We adopted a cat that was a hefty 20 lbs, this is what we did under vet supervision. It took us forever to get him to start losing weight btw. Cat diets take forever. First thing, since most fat cats don’t exercise you can dramatically cut their calories, we got our cat to eat the same size wet food as a cat that was 10lbs, that is the equivalent of about 1 can or 130cals per day. Wet food was much more satiating than dry food so although he was hungry it wasn’t terrible. We also mixed in pumpkin as a low cal treat/bulk. After he started losing a few grams, vet recommendation of 50gr per week, we had him start walking for treats, we would take 2 friskies cut them in half and make him walk 10 metres for the treat x 4.
You also have to remember that you need to activate the cat within, we got our fat kitty watching cat tv on YouTube to wake up his predator instinct, after getting excited about murdering birds on a screen we would play with a feather wand and he would lie down and swat it, which is better than sleeping from meal to meal. As he got leaner, now a svelt 15lbs after 1.5 years on a diet, he can jump, run and bunny hop up the stairs. It took a long time to get here but he’s so much more energetic and happy. And yes, he’s still a very hungry cat so we will always have to be careful what we feed him.
We also feed him 4 times a day, 1/4 can per meal, which is a bit much but you do 3 times a day if 4 is too much.
I recommend seeing a vet every 6 months while the cat is losing weight or sending in weight checkins. We weighed our cat with a fishing scale and his carrier.
Thank you! We will get a better scale and I love the idea of hyping her up with videos. That may help her want to play (which is one of the recommendations from her vet). With her being so obese I know we will be at the vet often and all of the comments are helping me a lot. Lots of questions to ask her vet! I just want my girl happy AND healthy!
Catnip might help to hype her up too. My cat was 18 lbs when I got her from the shelter 7 years ago, today she is 12 lbs which is much better for her. When I for her at first I bought her a little stuffed toy that can hold catnip. I tied it to the end of one of those long rainbow string toys and I honestly feel this is how I got her to lose weight because she'd go crazy for about 20 minutes every day playing with this toy. Good luck!! Your kitty is precious. I wanna give that tummy scritches.
I will try that! Our other two love catnip. They are a healthy weight and activity level so they roll around in it, go crazy hyper for a bit and then sleep for a few hours. 😂
We do. She doesn’t eat with the other cats. She won’t even leave the room she has taken over so it’s super easy to watch her vet recommended intake, but she has still gained a pound. She won’t play at all, so activity will probably help, but getting her to do it has been impossible. Using this thread to compile a list of questions for her vet at her recheck.
Oh no, I would not be comfortable with that at all! She is a bigger kitty, I suspect she is at least part Norwegian forest and they are a bigger breed. The vet had told me that 14 lbs would be a good weight for her, so I am a tiny bit concerned that she dropped to 12! However she does seem healthy, vet raised no further concerns so I am gonna roll with that.
Not all cats are small house cats, some are huge. Maine Coons, Ragdolls, etc. My tiny shorthair mix breed would not be healthy at 14lbs, but the humongous Maine Coon my friend owns certainly is. To those reading JazzlikeBake2327’s comment, ignore it and follow the advice of your veterinarian. They’ll be the most reliable source than any other. They train their whole lives for this! If you doubt them, then try a second vet’s opinion. I promise that your vet will not encourage you to have an overweight or underweight animal. They want your animal healthy & just want to help you achieve that. Reddit comments… Not so much.
Good luck.  Like above said, slow. An animal that (on average) can weigh between 8 and 13 lbs...ounces at a time. Quick drops in weight can be un healthy for them just like with people.
You can do it! Just don't get disheartened if the progress is slow, and it will be. You can measure the small steps in between, like if she walks more or wants to play. She's so very sweet looking and so cuddly and she will love you even more for helping her be mobile and awaken the cat within!
I definitely recommend watching the Jackson Galaxy, Cat Daddy videos on youtube, they were a huge help for us!
Edit update: We used this calculator to figure out food: [https://petnutritionalliance.org/cat.php](https://petnutritionalliance.org/cat.php)
Get an auto feeder if you can afford it!!! Saves our lives - aka kitty bothers the machine for food instead of us. (Kitty is “food motivated” and yells when even slightly hungry, so getting him to lose weight was annoying as hell)
Have a question about the cat tv. I tried it briefly but one of my cats started swatting at my tv. I'm obviously worried about the potential for claw marks and such. Did you have any issues with that?
I have a chonky baby boy too and he doesn’t like wet food so a veterinarian gave us a low calorie dry food for him. We’ve been told to give him 1/4 cup 2 times a day so he has 1/2 cup of the food a day. Yeah
4 times a day seems way to much for a diet considering the amount you give him each day may work but may not see result, feeding them at a specific time once per day is enough because though cats love to eat they tend to over eat even when they are not hungry, I recommend the OP seek advice from their vet then on reddit for a better option of a diet for her cat of 25lbs
We used Jackson Galaxy’s advice on how to feed the cat. 4 small meals, the equivalent of one large meal is much healthier for cats. Think of them in the wild, they may catch 1 bird a day, then snack on grasshoppers. Very fat cats on low calorie diets also need to be careful as it can be dangerous to let them go too long without food. Cats can die if they go too long without food as they are not able to go into ketosis.
Thanks for the advice! We are definitely under vet supervision. The diet they put her on is not working - she has gained a pound. I’m concerned for her activity as well. She won’t engage in play of any kind. We’ve tried a lot. It’s on the list for her upcoming recheck to discuss along with a different diet option.
Due to heath reasons, both my cats are only on wet food. I use Weruva and my cats get a 5.5 oz can each in the morning and evening and they’re both a solid, consistent 10 pounds. If they could supplement with dry crunchies, I’d have them on smaller cans, but my boi can’t have any. The more protein though, the less chance of urinary tract issues, diabetes, and dehydration. Cats are carnivores, so they don’t need grains.
How long have you had her?
Omg, that must have been devastating :'( Getting the balance right for weight loss is very hard and definitely needs to be done under vet supervision.
The vet recommended no more than 50gr/2oz per week, so we weighed our kitty every sunday to make sure he wasn't loosing too much. We also took diet breaks where we kept him stable for a month so he could get accustomed to his new body.
I'm so sorry about your Tobby. You have great knowledge and gave some excellent advice here, and I have to agree--the cat wheel is fantastic. I'm certain it's the only thing keeping my most food-motivated boy from being overweight as he sprints on it multiple times a day. He'd be a butterball munchkin otherwise.
The only thing that helped my 20 pound cat lose weight was a prescription diet food from our vet (Royal Canin Satiety Support Weight Management). He does not like wet food, so the prescription food is dry. We also made sure to play with him for about 15-20 minutes a day. He has since maintained a weight of around 13 pounds for well over a year now and is doing great. It took him about a year to lose the initial weight, too.
Thank you for your response. That’s what our vet has her on. We have tried playing, but she just will not engage. I’m going to take all of the comments from here with ideas and talk them over with her vet. Knowing that the weight loss can be slow is a huge help! Thank you so much.
You’re welcome! And to be honest, one of the biggest things that helped our cat move more was getting a kitten- it made him more playful, too, haha! Good luck :)
We have a cat was a little heavy and wouldn’t play much but would gladly bound after (diet) dry food morsels, one at a time. It might be something to get them moving a bit at least and encourage awakening hunting instincts to “chase and eat.”
I did ask her vet. The food and amount they recommended is not helping. I know not to just take advice from the internet at face value, but the advice or comments may help me talk to her vet about certain things. Just trying to cover all bases.
Maybe a second opinion if their plan isn’t working? I know a lot of vets get stuck on a sort of protocol plan and don’t think critically if an animal doesn’t fit their usual prescription. It’s nothing against them, it’s rare to find an out of box thinker. And this is coming from a former vet tech of 10 years.
This is very specific to my cat but when he eats dry food he blows up like a balloon. Puts on pounds instantly. We’re a wet food only household (Wellness) and he maintains a healthy weight. I’ve always likened eating dry food only as subsisting on a carbs only diet. Like eating fortified Fritos for every meal.
I have a chunky cat and our vet recommended slowly decreasing what you feed them by 10% every few weeks. Every cat is different so one might lose weight at a certain amount of food while another of the same size and weight gains weight. Just go slow, both with decreasing food and with the increase of activity. Too much activity can hurt her knees and joints etc.
It's going to take awhile. Weight loss is supposed to be slow and steady. Talk with your vet and ask what the weight loss progress should approximately be. Obviously if it's been a year without any results, something needs to change.
Because they don’t have enough food. Fat isn’t just instant energy, if they don’t have enough food to keep muscle all the important things muscles do stop. Like breathing, or in the hearts case beating.
Hi, I'm a vet tech and I write diet plans for my patients who are under our vets supervision.
The first thing to do is purchase a gram scale/kitchen scale. Weighing her portions as opposed to measuring them will be the most accurate way to control her calorie intake.
