Fatty Cat

[timber-]

I'm running into a problem, not sure if I should post here or in the behaviour section, even though food is tied in.

So, I've cut down the portions of food and switched to a grain free kibble. I mix wet with kibble since I can't afford all wet at the moment. I give half a chicken back at lunch time with skin removed.

The problem is that the boys are looking for food. I keep the canned food on top of the fridge. They have been getting up there and shredding the plastic wrap trying to get to the cans, and are acting ravenous during feeding time.

Cheddar needs to loose weight but it's making him act up, totally not like him as he's always been a non-destructive kitty.

[dinky]

Timber, if I were you, I would up your guys food intake. A cat that is hungry will not be a happy kitty. BUT at the same time, I would also up their exercise. The lazer light is great and my cats will chase that wee red light for hours. Also, a piece of string being held by you racing through the house will allow them to chase it. My kitties are all indoor cats like yours, but I spend time with them every evening encouraging them to run through the house. Ping pong balls are another great exercise toy. I could never bear to see my babies hungry - they still eat kitten food which is higher in fat - but they are encouraged to run and chase balls etc. Lots of luck with your two.

[fecto's mum]

Hi Timber. I agree with Dinky. Hungry cats aren't happy. I am an easy touch as regards food and feed all my cats when they 'ask'. They have dried food down all the time and I feed different cats different things. Big Fooze gets grain free, he's on Encore and Cosma at the mo. Fecto eats ANYTHING!! Barnes eats only dry, Inky east Felix AGAIL and Swirl eats both wet and dry. Huggins eats with whoever is eating at the time! Both Cheddar and Devon are young cats and probably still growing and filling out so I wouldn't restrict their food. Have you tried the internet for cheaper food, I get great deals. Huggins keeps all our on their toes although they are lazy. Personally I wouldn't be too worried about their weight unless the vet says it is damaging their health.

[timber-]

Will do. Thank you guys.

[timber-]

I'm finally finished school, now on the hunt for work. Hopefully I find something soon that will enable me to have my cats on wet food.

I was wondering how much canned food you feed your cats daily. I know every cat is different, just want an idea of how much is needed. I was also wondering if anyone knows if wet or dry food is more fattening.

[fecto's mum]

Personally I find it hard to say how many tins as only Fecto eats tinned food, he eats a tin to himself spread throughout the day. Inky will eat 2 pouches a day, Big Fooze has 2 70g tins a day. Huggins, Swirl and Barnes are hard to calculate because they eat small amounts all the time. I did have a big tom cat who ate 2 tins a day to himself and hoovered any leftovers, he also went out and caught rabbits to eat as well.

I think dried food is more fattening as it has a higher protein content. Before Fecto lost all his teeth he ate a lot of dried food and he got quite fat.

[Kirsten]

I've just read Your Cat by Elizabeth Hodgkins who is an American vet who specialised in treating cats before she retired, particularly seriously overweight and/or diabetic cats. She's not advocating raw food, although she says it's good for cats, but she is advocating wet food.

Her reasoning is that the majority of dry food is made predominantly of carbohydrate, plant sources coated in fat and flavour to make it palatable to cats. But cats' natural diet is protein and fat from killed animals, with very little plant material or other carbs, and dry food doesn't replicate it at all. She says that wet food is much more suitable for cats and replicates their natural diet better.

She gives multiple case studies throughout the book of overweight and/or diabetic cats who were fed predominantly on dry food, including "diet" or "light" food. She reports that switching the cats to wet food facilitated much better weight loss and in most cases, got their diabetes under control so well the cats no longer needed insulin, and when they did still need it, their blood sugars were more stable and they needed lower doses.

I've lent the book to a friend so I can't give more detail, but it's worth a read if you're interested in cat diets. It's convinced me to switch Pete from dry breakfasts and wet dinners to two wet meals with a small amount of high protein dry food in his activity feeder.

It's also worth looking at the calorie and nutritional content of dry food compared to wet. I emailed Iams, Purina, Pets at Home and Go Cat about the calorie content of their food (which isn't on the packaging) and even the diet stuff is over 300 kcal per 100g, with protein content of under 30% for most of them. On the other hand, Thrive 90% chicken dry food is 186 kcal per 100g and has a protein content of over 80%. The wet foods I've investigated - Felix, Kitekat, Iams, Whiskas and Tesco - are all between 70-95 kcal per 100g pouch, with well over 80% protein.

As far as raw food goes, she says that many people worry about food poisoning for cats who eat raw diets, but she points out that cats who would otherwise be killing live prey and eating it, perhaps caching a large kill and eating it over several days, are unlikely to get food poisoning from meat.

The book made sense to me, and I'm comfortable that a wet food diet with a small amount of dry is the right thing for Pete. I've also scrapped the Dreamies after I saw him gagging on the dryness of one but still desperately trying to eat it, and his treats now are Thrive freeze-dried meat and fish pieces.

[timber-]

Thank you so much for the info. I will see if I can find the book.

[angieh]

Thank you Kirsten for your post - most informative.