How to Treat Obesity in Cats
Fat cats are cute and cuddly looking. But obesity can cause serious health problems in cats, including diabetes, lameness and heart disease. How do you slim down your fat feline? Here are some suggestions for treating obesity in cats.
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Things You'll Need
- Wet Food
- Low-Carbohydrate Dry Food
- Freeze-Dried Treats
- "Fishing Pole" or "Wand" Toys
- Floor-to-Ceiling Cat Tree
- Baby or Bathroom Scale
Instructions
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A Weight-Loss Program for Cats
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Determine how many calories your cat needs. The rule of thumb is 20 to 30 calories per pound of body weight per day. Don't feed more than this, but don't feed much less either. Cats who get less than 50 percent of the daily calories they need over just a few days can develop Hepatic Lipidosis, a potentially life-threatening liver disease.
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Transition to an all-wet food diet. Cats are obligate carnivores and need animal protein (meat). Since wet food is mostly moisture and meat, your cat will convert her food into energy instead of fat. Stay away from wet food with "gravy" or "sauce." These contain a lot of wheat gluten and are high in carbohydrates.
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Feed low-carb dry food. No dry food at all is best. But if your cat must have his crunchies, feed a brand of dry food that contains no grains and is low in carbohydrates. A few suggestions are Evo, Before Grain, Instinct and Wellness CORE.
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Give her high-protein, low-carb treats. Most cats love the freeze-dried chicken and salmon treats. Or use bonito flakes as treats. Other possibilities are deli chicken and turkey. Brands with no preservative or added flavorings are best.
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Encourage him to exercise. Playing with your cat with a wand or fishing pole-style toy will be fun for both of you and will help him burn up excess calories. He'll burn up calories climbing a floor-to-ceiling cat tree, too. Make sure the one you choose has a large, stable base and perches big enough for an adult cat to stretch out on to take a nap.
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Monitor his progress by weighing him every month on a baby or bathroom scale. To use a bathroom scale, weigh yourself first then get on the scale with the cat in your arms.
Assess him visually, too. As he begins to lose weight, you should be able to feel his ribs, and he should have a noticeable waist behind his rib cage. Be patient though. Cats should lose weight slowly.
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Tips & Warnings
It's possible to free feed wet food the way you do dry. Wet food won't go bad if it's left out for several hours. If your cat is resistant to eating wet food, put just a tiny bit under her dry food in a small bowl. As she gets used to the food, gradually increase the amount of wet food until that's all she's eating. Or put a handful of treats on top of a small amount of wet food. If you change dry food brands, make the transition slowly. Add just a few pieces of the new food to the old and gradually increase the amount until he's eating only the new food. Your cat must eat. If she refuses food at a certain point in the transition, go back a step and start again.
Avoid "light" or diet dry foods. Most light foods contain powdered cellulose or beet pulp to provide fiber and make the cat feel full. But cats rarely feel satisfied with light food and tend to eat much more of it than they should.
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Comments
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My cat Alex was gaining so much weight and I started to really worry. My vet was not happy with the food I was giving him, so she suggested a Natural Balance reduced-calorie cat food and I put him on that with great results. I think doing this saved him from a lot of potential health problems. I get so sad when I see overweight animals, and I hope articles like this will alert people and help so many animals that need to lose weight. Thanks.
