[PonchoV8]

Any tips on cutting pet weight?
The girl has made the cat fat with chicken salad, lunch meat and tons of food at his disposal.
I put him on a diet and I think he's supplementing his intake by eating objects such as scratching post rope (Cisal?) and Jute type stuff. He has always eaten corn broom strands anyway.

[Kevspontiacs@aol.com]

my guess about eatin the sisal and jute: he could be eatin this 'thinkin' its grass. they will eat grass to sooth an upset stomach. And if he's been eatin people food.....

the only way to cut his weight is to cut his caloric intake. i give mine a half cup at a time. when its empty and they are hungry they will find you and let you know.

btw you can buy grass at any pet food store. the downside is is that they will end up throwing up. which is one way of them dealin with an upset stomach

[Cammer-6]

I must have read the topic wrong.
I hear they taste like chicken.....

[Deadhead]

People food is the worst. It is the most fun to feed them, but you gotta cut it out or they get fat.

People always told me that cats will not gorge themselves and you can leave food down for them. Well, some of the ones I owned were never like that, and we had to put them on a measured diet with no other food. I had one tabby, Homer, that weighed 20 lbs. He would climb up in a big tree and ambush dogs that came in the yard. Snake bite did him in.

I guess you could get a dog and let the cat get chased around some to get it some more exercise. But, sometimes the cat takes over and will just eat the dog's food.

[chrisinestes]

[Simple Man]

Get him to be more active. Chase him around the house, or get some cat toys, and play with him for a bit.

[1966Lemans]

I let my 4 indoor cats "free feed" (dry food always available to them). I get the highest fiber, lowest calorie version of Science Diet. Two of them are perfect weight, and two of them are a little chubby.

[1969GTO]

for me the problem is not the cats,it's the wife.
she is always filling the cat bowel and the cats look it[fat cats]

[PonchoV8]

Same here. She can't understand the size of his stomach and the food portion/schedule either. I've had to deal with one diabetic cat; shots subcutaneous fluids. And I don't want that again. He's sporting a big pouch at 13+ lbs. Not unmanageable, but needs to be 12 at most. Eleven would be better.

We're trying Natural Balance Reduced Calorie.

[mviker]

My cat gets one can of wet food over the course of a day along with a small dish of dry food for 'grazing'. She will demand more, but if she does, I usually throw her outside and the nagging stops. lol
She'd eat all day if she had her way, and she did for a while, until I put her on a set amount. Her weight dropped and she's in decent shape now. Another plus with her spending more time outdoors is the rapid drop in the mice and vole population in my yard. She plays with 'em until they're dead. Doesn't eat 'em though, so I get to pick pick up the carcasses.
It's all in not letting the cat dictate to you. Mine's real bossy and acts up untils she goes out. It's like she's eating out of boredom, so the outdoor life balances her out.

[mrrat1]

1/4 cup dry 3 times a day! They have diet food for cats. My cat has lost 4 lbs in 2 years . It does take time for cats to loose weight and you have to be strict. From 15 to 11 and still going.
NO table food~!

[sonjaab]

Yup......a special 3x a day measured portion lo-fat diet !
The vet should have a printed guide for you to read.
Boiled chicken w boiled rice is one of them along with special diet cat foods.

Get RID of the items the cat is eating on or you could end up with a $PENDY
bowel surgery to remove the stuff or WORSE!

My moms fat little dog has been on a special diet for the last year and is doing nicely!

Its funny tho that dog can't tell time BUT he goes crazy whining/dancing/crying at 8 2 and 7 o'clock!
He knows when its time to eat!

[se428bandit]

Don't feed it human food or dog food. Buy some quality weight management cat food.

[Blackcat]

All the years that I have had cats not one was ever "Fat" as one would call an overweight cat. Perhaps I give a small sample of human food like a small piece of a potato chip. Or chicken or meat from my food. Never did I give them lots of human food.
I always make sure their dish has dry cat food in it. Always used the indoor diet kind. Every few days I treat them to a half a can each of the seafood pate from a can.

[PonchoV8]

He's overfat and overweight in a 'stout' build. I wouldn't have thought a cat would eat rice.

Got him cut back to 1/2 cup per day of Natural Balance dry Reduced Calorie now. I do give him occasional organically raised roasted chicken, turkey or fresh salmon. It's just a taste but I want him to get animal proteins/fats while I'm cutting his total intake down. Chicken and Turkey are something I need to substitute more so he doesn't struggle as much with the chopped portions I'm giving.