Dieting Options

IMPORTANT: If your cat is in any distress or discomfort, please consult your own vet as your first priority.
Post Reply
CatSalvatore
Returning Cat Chatter
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2020 12:54 pm
No. of cats in household: 3

Dieting Options

Post by CatSalvatore »

Hi,
My second post. First time around, I got a brilliant suggestion to help with an obese cat, which was chipped feeders. I have three cats, and now have 3 chipped feeders. The one boy, eating everybody else grub, was the problem.

Two girls, and one boy, who is younger, and much more intelligent, which I believe is partly something to do with his food obsession.
He was eating his own portion, and everybody else's food as well, and has ended up being, now, 8.6kg! Dangerously obese.

The vet's advisement, is now 50g of Obesity Management dry biscuits per day, but he also suggested broccoli!!

I have tried raw, blanched, and now steamed, and although he does sniff at it, he hasn't yet eaten any of it.

50g of the dried stuff per day, is frankly going to be torture for the poor boy. Does anyone have any experience with similar, and can therefore suggest some other stomach filler that won't interfere with this weight-loss? I have read about carrots, and cantaloupe melon. [I only had galia, but he just wasn't interested.]

Any suggestions?

Many thanks in advance.

They are: Stroma, she's the No.1, Smog, she's the small, gentle soul, and Phoenix, he's the food destroyer.
User avatar
Mollycat
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 2705
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2019 10:58 am
No. of cats in household: 1
Location: UK

Re: Dieting Options

Post by Mollycat »

Hello again, glad the chip feeders have made a good start for you.

I had a fat cat that gets anxious and aggressive if I restrict her food at all. You can get reduced calorie food that does all that for you, bulk and nutritionally balanced without the calories. The one we used was Hills, dry and wet. There are two kinds, Metabolic, and r/d which work in different ways and must not be mixed. Obviously there are other brands and it sounds like your boy is already on one of them, probably the one the vet recommended? Feel free to switch to another brand if there is one that suits better, vets are usually brand loyal.

For rationing, I know they say feed the amount for the target weight, but I don't agree with that, it usually produces overly rapid loss, and with cats we're aiming for slow steady long term. As you also don't want to go back to food obsession, I sorted it out by free feeding the diet dry and two meals of the wet. Quite quickly she started to leave some of the wet at every meal and there was more dry there than she would ever eat in a day, and she still lost the weight she needed to lose over time. She was on it for 18 months in all, and came down from over 6kg to estimated a little under 5kg in that time.
booktigger
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 2664
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 1:36 pm
No. of cats in household: 3

Re: Dieting Options

Post by booktigger »

I'm quite stunned that the vet would only say 50g of dry food given his weight- I know they say to feed for the target weight, but not if the target weight is more than 10% reduction, so I'd be concerned about too rapid a weight loss, which can lead to liver issues. Could you increase his play sessions to help weight loss that way?
CatSalvatore
Returning Cat Chatter
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2020 12:54 pm
No. of cats in household: 3

Re: Dieting Options

Post by CatSalvatore »

Mollycat wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 9:31 am Hello again, glad the chip feeders have made a good start for you.

I had a fat cat that gets anxious and aggressive if I restrict her food at all. You can get reduced calorie food that does all that for you, bulk and nutritionally balanced without the calories. The one we used was Hills, dry and wet. There are two kinds, Metabolic, and r/d which work in different ways and must not be mixed. Obviously there are other brands and it sounds like your boy is already on one of them, probably the one the vet recommended? Feel free to switch to another brand if there is one that suits better, vets are usually brand loyal.

For rationing, I know they say feed the amount for the target weight, but I don't agree with that, it usually produces overly rapid loss, and with cats we're aiming for slow steady long term. As you also don't want to go back to food obsession, I sorted it out by free feeding the diet dry and two meals of the wet. Quite quickly she started to leave some of the wet at every meal and there was more dry there than she would ever eat in a day, and she still lost the weight she needed to lose over time. She was on it for 18 months in all, and came down from over 6kg to estimated a little under 5kg in that time.
REPLY TO MOLLYCAT.

Was it yourself who gave me the tip about chipped feeders before? If so, thank you! They have changed everything.

However, still can't get the boy losing weight.

At first, I was following a different vet and brand bag advice, which was 110g per day, but he was actually putting weight at that. Brand was Purina, Obesity Management.

I then went to a different vet, who is very respected in the community, which is quite small, so everyone knows who is good or not, and he initially brought him down to 90g, still no change, and sometimes still going up a bit. Down to 70g, still nothing. That's when he finally said, last week, 50g, and try broccoli.

