Fat cat!

[sarah5]

My 8 year old moggy is getting, shall we say, a little on the large side! I had not really noticed it but we have had a few visitors recently who haven't been for a while and ALL have commented on how fat he is getting.

Of course, everyone makes a laugh and a joke about it but really it's rather serious and I want to help my poor cat out.

I have started feeding him Hills Science Plan "Light". I am also delighted that he and our new kitten play for ages chasing one another and leaping all over the place, which will also help.

Is there anything else I can do?

[MrsH]

We had this problem about 8 months ago. Although our 2 cats are only young, they're not particularly active. They get one meal a day of "light" and one meal of ordinary "adult". There has been a definite improvement, a gentle weightloss which has now stabilised, and no further action is needed. The vet's advice was to feed the quantity stated for the weight your cat should be, not the weight that it currently is.

Keep an eye on his weight loss as it sounds as though Thomas will be getting plenty of exercise!

[Amber]

The best thing you can do really, is to have a chat with your vet. A lot of the 'light' diets, so not actually encourage weight loss at all - they just prevent the weight from being gained further. Hills, being a fairly expensive brand may be different in this respect, having never tried it I don't really know but that's just my experience from the light diets

The exercise will help a lot. Once you have started the diet, weigh him in 2 weeks time just to make sure that the weight is coming off, then weigh every month from then onwards to monitor his weight loss. Your vet or nurse should be able to give you an ideal inital target weight. When the target weight is almost there, weigh again every 2 weeks until the target is reached.

I fed Amber on Royal Canin Obesity Management and she has done fantastic! She weight 6.25kg in October, and she is now at her target of 5kg

Well done you for noticing the weight loss and deciding to do something about it! Unfortunately, so many cat owners are in denial over their cats weight, or they don't see the bigger problem. Obesity can, as in humans, lead to all sorts of problems in later life, such as diabetes, arthritis, heart problems, breathing difficulties etc. You are doing the right thing by helping your boy on his way to a healthier lifestyle

[mable1718]

i agree amber i would go to the vet and chat to her about ti but i hope he loses some weight soon.

when my dad gave us his cat misty he was a little on the large side so we fed her hills science plan light and made sure she was going out side to get plenty of excercise

[Fran]

Well done for taking his weight gain seriously. I'd be inclined to get a quick check up at the vets, just to rule out a medical problem which may be contibuting to the weight gain. Then, if he gets a clean bill of health you could encourage more play with feathers on sticks, laser pens etc.. Don't allow the weight to drop off him too quickly though as this can lead to serious health problems. Good luck and do let us know how you get on

[dinahsmum]

All good advice. I think those of us without children forget too quickly that, although our cats may no longer be kittens, they still have a playful streak and can easily expend energy in play. If you have kids it's easy - they just play with the cat naturally.
There are lots of possible toys, from the simple 'hand-crafted' like a piece of string or feather on a stick, to the manufactured ones.
I'd suggest finding something your cat loves to play with and aim to put at least one 10 minute period aside to play with him every day.

[sarah5]

Thanks everyone for your fab advice as always

I will weigh him I think and find out what he is now, then weigh him again in a couple of weeks. I stupidly hadn't even considered weighing him doh !

So what SHOULD he weigh - does anyone know? He is 8 years old and actually has always been a little overweight, it is only recently that I have realised that he probably is actually classed as obese poor thing.

Going to weigh him now, will report back when I have done the deed

[sarah5]

*ahem* just weighed him he is 5.5 kg yikes! I think he was 4 kg a couple of years back when he looked quite well, so shall I aim for that????

[charliebubs]

5.5 isn't that big is it???????!!!?!?!??!!

I have no idea what the ideal weight is for a cat

Hmmmmmmmm - sorry I haven't been much help at all!!! lol

[charliebubs]

Found this website for you Sarah..................

http://www.kittens-lair.net/cat-heal...for-a-cat.html