My cat is huge.. How do i thin him out?%26#92;
Answers:
Hi there.cats can be placed on a diet, but must be done slowly and carefully, which I'll include the steps to help you do this below. This method is best as cats are prone to hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease--http://maxshouse.com/feline_hepatic_lipi. if they are starved.
Most cats become overweight two ways: first, if they are free fed (food that is available all the time). Secondly, many cat food contain high levels of carbohydrates such as corn, corn meal and soy. A cat can never feel satisfied because of the carbs so they keep eating more. Cats are obligate carnivores so a diet higher in animal proteins is more beneficial to keep them lean and healthy. Corn, corn meal and soy have no nutritional value as they are used as fillers to help bind the kibble together so they don't crumble in the packaging and corn is also used to fatten slaughter quicker as well.
A healthy adult male should weigh between 10-16 pounds give or take a little more/less depending on the breed background of the cat. Your vet can best determine what weight is the ideal goal for you to so you won't accidentally overestimate.
Cats should eat a serving of 1/2 cup - 3/4 in total divided twice a day (e.g. morning and evening before bedtime--12 hours apart). If your kitty is eating more than this gradually cut back the amount by 1/16 one week at a time until you get to the ideal serving. Sometimes it's better to feed the cat multiple times throughout the day so he doesn't feel too depraved waiting the full 12 hours..perhaps like every 4 hours if your schedule permits.
Additionally, changing food brands/type suddenly with any cat will cause stomach distress as well as diarrhea in cats. You will need to gradually change his food to the new brand over a course of several weeks. How you do this is to take 3/4 of the old food and mix it together with 1/4 of the new food for one week. Then 1/2 of the new with 1/2 of the old for another week. Finally, 3/4 of the new food mixed with 1/4 of the old for a week before finally 100% of the new food. Please keep in mind that some cats absolutely just don't like some brands of foods either so you may need to consider another brand and then again gradually mix the old kind with the new one to help her adjust. It just cannot be done any other way without making the cat very sick.
Furthermore, cat's should eat more of a premium food to keep their coat healthy and to help minimize hairballs as well. Most cat food available on the market is sub-standard even though they spend a considerable amount of money on advertising. Royal Canin is one of the better brands available in a pet store that doesn't contain the ingredients, corn, corn meal or soy all which are bad for a cats diet. These are in almost every commercial cat food products (Iams, Science Diet, Puria Whiskas, etc) if you read the ingredient label. Here's a direct link for Royal Canin: http://www.royalcanin.us/catfood..
There are higher premium quality foods generally found at smaller specialty pet stores, which also contains essential quality nutrients and no byproducts such as:
Innova EVO: http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=p.
California Natural: http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=p.
Nature's Variety Prairie: http://www.naturesvariety.com/content.la.
Wellness: http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/cats/wel.
Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul: http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssou.
.and many more if you'd like to consider trying. Cats who eat the premium foods tend to not feel as hungry and their coats and overall health is also quite visibly noticeable.
Long-term medical care will cost more when a cat eats sub-standard food. Just like humans if we eat junk food all the time eventually we will have health problems which will require expensive medical care too.
I would talk to your vet about Hill's Science Diet foods. They're the best when it comes to consistency and nutrition. I've toured their factory and it's awesome. They have foods made specifically for weight maitenance, so I would look into those. You can buy Hill's Science only at specialty stores, such as Petco, or your local vet's office.
Most brands of cat food have a "weight control" formula. That's a good place to start.Make sure you're not giving him too much food, too. They don't really need a huge amount. Also, play with him more so he gets exercise (pull around a string for him to chase or something.)
starve him
Use senior formula rather than weight control. It is much better and has better stuff in it. Also, do not free feed your cat.. feed it 1x a day per manufacturer directions. Dont feed science diet, its full of fillers.
first of all take him to the vet to make sure he is healthy and there isn't a medical reason that he has gained weight
then if he is healthy don't free feed, have scheduled feeding schedule. look at the package to see how much they recomend feeding for your cat's weight and do the least in the range. if you are feeding at schduled feedings decrease the food by 10%. if a cat looses weight too fast it will screw up it's liver.
make sure you are feeding quality food, the first ingredient must be meat.
and get your cat excercizing play with them with a string toy and get some toys that your cat can play with on his own.
good luck!
It's called the "Catkins" diet, high meat protein and appropriate fillers if you feed dry food. All the premium foods use NO CORN in their food formulations. Hill's has corn, it's more expensive and not a good food especially for an overweight cat. Read the ingredient label on any food you consider buying.
The best foods have meat sources (not meat by-products) as their first two ingredients and the third is usually a filler such as brown rice, oats, peas, tapioca etc. Corn is used to fatten slaughter animals who have only a two-year life span, if that.
A small, owner-operated pet store is the best place to find these foods. We have a pet discount store in my area which is carrying the better foods so I am fortunate in that. It is worth whatever you have to pay and your cat will lose weight slowly, certainly not gain any more.
Click on my name at the icon for the process you should use to switch from one dry food to another.
buy him a light food or a weight management food
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