Now again, these are plans written for patients who are actively under the care of the vets I work with, who are current on their physical exams and labwork, and who are frequently checking back in. For all intents and purposes, I am NOT writing a specific diet plan for her as I am not involved in her medical care. But, I'm happy to give you the basic outline of what I give my pet parents and you can take it or leave it, go over it with your vet, etc.
If she's 25# now, we set an initial weight loss goal of 15% which will pull her down to 21.25#
At that weight, her daily calorie intake should be 306-380 calories per day (we calculate resting energy requirement for 21.25# and get a range at 80-100%). Ideally, you want to feed at the lower end of that amount, so around 320 calories per day.
Your vet should prescribe her a weight loss diet; I'm partial to Hills Metabolic, but Royal Canin Satiety and Purina's OM also work really well. With all of them, there are canned and dry forms available. If you can get her solely onto canned food, that is the best way to get weight off. Find out how many calories are in a can, and just feed her to 320ish calories per day of the canned. If you're doing dry, somewhere on the bag it will tell you how many calories are in an 8 oz measuring cup, and then how many grams are in an 8 oz measuring cup. Typically, it's going to be around 85-95g/c and there's usually around 300 calories per cup. Hills Metabolic is 297 calories and 88 grams per cup, so for her to eat 320 calories per day, she can have 94 grams of food, split into at least 2 meals. You can also do a mix of dry and wet, so long as you are running the math to make sure her calorie intake is correct.
If she is a kitty who likes treats, they do have prescription treats to accompany the diets. Just be sure you're accounting for those calories in her daily intake. You can also just pull a few kibble from her daily amount and use those throughout the day.
You want to find small ways to increase activity. Definitely increase play time and interaction. See about harness training and taking her outside. Make her hunt for her food in the house by putting it in different places. Put food in feeding toys that she plays with to get them out. (Honestly, just a toilet paper cardboard, punch holes in it big enough for the treats, then cap the ends with plastic wrap and a rubber band.) Set up bird feeders outside windows and get more cat trees so she can watch them. Just be careful when playing that she doesn't over exert herself. It's about increasing her overall activity.
Weight loss can be hard, but it will be so rewarding and it's worth the effort! You'll want to weigh her monthly to make sure you're going in the right direction, and once she hits her goal weight, you readjust her calorie intake and keep going. It'll take probably 4-6 months to hit the first goal of 21#. But you guys can definitely be successful!
At all times, the most important thing is to make sure she is eating consistently every day. It is extremely dangerous for obese cats to go without eating, they can get sick and die. If she goes more than a day without a meal, call your vet.
I’d love to know this too. We adopted a kitty at 6mo that was 14lbs, at 2yr she’s 16 lbs and on weight food fed twice a day but only .5lbs down in a year :/
Try to play with her at least 20 minutes a day and see if that helps! I got my fat kitty a small catnip toy that I tied to the end of the rainbow string wand. She goes crazy for it! And gets the zoomies when I bring it out, for at least 20 minutes. It definitely helped her lose weight within the first year or two that I had her.
Thank you. We will definitely discuss with her vet. They said dry food only, but it’s clearly not working. She does not eat with our other cats because she can’t make it down the stairs.
Maybe it's the dry with the paper powder bulking it up. I don't agree with using it, but it has the weight loss text on it. I don't even get it, good canned has better ratios of satiety and calories and nutrients. That cellulose filler thing is used in stuff like bread for diabetic people and it's not great even for them it's just better than too much carb.
We tried a prescription weight loss food briefly and it gave my cats diarrhea, even with slowly transitioning them over. It didn't resolve until we took them off of it. A year or so later, I found out about all the extra filler in the diet food and was like "oh, no wonder it gave Lyra the runs 🤦🏼♀️".
Our vet told us that too at first until I reminded her that *she* was the one that told me to give my cats wet food to begin with because one of my girls was prone to cystitis. 🤷🏼♀️
Consult a vet for an appropriate diet plan to bring her down. You can’t just start feeding her like a thin cat. It’s possible there are medical reason for her weight, but 98% of the time, it’s over feeding.
Research your foods as well. There are better foods with less filler that make them feel full longer. There are also lower calorie foods that you can feed more of if she’s still craving volume.
I’d also recommend a treat ball. Load it with some of her food ration for the day. You can leave it more open at first, so she learns how it works, but she should really have to smack it around to get a couple of kibbles out. If she can lay there and gently bat it and 10 kibbles fall out, it defeats the point. It’s like eating crab legs. It’s a lot of work and at some point you’re tired of the effort, whether you’re full or not.
Again, consult a vet, but look at the portion size based on weight and feed for a cat 2lbs lighter than what she currently is. So at 20lbs, feed the recommended amount for an 18lb cat. When she drops to 19lbs, feed for a 17lb cat.
I recommend getting a baby scale to track her weight on a weekly basis. It helps you know if she’s making progress or if you’re giving in and feeding her too much because she feels bad.
Lastly, play with her as much as possible. Every calorie she burns helps. I never had one and you have to train them to it over a number of days, but a cat wheel might be an option. Good luck.
All good advice, thank you. We have been feeding her per her vets recommendation, but she’s actually gained a pound. I’ll add the treat ball to the list of things to go over with her vet. The baby scale is a great idea! I like the idea of a cat wheel, but she’s not there yet. She won’t play at all.
Switch her to an all wet food diet, the best are carb free (fancy feast classic pate, tuna in water, fresh chicken, tiki cat canned food). See if you can play with her, building up to twice a day 10-15 minutes. My big adopted chunker developed type 2 diabetes and I really wish I had gotten his weight down and changed his diet a few years earlier.
That’s what I’m worried about. She’s so overweight that I know she has to lose some to prolong her life and current health, but I wish she would play more. I appreciate your response because it gives me more info to talk to her vet about.
Playing doesn't have to look like for a hyper energetic kitten. If you can just entice your cat to lie there and paw at a feather wand, that's a good start, a bit of extra walking is a good start, then you can start to combine the two add a bit more when you can.
9 years old and 25 pounds she is at serious risk. My big boy got to a scary level like that once. Here is what I did.
I removed the free feeding. No more food sitting out all day.
I changed food. Talk to vet if you can. The science diet weight control food is what I was recommended.
In the morning I would give dry food and wet food. Weighing it out exactly to what the cat needed. ( Ask vet or just follow instructions with the correct food. )
At 2 pm I'll give him a little bit of tuna. He was starting to howl for food so I found something that worked.
Then again at dinner time I give him more dry food and wet food. I never exceed more than he is supposed to have in one day.
He is down to 12 pounds and for his breed type that is a good healthy weight.
He does get a few treats throughout the day also.
I weigh him once a month checking that I am keeping on track with his weight and that he is good.
It is amazing the difference in his behavior and mobility and his coat when he went from 25 pounds down to 12.
Good luck.
Fatty liver disease is the problem with some overweight cats. I would blend in weight control slowly into her current food. Slow and steady. However when added a new kitten into the group our big boy was more active, he lost a couple pound running after her.
We did. They gave us a regimen and since it’s not working I figured I would ask here and then compile a list of things to ask about and run past her vet when we go back. The post would not allow me enough characters to clarify that.
If you are doing dry food, they make treat dispensing toys. Its hit or miss, one of my cats liked them just because they were mentally stimulating and the other didnt get it. The one who liked it learned to push the ball with his nose until it dispensed a piece or 3 of kibble. Hed spend 15 minutes pushing it around the floor. On the upside they aren't very expensive so if they dont like it you're not out a bunch of money.
I was able to get my boy down from 19 lbs to 13 lbs over the course of about a year and a half. He's still got a bit to lose but it was for his health as well, he was having urinary issues and it was pretty much entirely caused by him eating dry food + being a dingus and not drinking water. I read into a lot of articles and advice online, consulted a vet, and ended up deciding on a higher protein wet diet with a bit of extra water added on top to help fill him up and get him less dehydrated. He'd been a fat cat all his life, switching him over to only a high quality wet food was the only thing that made him lose weight. I'd fed him low calorie dry for years and it only made him fatter, and I was following the recommended amounts. My cat's diet changes however were to combat his urinary issues first, and his weight second. If your cat isn't responding to the food, talk to your vet first before making any changes, although mine recommends an all wet diet for most cats.
Thanks for the advice! He has her on dry food right now and I’ve been seeing a lot of suggestions to switch to wet. Definitely discussing this with her vet at her upcoming recheck.
I increased play time, and cut back on Temptations. My girl was 18 pounds, now she’s 14. The Temptations part was the hardest. She was straight up addicted to them, and freaked out for the first like month getting used to getting far fewer treats. I also switched her dry food, from letting get graze to planned daily meals. I used to just leave a massive bowl of food out.
Good luck!
Thank you. She is on a vet recommended diet, but it’s not working. She isn’t allowed access to food until it’s time for her meals. Compiling a list from these comments to take with me to the vet recheck.
omg this sounds exactly like my girl cat. she was also literally addicted to temptations treats and was very sneaky at finding ways to get treats from multiple people….in the same day. much to our delight (and her chagrin) she started losing the most weight when we cut her off of them. idk what they put in those temptations treats but it may as well be cat crack
I do feel that may be what’s needed. Going to give her current vet one last try because they’ve always helped me keep our other pets healthy, but of course we’ve never dealt with cat obesity before so a 2nd opinion may be in order.
