Strategies for dealing with an obese cat?

[SheltieLover]

4. My departed rescue girl was elderly & 16 lbs

She was not a big cat, but she had an outsized appetite.

To make matters worse, she absolutely would not play. At all.

I bought her a super sturdy cat tree, which she loved, so at least she got a little bit of extra exercise climbing up it. She loved it

Also another DUer, whose nane I have forgotten, suggested this food which, after researching it, I put on auto ship with Chewy:

Evanger's Organics Braised Chicken Dinner Canned Cat Food, 5.5-oz, case of 24

Many thanks to the DUer who helped me.

It is pricey, but even my very picky girl would eat it without hesitation consistently.

Chewy has some great deals going now for the holidays. 35% off on 1st autoship on this food at the moment.

Also, the 1 toy even she couldn't resist sometimes is called the Cat Dancer. It's little pieces of cardboard on a wire.

I think the suspect ingredient in cat food that the other DUer shared about was carrageenan. The evanger's food does not contain this potentially problematic ingredient.

Like all mammals, controlling diet & increasing exercise are key to weight mgmt.

I had also tried the Doc & Phoebe's Cat Co. Indoor Hunting Cat Feeder Kit. These are little plastic "mice" that you fill with dry food, which is supposed to provide the cat with the opportunity to hunt for their food, get more exercise & feel more fulfilled.

Not sure if it would've worked because Pittie sniffed them out and destroyed them. lol

When Trixie was about 7 yrs younger, she began having idiopathic UTIs, which vet said are often caused by being oveweight. Vet reccommended to limit food i take & put a small amt, I think it was 1/4 tsp of a product named Pet Kelp on her food.

Seems there had been recent research reflecting that glucosamine can help prevent idiopathic UTIs.

Also tried compounded anti-depressant vet rxd to try to help with appetite control. I didn't notice a difference, other than nearly being shredded daily when I rubbed it into the inside of ear tip.

I hope this helps.

Good luck with your kitty.