How to help my cat lose weight?

[PersuadingAnneElliot]

Our female tabby was at the vets last month and weighed 5.2kg.

Told she needs to lose weight...fine, completely agree if overweight, changed to "light" version of cat biscuits, started portion control according to its guidelines, had been having a mini 50kg sachet of wet food twice a day so that was cut back too, absolutely no treats.

Back at vets and she's gained weight!

Up to 5.3kg now and I'm not sure what else I should cut out, she's also always hungry now and bothering me for food which feels awful.

She's a fairly new rescue so still not outside, we do try to get her moving and playing but it doesn't last long before she loses interest.

Just wondered if anyone else's cats were similar and had any other advice or recommendations?

Thank you 🙂

Silly question but... she's not pregnant, is she?

Is she on Royal Canin Appetite Control food? That really worked with our desperately food-driven rescue.

Ask if they have a nutrition person. I can’t remember the name but my vets had a weight loss clinic that emailed me some advice
turns out my boy is on the lowest amount of food anyway, and if I cut it down he won’t get the required nutrition. But she was helpful

Not a silly question at all but no, not pregnant. She's been spayed so has the pouch underneath which I think is often the case.

At the moment her dried food is Purina Light but am up for trying Royal Canin or anything else if it might help her lose some weight but also not feel like we're starving her in the process 😬.

She doesn't feel particularly big or solid to me but I guess she must be although to me it seems mostly fur and fluff!

@walkingmyway yes they said next step would be their weight loss clinic which seems inevitable at the moment despite what we've been doing so far 😬.

Was just floored that not only had she not lost any weight after everything but actually gained it 🤔...

My old cat attended weight loss sessions and I'm not going to lie, It was hard work and expensive for the very, very little she lost. I kept getting told to play with her more often but what can you do with a cat who doesn't want to play!! I can't remember the food she was on but it was a tin of mousse type food that apparently kept them fuller for longer. Could have fooled me as she asked for food constantly!!

She ended up with lots of other health conditions and prescribed medical food so we had to just stop trying for the weight loss eventually.

@Plump82 I'm sorry to hear your cat had lots of health conditions.

Agree about the playing...our cat doesn't want to charge about however much we try to tempt her to, although I'm sure if we threw a few Dreamies up the stairs she'd be there like a shot!

She likes to watch bits of string being pulled and hidden for her to pounce on... lovely but not much of a workout.

Yes our old girl did lots of watching and not a lot of moving!

I’m surprised the vet said she’s overweight unless it’s different for girl cats. Mine is roughly around 4.8-5kg and I asked his vet if he was ok weight wise and he is perfectly acceptable. Google cat body condition chart and that might give you a better idea. Mine still goes in at the right places so maybe that’s why he’s been classed as fine

Having exactly same problem, cat is on steroids, and I’d already been fairly strict in food. Vet suggested weightloss would benefit, vet nurse sent a plan which had way more calories than i was giving…they said to stick to what i was doing but check my ‘by eye’ portions were ok- anyway after strictly weighing food for 4 weeks the cat has gained weight.

@PersuadingAnneElliot The Royal Canin appetite control one seems to work by basically making them feel full and satisfied after eating but is not calorie dense. I think it has more fibre or something in it.

We had this with our last cat - we essentially had to starve her to get her to lose weight, everything was weighed, and the only treats she got were bits of poached chicken. It was a miserable time for everyone and it took ages! She did go out but was more a “lie and snooze in the sun” cat than a “charging round the neighbourhood” cat. We avoided going to fat club, but I think mainly because of Covid and restricted services in the surgery.

Our boy we have now is 6kg and vet is happy with that - I asked why it had been such a different story with our girl who was much lighter, and the vet (same vet) said “he’s male, and he’s ginger” 🤷🏻‍♀️

@autumn1610 I think she could do with losing some weight am just baffled that she's actually gained weight after all the things we've been doing! It might be different for males and females, I've seen some tiny female cats and our girl is definitely not tiny.

@elaeocarpus noooo, oh that must be so frustrating, for you and your cat!

My little grey cat weighs 6.5 kg. She is quite round, but doesn’t seem that fat. Our tabby looks much bigger (he’s a Norwegian Forest, so a bigger build) only weighs 4 kg. They have the same food, she is more active than him, so I don’t know why she’s porky.

My cat put on 0.5 kg which is a lot even for a British Shorthair. She never even had treats and was raw fed. I’ve put her on a weight control food, she literally gets 16g of dry food twice a day, it seems so little. I could see some weight loss after a few weeks but this is a lot less than she was recommended for her weight group, I just kept reducing the portion.

Ignore the guidelines on packaging they always suggest more than they need. Switch to dry food only. Ask the vet for a measuring cup with a mark on how much food your cat should have a day, measure it out daily and don't give her any more than that. Thats what i had to do, my cat also had expensive weight management biscuits.

@Judystilldreamsofhorses I thought there would be some variation for males and females but still surprised at that, particularly saying he's okay as he's ginger 🤔.

When we first got her she was a bit lighter but not much and was generally laid back about food, didn't finish her bowls of either wet or dry and no stalking us as soon as we went into the kitchen. Now as her bowl is always empty it seems to trigger her asking constantly for more and being just so fixated.

To be honest I can completely sympathise with her...I know if my jeans feel a bit tight and I start to watch what I'm eating then I'm suddenly ravenous all the time and obsessed with food!

@MrsSchadenfreude she's beautiful!

It's strange isn't it...some other cats I know have a lot more to eat than ours but aren't overweight...bigger wet pouches and more often and constant dry in bowls to graze on as well as daily treats.

Not saying this is how it should be but feel for my hungry cat gaining weight on very little!

Gorgeous. I f she's a British Blue, she ought to be heavier and rounder than most cats. She looks the right weight to me.

@Spargaszezon and @ToadRage yes I think I'll have to just keep reducing it below the guidelines but also check when we're back at the vets how that will affect her nutritionally.

It's always been weighed out on digital scales so definitely is accurate and she hasn't had any treats for weeks, in fact she's gained weight through us being stricter so just not sure how that's happening.

I think its largely due to different activity levels - ours sounds like yours, rarely goes out, doesn't really play, likes a snooze...

Bit like me really.

Pleading face in the kitchen...

Get the vet to do a blood test for underactive thyroid. If the thyroid isn't working properly every little bit she eats she won't lose even with exercise.

@PersuadingAnneElliot Aww she's lovely :)