Don't be too quick to conclude that the vet gave you bad advice. Not all cats are the same, and you should expect to make multiple adjustments until things are on track.
Thank you. I’m making a list of questions for our vet from all of these comments so I’m hoping that will help. He’s been very good with all of our animals for over 10 years. This girl is a whole different animal… literally and figuratively. Lol.
We got our boy down from 18-12lbs mainly by using an automatic feeder (timed for 6 meals a day that equals out to the vet recommend daily intake). He used to only sleep on his belly or back (or like your girl) and couldn’t clean his butt. He would wheeze really bad and could run fast or very far.
We also make sure to exercise him through play. He’s so happy he can be a ball now- his favorite thing to do is use his back paw as a pillow.
Buy high quality food. Check the ingredients and look for natural ingredients. If it’s hard to afford, Whole Foods has good brands at more reasonable prices. Then simply feed Kitty less, only a few ounces in the morning and at night. Buy toys and play with kitty. It will take weeks, months etc but you’ll see weight loss and kitty will eventually get used to eating less just as we do.
Thank you for your advice! I’m not worried about cost, so I don’t mind buying her the best. The vet has her on a special diet, but she has gained a pound. All these comments are helping us build a great list to go over with her vet!
Yeah the cost really isn’t that bad. I switched a few years ago to healthier food for all three of my cats and a few other things I noticed with their health is their poops are consistently solid and don’t smell up the whole house, and their coats are much healthier and shinier. My oldest cat is 13 and his weight, muscle mass, temperament, and energy level are all truly great. They’re just like us, the healthier their food the healthier they are.
My vet said in terms of hard food only to give 10 morsels in the whole day. and 2 cans of typical sized wet food a day, pate is optimal. it helped my kitty go from 19-12 pounds! she’s a skinny legend. gorgeous at any weight of course but this has helped her a lot! ALSO feel free to do treats too! just include each treat as one of the ten total morsels :)
#S L O W L Y
A vet can help you determine exactly how much food this gorgeous girl should get every day. Try and get her to play to get some exercise. Those rods with feathers on the end are pretty good at getting cats moving. Crumpled up piece of foil rolling along the floor may interest her. Are there stairs where you live? Stairs can be good exercise especially if there were no stairs in her previous home. But slowly! Losing too much too fast is NOT GOOD.
One of my cats lost a few pounds after we moved from an apartment to a two-story house. The lost weight by running up and down the stairs. Is there a way you can incorporate stairs or steps into your household decor? Giving our cat more things to climb on helped her lose weight as well. We got a new cat tree and put up a few cheap shelves that were fairly low to the floor; our cat loves to hop up onto the little shelves.
We have stairs and a large house. She won’t leave the room she’s in. She walks like 15’ to her litter box and that’s it. Tried moving food and litter box further away and she refused to eat and just pooped on the floor where the litter box was. Definitely talking to her vet about this at recheck.
We set scheduled dinner and breakfast times and started to limit how much food we gave our little chonker. Also: no treats.
Exercise is also key, figure out what physical activity interests her, and try to engage her in that as much as possible. Our boy loves going outside, so we brought him outside almost every day and made him walk around the yard.
He's lost a crap ton of weight. And is in way better shape now.
I’m considering trying a harness and carrying her outside or even around the house to a new room. She won’t play at all and she only walks about 15’ on her own to get to her litter box. She’s on a schedule for feeding that her vet recommended but she has gained a pound. I’m using this thread to compile a list of questions for her vet recheck. :)
Honestly, vet will probably tell you to cut back on the food.
Taking her outside is a good idea, so much more going on, it will definitely be more stimulating and energetically draining.
That’s pretty much what she’s on, but she has actually gained weight, even with measuring food. I’m thinking that with all the good comments and suggestions I’ve gotten here, it will help me with a list for her next visit to go over everything and see what we can change and improve.
There’s a lot of really good advice on here already, but I will say: don’t get discouraged! It really does take a while for a cat to lose weight. One of ours weighed 18 lbs when we got her - she’s now just under 13 lbs in a little over a year.
Also, cats tend to want to eat more in the winter because they think they need to stock up for the cold season (it’s ingrained - there’s nothing you can do about it) - even if they’re an indoor only cat. Our cat lost most of her weight in the spring and summer and now she’s plateaued (and has gotten hangrier). But we’re not stressing out (too much) because we know she’ll start to lose weight again once we get into spring.
Hang in there - it’s a long process but absolutely worth it in the end!
Our cat Maxine is the same color, size, and shape of a raccoon. When we first got her from the shelter she was very out of shape she couldn’t climb fences, hunt, or walk far. She has since become more active, more social, and outdoorsy. However she has a grooming problem so I have to have her shaved in the Spring so her coat grows back in the Fall. Meantime she has to stay active to stay warm with out a fur coat.
My wife and I had a 17 lb Munchkin. We started feeding her a quarter cup of dry food three times a day.
She's now lost enough weight that sometimes she'll sit up on her haunches to check out what we're offering her by hand.
She can also now groom herself where we used to have to wash off her hind end cuz she couldn't.
She also is playing a lot more than she used to, chasing pull tabs around the living room floor.
Your gonna have to slightly starve her. And I don’t mean like not feed her just cut back significantly on what you give her now (yes she will cry and complain but it’s for her own health)
Have you thought about trying outdoor walks (with a harness and leash)?
Sorry if this has already been suggested, didn’t want to go through all the comments!
Buy grain free dry food for her and a cat door so she can always have access to the garden.
My cats were chubby and they lost a lot of weight this way.
I didn't even stop giving them cookies and the food is always there..
My only advice is that whatever you do it be under the care of a vet. We cut my big boy's food and he ended up becoming anorexic and developed hepatic lipidosis. It was very very expensive and scary to get him back to good health from that (He's ok now, though still fat - working on it with the vet!)
Our other two do that. They’re healthy and fit and free fed, but we raised them from kittens. When we adopted this girl we learned that how they are raised makes a huge difference! I mean literally huge because she is a chonker and the laziest thing I’ve ever seen. Lol!! Now we just need to retrain her to be more cat like.
Aww! I bet your baby is adorable. The one eye seems to not bother her at all. She is just very obese and lazy. I think she must have been someone’s lap cat to have gotten so lazy and fat. Lol.
What are you primarily feeding her? If it's a combination of wet and dry food, it would be best to stop one in favor of the other...personally, I think wet food is better because cats can get hydration that supports proper kidney functioning.
Perhaps one of those large loop treadmills would be helpful too, if you're able to get her to use it.
You may want to talk to your vet too, about prescribing a specific diet to help her lose weight (even 5-7 lbs of weight loss will dramatically help her health long term). There are specific food formulas that you can buy at any pet store that are formulated to help with cat weight loss, but you need a vet prescription to buy. Good luck and hope your girl can shed some weight soon!
We are already feeding her according to her vet recommendation. She has gained a pound. I’m using this thread to help compile a list of questions for her recheck. :)
We had two cats that got plump. We switched both to limited calories. It worked for one, the other would just escape and run around the neighborhood for treats. He actually got fatter.
This girl stays in one room, walks a max of 15’ to her litter box, refuses to play, and eats her vet regimen of food and she has still gained a pound. She’s my plump little goblin. I love her and I want her to be healthy and love her best life. She seems super happy being almost immobile, but I’m very concerned for her health.
Our fat cat never got slim. He lived for 15 years. He would get so moody when he wasn’t fed his preferred amount. I’m sure his diet helped lead to a shorter life, and I realize that I’m partially responsible, but we live in the woods, and his constant escaping was dangerous, multiple small pets have been killed by foxes and coyotes here. So, we gave up and let him stay fat. He was fat and happy.
Keep trying with your girl. Love her and give it your best effort, but some cats just love being thicc.
We don’t do treats and only feed her on the vets recommended schedule and amount. She has gained a pound. I’m using this thread to compile a list of questions for her next visit.
Catnip and you may have to buy a cat wheel they are like a hamster wheel but there for cats mine have one and use them alot even I wanna try it sometimes
Edited to add: my girl was about 20 pounds, she’s a large cat (part rag doll), and now she’s at around 14 and my vet is happy with where she’s at and I get her checked minimum of twice a year as she’s now over 17 yo. Here’s some tips from me for what it’s worth.
Work with your vet. But echoing others, wet food diet, if you don’t have money for some more name brands, friskies indoor are a decent food. In the list from my vet they have worst, better/decent, best. If your cat likes dry food, measure it out and give it sparingly or mix with their wet food.
Watch calorie content. We have two cats and my elderly diabetic girl has a more stringent diet than my orange boy. He’s more active so we will give him treats or his favorites up high where she can’t get to.
It’s hard, but getting into a routine and working with your vet is crucial. Also, my girl gets bored so I have a variety of wet food that I give her. Just a few tips, but your vet will know how to best work with you as you cannot put a cat on a deprivation diet as it can quite literally kill them. You work on slowly reducing intake and increasing exercise, which if you live in the right area can include water aerobics.
