25.7% of cats were overweight and another 33.8% of cats were obese according to the Association of Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) 2018 figures. Veterinarians are sounding the warning as almost three in five cats are obese. Though an overweight cat could look adorable and cozy, over time those additional pounds can cause major health problems.
The good news is that some easy dietary and exercise modifications will help your cat drop weight. We’ll discuss why it’s so crucial for cats to be at their ideal weight in this blog and offer you ten vet-approved ideas to reach there.
Motives to Support Your Overweight Cat in Shedding Extra Pounds
Overweight or obese cats run more danger of developing a variety of health issues. Overweight cats at more risk, according to Tufts University Veterinary Medical Center, for: feline diabetes.
Urinary disorders
Osteoarthritis
Inflammation
Unbalances in hormones
shorter lifespans
As you can see, the health of your cat much depends on weight. Find out more about feline obesity and the reasons your cat could be gaining weight so you can “tip the scales” toward a healthy weight for her.
Best Advice on Starting a Weight Loss Program for Your Cat
What then should you do if your cat is already obese? Give weight loss of your cat prime attention.
Helping a cat ingest less calories than they burn off from exercise will help them lose weight; this will call for some daily adjustments. Make sure you and your cat are ready, though, before you start a different diet and feeding regimen. Apply these excellent standards:
Start By See Your Vetinarian
See your veterinarian first before addressing the extra weight on your cat. Every cat has unique physiology and demands; even little dietary adjustments to your cat’s food quantity, frequency, or type can have a significant good or negative effect. The best source of direction for creating a customized, safe weight loss program for your particular pet is your veterinarian.
Calculate the Weight Your Cat Needs to Drop.
You must find out how much weight your cat needs to drop before beginning a weight-loss program. APOP projects the typical house cat should weigh between 8 and 10 pounds. Having said this, you should talk to your veterinarian about the appropriate body weight of your cat since age and breed also affect things.Collaborate with us to prevent many diseases that can be caused by obesity: Feeding Strategies For Overweight Cats.
Not only can you evaluate your cat’s weight and condition by weighing them. Your veterinarian or you can also check your cat and assign a body condition score. Here’s how it operates:
For a cat, a physical condition score of three out of five represents the appropriate weight.
Take Time Changing Your Cat’s Diet (Two to Three Weeks)
Plan how you will modify their diet before attempting strategies to increase their weight; then, progressively go from their current diet and activity schedule to the new one.
Your cat will fight any rapid change; many pet owners are guilty of overfeeding their animals and neglecting enough exercise. From your present eating schedule—food kind, quantity, frequency, etc.—move gently toward your new one.
If you are changing your diet, say, you should allow at least two weeks to adjust. You can combine the items to progressively shift the proportion from essentially the current food to primarily the new one. This lets your cat adjust to the change and lets you see whether they respond negatively to the new food.
Combine Exercise with the Weight Loss Diet Designed for Your Cat.
Although nutrition is mostly responsible for the puzzle, physical activity increases your cat’s energy levels and helps burn fat and calories. Thus, find strategies to include extra activity into your cat’s daily routine. Below is our list of ideas, which might help you.
Extra playtime with your cat—break out the toys or laser pointers—will keep your cat active and assist in speedier dietary changes. See further workout advice on our blog.
Do not hurry the process of losing weight.
At last, let your patience prevail. Actually, cutting food or substantially increasing activity could make your cat unwell. Cats who go two straight days without eating, for instance, may get hepatic lipidosis—fatty liver disease. This disorder becomes liver failure left untreated. If you make a comprehensive health check appointment with your veterinarian and design a sensible weight loss plan together, this sometimes fatal disorder is avoidable.
Weight loss takes time, much as weight increase occurs gradually. Use that as a reference for your expectations since a cat can safely lose 0.5 to 2% of their body weight every week. Your veterinarian should also provide you with a ballpark schedule.
