My bengal is about 3.5 years old and has recently gained a lot of weight due to a new kitten in the house. Is there a healthy way to get a cat to lose weight??? The amount to feed per cat/per day should be about 5.5 ounces of wet (high quality grain free canned or Raw Meat/Bones/Organ) food.
The calories in that amount of wet food are sufficient for most "normal" sized cats. Of course a highly energetic cat will need more food to keep it healthy, and a lazy cat will need less food to keep it from getting obese. But 5.5 ounces of wet food per day is a good place to start.
Here is a fantastic site that will help you help your cat lose weight!
http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.ht...
Let me share with you what I have learned about feline nutrition to help you make an informed decision on what diet you should feed your cats.
Many brands of manufactured cat foods claiming to be "healthy" really are not. In fact they are made of the lowest ingredients possible. I'm not saying that a cat can't live off them... just the same as you could live off hot dogs and Mac and cheese forever, but better choices can and should be made for your feline friends. I would not venture to say that any manufactured food is "best" for a cat but a grain free organic wet food would be a good start. Feeding canned is certainly better than feeding dry in all cases.
Cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. It's completely species inappropriate.
In the wild, cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they don't need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. So they do not drink water. Regular ol' house cats have descended from those same wild cats.
So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it needs from dry food and it鈥檚 almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it, but it will never meet its water intake needs drinking from a bowl.
Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections (FLUTD), with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions.
Overall, wet is a better all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs鈥?not our cats.
It is also bogus that kibble cleans teeth. DRY FOOD DOES NOT CLEAN TEETH. It's an old myth that has been scientifically disproved for years, but old-school vets drilled it into people's heads for so long (and sadly still do) that people still believe it. Cats can not 鈥渃hew鈥? They do not have chewing teeth. They have meat ripping pointy carnivorous teeth. They do not have molars. They may 鈥渃runch鈥?a piece of food once to crack and break it鈥?but they are absolutely unable to chew a hard piece if food. Want your cat to have clean teeth? Give them an appropriately sized raw bone. :o)
I personally feed a Raw Meat and Bones based diet to my cats and they are very healthy on it. I HIGHLY recommend it. Once I got the hang of it and felt comfortable with it it's a snap to prepare. It's something you might want to consider someday. They are obligate carnivores after all and must derive ALL their nutrients from meat based sources. They are unable to absorb them from any other source. Despite thousands of years of domestication they remain strictly carnivorous. True and honest meat eaters and that is what they need most. Protein from meat!
If you are interested in feeding a raw diet some great places to start learning are http://www.catinfo.org/ , http://www.catnutrition.org/ , and http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/ .
If you would like to try raw with your cats and don鈥檛 want to get all technical about it but want to try a trusted, time tested and balanced raw diet you can order from http://www.felinespride.com/products/cat... . I purchased this myself when I first started and my cats loved it!
If raw is not an option for you please be aware that there are three Categories of Pet Foods:
-"Grocery store" foods 鈥?(Generic Brands and cheap name brands) Those foods found in grocery stores and mass-market retailers are made with lower-quality, less-digestible, inexpensive ingredients and are therefore a cheaper alternative. While easy on the pocketbook, "grocery store" foods normally do not provide your cat with the healthiest, most nutrient-dense ingredients.
-Premium foods 鈥?(Iams/Eukanuba, Purina One, Hills Science Diet, Nutro and such) Foods often found in grocery stores, pet stores, and veterinarian offices that contain higher-grade ingredients, but still include many elements of "grocery store" food, such as artificial colors, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, and "filler" ingredients such as corn and wheat products, by-products and even animal digest. Yuck! Premium foods are usually more expensive than "grocery store" foods because their ingredients are sometimes of a higher quality, and are therefore somewhat more beneficial and digestible. But don鈥檛 be fooled, some of those same so called Premium brands are sometimes worse than grocery store foods, but they charge prices like they are better. They aren鈥檛!