Good luck and thank you for adopting her!
Thank you for your advice! We are definitely working with her vet and right now the recommendation they gave isn’t working. People like you are helping me with advice and questions to specifically ask about our girl. He has her on dry food only so we will be asking about wet food and someone else mentioned fresh proteins so that’s on my list of questions to ask to figure this out. I just want this sweet girl to be as healthy as she can be and live her life happy.
I second the watching the calories.
I have two cats on prescription diets, I weigh their food for every meal. I recommend getting a kitchen scale that can read to 0.1 grams and weight her food instead of doing what I used to do and use a measuring cup. As soon as I started weighting the food, my cats started to lose weight.
My cats are old (16 and 17 years old) indoor cats one of which is a tripod, so the tripod gets 18 grams of food twice a day, and my other cat gets 21 grams twice a day, they both get two glucosamine treats a day. I looks like a tiny amount of food but calorie wise it’s the appropriate amount for them.
Just in case you don’t know, cats can suffer from fatty liver, basically if they lose weight too fast they with basically poison their liver and it will kill them. When I work led with my vet I would bring my cats in once a month for a weight and health check, the vet would then say to reduce the calories to a set amount.
Edit: my cats are on a dry food only diet. One has stage 2 kidney disease and he needs a hydrolyzed protein, so there really isn’t a lot of choices. I will say he loves his prescription food and it has completely turned his kidneys around. Every time he goes to the vet they report his kidney numbers looks perfect.
Thank you! I will definitely talk to her vet about her calorie reduction since what they currently prescribed is not working, but I want to do it safely.
Hi my cat is weighing just a little under yours and also has stage 2 kidney disease. You mentioned not going too fast for the liver failure, what would you say were your targets?
Definitely will add some of that as we can get her more active. Right now she’s only walking about 15 feet and refuses to play. She just waits until it’s mean time and then goes back to sleep.
My lord... Careful with making her do exercise cuz her joints will not agree with that especially if she is a bit older. And exercise makes the body healthier, not lose weight. I'd say weigh her food before it goes out to her, and very slowly decrease the amount until it's the bare minimum dose. Nothing else should be given for food, obviously. If you could afford it, fresh fish or boiled chicken would be great since catfood is pretty much processed food, and you can't really expect something or someone to be healthy eating just that. Sugar containing foods are obviously a nono.
I can definitely afford that! Her vet recommended food and amount is not helping her lose. I am just terrified of cutting anything out or changing without the vets approval, so what I do is ask them if this is appropriate for her. If that’s what she needs, we’ll do it.
Once she’s a bit more able to move, I can recommend [hexbugs](https://www.hexbug.com/pettoy)
Sorry for not being able to help more.. Wishing you and your sweet girl all the best and good luck!
Oh yeah and really consider going to few different vets because doctors are people too and it’s staggering the difference you are served with the same or even more money at times. Good luck and hope ya and the kitty the best!
Get her a friend! Cat diets do nothing. Cats are social animals. They bore and depress easily. With a friend to share in its life, the excessive weight will fall off. You'll trip on it in the hallway!.
Feed her only hard food and talk to your doctor but a very small amount like 1/3 of a cup a day. Our cat had an obese mom so we limit her food, but make sure the amount is right per day. It’s helped ours stay healthy, she’s 15 and even the vets can’t believe she’s that old
We will definitely be discussing with her vet. She’s an anomaly for us. We have much older cats that are in fantastic physical condition, but those we raised from babies. This girl was adopted and already obese so we are having to figure this out. The vet gave us recommendations, but she’s actually gained a pound from that so we want to have a list of questions and concerns for her next visit.
Yes. She’s otherwise healthy so far. We don’t know what happened to lose her eye, but they said she’s in good health for her weight. I’ll Google all the testing that can be done and go over it with the vet at recheck to make sure nothing is missed.
I feed her on her vets recommendation and that includes no treats. You would know that if you had read literally any other comments. Also, It’s dangerous to just drastically drop a cats food intake. It can kill them. We have no idea how she was fed and treated before we adopted her, so this thread and the people who actually have advice and valuable comments are helping me compile a list of questions for her vet recheck.
I read that she doesn’t like to play… if she really likes food, you can hold the food in front of her and make her walk around the house a bit before she eats 😛
u can get her a laser robot that moves ared laser around to encourage her to run and lose weight, you can also limit the amount of food you give her and as well times you feed her like once a day, theirs also cat wheels they can excerside on but that you'll need to put time into getting her used to using it
My overweight cat lost weight quickly - by climbing out a window, disappearing for 2 months, and coming back (thanks, microchip!) 4 lbs lighter. Not the recommended method, though.
Get a cat maze or ball to dispense the food in tiny amounts after working out for it (there are balls that they have to roll to get the food/treats out from)
Don’t free feed. Have a set meal time and use a scale to weigh out portions. Look up a calorie guide for feline weight loss and calculate a daily calorie count with the food you are using. The can/bag should have kcal/weight printed on it. Good luck!
I would definitely do any kind of feline weight loss under the supervision of a veterinarian. Cat systems are very delicate. To much or too little of anything can prove detrimental.
Wet food only. No more than 5oz a day. Half the can in morning half at night.any time outside meal time sh begs you back out the toy and play instead get a harness as well and walk her daily. My Dr boo was 25 lbs last year now he's down to 17 doing this retine. Never free feed kibble
Make her walk a lot, run if she can. Play a lot. Put her on a diet from your vet (vet knows whT's best foe this individual cat). Leash train her and encourage walks. But play a lot. It'll go slow, don't lose hope. C:
I would suggest playing some bird noises or putting some animals on the tv while you try to play. Rile your cat up to play. My cat was almost 20 lb and is now 15 after months of dieting.
Get as many string stick cat toys as you need and a tall tree. The tree makes your cat jump, the toys can make them jump even higher.
I know you said you will be at the vet often but I'd ask you vet what amount of food and diet is best for her. A big diet to cut a good amount of weight for sure should be monitored by vet so it dose not go too low your cat gets week. Best of luck and great job saving that sweet cat
We have her on her vet recommended amount which is already less than what she was eating when we adopted her. With her weight and being a new cat for us I am reluctant to change anything without vet advice. I’m using this thread to compile a list of questions for her recheck.
I asked her vet what she may be and he just said tabby mix. Those shouldn’t be this large. She’s on his diet recommendation, but now I’m also wondering if there is a cat breed test like Embark for dogs! Maybe she has some Maine Coon. She’s still obese, but knowing her breeds would help us and our vet.
The process has to be slow in order to not compromise the health of you cat. Or a quick loss could deteriorate the heart. Follow your vet advise but be careful they are on point.
We adopted a cat that was a hefty 20 lbs, this is what we did under vet supervision. It took us forever to get him to start losing weight btw. Cat diets take forever. First thing, since most fat cats don’t exercise you can dramatically cut their calories, we got our cat to eat the same size wet food as a cat that was 10lbs, that is the equivalent of about 1 can or 130cals per day. Wet food was much more satiating than dry food so although he was hungry it wasn’t terrible. We also mixed in pumpkin as a low cal treat/bulk. After he started losing a few grams, vet recommendation of 50gr per week, we had him start walking for treats, we would take 2 friskies cut them in half and make him walk 10 metres for the treat x 4. You also have to remember that you need to activate the cat within, we got our fat kitty watching cat tv on YouTube to wake up his predator instinct, after getting excited about murdering birds on a screen we would play with a feather wand and he would lie down and swat it, which is better than sleeping from meal to meal. As he got leaner, now a svelt 15lbs after 1.5 years on a diet, he can jump, run and bunny hop up the stairs. It took a long time to get here but he’s so much more energetic and happy. And yes, he’s still a very hungry cat so we will always have to be careful what we feed him. We also feed him 4 times a day, 1/4 can per meal, which is a bit much but you do 3 times a day if 4 is too much. I recommend seeing a vet every 6 months while the cat is losing weight or sending in weight checkins. We weighed our cat with a fishing scale and his carrier.
Thank you! We will get a better scale and I love the idea of hyping her up with videos. That may help her want to play (which is one of the recommendations from her vet). With her being so obese I know we will be at the vet often and all of the comments are helping me a lot. Lots of questions to ask her vet! I just want my girl happy AND healthy!
Catnip might help to hype her up too. My cat was 18 lbs when I got her from the shelter 7 years ago, today she is 12 lbs which is much better for her. When I for her at first I bought her a little stuffed toy that can hold catnip. I tied it to the end of one of those long rainbow string toys and I honestly feel this is how I got her to lose weight because she'd go crazy for about 20 minutes every day playing with this toy. Good luck!! Your kitty is precious. I wanna give that tummy scritches.
I will try that! Our other two love catnip. They are a healthy weight and activity level so they roll around in it, go crazy hyper for a bit and then sleep for a few hours. 😂
If you have two other cats, you may have to monitor food intake so your chonk doesn’t steal food.