The boy is not going mental yet, and it has not been long enough to see how quickly the weight will come off, but it does seem drastic.
I've read online about cat's being able to eat other stuff; carrot and cantaloupe are the other two that come to mind. I had some galia melon, so chopped that up, but was of not interest, whatsoever. Haven't tried a carrot yet.
I just wonder, why not something healthy, like tuna, or salmon? Would that just give him a taste of the good stuff, and make him more ravenous?

Like I say, the vet is well respected in the area, especially as someone who thinks differently to traditional, money-grabbing practices, which the first one definitely was.

I'm to take him back in a month, so I'll ask about brands and other alternatives, and why not tuna.

Very much appreciate you taking an interest. Thank you.
CatSalvatore
Returning Cat Chatter
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2020 12:54 pm
No. of cats in household: 3

Re: Dieting Options

Post by CatSalvatore »

booktigger wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 11:50 am I'm quite stunned that the vet would only say 50g of dry food given his weight- I know they say to feed for the target weight, but not if the target weight is more than 10% reduction, so I'd be concerned about too rapid a weight loss, which can lead to liver issues. Could you increase his play sessions to help weight loss that way?
I am to take him back to the vet in a month, so can mention those concerns, about liver damage in particular.

He's an indoor cat, along with two others, and they play a fair amount. He has a room with climbing poles that he still manages to scale, so it's hard to know what to do. Have lasers, toys on sticks and all the usual.

I make things, and am formulating plans in my heaad, for an exercise wheel, similar to a hamsters wheel, which do exist for cats, but cost a ridiculous amount, so if I can figure out how to do one myself, that will be a winner.
User avatar
Mollycat
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 2705
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2019 10:58 am
No. of cats in household: 1
Location: UK

Re: Dieting Options

Post by Mollycat »

It may well have been me, I do shout about them to anyone who will listen and no I'm not on commission!

The reason they are suggesting vegetables and fruits is the high water and fibre content and low calories, I would think. Only, I would question how that might skew the overall nutritional balance of his diet. Like Booktigger I'd be concerned about such a drastic calorie drop, it's not only the drastic calorie drop that can trigger hepatic lipidosis, but fat cats are more susceptible to it to start with.

I'm not really convinced by the exercise we can provide, I know all the little bits add up but it's very difficult for us to really make up enough to shift much weight. Though maybe every little does help.

Does he go outside? Even the act of lounging in the sun outdoors with unfamiliar scents and sounds keeping the adrenaline going uses more calories than lounging indoors.

and
Does he have any wet food at all? Have you tried this? I'm not sure of the exact details but I have read (mostly from people who advocate raw) that dry food sits in the stomach for a long time and when fed only dry the digestive system doesn't move things along in the way it should, leading to overweight. I don't know, it might be right, partly right or not at all. Have you tried grain-free food? Intolerances don't always show up as horrible skin diseases and loose bowels.

Now for the strangest question of all - have these vets looked any further than his generous basting of lard? has anyone taken a blood test, checked for thyroid issues, adrenal gland problems, other endocrine system imbalances? He can't possibly be right not losing any weight on half the recommended portion for his ideal weight, that can't be much more than a quarter of what he has been eating and yet it's not working. Red flag.

Not suggesting this could be Phoenix's problem but my Molly was always fat and it turned out to everyone's astonishment she was hyperthyroid and should have been thin. Once treated, she ate more and stayed slimmer. That is the exact opposite of what should have been happening. But I would definitely be asking questions about metabolic disorders and want those to be ruled out before taking such drastic action on his food intake.
CatSalvatore
Returning Cat Chatter
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2020 12:54 pm
No. of cats in household: 3

Re: Dieting Options

Post by CatSalvatore »

A worry about a thyroid, or similar type problem, was the original reason I actually took him to the vet. At that point, I had the chipped feeders, and was going to make up my own regime.
They, both vets, have dismissed any other issues other than calorific intake, versus exercise taken. I should maybe push for further investigations in that area.
I am going to persevere with the current low meal weight, but if, after maybe two weeks, I am not seeing any dramatic change, I will take him back to the second vet, who is much more open to off the wall thinking.

I cannot let them outside, because of a busy road, but having seen his glaring inquisitiveness about the outside world when we were at the vet last week, I am going to find him a harness, and try taking him on adventures in cat-safe places. That could lead to much more outside play, which would, of course, be incredibly good for him in many ways.

Thanks again for your input.

Fingers crossed for the boy.

He has been amazingly tolerant of such a little amount of food, so far. It's only been a few days.

I'm watching him like a hawk for any signs of stress, or lack of energy. None so far. He is as willing to play, as he ever was.
booktigger
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 2664
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 1:36 pm
No. of cats in household: 3

Re: Dieting Options

Post by booktigger »

How old is he?
Post Reply