-Healthy foods 鈥?(Wellness, Merrick, Eagle Pack, Drs Foster & Smith) The newest addition to the pet food market - provide pets with the highest quality, healthiest, and most nutritious ingredients. They are typically available for purchase online or direct from the manufacturer. Some better retailers are starting to carry them now. Complete Petmart carries a few healthy brand foods. Foods in the Healthy class contain nutrient-rich ingredients. Formulated to provide optimum health benefits for pets, these foods often use real meat as the primary protein source, carbohydrate-rich whole grains like brown rice and barley and whole, fresh fruits and vegetables. They should not contain artificial preservatives, flavors, or colors. They will almost always be fortified with additional vitamins and minerals, and will use the best natural sources for fatty acids to help build healthy skin and a beautiful coat. Because healthy foods use high quality ingredients, you should expect to pay a little more than you would for other types of pet food. Remember, though, with healthy foods you can feed less since healthy foods are more nutrient-dense than other types of food so it often evens out or cost鈥檚 les than feeding foods filled with cheap non-nutritional by-products fillers.
With all that information in mind, when you are choosing a new cat food, study the ingredients. All ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight. Meaning whatever ingredients are listed first on the list, there is more in there. The first ingredients listed should be whole meat ingredients, protein sources, such as Chicken or Turkey. NOT just the word 鈥渕eat鈥? Who the heck knows what that is? The word Chicken Meal is ok, but it should be a secondary ingredient, not first. Meal is the meat dehydrated and ground into a powder.
The ingredients also should NOT include any by-products or animal digest whatsoever. Those are disgusting left over animal parts that are scraped off the filthy floors of meat and poultry plants. They should just go into the trash but they put them into pet food instead. EW!!!! Also make sure there are no artificial colors or flavors. And make sure there is no BHA and BHT used preservatives. These preservatives have been shown to cause cancer in both cats and dogs. Bad Bad stuff and it鈥檚 in almost every cat treat on the market. :(
So, in summery of the ingredients鈥?if you see the words by-products, Animal Digest, the word 鈥渕eat鈥?alone, Corn, Corn Gluten, Wheat Gluten, or BHA or BHT鈥?stop reading, put down that product and move on to the next.
Be aware that when switching to a Healthy, Holistic or Organic food, you will pay for what you get. Good foods are not cheap. They are pricey and will cost you more than cheaper products, just like steak costs more than hotdogs. But again, you will be feeding a better food and improving the over all health of your pet. This in turn leads to less vet visits for illness now and more importantly later in life in their geriatric years. You will also feed less of this food on a per animal basis because a smaller amount of food contains what your cat needs. Overall healthy wet foods are well worth it, if only for the piece of mind that the ingredients are better for your cat than cheap crap.
You can start your research for a healthy cat food here if you are not ready to try feeding a Raw diet:
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com
If you want to buy in a store, Complete Petmart is a good store and carries quite a few natural, organic, and holistic blends. Also check with your local feed/grain stores.
I highly recommend you take the time to research for yourself, but the information I have given should get you off to a good start. Good luck choosing a new healthy food!
********IMPORTANT*******Don鈥檛 forget to switch your Pets food slowly over a period of 10 to 14 days, if you can. Mixing 25% new to 75% old. Then 50/50鈥?then 75% new to 25% old. And finally 100% New.
Please don鈥檛 feed Iams / Eukanuba. It鈥檚 ALL fillers, byproducts, animal digest and CRAP. http://www.iamscruelty.com to see the terror they create. Is your cat a grazer (eats only when hungry even though there is food out all the time for them) or do you put out food at certain times of the day? Because your cat might be upset over the fact that there is another cat in the house and might be eating all the food before the kitten has a chance to eat much. Another thing is depression. Bengals needs lots of attention--I know, we have a few. But since they have major ADD or something they usually keep pretty trim, so your cat might sense that you don't love him/her as much anymore because you got a new kitten, he/she probably sees that as you trying to replace him/her and has turned to food for comfort. Just be sure to feed them in separate locations and the bengal a little less than normal, and no table scraps. And you might want to get some dieting cat food, and play more energetic games that involve running around and jumping. So just stick to the normal weight loss ways of dieting a little and lots of exercise and your cat should be fine. Oh, and no canned food, that stuff is so unhealthy for your cat and helps with the weight gain. From my blog:
WEIGHT LOSS FOR CATS
Why do cats get fat? It can be a combination of issues, or just one. First the obvious - overfeeding. This may happen either because you're giving in to the begging or because you're free-feeding (keeping food available all day) and your cat is not self-regulated. The second reason is feeding inappropriate, low-quality food (most dry foods). The third would be medical reasons I'm not qualified to discuss, but they're rare. Most cats are fat simply because they're fed the wrong food and are fed too much.