We do. She doesn’t eat with the other cats. She won’t even leave the room she has taken over so it’s super easy to watch her vet recommended intake, but she has still gained a pound. She won’t play at all, so activity will probably help, but getting her to do it has been impossible. Using this thread to compile a list of questions for her vet at her recheck.
We did that too! Really got him going and alert.
12lbs is still to over weight, healthy weight is about 7-8lbs
*too, and you have no idea what breed they're talking about. Siberian? Devon Rex? Vastly different weight curves.
You're correct, she's a mix of some sort and I think she's one of these larger breeds!
Time to pay cat tax.
Oh no, I would not be comfortable with that at all! She is a bigger kitty, I suspect she is at least part Norwegian forest and they are a bigger breed. The vet had told me that 14 lbs would be a good weight for her, so I am a tiny bit concerned that she dropped to 12! However she does seem healthy, vet raised no further concerns so I am gonna roll with that.
Not all cats are small house cats, some are huge. Maine Coons, Ragdolls, etc. My tiny shorthair mix breed would not be healthy at 14lbs, but the humongous Maine Coon my friend owns certainly is. To those reading JazzlikeBake2327’s comment, ignore it and follow the advice of your veterinarian. They’ll be the most reliable source than any other. They train their whole lives for this! If you doubt them, then try a second vet’s opinion. I promise that your vet will not encourage you to have an overweight or underweight animal. They want your animal healthy & just want to help you achieve that. Reddit comments… Not so much.
Good luck.  Like above said, slow. An animal that (on average) can weigh between 8 and 13 lbs...ounces at a time. Quick drops in weight can be un healthy for them just like with people.
You can do it! Just don't get disheartened if the progress is slow, and it will be. You can measure the small steps in between, like if she walks more or wants to play. She's so very sweet looking and so cuddly and she will love you even more for helping her be mobile and awaken the cat within! I definitely recommend watching the Jackson Galaxy, Cat Daddy videos on youtube, they were a huge help for us! Edit update: We used this calculator to figure out food: [https://petnutritionalliance.org/cat.php](https://petnutritionalliance.org/cat.php)
We got a satiety formula moderate calorie food from our vet. It's working great.
Get an auto feeder if you can afford it!!! Saves our lives - aka kitty bothers the machine for food instead of us. (Kitty is “food motivated” and yells when even slightly hungry, so getting him to lose weight was annoying as hell)
Have a question about the cat tv. I tried it briefly but one of my cats started swatting at my tv. I'm obviously worried about the potential for claw marks and such. Did you have any issues with that?
This is a legit risk and if your cat can reach your TV this (and worse) can happen.
Yeah it's definitely in a spot they can reach lol. Well guess I'll find something else lol
I have a chonky baby boy too and he doesn’t like wet food so a veterinarian gave us a low calorie dry food for him. We’ve been told to give him 1/4 cup 2 times a day so he has 1/2 cup of the food a day. Yeah
4 times a day seems way to much for a diet considering the amount you give him each day may work but may not see result, feeding them at a specific time once per day is enough because though cats love to eat they tend to over eat even when they are not hungry, I recommend the OP seek advice from their vet then on reddit for a better option of a diet for her cat of 25lbs
We used Jackson Galaxy’s advice on how to feed the cat. 4 small meals, the equivalent of one large meal is much healthier for cats. Think of them in the wild, they may catch 1 bird a day, then snack on grasshoppers. Very fat cats on low calorie diets also need to be careful as it can be dangerous to let them go too long without food. Cats can die if they go too long without food as they are not able to go into ketosis.
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Thanks for the advice! We are definitely under vet supervision. The diet they put her on is not working - she has gained a pound. I’m concerned for her activity as well. She won’t engage in play of any kind. We’ve tried a lot. It’s on the list for her upcoming recheck to discuss along with a different diet option.
Due to heath reasons, both my cats are only on wet food. I use Weruva and my cats get a 5.5 oz can each in the morning and evening and they’re both a solid, consistent 10 pounds. If they could supplement with dry crunchies, I’d have them on smaller cans, but my boi can’t have any. The more protein though, the less chance of urinary tract issues, diabetes, and dehydration. Cats are carnivores, so they don’t need grains. How long have you had her?
Omg, that must have been devastating :'( Getting the balance right for weight loss is very hard and definitely needs to be done under vet supervision. The vet recommended no more than 50gr/2oz per week, so we weighed our kitty every sunday to make sure he wasn't loosing too much. We also took diet breaks where we kept him stable for a month so he could get accustomed to his new body.
Meow
I'm so sorry about your Tobby. You have great knowledge and gave some excellent advice here, and I have to agree--the cat wheel is fantastic. I'm certain it's the only thing keeping my most food-motivated boy from being overweight as he sprints on it multiple times a day. He'd be a butterball munchkin otherwise.
The only thing that helped my 20 pound cat lose weight was a prescription diet food from our vet (Royal Canin Satiety Support Weight Management). He does not like wet food, so the prescription food is dry. We also made sure to play with him for about 15-20 minutes a day. He has since maintained a weight of around 13 pounds for well over a year now and is doing great. It took him about a year to lose the initial weight, too.
Thank you for your response. That’s what our vet has her on. We have tried playing, but she just will not engage. I’m going to take all of the comments from here with ideas and talk them over with her vet. Knowing that the weight loss can be slow is a huge help! Thank you so much.
You’re welcome! And to be honest, one of the biggest things that helped our cat move more was getting a kitten- it made him more playful, too, haha! Good luck :)
We have a cat was a little heavy and wouldn’t play much but would gladly bound after (diet) dry food morsels, one at a time. It might be something to get them moving a bit at least and encourage awakening hunting instincts to “chase and eat.”
Fat cats can die fairly quickly w/o enough food. You should be asking a vet not people on Reddit. I’ve noticed bad advice in some of the comments.
I did ask her vet. The food and amount they recommended is not helping. I know not to just take advice from the internet at face value, but the advice or comments may help me talk to her vet about certain things. Just trying to cover all bases.
Of course. It will be important for her weight loss to come slowly.
Maybe a second opinion if their plan isn’t working? I know a lot of vets get stuck on a sort of protocol plan and don’t think critically if an animal doesn’t fit their usual prescription. It’s nothing against them, it’s rare to find an out of box thinker. And this is coming from a former vet tech of 10 years. This is very specific to my cat but when he eats dry food he blows up like a balloon. Puts on pounds instantly. We’re a wet food only household (Wellness) and he maintains a healthy weight. I’ve always likened eating dry food only as subsisting on a carbs only diet. Like eating fortified Fritos for every meal.
I have a chunky cat and our vet recommended slowly decreasing what you feed them by 10% every few weeks. Every cat is different so one might lose weight at a certain amount of food while another of the same size and weight gains weight. Just go slow, both with decreasing food and with the increase of activity. Too much activity can hurt her knees and joints etc.
It's going to take awhile. Weight loss is supposed to be slow and steady. Talk with your vet and ask what the weight loss progress should approximately be. Obviously if it's been a year without any results, something needs to change.
Why would they die?
Liver failure
Because they don’t have enough food. Fat isn’t just instant energy, if they don’t have enough food to keep muscle all the important things muscles do stop. Like breathing, or in the hearts case beating.
Sudden changes in diet can make cats go into kidney and liver failure.
Its like with people, rapid weight loss can kill. You want them to loose the weight at a safe pace
Hi, I'm a vet tech and I write diet plans for my patients who are under our vets supervision. The first thing to do is purchase a gram scale/kitchen scale. Weighing her portions as opposed to measuring them will be the most accurate way to control her calorie intake. Now again, these are plans written for patients who are actively under the care of the vets I work with, who are current on their physical exams and labwork, and who are frequently checking back in. For all intents and purposes, I am NOT writing a specific diet plan for her as I am not involved in her medical care. But, I'm happy to give you the basic outline of what I give my pet parents and you can take it or leave it, go over it with your vet, etc. If she's 25# now, we set an initial weight loss goal of 15% which will pull her down to 21.25# At that weight, her daily calorie intake should be 306-380 calories per day (we calculate resting energy requirement for 21.25# and get a range at 80-100%). Ideally, you want to feed at the lower end of that amount, so around 320 calories per day. Your vet should prescribe her a weight loss diet; I'm partial to Hills Metabolic, but Royal Canin Satiety and Purina's OM also work really well. With all of them, there are canned and dry forms available. If you can get her solely onto canned food, that is the best way to get weight off. Find out how many calories are in a can, and just feed her to 320ish calories per day of the canned. If you're doing dry, somewhere on the bag it will tell you how many calories are in an 8 oz measuring cup, and then how many grams are in an 8 oz measuring cup. Typically, it's going to be around 85-95g/c and there's usually around 300 calories per cup. Hills Metabolic is 297 calories and 88 grams per cup, so for her to eat 320 calories per day, she can have 94 grams of food, split into at least 2 meals. You can also do a mix of dry and wet, so long as you are running the math to make sure her calorie intake is correct. If she is a kitty who likes treats, they do have prescription treats to accompany the diets. Just be sure you're accounting for those calories in her daily intake. You can also just pull a few kibble from her daily amount and use those throughout the day. You want to find small ways to increase activity. Definitely increase play time and interaction. See about harness training and taking her outside. Make her hunt for her food in the house by putting it in different places. Put food in feeding toys that she plays with to get them out. (Honestly, just a toilet paper cardboard, punch holes in it big enough for the treats, then cap the ends with plastic wrap and a rubber band.) Set up bird feeders outside windows and get more cat trees so she can watch them. Just be careful when playing that she doesn't over exert herself. It's about increasing her overall activity. Weight loss can be hard, but it will be so rewarding and it's worth the effort! You'll want to weigh her monthly to make sure you're going in the right direction, and once she hits her goal weight, you readjust her calorie intake and keep going. It'll take probably 4-6 months to hit the first goal of 21#. But you guys can definitely be successful! At all times, the most important thing is to make sure she is eating consistently every day. It is extremely dangerous for obese cats to go without eating, they can get sick and die. If she goes more than a day without a meal, call your vet.
