot of urinary problems when he was younger, but he's been doing great for about five years now. He's not old; he only just turned 8. I am very worried about his health when he does get old; that's why I'm asking for help.

I've asked about his weight every time he goes to the vet for a checkup and they always tell me that he's healthy and to just feed him less. Well I've fed him less and no good. He doesn't seem to eat any more than the other two when I watch them either. :confused:

No,I would not feed my cats IAMS,or Cat-Chow,Whiskas or any grocery store catfood,read the ingredients on the bag,corn or cornmeal has no purpose other than filler.Chicken by-products,can mean beaks,feet and anything else..

No corn anything... I'll check that out next time. Thanks for the advice. Hopefully that will help him lose weight. I assume that fillers are good though, since they sound like they would make a cat eat less. :confused: Kinda like popcorn. I'd love to know why not.

Our family cat was 20 lbs. He was not overweight, just a huge cat. I have a pic(I 'll see if I can find it and post) of my son at 1 yr laying on top of him w/o touching the floor. He loved to have his hair pulled, water and all the other things normal cats don't like.

I'm sorry for your loss... that must've been tough.

Elim can get to all the places the other two can with no problem. Of course he tends to knock things down on the way. It's hard to feed a cat separately since they don't eat on cue like dogs do. Nobody answered me whether Iams is a good quality food... apparently mentioning brand names is taboo.
:confused:

Thank you it was tough. When Smudge could jump etc. my vet told me to time the feedings which I did. It took about 3 weeks for them to adjust, but adjust they did. I feed them twice a day and all four were there promptly for their feedings.

My philosphy with all pet food is that it if it isn't human grade I don't feed it to my animals. I wouldn't put IAMs in that category. I'll pm you with a list of foods and places that carry good foods. I'm new to the form and am unsure as to whether or not we can use names, however, we are allowed to use them on other forums I am active on.

LonScamp,yes you can post different pet-foods and stores,we've had several Threads about different foods good or bad,ater all,it's for the good of the animals :thumbs up

StaceyB: I'd love to see that picture! :D

LoNScamp... please let me know what the good foods are. My Elim's in my lap now and I don't want him to have any problems when he gets older. My kitties are my substitute for human children. :D

StaceyB: I'd love to see that picture! :D

LoNScamp... please let me know what the good foods are. My Elim's in my lap now and I don't want him to have any problems when he gets older. My kitties are my substitute for human children. :D

A person after my own heart. All of my "kids" have 4 paws and a tail. :)

The general rule of thumb is feed only human grade food. I'm going to list both Canadian and US foods that I would feed my cat or have fed my cats: Go Foundations (Canadian, I feed Scamp this along with some Wellness canned); Holistic Blend (Canadian, the only food I would recommend that could be bought in a grocery store - Loblaws or the Real Canadian Superstore Health Food section); Wellness; Wysong Geratrix for older cats; Wysong for other ages; Newman's Own; Solid Gold; Eagle Pack; Fromm Holistic; Innova (I'm not that familiar with the cat food, but I know that the dog food can pack the weight on);Royal Canine (used to be good, haven't checked the ingredients lately). There are others, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

I home cooked for my last two dogs and tried to do the same for the cats, they would have none of it. A lot of pet food stores carry either frozed raw or home cook cat food, my experience is that most of them are pretty good. If you were in Ontario I could tell you where to go to get good food, but as you are in Ohio can't help you out with stores that carry good quality food.

I have attached a picture of Max (Tabby I lost in July at 17). I can't upload a picture of Scamp, don't know why, silly program.

Aww Lonscamp,I love Tabbies :love: I have 3 cats whom I love very much,but my 10yr old Tabby Rocky and I have a very special bond.
Here he is..

Aww Lonscamp,I love Tabbies :love: I have 3 cats whom I love very much,but my 10yr old Tabby Rocky and I have a very special bond.
Here he is..

Great picture, he looks so content.

With Royal Canine, you have to be very careful. Their foods have such a wide variety, from crap to ok...

Along with corn and by-products, avoid brewer's rice (which is the left overs after all the nutrients are sucked out and put into alcoholic beverages).