We have a male domestic short hair who is around 16lbs. When we last had him at the vet, they acknowledged that he was overweight but said there wasnt much we could do since he has to be on a perscription diet that is higher in fat to help control cystals in his urine.
We dont feed him much. He gets breakfast and dinner. Breakfast is a scoop of wet food with about a 1/4 cup or less of dry mixed in at both meals. We go through one can of wet every two days to give you an idea.
Is there anything we can do to help him slim down a few lbs?
2008-07-23T15:17:37Z
He is on Hill's Perscription Diet c/d. I am not aware of any alternatives and nor is our vet seemingly. We cant take him off it either otherwise he'll get bladder infections and painful cyrstal buildup.
2008-07-23T16:43:38Z
The wet and dry are both Hills c/d. Aside from the weight he actually looks like a very healthy cat. Very talkative, barely sheds, coat is in great shape(thick, soft, etc.), bright eyes, etc.
He almost died the first time we found out about the urinary tract issues so I dont know how excited we would be to take him off the food. He recently had another problem crop up so now we mix in half royal canin vet perscribed wet in the morning with the hills c/d wet at night
2008-07-23T16:49:29Z
I appreciate the advice given, this is some of the best yet I've gotten on any question on Y!A
Anonymous2008-07-23T15:26:38Z
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You have come to the right place!
If you follow this diet plan, your kitty can both lose weight AND will likely have no further urinary issues.
The key to both is a grainless canned food (or properly balanced raw meat diet*). Cats are obligate carnivores who need to eat diets high in protein and fat and low in carbs. This is the EXACT opposite of what's found in dry food and some canned foods and that's one good reason so many get fat.
As for urinary problems, the solution is also for the cat to eat a wet food (canned or raw). Cats are desert animals who have a low thirst drive. This means that they don't drink enough water to keep them properly hydrated. This in turn means that their urine is concentrated and that can lead to any number of urinary problems.
By feeding wet food that is species appropriate, your cat will be both slim and healthy.
For many cats, that's all that's needed. But in some cases, a supplement for urinary health may be required.
Hills C/D is a very bad food. Just look at the ingredients. It may technically work but it's not good for them. And it's NOT meant to be served long-term - that can cause a new set of problems.
You don't need to use it. By feeding wet, species appropriate food, and adding a supplement to control the urinary PH balance if necessary, you can achieve both your goals.
Because I've already gone on so long, I'm going to just link you to my blogs on weight loss and on urinary problems.
I HIGHLY encourage you to read them. I don't claim to have all the answers but I am confident of my advice. Most importantly, you don't have to take my word for it. Read the links provided in my blog so you can see for yourself!
*If you would like to learn more about feeding raw, see my blog (linked below). Because it takes time and effort to learn to do it properly, I usually suggest canned food as it's much easier for people to start with.
He won't get blader infections if you take him off the cd. Dry food is the problem in the first place. carbs = weight gain Your cat is a carnivore Lack of moisture in the food= bladder problems
You also diod not say what kind of wet food you are feeding but I am assuming it is not a goo one. Switch to a grain free wet food and your cat won't need to eat as much. No kitty crack (dry foods)
Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s health Contrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat. Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingrdiant a muscle meat like chicken or meal or other things? http://www.catinfo.org/#Learn_How_To_Read_a_Pet_Food_Ingredient_Label http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/InterpretingLabels.htm Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i’s and a host of other problems. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with grains and carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process. Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food but in Dry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and don't use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive. http://www.catinfo.org/#My_Cat_is_Doing_Just_Fine_on_Dry_Food You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn't have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all. The best food for cats does not contain any grains at all. Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. I would rather feed a middle grade canned food then the top of the line dry food. Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck? http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bpo_ch4a.php
Please read about cat nutrition. http://www.newdestiny.us/nutritionbasics.html http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.htm http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm#Dry_Food_vs_Canned_Food.__Which_is_reall
Vetinarian diets The reason your vet thinks so highly of the pet food they sell probably has more to do with money than nutrition. In vet school, the only classes offered on nutrition usually last a few weeks, and are taught by representatives from the pet food companies. Vet students may also receive free food for their own dogs and cats at home. They could get an Iams notebook, a Purina purse and some free pizza. http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/Vets.htm
RuneAmok has given you some great info as well as links to her blog which is awesome! You may want to read it and see if it is something that is doable and achievable. I highly recommend that you give it a try.
As for FLUTD and the battle with urinary crystals, you certainly can let go of the Prescription. I know it does sound scary to go againt you vet (horror!) but I have done it with success and many other too. I went agaisnt the prescription route and starting doing RAW up until the the last urinalysis result shown that all the crystals has cleared up. And because RAW is very time consuming (for me, but many people do it with ease) and I am unable to keep up, I reliad on commercial can food and my kitty is still free of urinary crystals. It is doable but it does take some courage.
Don't be afraid to give the better alternative a try. If you like to know more, I urge you to join an FLUTD support group here on Yahoo! in which the members are dealing with FLUTD, weight issues and many more other medical situations.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/FLUTD/
There are a lot of information as well as links to important research materials on how to care for a cat with FLUTD. I hope you will give it a try.
Congratulations for your new loved ones member... I might simply begin feeding him much less just a little at a time...Catnip is a unique means for cats to excersize if it is a lazy cat...I do not understand how historic he's and what type of wellbeing he's in. Cat's are like humans in that recognize. I might get him looked at through a vet to look if he's competent to excersize with out suffering. The vet is also competent to arise with a few answers to the load difficulty via vitamin.
I agree with RuneAmok. My cats can't eat Hill's, which the vet wants to foist on them everytime we go. They start to itch badly and their skin starts flaking when they eat Hill's. I have switched them to a diet of canned Trader Joe's or California Natural Chicken and Brown Rice. Their fur is soft and shiny and they don't constantly beg for food. I do put some California Natural Dry food in their bowls at night, but just a very little. They are doing much better since I switched them to the more nutritious moist food.