Ideas for overweight indoor cat

[peanutbutterdog]

Hi, we rescued our cat 4 years ago, aged around 4 at that time. He belongs to my autistic child and stays indoors because of my child's high level of anxiety of potential dangers if he goes out, so letting him outside is not an option. The cat is content to stay indoors too. He is fed 30g dry food and 1 wet pouch a day, along with pieces of boiled chicken during the day. He gets a small amount of cat treats very seldomly, maybe once a week.

Over 4 years, he has put on weight. The vet today said to reduce his food and to play more with him to help him lose weight. The problem is he is quite lazy and will only play with string, feathers and a laser for a few minutes before wandering off. He doesn't jump or climb and isn't interested in cat trees - we have tried these over the years. He has been like this since we got him so not a new thing as part of his increasing weight.

I'm looking for suggestions of food brands and ideas to help him play to help him lose weight. He's our first cat and I'm upset as I feel I am letting him down so would appreciate experienced indoor cat owners' advice. The vet didn't give any helpful advice about what food would be best or how to encourage him to play, she just said we had to feed him less and give him exercise.

I'd appreciate any helpful advice.

Giving less food sounds like the best option. There’s not much you can do to get a cat to play if it doesn’t want to!

The advice I was given with my portly last cat was to feed him to his ideal weight. So, if you know what weight your vet suggests your cat should be then you can weigh the food for that weight.

Then, you need to get the cat to work for his food. Puzzle feeders, placing food in harder to reach places, and even things like clicker training tricks with dry food would all help.

Slowly reduce the amount of food otherwise he will end up stealing yours. No more treats as they are high calorie. Are you 100% sure your child isn't slipping the cat some extras or off his own plate? Might be time for a chat to explain kitty needs help to keep healthy, that would tie-in with no treats.

Cats are not like dogs which need/can cope with an hours exercise. Little and often is best. Try two exercise sessions a day comprising of perhaps 5 minutes each. Cat needs to be slightly out of breath but not panting. Most cat behaviourists recommend play then a small amount of food to replicate the hunt, kill/eat then sleep. That might mean portioning his food into four separate meals which would help in reducing his stomach capacity but that would depend on your availability, eg breakfast, play and food at lunch, dinner, play and food at bedtime.

Regarding the actual cat food - ignore the amount, its the quality you need to be looking at. Some brands are a complete food, others are a supplement food pretending to be complete (should state on packet), they don't have the right amount of taurine, vitamins and minerals. So look into that more. And be honest here...exactly how much chicken is he having? Weigh/portion it out daily and reduce that over time too. It could end up as his treat rather than the shop bought treats. Good luck though!

Thanks so much for your ideas. I'll cut down his food and chicken and look into a puzzle feeder to start with. Many thanks.

Our cat gets all his dry food from puzzle feeders. He has two: a plastic one and a ceramic one. He also has wet food from a bowl at set times.

We very gradually changed his dry food from Whiskas to a grain-free, high-meat dry food.

MrCat was MrFattyCat when we got him. We didn't want him to go hungry when he was so new to us, so we calculated the food allowance for a cat 90% of his weight, and every time he reached that weight recalculated to 90% of that weight. It's easier to reduce dry food than wet food.

Eliminate the dry food. Our girl has lost her excess weight in 4 months.

I've never tried it myself but have known others who make their cats do a bit of exercise to get to their food...

For example, putting it at the top of the stairs so they have to walk up for dinner.

Or splitting it in half and putting it either side of the room so they get a few steps in that way

Would increase the frequency of games too, incorporate some catnip. If they don't play for long at least get them playing more often.

If reducing food, you could maybe add a teaspoon of water to wet food and mix it in. Higher water content might fill him up more. Double check with vet that it's OK though and not going to cause any problems with kidneys etc (I'm not a vet)

My experience with 2 fat cat was no treats at all - they don't need it and it just encourages bad behaviour.

My fat cats never figured out any of the puzzle food dispensers, they would have sat there and starved rather than play with them but a slow feeder works wonders at making them fuller for longer and stopping the inhaling of dinner, what's next to eat behaviour.

We have this one:

www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/catch-cat-feeder-%28online-only%29

If your cat is catnip sensitive that may encourage him to play, although it left us with an uncomfortable feeling as we looked at our dopey cat of 'our we our cat's dealer?'

As cat gets thinner they also play more. Just like humans, the fatter you are, the less active you are.

The only thing I can do with mine is cut down their food. They are extremely dopey so can't get them to use a puzzle feeder or take more exercise.

One vet told me she got her fat cat to lose weight by throwing her cat's kibble across the room bit by bit so he had to run for his dinner

MrCat was deeply unimpressed by the slow feeders. I had to bribe him with Dreamies . Even then he would only use the Diggit feeder. He tried the ceramic feeder one day and categorically refused to use it again. So we just used the Diggit for several months. But by the time he had fully transitioned to the high meat dry food he was used to working for it, plus he really liked that dry food - or perhaps he was hungrier! He now eats from both feeders.

Silkycat was not impressed by the slow feeder either. Especially as Old Lady Cat at the time had a microchip feeder that apparently worked by magic.

Even worse, Old Lady Cat who probably had dementia figured out the slow feeder in 2 seconds while Silkycat sat there like a numpty

However it was better than the balls or puzzles which she just stared at and wailed. With the slow feeder we hardened our hearts and Silkycat grasped it was here to stay and now she knows it's hers and cracks on.

He is fed 30g dry food and 1 wet pouch a day, along with pieces of boiled chicken during the day. He gets a small amount of cat treats very seldomly, maybe once a week

Have you checked the feeding guidelines for the food you are giving? If he is having the daily amount recommended he won’t need the chicken as extra.
Re cat treats, I did hear a tv vet say that one treat would be the equivalent of us eating a jam doughnut so count how many treats you are giving. We wouldn’t eat several doughnuts each week.

Would a catio be an option for him to go outside and go up and down 9n different levels? I’ve never known a cat not like being up high to look down on it’s subjects?

I love pp being told about throwing the food bit by bit so the cat had to run for it

I am going to try throwing treats to my cats: shall report back on the level of engagement 😂

He is a cat. If he doesn't want to play, he won't. I feel rather sad for him having to stay indoors, it's obviously negatively affecting his health.

Thanks to everyone who gave useful suggestions. We will try out as much as we can. So far, we have cut his chicken and reduced his dry food. He hasn't figured out the cat puzzler yet but we'll persevere. Too early to tell if he's lost anything yet but he is loudly and regularly complaining about the reduction in food. He is also engaging in more regular play with his wool.

I had a similar problem with my three-legged girl who is on a similar diet to yours. I found what worked was switching to Iams indoor cat food and Purina mon petit cat pouches (smaller pouches).