How To Shrink A Cat...

We "inherited" a male (I think), silver American Shorthair from tenants
that left him. He is beautiful with a gorgeous coat and seems healthy,
but he's too fat I think. He eats mostly dry food that's left out all
the time. What's the best way of getting him to lose some weight? His
stomach hangs down, and he's about 15-16 pounds. He has cute chubby
cheeks, but I think that's the breed. Do I give him less food, or just
leave the bowl out morning and night and have two feedings a day? I'm
trying to get him to excercise by playing more with him. I'm not sure
of his age, but he seems like a younger cat. How can I get him to lose
some weight without it being too hard on him. I've tried myself and
haven't been too successful...lol!

If anything like the British Shorthair, your cat may not be overweight at
all. I have two, and one is a similar weight and I have been told by the vet
that he is not overwight. He has a 'stomach' that hangs down, but this is
not abnormal, there is a name for this, it is a protective thing for when
they get into fights. The chubby cheeks are a trait of the breed and also
normal. Take your cat to the vet if you are worried before trying to make
him diet! The British Shorthair is a naturally large breed, and if the
American is similar, it is unlikely that your cat is going to be small
naturally.

--
Sandra

wrote:

We "inherited" a male (I think), silver American Shorthair from tenants
that left him. He is beautiful with a gorgeous coat and seems healthy,
but he's too fat I think. He eats mostly dry food that's left out all
the time. What's the best way of getting him to lose some weight? His
stomach hangs down, and he's about 15-16 pounds. He has cute chubby
cheeks, but I think that's the breed. Do I give him less food, or just
leave the bowl out morning and night and have two feedings a day? I'm
trying to get him to excercise by playing more with him. I'm not sure
of his age, but he seems like a younger cat. How can I get him to lose
some weight without it being too hard on him. I've tried myself and
haven't been too successful...lol!




http://maxshouse.com/nutrition/Body_...stem-Chart.jpg can help in
determining if he's really fat or not.

With cats that have long thick fur looks can be decieving, so be sure to
check how easily you can feel his ribs.

wrote in message
oups.com...
We "inherited" a male (I think), silver American Shorthair from tenants
that left him. He is beautiful with a gorgeous coat and seems healthy,
but he's too fat I think. He eats mostly dry food that's left out all
the time. What's the best way of getting him to lose some weight? His
stomach hangs down, and he's about 15-16 pounds. He has cute chubby
cheeks, but I think that's the breed. Do I give him less food, or just
leave the bowl out morning and night and have two feedings a day? I'm
trying to get him to excercise by playing more with him. I'm not sure
of his age, but he seems like a younger cat. How can I get him to lose
some weight without it being too hard on him. I've tried myself and
haven't been too successful...lol!


My vet's advice: reduce the amount you are feeding by one quarter.
It helps if you feed premium canned food, half in the morning and half
at night, about twelve hours apart. Since you are free feeding dry, your
first step is to begin feeding him canned food. Why? Because it is not
only better for him, it is more satisfying. (More meat--he is a carnivore,
after all--and more water--which is better for all cats but especially
males because it can help prevent urinary tract problems.) Get him
used to controlled portions, twice a day about 12 hours apart. You
might want to err on the side of feeding him a bit more than he needs
at first then gradually cut it back. There are many ways to figure out
how much he needs--the simplest is to ask your vet. Good luck!

P.S. This worked for my fat cat, who has lost eight pounds total
over a long period of time. You don't want them to lose more than
a pound a month, as this is too drastic and dangerous to them.

Lumpy wrote in message
...

wrote in message
oups.com...
We "inherited" a male (I think), silver American Shorthair from
tenants
that left him. He is beautiful with a gorgeous coat and seems
healthy,
but he's too fat I think. He eats mostly dry food that's left out
all
the time. What's the best way of getting him to lose some weight?
His
stomach hangs down, and he's about 15-16 pounds. He has cute
chubby
cheeks, but I think that's the breed. Do I give him less food, or
just
leave the bowl out morning and night and have two feedings a day?
I'm
trying to get him to excercise by playing more with him. I'm not
sure
of his age, but he seems like a younger cat. How can I get him to
lose
some weight without it being too hard on him. I've tried myself
and
haven't been too successful...lol!


My vet's advice: reduce the amount you are feeding by one quarter.
It helps if you feed premium canned food, half in the morning and
half
at night, about twelve hours apart. Since you are free feeding dry,
your
first step is to begin feeding him canned food. Why? Because it is
not
only better for him, it is more satisfying. (More meat--he is a
carnivore,
after all--and more water--which is better for all cats but
especially
males because it can help prevent urinary tract problems.) Get him
used to controlled portions, twice a day about 12 hours apart. You
might want to err on the side of feeding him a bit more than he
needs
at first then gradually cut it back. There are many ways to figure
out
how much he needs--the simplest is to ask your vet. Good luck!

P.S. This worked for my fat cat, who has lost eight pounds total
over a long period of time. You don't want them to lose more than
a pound a month, as this is too drastic and dangerous to them.

I have a DSH who was clearly overweight at 14lbs. (no defined waist
when viewed from the top) that is now at a more healthy weight. She
did not immediately take to eating canned food and refused to eat
altogether if even a very small portion were mixed with her kibble. I
gave her two portion-controlled servings of the kibble she did like,
and after losing weight down to about 11.5lbs she took to eating the
canned food. I also included active playtime with her as often as we
were both in the mood, usually about 10 minutes 2 or 3 times per day.
She is a much more active and healthy cat today then when she was
overweight.

P.S. For your own weight loss goals I recommend alt.support.diet. A
commonly repeated list of advice from that group developed by
successful dieters and maintainers is:
0. Fix your head
1. Eat less
2. Move more
3. Repeat
4. Forever

Thanks much for all the advice. If I do go to canned, would he eat more
than one of those small cans a day, or should he have two of them,
being he's a big cat? Would he have the dried food left out during the
day, or just those 2 feedings? I really have no idea. I wasn't the one
taking care of him before, and he sort of adopted us after the other
people left. Thanks!

wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks much for all the advice. If I do go to canned, would he eat more
than one of those small cans a day, or should he have two of them,
being he's a big cat? Would he have the dried food left out during the
day, or just those 2 feedings? I really have no idea. I wasn't the one
taking care of him before, and he sort of adopted us after the other
people left. Thanks!


Before you even think about putting him on a weight loss diet
you need to know more about him and more about how much
food cats need each day. Until you have a better understanding
of these topics, keep free feeding him. It can be really dangerous
to underfeed a cat.

A vet visit just to have him checked over and ask
about how much to feed him will run you much less than you think.
You need to know how much he weighs, and if he is healthy. You
need YOUR VET to tell you how much to feed him. Err on the side
of feeding him too much until you can take him to a vet.

"Matthew Venhaus" wrote

P.S. This worked for my fat cat, who has lost eight pounds total
over a long period of time. You don't want them to lose more than
a pound a month, as this is too drastic and dangerous to them.

I have a DSH who was clearly overweight at 14lbs. (no defined waist
when viewed from the top) that is now at a more healthy weight. She
did not immediately take to eating canned food and refused to eat
altogether if even a very small portion were mixed with her kibble. I
gave her two portion-controlled servings of the kibble she did like,
and after losing weight down to about 11.5lbs she took to eating the
canned food. I also included active playtime with her as often as we
were both in the mood, usually about 10 minutes 2 or 3 times per day.
She is a much more active and healthy cat today then when she was
overweight.

Excellent advice for cats that prefer dry food, thanks for adding your
comments. My girls love canned so much, I forget that other cats prefer
dry.