Putting a cat of a diet

[zalinda]

The stray cat that adopted me has now refused to go outside for 3 years now. She does still gain weight for the winter and lose it in the spring. This year she seems bigger than ever and I'm afraid she is not going to lose the weight. Is there a cat food that you can recommend that will help her trim off the weight. She basically eats dry food, nibbling all day long.

Z

[eridani]

1. I think you can get cat food made for older cats n/t

[japple]

2. We started using Nutro brand with our dog and their

weight management variety has helped us keep her weight down.


http://www.nutro.com/natural-cat-food/nutro/dry/diet-cat-food-chicken-brown-rice.aspx

[ginnyinWI]

3. you need to measure that dry food

See if you can get her to around 175 calories a day, no more. And if you can substitute some wet food as part of the calories, so much the better. Dry food is higher in carbs and cats don't use them very well. So they just get stored as fat!

[Fla Dem]

4. Now you tell me! My cat has owned me for10 years. All she'll eat is dry food.

She's an indoor cat, she gets 1/2 cup of Science Diet a day. Never finishes all of it. Thankfully her weight has been pretty stable over the years; 13lbs.

But didn't know that about the carbs. I've tried to get her to eat wet/canned food, but she just licks the liquid.

.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. Don't sweat it.

I have had cats that lived 17-18 years, and all they got was dry food. And they were not overweight even though they were indoor cats. I take some things I hear with a grain of salt. Experience has shown me that it is not as bad as I have heard.

And both of my current cats refuse to eat canned food...which is incredible to me.

[Curmudgeoness]

6. My cat was getting a little chubby,

and so I decided to watch his food. First, I decided to measure the food based on the recommendations on the package instead of just dumping some food in a bowl, and I was shocked at how little it was that I was supposed to give him. I got Science Diet Light, and I feed the recommended amount, and he is doing well now.

Also, play with your cat as much as you can...make her work out.

[zalinda]

7. The problem is that she really doesn't know how to play

I've tried numerous times. I even have a cat toy on a stick in the bathroom for when she comes to visit. She plays with it all of 10-15 seconds. I've made paper balls, which she bats around for 30 seconds, tops and that's only when she is in the mood. I've even tried to play fight with her and it's only about 3 or 4 bats back and she's done, I get more of a work out than she does.

I'm guessing it's because she was an outdoors cat for so long, we do know she wasn't feral, but was probably abandoned. She had at least one litter of kittens, because that's when we started feeding her. Then she got spayed. She lived outdoors for 3 more years, and we fed her. During the winter, we would invite her in to eat, but afterward was very insistent to go back outside. Then about 5 years ago, she ran in the house just before a big storm hit and has refused to leave. She won't even go near the door if we are there. Lately, she will go onto the porch if we are outside, but will immediately scoot back in as soon as we go in.

I'll see what we can do about changing her food. The only other way to get down her weight is to get another cat, and I'm not sure if I'm ready for that, or if she is.

Z

[Curmudgeoness]

8. You make me laugh.

Although it is a sad story about her life prior to inhabiting your home, it is funny how she has decided that she does not want to live outside again. And I know all about how we get more of a workout than the cats do, but that is cats. Do those little bits of exercise for the cat more often. I doubt that she will play for longer periods....my cats get bored easily too. I do have two cats, and I am not sure that it is the best thing. They hate each other. But they do get the most exercise chasing each other and fighting. I have learned that many cats prefer to be an only cat. Don't get another one unless it is you who wants it, and don't hold out hope of them becoming best buds. If it happens, it will be a bonus. I swore that I would never have more than one cat at a time after two pairs of cats that hated each other, but here I am. A cat was going to be put down because of a medical situation (nerve damage from a gun shot when it was a kitten that caused her to pee when she sleeps), and I just couldn't let that happen. I deal with the problem with training pads all over the house and I am glad to have saved her.

[Judi Lynn]

9. So glad you have her a place to live. Domestic animals are so vulnerable without human friends. n/t