Ten Ways To Help Your Cat Drop Weight
Let us now explore techniques to enable your cat to safely and gradually lose weight.
1. Hide their meals and litter box.
Indoor cats’ weight issues stem from their frequently low desire to exercise. Move the food bowl and litter box about your cat’s area to inspire greater movement. Put them somewhere new every day so your cat has to hunt them out and get some exercise on route.
If your house has more than one level, you may arrange them on the floor where they spend the least of time or on separate floors so they will have to routinely up and descend the stairs.
2. Employ a Feeding Ball or Treat Toy.
Cats are not scared to labor for rewards. Get or create treat toys and feeding balls to let your cat swap some physical work for a delicious feast. They not only make dinner into playtime but also give cerebral and physical stimulus. These toys also assist slow down your cat’s eating rate since they only release food a small amount at a time.
3. distribute meals.
If you feed your cat once a day, this timetable may encourage overindulgence. Rather, think about distributing their regular food consumption over numerous meal periods. Many little meals spread across the day will prevent your cat from feeling so hungry at one point of reference.
If you are progressively changing the amount you feed your cat, this approach can also be helpful. Giving your cat more chances to feed will help to prevent their moaning from hunger even if you are reducing their calorie intake.
4. Try using an automatic feeder with opening based on a timer.
An automatic feeder is another instrument pet owners could employ to battle cat obesity. Even if you’re not home, an automatic feeder carefully measures and controls the calorie count your cat gets by releasing food at a specified time every day. To stop your cat from overeating, use a timer-based feeder—not one that opens depending on its behavior.
5. Replace or add water.
Though your cat is getting less food than previously, adding some water to their diet will help them feel full. If you are feeding us dehydrated food, you might vary the water concentration you combine with their meal. Since dehydration is a frequent problem for cats, adding water also helps them stay hydrated. For the same impact, add water to wet or canned food.
If your cat is still pining for food and it is not mealtime, think about providing them fresh water instead. If your cat drinks when you give, it can help them to train to drink more water and fight off somewhat longer sensations of hunger.
As an alternative, you can provide a low-calorie hydration snack akin to our Instant Goat’s Milk for Cats. Only adds 10 calories per serving; it helps your cat feel full, is loaded with gut-boosting bacteria, and gives some additional taste into their diet.
6. Play half an hour
Cats are naturally lively animals. Use a range of toys to try to get your cat at least thirty minutes of playtime per day. This raises their calorie burn in addition to strengthening your closeness. Set aside this time on your daily “to-do” schedule so you remember it.
If your cat demands constantly for food, consider including them in play instead of eating. Once they are your whole focus, some cats will forget their need to eat.
7. Go for a stroll
Pet walks serve purposes beyond those of canines. If your cat has the correct disposition, they might also profit from a leisurely neighborhood walk.
For a cat, Texas Humane Heroes advises against a collar and instead advise a harness and leash. As they accustom to the leash, teach them to love the process with several goodies. Let your cat lead on the first few walks until they become used to the routine; never drag your cat on the leash.
8.Replace foods heavy in carbohydrates with filler-free cat foods.
One component of a successful weight reduction strategy is not only how much pet food you feed your cat. Moreover important is the quality of that food. Although many modern cat meals and kibbles are full of carbs and highly processed, in the wild cats are carnivores with diets full of fresh protein.
Like our collection of grain free cat foods, high-quality foods are created with carefully chosen protein as the first ingredient. They also lack fillers such grains. This means that every cup has the nutrients your cat requires without including the excess calories and carbohydrates it does not need.
9. Change to Lean Meat Diet Foods
Changing from fatty or carb-heavy diets to a high-proteine diet with lean meats like chicken or turkey will help your cat shed weight and improve their nutrition.
10. Sort Your Multiple Cats Based on Feeding Schedule
Although it sounds unusual, separating your overweight cat(s) during mealtime will enable them to meet their weight loss targets.
