Fat cats

[seminakedinsomebodyelsesroom]

Just got back from annual vaccinations and been told off because both my cats are too fat. They are a year old and the vet says I have to stop giving them Felix pouches (she described it as like giving kids sweets) and feed only dry food.

We currently give them two pouches each a day - so one in the morning and one in the evening, and some dry food at bedtime to entice them out of front room and into the kitchen.

They are not going to be happy. Any experiences to share?

We feed Felix. It says 3-4 pouches a day PER CAT! obviously that's a guideline.
Do your cats go out? Do they get treats, steal food or forger themselves on dried food? Or is the vet just like ours and trying to sell you expensive food they make a tidy profit on????
FWIW Felix isn't great but then I wouldn't feed just dried food either (cats don't drink enough water. Cystitis risk!)
There is better wet food. Grain free and high meat. My buggers won't eat it!

Oh and is it kitten food and are they neutered?!

Yes they are neutered but it isn't kitten food because they're over a year now.
The big one weighed over 5kg

Oh and sorry, yes they have a cat flap and can come and go as they please day and night. They have a good size garden, and beyond to explore. They will lick bowls/plates but we don't encourage it or 'let' them do it, IYSWIM and don't feed them treats.

Lick your plates? Yuck. Stop that.
I feed mine half a pouch each at a time. When they get dried I don't fill a whole bowl. Maybe they are being fed elsewhere.

I wondered if they are getting food elsewhere. It's possible I suppose. The big one is very lazy but the smaller one - who the vet said was still a bit fat - is pretty active.

I also understood you weren't supposed to only feed dry food.

Mine have been known to help the neighbour's cat gain access to the neighbour's dreamies!

I suspect you have a pair of Six Dinner Sids living with you.

Ha ha - maybe. There are only two other cats nearby and they all hate each other so unless a cat-less person is feeding them I'm not really sure where they are getting it from.

How about a compromise? One meal dry, one wet? I'd stop the biscuit enticement too - just pick them up & chuck them out :)

My mother only discovered by accident that Thirdcat was batting his baby blues at a neighbour and being given some 'little morsels' on her kitchen windowsill - you know, little bits of ham, cheese etc etc. ('Just what's in the fridge'.)

I wouldn't switch my cat to a dry only diet personally. I feed mine high-meat wet food with extra water mixed in twice per day and a very small (10g) weighed portion of dry food.
Are they also currently getting any dry food? If so are you weighing the portions out? If not then the dry food could be the real weight-gain culprit. It's very calorie-dense and if they are having a bowlful in addition to their pouches they'll be piling on weight. It's always possible like others have said that they are being fed elsewhere too.

Didn't read the OP properly. I see they have dry food at night.

Why don't you cut them down to half a sachet each am and pm? And cut the biscuits down a bit as well and see how you get on.

My cats have felix and are perfectly healthy. You just maybe need to look at the quantities they're eating.

Harry has been having 40g of dry food a day and a Natures Menu pouch in the evening. He's around 5.5kg now and the vet didn't seem worried even though he's put on half a kilo (he lost weight when he broke his jaw) but we've cut the dry food down by 10g as I'm sure that's what does it.

Seniorboy is semi-maintaining on Nature's Menu +. He's only about 3.3 kg now though.

I was in the same situation recently. I reduced dry food so she only gets a tiny amount in the evening and I changed tje type of wet food. The vet weighed her a month later and thankfully she had lost weight. She goes back to vet end of November, I am hoping she will have stayed the same or lost a bit more. I really don't want to have to try her on diet food.

Mr C is over 6kg but is not fat, I am surprised and thrilled to report. He is just a very big cat. He is underweight at 5.5 kg.

His favourite weight is about 8kg when I struggle to lift him, which he knows full well, and he gets naughty.

Thanks all. We've decided to cut down to half a sachet at each feed and significantly reduce the dry food for now and see how that goes.

I think the fattest one is going to be a big cat generally but the vet said he was flabby today