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 🙂

struggled with this with my cat too. What worked was Royal Canin satiety dry food which gave him the volume he craved but not the calories he didn’t need. It’s also critical to weigh the food portions… don’t use scoops or cups or guessing. Weighing is the only thing that guarantees accurate portion control. He went from 8.5kg to 5kg and it did take ages but he’s done really well.

Ours looked like he was getting a bit podgy when we were keeping him in most of the time, not quite a rescue but a no longer wanted. Now he's out in the day I think he's looking a bit skinny, when he was in a lot he was always begging for food. He still does, but only a few times a day instead of constantly. Perhaps it will happen naturally if you can let them out soon.

Gorgeous 💝
give her 25% less food at each meal for a couple of weeks and see how it goes.

He’s out and about all the time so possibly he’s carrying muscle - I don’t think he looks chonky, whereas our girl definitely did a bit.

@PersuadingAnneElliot Your cat doesn’t look fat based on this photo.

As per our local vet.Be careful not to reduce food intake too fast as it can affect the kidneys.
Yes I have a fat cat.

My old boy is 5.3 kg and is underweight!

We did this. Jam jar marked with a line for a days worth. That's all he got. Yes he begged for food and still does sometimes but if you are consistent with feeding time then they get used to it and only hassle you then!

I'm sceptical about the lighter food, I wonder if it's like human diet food, carb heavy and not satisfying at all. Almost better to eat a smaller portion of richer food like I do on keto.

Dcat has gone from 5.1 kh to 4.6 in the past year maybe. Senior version of his usual food. Vet is happy.

Well that's exactly what to do then. Throw a few tiny bits of treats she likes - and intersperse them with low cal ones too. Put one or two in one of those puzxle bslls, so they're hard to get out.

Thanks everyone for all your replies, they're much appreciated.

@Judystilldreamsofhorses what a gorgeous boy he is!

@Spargaszezon I think it's the angle of the photo... unfortunately she does need to lose some weight.

All of us are trying to get her to move and play more definitely although she's been in the huff with me today as I've ignored her hungry pleading.

Hoping things improve for her soon as we'd love our happy affectionate girl back!