Cat on a diet

purplepardalis

Whilst being off work for a couple of months I've been feeding my cat on demand. As a result he's put on weight, his tummy is ploppy and hanging down a bit so the poor thing is on a diet. Yes, I know its my fault.

He's on a weighed out amount of food and I'm feeding it throughout the day so he still gets some of his on demand feeds. He is asking for more though and looking a bit disgruntled.
Is this the best way of doing it? Or should I give him his ration divided into 2 meals so he feels a bit fuller? And then ignoring him when he asks for more?
Alternatively, are there any low calorie snacks he could have?

puddy

its very hard. one of my cats is overweight, she has been nearly all her life. we feed her unbelievably small portions of the low fat food. she has only lost 2lbs in about a year. i weighed her the other day and she is still 12lbs when she should be about 9 or 10 as she is quite a big cat. due to the loss she has very loose tummy skin which flaps about when she runs and i feel so bad.

no i wouldnt feed on demand, this will get her hopes up. we feed morning and night and ignore the bangs on the catflap when she runs out into the utility room every time i go to make a cup of tea, expecting to get fed (they are fed in the utility room)

also you need to ensure not to put anything in their reach. i often find her snooping around on the table or the worktops hoping to find leftovers or food ive left out. i think ive left stuff out in the past and she steals it. i have a feeling she also eats the other cats food.

as a treat, i empty out a can of tuna into a bowl of water, then i drain the water off so that it is tuna flavoured water (or buy the tuna in spring water and drain that off). so she gets a big bowl of tuna water which is satisfying for her but theres no calories in it

purplepardalis

Yes, I think tomorrow I'll feed it in 2 amounts and ignore the demands! He's been mooching around downstairs all day instead of being asleep upstairs.

We have a food recycling caddy in the kitchen which we call 'Scribble's buffet' as he's partial to taking leftovers out of if
we're not careful and forget to put something on top. I've also got to watch in case he starts eating the kitten's food. He's stayed away so far because it's James Wellbeloved and he doesn't like it but hunger may drive him to eat it!

kazwookie

My cat gets 50g per day, end off.

It is weight out on gem scales that measure up to 100g (ebay)

He is fed it in 2 ie 25g am 25g pm

purplepardalis

I've got 60 gram portions of Arden Grange Light for each day. He's neutered and 7 years old so prone to putting on weight. It's quite amazing that a few years ago he was ill and really skinny and boney. I can't believe he's now on a diet! I used to have to feed him up!

dave1193

Awww leave him be, lol. I had a hamster that was fat, it was so cute.

purplepardalis

The tuna water is a good idea. Although I don't think he'd be that impressed with only getting water! He can hear a can of tuna being opened from upstairs!

purplepardalis

I would leave him to it but being fat is not going to be any good for his health!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

One of mine is a big lad.

He's been on reduced portions for about a year, but only began to lose weight when I moved into a house (stairs to negotiate every day for breakfast and dinner, plus the desperate sprints when he hears the skinny cat's extras being opened, followed by the sulking stomps back up when all he gets is a tiny morsel if that).

Skinny eats her treats on top of the freezer so he can't get to her )


He has a target of reaching the top of the shed, as the local cats are all fitter than him and walk along what he thinks is his wall.



He really, really cops a strop sometimes when he doesn't get fed. You can tell because he stomps off to find some plastic to chew on or jumps on another of the cats to take out his bad temper on them.

You become immune to it after a while.



He is almost normal weight now - and has found that he can sit on a lap or leap to catch a toy if he wants to, which I think makes up for his suffering over the past year. And makes it safer for him the next time he has to visit the vet (tooth cleaning, despite having crunchies, as his jaw is slightly wonky, is a yearly occurrence)


But he always gets a small ball of raw mince when I'm cooking, or a prawn or water from the tuna - they seem to be small treats that make his life slightly nicer, rather than preventing him every joy in his life.

dizziblonde

Watch your cupboard doors. I was having a chat with a tutoring mum who'd been told her mog had had to go on a diet (he might have "weighed" heavy but when you picked him up this guy was solid muscle) and while we were chatting, he mooched up to the cupboard his food was locked in between meals, hooked it open with a paw and would have started helping himself if he hadn't been spotted and stopped.

Hell hath no fury like an aggrieved moggy!

purplepardalis

Ha ha! Food is kept out of the way here.
So, day 1 has not been great, he did start eating the kitten food and I had to shoo him away. He had the remainder of his ration in one go and went off to sleep for a couple of hours. I did relent and give him some left over RC sterilised dry food. All in all he has had less food than normal. I know it will be better when we are back at work (when I find a job!) and it's back to 2 meals a day.
And playing with the kittens will help his exercise regime