Podgy moggy!

Lilith1980

Hi all, our rescue cat Charlie is slightly podgy (has got a bit of a belly!) and was like that when we got him a few weeks ago.

The vet said we should aim to feed him based on a weight of 5kg which is fair enough but he doesn't really "move" much lol :rolleyes: The vet said he is ok as he is but if he gets any bigger then he would be over weight.

He may well tear around the flat while we are out but I doubt it! We also try and play with him every day and he will either stay laying on the floor and just paw at the string or trot after it a bit and lose interest

I'd like to get him moving a bit more just to get him more active as I do worry he will keep putting on weight and then get health problems. (I have a similar issue with my hubby but that's for another forum!) :rotfl:

Any suggestions?

Thanks

captainprincess

He sounds like a typical cat!! I'd imagine he spend the whole day sleeping!! What breed is he? What food are you currently feeding him? Might be an idea to try a light option
Good luck!!

Lilith1980

He's not a particular breed, "just" a moggy, bless him. We are having trouble with food because the lady who ran the rescue centre said we should feed him dry as wet food is full of salt but he has slowly gone off this since we gave him a pouch of wet food. I've heard so many pros and cons for wet and dry food I'm not sure which way to go!

The vet said we may need to put him on Hills Prescription I/D as he had his saliva glands removed before we got him but I know they do both wet and dry food in this type, so might be better going for wet as he turns his nose up at dry most of the time. Although the problems we witnessed when we first got him (breaking wind a lot and "over-powering" odours) seem to have gone so I'm not sure if we need to switch to this prescription food now.

Maybe a light option would be better for his stomach and his weight!

captainprincess

My mum's birman has put on weight because she does absolutely nothing! But fortunatly will only eat dry food so she is putting her on Hill's lighter.
You will find that most cats do turn their nose up at dry food, mine are just the same, would rather starve than eat biscuits!! But it really is better for them. Hill's is really good, they also do a Neutered option (assuming he is neutered!) as well as the light one I don't know if they do it in wet food but would be worth a look!
The Hill dry food are buy one get one free in pets at home at the moment as well!!

Alcmene

Hills Light is good for helping them lose weight, but be strict and bothing else apart from water.

Also a laser pen will get a cat moving!

Rummer

We have a massive rescue cat and managed to get a lot of his weight off until he started to impersonate 6 dinner sid and now he visits all the ladies in the neighbourhood getting fed (even though he has a tag saying please do not feed me!). What we did find useful was reducing his food (vets advice) and making him exercise. We tried lots of different strategies for that including: toys, a lead, torches and general playing. Mind you he doesn't like exercising at all and has perfected a very withering look!

paddypaws101

Look on purrsinourhearts at a toy called Da Bird, my boys go crazy for it.
Giving him a whole RAW ( not cooked ) chicken wing to gnaw on would be good for his teeth and it takes him longer to get his calories than easy to gobble wet or dry food.

Fire_Fox

Lilith1980 wrote: »

He's not a particular breed, "just" a moggy, bless him. We are having trouble with food because the lady who ran the rescue centre said we should feed him dry as wet food is full of salt but he has slowly gone off this since we gave him a pouch of wet food. I've heard so many pros and cons for wet and dry food I'm not sure which way to go!

The vet said we may need to put him on Hills Prescription I/D as he had his saliva glands removed before we got him but I know they do both wet and dry food in this type, so might be better going for wet as he turns his nose up at dry most of the time. Although the problems we witnessed when we first got him (breaking wind a lot and "over-powering" odours) seem to have gone so I'm not sure if we need to switch to this prescription food now.

Maybe a light option would be better for his stomach and his weight!

Not all wet foods contain salt, just read the labels for the ingredients. You will probably find it easier to maintain or reduce weight on all or partially wet food as it is lower in calories due to the water content. Wet foods also tend to be lower in carbs than dry foods, unless you are feeding a high quality dry such as Applaws or Orijen.

There is evidence that carbohydrates (potato, maize, rice) can make both humans and cats tend to gain weight, to do with the insulin response. The function of carbs in any diet is a source of energy, and if the cat is lazy the carbs may well be converted to fat! If he was having problems with his digestion when you got him this may be a sign your cat is not able to process grains in the food properly, and so the (bad) bacteria in his gut are having a field day.

In terms of more exercise, I am having the same worries with my new indoor rescue cat!! So far I have tried a SlimCat feeding ball and bought two sets of Bergan Turbo Track (Purrs), both of which have been well received. I now want a Da Bird (Purrs) and an Original Dragonfly (eBay) as both get rave reviews all over the internet. If you search on YouTube all these toys are being demo'd by some very enthusiastic kitties!!

Fire_Fox

captainprincess wrote: »

My mum's birman has put on weight because she does absolutely nothing! But fortunatly will only eat dry food so she is putting her on Hill's lighter.
You will find that most cats do turn their nose up at dry food, mine are just the same, would rather starve than eat biscuits!! But it really is better for them. Hill's is really good, they also do a Neutered option (assuming he is neutered!) as well as the light one I don't know if they do it in wet food but would be worth a look!
The Hill dry food are buy one get one free in pets at home at the moment as well!!

Why do you say dry food is better for cats? I do feed some dry so I am not getting at you just wondered.

nanokitten

My overweight kitten (11 months now) would only eat wet food (felix) until I tried her on Royal canin pure feline No2 (slimness) which she really likes (much better than even the other royal canin ones or arden grange). Now she has 2/3 dry food and 1 pouch a day which is much better as I never really liked her eating felix but she wouldn't eat anything else. I too worry about the wet versus dry food so hedge my bets with a bit of both and a water fountain to encourage drinking (though she has started standing on my head and drinking out my water galss at 4 am).

Lilith1980

Hi, thanks for all your replies

Da Bird sounds great, I have been on You Tube and the cats seem to love it. I hope mine will too - he is seriously averse to playing so this might be what we need! Can I buy it on Purrs? I saw the "shop" part of the forum but could not find a section to buy?

edit: I just found the shop and purchase Da Bird!