Alternative Diet for a Cat

[FreshTressa]

My sweet kitty is very overweight. I was wondering, with all this Atkin's stuff in the news, if it might be true for cats too.

I was looking at his cat food and it is 50% carbohydrates. I don't think that is a normal diet for a cat. I am thinking maybe he might be carbohydrate sensetive. He eats very little, less than half the amount our old cat used to eat. I hate to cut his portions down any more. He gobbles it all down then follows me around crying then cries at the food cupboard.

I would like to try a diet that has a higher protein and lower carbohydrate content, but I can't seem to find any info on it.

Any thought on this??

 

[Aurora63]

I also have a fat kitty. I would ask a vet before you change her diet in any way.

My kitty is the same way; not all the time, but often, when she is hungry, or maybe just bored, she will follow us to the kitchen, crying, begging for food. Sometimes its right after she's been fed. I'm trying to find some things for her that will be interesting, like new toys, etc., so maybe she won't think about food all the time.

 

[FreshTressa]

I did ask my vet, and got the usual non alternative answer...."pet food is formulated specially for pets, just feed him less" and they don't get all their nutrients from meat, some come from the digested stomach contents of the herbivores they eat and some come from the bones.

He is down to about 1/3 cup of dry food a day.

 

[katerkat]

Are you feeding him light food? My Wedge is a fatty and he's on Science Diet Maintenance (ie, Fat Cat) Food. Lemme go get the can... OK, it doesn't say carbs, but it's 852 kcal/kg, 133 kcal/can metabolizable energy. Not sure what that means! Wedge gets a 1/4 can each night. For dry food, I mix Science Diet Hairball Control Light, Maintenance Light and Oral Care. (Turst me, we need the hairball and oral care!) I don't limit his dry food intake, since it's hard to not free feed with two of them.

One thing my vet said to keep in mind - losing about a pound a month is normal. Or even less! Because they have so much less weight - 1 lb is often a 1/16 of what they need to lose to get to the right weight. I started Wedge on diet stuff in July and I can't see a difference, but I can feel a bit of a difference when I pick him up.

Oh - and exercise is always key! My boys would prefer to sleep 23.5 hours a day, but I spend time with them each day getting them all iled up, chasing a laser pointer. It's good for them!

 

[katerkat]

Oh - and maybe... My sister had to go to a cat-only vet to get someone to talk to her about her cat, but Janey lost the weight on this plan. She would whine at night and pester my sister, so the vet worked out a plan with Janey getting a certain amount of food at several points during the day, with the biggest meal right before bed so Janey was OK at night. You may want to find a vet that can organize that type of a plan based on your cat - Janey ended up dropping from 17 to a svelte 12 pounds in less than a year!

 

[Tiggeroo]

cats might be tougher then dogs, but when my sisters dog was too heavy, and always wanting more, she was advised to mix cooked carrots into his food.
Don't know if it's bad or not but my grandfather always made his dogs and cats their own food. He cooked kidneys,livers, gizzards, etc and mixed them with rice. I can still remember just how gross this smelled. But his pets were always healthy, and it was heavier in protein then most pet food.

 

[Mad4Mickey]

I work at a emergency vet clinic and today Science diet came to our clinic and spoke about the new Cat diet food .
It is called M/D it must be bought at a vets office but it is around the same price as thier regular maint. food.
You can try W/D that is for wieght loss ,but the new M/D is being called the "Catkins" diet


Good luck . It is important to maintain a good weight for your cat. Now if they can come up with something for my Vomit Comet cat. I have tried all the hairball control stuff but still .. The vomit comet

 

[wovenwonder]

Purina just came out with a Diabetic Maintenance cat food --- Purina DM. It is only available thru your veterinanrian. They will have to special order it for you. It is the only food out right now that is truly low carb. Did you have your cats blood drawn lately?

Good Luck.

 

[FreshTressa]

Originally posted by Mad4Mickey
The vomit comet

Oh my gosh, that is too funny. The vomit comet. Hehehe.

My cat is the same way. And he always gets it on the carpet. We have wood floors throughout our whole house with maybe 3 throw rugs. He always manages to do it on the rug. UGGGG. It would be so much easier if he just went on the floor.

 

[KatelynnsAuntie]

I have a vomit comet too. I have three cats, two female and one male. My male is the vomit comet, the girls never do it! And I hear you with the frustration about where he does it, my boy always does it on the carpet too! Yuck! If he's gotta do it, the kitchen floor would be so much easier! This is the same cat, though, who after being outside for two hours, will come inside to use the litter box, then go back outside again!

 

[minniecarousel]

My fat tabby is on Eukanuba Restricted Calorie dry food. Garfield weighs in at about 18 - 18.5 lbs. He gets 7/8 of a cup spread throughout the day - starting at 6AM!! He cries/whines sometimes an hour before his next scheduled feeding. (If we put all his food out at once, he'd eat it all early in the day & still cry for more later!)