Make sure your overweight or obese cat is the only one receiving a specific diet food if you are giving them one. When a cat isn’t all chowing down at once, it’s far more clear what and how much they are consuming. Furthermore, occasionally cats overeat when they see other cats as rivals.
Feeding your kitties in separate rooms and at designated times can help you to divide them the easiest during meal time: After setting every cat in their proper place, arrange their food bowl. Give them ten to fifteen minutes to eat; then, take away the bowls. The cats will miss out if they fail to understand they must eat their food when you present it.
If you cannot feed in several rooms, think about feeding them in the same room with the door closed at separate times. Baby gates let you split the same room as well.
Perfect for cats, the Honest Kitchen boasts several delicious, lean, human-grade foods. Take a look at these items:
Turkey Dehydrated Cat Food Made Without Grains
Bone Broth Gravy Made From Minced Chicken; Grain Free Salmon and Turkey Pâté
Suggested Reading: Grain Free and Pets Is cat food free of grains bad?
Feeding Techniques for Cats with Obesity
We last covered the difficulties of feeding an overweight cat, particularly in a multi-cat environment. I want to provide ideas today for single and multi-cat homes.
We owe thanks to Dr. Todd Towell for the core of these concepts and Dr. Mark Brady for his contribution to Practical Weight Management in Dogs and Cats. Support us: Feeding Strategies For Overweight Cats.
The Single Cat Housewife
The overweight cat with a 10-pound optimum body weight requires roughly 200–225 calories (kcal) daily. For cats with either smaller or larger optimum weights, their calorie requirements are:
Thirty times Ideal Weight ( lbs.) divided by 2.2 + seventy equals daily calories (kcal).
(Remember: See your veterinarian before beginning any weight-loss program.)
Offering 6–7 scheduled feedings of 30–35 calories of canned food, dry food, or a mix will help owners who work from home or can spend all day with their cats. Feed two planned feedings of 30 to 35 calories, then arrange the remaining 140 to 150 calories in four mealtime stations, food balls or food puzzles all about the house or apartment. Perfect places are those that call for effort or climbing. This fuels expending energy to get food—the contemporary form of “the hunt”.
Additionally effective are canned or wet food timed meals and dry food feeding stations. One third approach is to free feed all of the daily calories via food stations.
Should treats be a regular component of the daily program, the calorie count from the feeding stations must be removed from the planned feedings and calorie count from the treats.
Accurate dispensing of scheduled feeding and food station allotments depends on this approach using a kitchen gram scale. One has to know the food’s energy content, wet or dry. It is the kcal/kg for the food; it is found on the corporate website if not shown on the container label.
The algorithm then helps one ascertain their daily dietary need:
Daily calories ÷ kg times 1000 to get grams consumed daily.
The planned meals and feed stations fairly divide the overall gram count. Measuring amounts using cups and cans is less exact. Weight loss requires accuracy in all aspects.
The Multi-Cat Domestic Environment
The real techniques for several cats are the same as those described here. The household’s overall calorie count is computed and then split between food stations and planned meals. Overweight cats or those prone to overweight have the same calorie need as above:
(30 times Ideal Weight in lbs.) ÷ 2.2 + 70 equals daily calorie count.
Less active cats with normal weight follow the formula:
[(30 X Weight (lbs.) ÷ 2.2) + 70] × 1.2 = kilocalorie day.
The recipe for active or unneutered cats is:
[30 x Weight ( lbs.) ÷ 2.2 + 70] × 1.5 = daily calories.
All cats’ daily calorie needs come out to be total. Two planned meals split half to one-third of the total calories. Each feeding station gets the same remaining calories.
Let at least two to three more stations than there are overall among the cats. Food is computed in grams using the same formula applied in single cat homes.
Example:
In a house with three cats
One 13lb overweight cat with a 10 pounds optimum weight
1 average 10lb less active cat
One highly active 10-pound cat.