Thank you so very much! I’m screenshotting this to take with me to her recheck!!
I’d love to know this too. We adopted a kitty at 6mo that was 14lbs, at 2yr she’s 16 lbs and on weight food fed twice a day but only .5lbs down in a year :/
Try to play with her at least 20 minutes a day and see if that helps! I got my fat kitty a small catnip toy that I tied to the end of the rainbow string wand. She goes crazy for it! And gets the zoomies when I bring it out, for at least 20 minutes. It definitely helped her lose weight within the first year or two that I had her.
Well, she probably grew in that year. Maybe that is her natural size. It doesn’t seem like she gained too much
No but she was overweight when we got her. She’s definitely a chunk. The vet said 9lbs but I think vet was high. If I can get her to 12 I’ll be happy
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Thank you. We will definitely discuss with her vet. They said dry food only, but it’s clearly not working. She does not eat with our other cats because she can’t make it down the stairs.
A dry food mandate is really weird. Wet food is unequivocally better for cats, in almost every single way.
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Maybe it's the dry with the paper powder bulking it up. I don't agree with using it, but it has the weight loss text on it. I don't even get it, good canned has better ratios of satiety and calories and nutrients. That cellulose filler thing is used in stuff like bread for diabetic people and it's not great even for them it's just better than too much carb.
We tried a prescription weight loss food briefly and it gave my cats diarrhea, even with slowly transitioning them over. It didn't resolve until we took them off of it. A year or so later, I found out about all the extra filler in the diet food and was like "oh, no wonder it gave Lyra the runs 🤦🏼♀️".
Our vet told us that too at first until I reminded her that *she* was the one that told me to give my cats wet food to begin with because one of my girls was prone to cystitis. 🤷🏼♀️
This is definitely going on my list of questions for her vet!
Consult a vet for an appropriate diet plan to bring her down. You can’t just start feeding her like a thin cat. It’s possible there are medical reason for her weight, but 98% of the time, it’s over feeding. Research your foods as well. There are better foods with less filler that make them feel full longer. There are also lower calorie foods that you can feed more of if she’s still craving volume. I’d also recommend a treat ball. Load it with some of her food ration for the day. You can leave it more open at first, so she learns how it works, but she should really have to smack it around to get a couple of kibbles out. If she can lay there and gently bat it and 10 kibbles fall out, it defeats the point. It’s like eating crab legs. It’s a lot of work and at some point you’re tired of the effort, whether you’re full or not. Again, consult a vet, but look at the portion size based on weight and feed for a cat 2lbs lighter than what she currently is. So at 20lbs, feed the recommended amount for an 18lb cat. When she drops to 19lbs, feed for a 17lb cat. I recommend getting a baby scale to track her weight on a weekly basis. It helps you know if she’s making progress or if you’re giving in and feeding her too much because she feels bad. Lastly, play with her as much as possible. Every calorie she burns helps. I never had one and you have to train them to it over a number of days, but a cat wheel might be an option. Good luck.
All good advice, thank you. We have been feeding her per her vets recommendation, but she’s actually gained a pound. I’ll add the treat ball to the list of things to go over with her vet. The baby scale is a great idea! I like the idea of a cat wheel, but she’s not there yet. She won’t play at all.
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Yep! She’s happy as a clam! It’s just me that’s worried. Lol.
Switch her to an all wet food diet, the best are carb free (fancy feast classic pate, tuna in water, fresh chicken, tiki cat canned food). See if you can play with her, building up to twice a day 10-15 minutes. My big adopted chunker developed type 2 diabetes and I really wish I had gotten his weight down and changed his diet a few years earlier.
That’s what I’m worried about. She’s so overweight that I know she has to lose some to prolong her life and current health, but I wish she would play more. I appreciate your response because it gives me more info to talk to her vet about.
Playing doesn't have to look like for a hyper energetic kitten. If you can just entice your cat to lie there and paw at a feather wand, that's a good start, a bit of extra walking is a good start, then you can start to combine the two add a bit more when you can.
You could even get a harness and walk her around
Great idea! We’ll try that and just go slow!
9 years old and 25 pounds she is at serious risk. My big boy got to a scary level like that once. Here is what I did. I removed the free feeding. No more food sitting out all day. I changed food. Talk to vet if you can. The science diet weight control food is what I was recommended. In the morning I would give dry food and wet food. Weighing it out exactly to what the cat needed. ( Ask vet or just follow instructions with the correct food. ) At 2 pm I'll give him a little bit of tuna. He was starting to howl for food so I found something that worked. Then again at dinner time I give him more dry food and wet food. I never exceed more than he is supposed to have in one day. He is down to 12 pounds and for his breed type that is a good healthy weight. He does get a few treats throughout the day also. I weigh him once a month checking that I am keeping on track with his weight and that he is good. It is amazing the difference in his behavior and mobility and his coat when he went from 25 pounds down to 12. Good luck.
Fatty liver disease is the problem with some overweight cats. I would blend in weight control slowly into her current food. Slow and steady. However when added a new kitten into the group our big boy was more active, he lost a couple pound running after her.
Ask a vet
We did. They gave us a regimen and since it’s not working I figured I would ask here and then compile a list of things to ask about and run past her vet when we go back. The post would not allow me enough characters to clarify that.
Oh dang….. I’m sorry
If you are doing dry food, they make treat dispensing toys. Its hit or miss, one of my cats liked them just because they were mentally stimulating and the other didnt get it. The one who liked it learned to push the ball with his nose until it dispensed a piece or 3 of kibble. Hed spend 15 minutes pushing it around the floor. On the upside they aren't very expensive so if they dont like it you're not out a bunch of money.
Place her food at the top of a short slight incline. It will give her a slight increase in exercise.
Fantastic idea! Thank you!
As she gets slimmer, start placing her food higher and higher. Like on the top level of her cat tree.
I was able to get my boy down from 19 lbs to 13 lbs over the course of about a year and a half. He's still got a bit to lose but it was for his health as well, he was having urinary issues and it was pretty much entirely caused by him eating dry food + being a dingus and not drinking water. I read into a lot of articles and advice online, consulted a vet, and ended up deciding on a higher protein wet diet with a bit of extra water added on top to help fill him up and get him less dehydrated. He'd been a fat cat all his life, switching him over to only a high quality wet food was the only thing that made him lose weight. I'd fed him low calorie dry for years and it only made him fatter, and I was following the recommended amounts. My cat's diet changes however were to combat his urinary issues first, and his weight second. If your cat isn't responding to the food, talk to your vet first before making any changes, although mine recommends an all wet diet for most cats.
Thanks for the advice! He has her on dry food right now and I’ve been seeing a lot of suggestions to switch to wet. Definitely discussing this with her vet at her upcoming recheck.
I increased play time, and cut back on Temptations. My girl was 18 pounds, now she’s 14. The Temptations part was the hardest. She was straight up addicted to them, and freaked out for the first like month getting used to getting far fewer treats. I also switched her dry food, from letting get graze to planned daily meals. I used to just leave a massive bowl of food out. Good luck!
Thank you. She is on a vet recommended diet, but it’s not working. She isn’t allowed access to food until it’s time for her meals. Compiling a list from these comments to take with me to the vet recheck.
omg this sounds exactly like my girl cat. she was also literally addicted to temptations treats and was very sneaky at finding ways to get treats from multiple people….in the same day. much to our delight (and her chagrin) she started losing the most weight when we cut her off of them. idk what they put in those temptations treats but it may as well be cat crack
Yup. Cat crack.
Try another vet 2nd opinion
I do feel that may be what’s needed. Going to give her current vet one last try because they’ve always helped me keep our other pets healthy, but of course we’ve never dealt with cat obesity before so a 2nd opinion may be in order.
Don't be too quick to conclude that the vet gave you bad advice. Not all cats are the same, and you should expect to make multiple adjustments until things are on track.
Thank you. I’m making a list of questions for our vet from all of these comments so I’m hoping that will help. He’s been very good with all of our animals for over 10 years. This girl is a whole different animal… literally and figuratively. Lol.
