How to Help Your Kitty Lose the Pudge

I got a call recently from someone looking for help slimming down his ironically named feline--Minnie Cat. Since 40% of cats are overweight, I knew there would be other folks out there whose pudgy cats could benefit from some of these tips.

Why Does it Matter if My Cat is Fat?

It matters because feline diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate, and being overweight is a precursor for diabetes (as is a diet high in carbohydrates). Being overweight is also indicated in arthritis, liver disease, and skin problems, to name just a few. Maintaining a healthy weight will allow your pet to live a longer, healthier life.

IMPORTANT: Before starting a weight loss program, have your vet run blood and urine tests and check thyroid levels to be sure cat does not have a physical or metabolic dysfunction. Also, get an accurate weight and a goal to aim for from the vet.

First, Some General Tips:

• Feed high protein, low carb, grain free food...as close to a natural diet as possible for a wild animal. Best...35-45% protein, 40% fat.
• If you can manage, feed only canned food...cats need the moisture to prevent UTI (read more about that HERE).
• Feed about 1 ounce of food per pound of body weight per day for an adult cat (1 ounce is about the size of a mouse!)
• Feed 3-4 small meals per day
• Do NOT free feed, or leave food down all the time.
• If you feed your cat dry food, I recommend Wellness CORE (50% protein, 18% fat, grain free) or Taste of the Wild (42% protein, 18% fat, grain free) (soaked in water)
• There are some excellent grain-free canned foods such as BFF, TIki Cat, Taste of the Wild, Wellness CORE, and Nature’s Variety Instinct.
• Consider adding EFAs to increase fat in diet (especially if feeding dry only)
• Consider supplementing with L-Carnitine (250-500 mg/day) to aid in mobilizing fat into glucose while cat is losing weight.

Next up, Exercise.

There’s no getting around it, to lose weight you (and your cat) have to move more and eat less. Here are some ideas for kitty exercise.

• Play with your cat...tie a toy to a string and let the cat chase it around while you watch TV. Gather up a variety of little plastic things and toss them around the living room...especially effective and hilarious if you have wood floors. My cat, Quetzal, likes those little doodad ring pulls from the milk carton and those crinkly plastic wrappers around the tops of salad dressing bottles, not to mention wine corks and wadded up aluminum foil balls.
• Throw kibble to cat and let them run for their dinner. I do this with Quetzal and it keeps her off the counters while I prepare everyone else’s meals.
• Find an interactive toy your cat likes.
• Clicker train your cat with a target stick. Yes, you can train a cat and it is something you can amaze your friends with when you have company. See Karen Pryor’s website Clicker Training.com for details, or read her excellent book...Reaching the Animal Mind.

How to get started:

• See the vet first.
• Go slowly....a cat should not lose more that a 1/2 pound a month.
• Over 3-4 weeks, transition cat to new food, adding the new food in slowly to the old and gradually increasing the percentage of the new food so the cat can acclimate to the new food. Pay attention to how much the cat is eating, and while you are transitioning to the new food, feed the amount recommended by the food manufacturer.
• Reweigh the cat after 4 weeks. If he has not lost weight, or even gained a little, then begin to reduce to portion size (remember....1 ounce per pound of body weight divided over 3-4 meals per day.)
• Continue with reduced portion size and weighing the cat every 3-4 weeks until he reaches his ideal weight.
• Once he reaches his ideal weight, adjust the amount of food so that he maintains this weight.

It is important to do this gradually because cats can develop a nasty liver disease if they lose too fast. If cat stops eating more than 2 days, call the vet.

Expect a more lively and alert cat once he reaches his optimum weight.

What if he cries all the time because he is hungry?

Don’t reward him for crying by giving him snacks.

A higher protein meal should satisfy his hunger more than any corn-filled grocery store food ever could.

Avoid treats that are full of carbohydrates.

Treat kitty (when he is being quiet) with freeze dried liver or fish (Grandma Lucy’s or Real Food Toppers) or chicken strips (Catswell). Cut into tiny pieces and make him run for his treats.