Cat overweight:
(30 x 10 2.2) + 70 comes to 206 kcal day.
Less engaged cat:
30 x 10 2.2 + 70 x 1.2 = 247 kcal day.
Agactive cat:
([30 x 10 2.2) + 70] x 1.5 = 309 kcal/day.
Daily calorie total: 762 kcal/day
Two meals split one-third of the 762 kcal ( 228 kcal). Each cat thus gets roughly 38 calories (114 ÷ 3) at every meal. There are seven feeding stations totaling the remaining 534 calories; each station will have roughly 75 calories.
I have to admit that these approaches work better for either stabilizing current household weights or preventing obesity. If weight loss is achieved at all, it is a sluggish, protracted process and owners lose their enthusiasm for the plan over time. Single cat homes find great success. For the cat, prevention is most likely the best answer.
For you, what techniques have worked?
A Straightforward Guide for Feeding Overweight Cats
Food for Cats that weigh too much
Should your cat be tilting the scales, what should you do? The first step is selecting the correct diet for obese cats; here is some information.
Not overweight, my cat is simply really fluffy! I regret breaking your bubble; your cat has to shed weight.
A few extra pounds will make your cat from a lean feline machine a chubby cat. Though chonky kitties are proliferating on the Internet with their humorous poses, an overweight cat is not funny. It would surprise you to see that, on average, your cat’s extra three pounds of weight would equal roughly fifty pounds in a human. And you will need to discover what food is excellent for overweight cats if you are resolved to cut some unhealthy pounds from the frame of your kitten.
The Obesity Concern
The most often occurring avoidable ailment in cats is obesity. Of North American cats, between 30 to 35 percent are obese; 50 percent of those aged 5 to 11 years old are overweight.
A cat is said to be overweight when? This occurs when a cat weights 10 to 20 percent more than ideal. Feeding your cat will help to preserve their ideal body weight. Studies have indicated that obesity or modest overweight reduces life expectancy.
Obesity not only reduces a cat’s lifetime but also increases their likelihood of developing disease. Overweight or obese cats run more danger of:
Joint degradation and osteoarthritis
Cancer
Mellitus of diabetes
Heart disease
Hypertension
Urinary bladder stones
Issues with skin
How Can I Support My Cat in Shedding Weight?
Should your cat be overweight or obese, you will have to change feedings to encourage weight loss. Natural Wellness CORE Indoor and Wellness Complete Health Grain Free Indoor Healthy Weight formulations, both of which have natural, premium proteins to provide a balanced diet full of the nutrients your cat needs while attaining a healthy weight, are especially tailored nutritional products that will help cats lose weight safely.
Maintaining dietary balance, this meal for overweight cats has a reduced overall calorie density and more fiber content.
Additionally helping your cat lose weight is the kind of food you feed them; you might wish to include some wet or raw food into their diet. Carbohydrates may abound in dry foods.
Your cat might naturally lose weight if you switch to a wet food if they consume the same volume of lower-carbohydrate diet. See a veterinarian over your cat’s diet plan as with any health issue you have with your pet. Unlike significantly lowering their calorie intake all at once, your cat should lose weight gradually over time.
One more advantage of wet food is higher moisture content. This extra moisture can help your cat stay hydrated and might help ward against urinary stones and infections.
Once you have selected a food for obese cats, be sure you follow new meal frequency and serving sizes. And resist the urge to overfeed treats; you will be ruining your effort even if those begging kitten eyes are so beautiful. If you still want to treat your cat, choose a few low-calorie, natural snacks your cat will enjoy—like Wellness Kittles.
Selecting appropriate food for obese cats marks only the beginning of your kitty’s weight-loss strategy. Watch the weight reduction of your cat to make sure it is moving gradually and steadily. Additionally include more play time in your cat’s daily schedule; moderate exercise will assist burn calories and provide you more time to connect with them.