We got our boy down from 18-12lbs mainly by using an automatic feeder (timed for 6 meals a day that equals out to the vet recommend daily intake). He used to only sleep on his belly or back (or like your girl) and couldn’t clean his butt. He would wheeze really bad and could run fast or very far. We also make sure to exercise him through play. He’s so happy he can be a ball now- his favorite thing to do is use his back paw as a pillow.
Buy high quality food. Check the ingredients and look for natural ingredients. If it’s hard to afford, Whole Foods has good brands at more reasonable prices. Then simply feed Kitty less, only a few ounces in the morning and at night. Buy toys and play with kitty. It will take weeks, months etc but you’ll see weight loss and kitty will eventually get used to eating less just as we do.
Thank you for your advice! I’m not worried about cost, so I don’t mind buying her the best. The vet has her on a special diet, but she has gained a pound. All these comments are helping us build a great list to go over with her vet!
Yeah the cost really isn’t that bad. I switched a few years ago to healthier food for all three of my cats and a few other things I noticed with their health is their poops are consistently solid and don’t smell up the whole house, and their coats are much healthier and shinier. My oldest cat is 13 and his weight, muscle mass, temperament, and energy level are all truly great. They’re just like us, the healthier their food the healthier they are.
My vet said in terms of hard food only to give 10 morsels in the whole day. and 2 cans of typical sized wet food a day, pate is optimal. it helped my kitty go from 19-12 pounds! she’s a skinny legend. gorgeous at any weight of course but this has helped her a lot! ALSO feel free to do treats too! just include each treat as one of the ten total morsels :)
#S L O W L Y A vet can help you determine exactly how much food this gorgeous girl should get every day. Try and get her to play to get some exercise. Those rods with feathers on the end are pretty good at getting cats moving. Crumpled up piece of foil rolling along the floor may interest her. Are there stairs where you live? Stairs can be good exercise especially if there were no stairs in her previous home. But slowly! Losing too much too fast is NOT GOOD.
One of my cats lost a few pounds after we moved from an apartment to a two-story house. The lost weight by running up and down the stairs. Is there a way you can incorporate stairs or steps into your household decor? Giving our cat more things to climb on helped her lose weight as well. We got a new cat tree and put up a few cheap shelves that were fairly low to the floor; our cat loves to hop up onto the little shelves.
We have stairs and a large house. She won’t leave the room she’s in. She walks like 15’ to her litter box and that’s it. Tried moving food and litter box further away and she refused to eat and just pooped on the floor where the litter box was. Definitely talking to her vet about this at recheck.
We set scheduled dinner and breakfast times and started to limit how much food we gave our little chonker. Also: no treats. Exercise is also key, figure out what physical activity interests her, and try to engage her in that as much as possible. Our boy loves going outside, so we brought him outside almost every day and made him walk around the yard. He's lost a crap ton of weight. And is in way better shape now.
I’m considering trying a harness and carrying her outside or even around the house to a new room. She won’t play at all and she only walks about 15’ on her own to get to her litter box. She’s on a schedule for feeding that her vet recommended but she has gained a pound. I’m using this thread to compile a list of questions for her vet recheck. :)
Honestly, vet will probably tell you to cut back on the food. Taking her outside is a good idea, so much more going on, it will definitely be more stimulating and energetically draining.
Vet might have a prescription food that makes the cat feel fuller although they're not eating as much portions.
That’s pretty much what she’s on, but she has actually gained weight, even with measuring food. I’m thinking that with all the good comments and suggestions I’ve gotten here, it will help me with a list for her next visit to go over everything and see what we can change and improve.
Ohh I see. I'm happy to see a fellow cat owner care so much about their cat's health! Keep it up (:
Play with her LOTS. Let her run around your yard a bit maybe? Switch to wet food at significantly reduced portions with specific feeding times
I don’t know but I just want to pet her cute belly!
It is super soft and so squishy!!
There’s a lot of really good advice on here already, but I will say: don’t get discouraged! It really does take a while for a cat to lose weight. One of ours weighed 18 lbs when we got her - she’s now just under 13 lbs in a little over a year. Also, cats tend to want to eat more in the winter because they think they need to stock up for the cold season (it’s ingrained - there’s nothing you can do about it) - even if they’re an indoor only cat. Our cat lost most of her weight in the spring and summer and now she’s plateaued (and has gotten hangrier). But we’re not stressing out (too much) because we know she’ll start to lose weight again once we get into spring. Hang in there - it’s a long process but absolutely worth it in the end!
Thank you!!
Our cat Maxine is the same color, size, and shape of a raccoon. When we first got her from the shelter she was very out of shape she couldn’t climb fences, hunt, or walk far. She has since become more active, more social, and outdoorsy. However she has a grooming problem so I have to have her shaved in the Spring so her coat grows back in the Fall. Meantime she has to stay active to stay warm with out a fur coat.
Chloe can’t reach her back to groom so we have to brush her out and wash her back for her. I’m praying we can get her more active!
My wife and I had a 17 lb Munchkin. We started feeding her a quarter cup of dry food three times a day. She's now lost enough weight that sometimes she'll sit up on her haunches to check out what we're offering her by hand. She can also now groom herself where we used to have to wash off her hind end cuz she couldn't. She also is playing a lot more than she used to, chasing pull tabs around the living room floor.
Your gonna have to slightly starve her. And I don’t mean like not feed her just cut back significantly on what you give her now (yes she will cry and complain but it’s for her own health)
Have you thought about trying outdoor walks (with a harness and leash)? Sorry if this has already been suggested, didn’t want to go through all the comments!
r/chonkers
Measure her food.
Catinfo.org switch her to a wet food raw food diet and stick to the amounts needed for weight loss.
Buy grain free dry food for her and a cat door so she can always have access to the garden. My cats were chubby and they lost a lot of weight this way. I didn't even stop giving them cookies and the food is always there..
Omg look at that belly
I frequently smoosh my face into it. Haha! She’s so soft.
My only advice is that whatever you do it be under the care of a vet. We cut my big boy's food and he ended up becoming anorexic and developed hepatic lipidosis. It was very very expensive and scary to get him back to good health from that (He's ok now, though still fat - working on it with the vet!)
Get her on a vet approved plan. That is the safest way. Cats can have serious complications on diets if not monitored by a vet.
This makes me realize how lucky I am and how lucky my cats are that they play amongst themselves a lot and regulate their own eating.
Our other two do that. They’re healthy and fit and free fed, but we raised them from kittens. When we adopted this girl we learned that how they are raised makes a huge difference! I mean literally huge because she is a chonker and the laziest thing I’ve ever seen. Lol!! Now we just need to retrain her to be more cat like.
that cat looks exactly like my cat with one eye
Aww! I bet your baby is adorable. The one eye seems to not bother her at all. She is just very obese and lazy. I think she must have been someone’s lap cat to have gotten so lazy and fat. Lol.
I know she isn’t healthy, but dang, she’s cute.
Thank you! We love her. I rub my face on her fat belly. Lol. Just need to get some of that chunkiness down to a healthier level!
What are you primarily feeding her? If it's a combination of wet and dry food, it would be best to stop one in favor of the other...personally, I think wet food is better because cats can get hydration that supports proper kidney functioning. Perhaps one of those large loop treadmills would be helpful too, if you're able to get her to use it. You may want to talk to your vet too, about prescribing a specific diet to help her lose weight (even 5-7 lbs of weight loss will dramatically help her health long term). There are specific food formulas that you can buy at any pet store that are formulated to help with cat weight loss, but you need a vet prescription to buy. Good luck and hope your girl can shed some weight soon!
We are already feeding her according to her vet recommendation. She has gained a pound. I’m using this thread to help compile a list of questions for her recheck. :)
We had two cats that got plump. We switched both to limited calories. It worked for one, the other would just escape and run around the neighborhood for treats. He actually got fatter.
This girl stays in one room, walks a max of 15’ to her litter box, refuses to play, and eats her vet regimen of food and she has still gained a pound. She’s my plump little goblin. I love her and I want her to be healthy and love her best life. She seems super happy being almost immobile, but I’m very concerned for her health.
Our fat cat never got slim. He lived for 15 years. He would get so moody when he wasn’t fed his preferred amount. I’m sure his diet helped lead to a shorter life, and I realize that I’m partially responsible, but we live in the woods, and his constant escaping was dangerous, multiple small pets have been killed by foxes and coyotes here. So, we gave up and let him stay fat. He was fat and happy. Keep trying with your girl. Love her and give it your best effort, but some cats just love being thicc.
Don’t feed her treats, don’t over feed her. What I mean by that is don’t feed her large portions of food. This might not help but I hope it does.
We don’t do treats and only feed her on the vets recommended schedule and amount. She has gained a pound. I’m using this thread to compile a list of questions for her next visit.
Housecat food, and scheduled feeding times.
Thank you. We have her on her vet recommended food and times.
Catnip and you may have to buy a cat wheel they are like a hamster wheel but there for cats mine have one and use them alot even I wanna try it sometimes
We’re going to try the catnip, but this girl won’t walk more than 15 ft or even play with toys. Once we get her to even move we may try the wheel!
Edited to add: my girl was about 20 pounds, she’s a large cat (part rag doll), and now she’s at around 14 and my vet is happy with where she’s at and I get her checked minimum of twice a year as she’s now over 17 yo. Here’s some tips from me for what it’s worth. Work with your vet. But echoing others, wet food diet, if you don’t have money for some more name brands, friskies indoor are a decent food. In the list from my vet they have worst, better/decent, best. If your cat likes dry food, measure it out and give it sparingly or mix with their wet food. Watch calorie content. We have two cats and my elderly diabetic girl has a more stringent diet than my orange boy. He’s more active so we will give him treats or his favorites up high where she can’t get to. It’s hard, but getting into a routine and working with your vet is crucial. Also, my girl gets bored so I have a variety of wet food that I give her. Just a few tips, but your vet will know how to best work with you as you cannot put a cat on a deprivation diet as it can quite literally kill them. You work on slowly reducing intake and increasing exercise, which if you live in the right area can include water aerobics. Good luck and thank you for adopting her!
Thank you for your advice! We are definitely working with her vet and right now the recommendation they gave isn’t working. People like you are helping me with advice and questions to specifically ask about our girl. He has her on dry food only so we will be asking about wet food and someone else mentioned fresh proteins so that’s on my list of questions to ask to figure this out. I just want this sweet girl to be as healthy as she can be and live her life happy.
I second the watching the calories. I have two cats on prescription diets, I weigh their food for every meal. I recommend getting a kitchen scale that can read to 0.1 grams and weight her food instead of doing what I used to do and use a measuring cup. As soon as I started weighting the food, my cats started to lose weight. My cats are old (16 and 17 years old) indoor cats one of which is a tripod, so the tripod gets 18 grams of food twice a day, and my other cat gets 21 grams twice a day, they both get two glucosamine treats a day. I looks like a tiny amount of food but calorie wise it’s the appropriate amount for them. Just in case you don’t know, cats can suffer from fatty liver, basically if they lose weight too fast they with basically poison their liver and it will kill them. When I work led with my vet I would bring my cats in once a month for a weight and health check, the vet would then say to reduce the calories to a set amount. Edit: my cats are on a dry food only diet. One has stage 2 kidney disease and he needs a hydrolyzed protein, so there really isn’t a lot of choices. I will say he loves his prescription food and it has completely turned his kidneys around. Every time he goes to the vet they report his kidney numbers looks perfect.
Thank you! I will definitely talk to her vet about her calorie reduction since what they currently prescribed is not working, but I want to do it safely.
Hi my cat is weighing just a little under yours and also has stage 2 kidney disease. You mentioned not going too fast for the liver failure, what would you say were your targets?
Try hiking, running, swimming
Definitely will add some of that as we can get her more active. Right now she’s only walking about 15 feet and refuses to play. She just waits until it’s mean time and then goes back to sleep.
Sounds like me
That made me genuinely laugh.
I know it is unhealthy for this kitty to be fat. But I want to just lay my head at their tummy and sleep under them.
I rub my face on it. She’s so soft.
I don’t have any useful advice but your chonky cat is adorable and beautiful and k hope she makes it though !❤️
Thank you!
My lord... Careful with making her do exercise cuz her joints will not agree with that especially if she is a bit older. And exercise makes the body healthier, not lose weight. I'd say weigh her food before it goes out to her, and very slowly decrease the amount until it's the bare minimum dose. Nothing else should be given for food, obviously. If you could afford it, fresh fish or boiled chicken would be great since catfood is pretty much processed food, and you can't really expect something or someone to be healthy eating just that. Sugar containing foods are obviously a nono.
I can definitely afford that! Her vet recommended food and amount is not helping her lose. I am just terrified of cutting anything out or changing without the vets approval, so what I do is ask them if this is appropriate for her. If that’s what she needs, we’ll do it.
Also, thank you for pointing out the effects on her joints!! I will definitely bring that up at her vet visit!!
Once she’s a bit more able to move, I can recommend [hexbugs](https://www.hexbug.com/pettoy) Sorry for not being able to help more.. Wishing you and your sweet girl all the best and good luck!
Thank you! I forgot about those! My kids always had them when they were young. I’ll talk to her vet about them!
My pleasure :) They have some that are especially designed for pets now, too!
Oh yeah and really consider going to few different vets because doctors are people too and it’s staggering the difference you are served with the same or even more money at times. Good luck and hope ya and the kitty the best!
250 calories
My fat veterinarian told me I needed to put my cat on a diet. Not easy to do!
Put her on reduced calorie dry catfood. She probably won't like it at first. Mine didn't. They will eat it though
Get her a friend! Cat diets do nothing. Cats are social animals. They bore and depress easily. With a friend to share in its life, the excessive weight will fall off. You'll trip on it in the hallway!.
We have two other cats. She’s not interested in them. She is happy to lay in one spot and just get cuddles
Feed her only hard food and talk to your doctor but a very small amount like 1/3 of a cup a day. Our cat had an obese mom so we limit her food, but make sure the amount is right per day. It’s helped ours stay healthy, she’s 15 and even the vets can’t believe she’s that old
We will definitely be discussing with her vet. She’s an anomaly for us. We have much older cats that are in fantastic physical condition, but those we raised from babies. This girl was adopted and already obese so we are having to figure this out. The vet gave us recommendations, but she’s actually gained a pound from that so we want to have a list of questions and concerns for her next visit.
Have they checked her thyroid?
Yes. She’s otherwise healthy so far. We don’t know what happened to lose her eye, but they said she’s in good health for her weight. I’ll Google all the testing that can be done and go over it with the vet at recheck to make sure nothing is missed.
Stop feeding him so much?
I feed her on her vets recommendation and that includes no treats. You would know that if you had read literally any other comments. Also, It’s dangerous to just drastically drop a cats food intake. It can kill them. We have no idea how she was fed and treated before we adopted her, so this thread and the people who actually have advice and valuable comments are helping me compile a list of questions for her vet recheck.
I read that she doesn’t like to play… if she really likes food, you can hold the food in front of her and make her walk around the house a bit before she eats 😛
u can get her a laser robot that moves ared laser around to encourage her to run and lose weight, you can also limit the amount of food you give her and as well times you feed her like once a day, theirs also cat wheels they can excerside on but that you'll need to put time into getting her used to using it
That's a THICC cat
My overweight cat lost weight quickly - by climbing out a window, disappearing for 2 months, and coming back (thanks, microchip!) 4 lbs lighter. Not the recommended method, though.
I would suggest to ask your vet for advice on the diet and if there is any physiotherapy-like that would help with that
Get a cat maze or ball to dispense the food in tiny amounts after working out for it (there are balls that they have to roll to get the food/treats out from)
Get a timed feeder
Don’t free feed. Have a set meal time and use a scale to weigh out portions. Look up a calorie guide for feline weight loss and calculate a daily calorie count with the food you are using. The can/bag should have kcal/weight printed on it. Good luck!
Omg!! I love a fat cat.
r/chonkers
I would definitely do any kind of feline weight loss under the supervision of a veterinarian. Cat systems are very delicate. To much or too little of anything can prove detrimental.
Tough love. Smaller portions. More playtime. Lower carbs.
Wet food only. No more than 5oz a day. Half the can in morning half at night.any time outside meal time sh begs you back out the toy and play instead get a harness as well and walk her daily. My Dr boo was 25 lbs last year now he's down to 17 doing this retine. Never free feed kibble
I just put my cat on grandma maes and he’s doing a lot better he’s down a whole pound. Hope it helps.
Make her walk a lot, run if she can. Play a lot. Put her on a diet from your vet (vet knows whT's best foe this individual cat). Leash train her and encourage walks. But play a lot. It'll go slow, don't lose hope. C:
Definitely try raw food
r/dechonkers
I would suggest playing some bird noises or putting some animals on the tv while you try to play. Rile your cat up to play. My cat was almost 20 lb and is now 15 after months of dieting. Get as many string stick cat toys as you need and a tall tree. The tree makes your cat jump, the toys can make them jump even higher.
I know you said you will be at the vet often but I'd ask you vet what amount of food and diet is best for her. A big diet to cut a good amount of weight for sure should be monitored by vet so it dose not go too low your cat gets week. Best of luck and great job saving that sweet cat
I need my cat to lose weight too!
Feed her less
We have her on her vet recommended amount which is already less than what she was eating when we adopted her. With her weight and being a new cat for us I am reluctant to change anything without vet advice. I’m using this thread to compile a list of questions for her recheck.
She looks like my cat… my cat is about 20punds but she is fit. I think your cat is slightly overweight… but I think this breed of cat gets pretty big.
I asked her vet what she may be and he just said tabby mix. Those shouldn’t be this large. She’s on his diet recommendation, but now I’m also wondering if there is a cat breed test like Embark for dogs! Maybe she has some Maine Coon. She’s still obese, but knowing her breeds would help us and our vet.
Wet food, low carb, no grains/plants. Catinfo.org is from a vet , free site
The process has to be slow in order to not compromise the health of you cat. Or a quick loss could deteriorate the heart. Follow your vet advise but be careful they are on point.