Is it bad for cats to be overweight? Of course! It's very bad. It often leads to diabetes, not to mention that fat cats probably don't feel very cat-like. Who would when dragging around extra pounds?
Why is dry food bad? With very few exceptions, dry food is not appropriate food for cats. It's chock full of carbs/sugar, doesn't provide enough meat-based protein, and is often loaded with grains such as wheat or corn (which provide those carbs/sugars). Wheat, corn and soy are known allergens and in many cats will cause digestive upsets. Not to mention most also contain "meal" and "byproducts." Cats are obligate carnivores who need to eat a diet high in protein (from meat) and fat and very low in carbs. The mouse is the perfect cat food - meat, organs and bones, with perhaps a tiny bit of grains that may exist in the mouse's stomach. In addition, dry food leaves cats dehydrated. They do not instinctively drink enough water because they're designed to get it IN their food. This results in concentrated urine which can lead to all sorts of problems. And it DOES NOT CLEAN THE TEETH! Really - think about - does dry food clean OUR teeth? If it did wouldn't dentists prescribe cookies instead of brushing?
What should cats eat? Cats should eat a species appropriate diet which very much resembles Atkins (Catkins). A raw diet is the very best, so long as it's properly supplemented to meet a cat's nutritional needs. There are many raw feeding forums available through Yahoo Groups that one can join to learn more. The next best choice is a good quality canned food (or even a commercially prepared raw diet such as Nature's Variety). These foods will have meat listed as the first ingredient, will not contain corn, wheat or soy, may include organ meats, and will not list "meal" or "byproducts." See the What to feed link for suggestions. Additionally, the brand By Nature Organics is a very good food, and at 150 calories per 6oz can, is a very good choice for weight loss.
What about supplements for weight loss? The addition of L-Carnitine to a cat's diet may assist with weight loss. 250-500 mg per day can be added to assist with weight loss. It is probably best to start with a lower dosage until you see how your cat reacts.
How soon will I see results? Cats need to lose weight slowly, at the rate of no more than 1 pound per month, and often less. This is because rapid weight loss may cause hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) which can be fatal.
In a nutshell, most cats are fat because they've been fed too much (free-feeding or indulging them) and because they're fed dry food which is NOT appropriate food for them due to the grain/carb/sugar content. Cats are obligate carnivores who need to eat a high meat-based protein diet, which is also high in fats and low in carbs.
Many vets, who are sadly ignorant on the topic of proper cat nutrition, will recommend prescription diet foods (usually dry). Cats are expected to lose weight on a starvation diet of 1/4 or 1/3 cup of food per day. Everyone is miserable in these situations.
The solution is to switch the fat cat (and any others in the household as well) to a good quality canned food. Because these foods are species appropriate, the cat will lose weight at a safe, slow pace (no more than 1 pound per month). Switching foods needs to occur slowly, and if you're trying to get a kibble junkie to eat canned food, that will happen naturally.
How much should cats eat?
This varies. Average cats may eat between 20-30 calories per pound per day. But note that that is IDEAL pounds. Using 25 calories per day for example, an 8 pound cat could eat 200 calories per day. By the same token, a cat who weighs 20 pounds but should weigh 10 could eat 250 calories per day. You multiply the ideal weight by the calories to arrive at that figure. When working toward weight loss, it's perhaps best to start at the lower end of the scale (20).
How do I find out how many calories are in cat food? See the link "Values in canned food." If it's not listed there, you'd need to contact the manufacturer.....I believe that link provides some help there as well.
That's it. Easy as pie. Not only will fat cats lose weight, but it and any others in the home will reap many benefits of eating a speciies appropriate diet.
See the links below for detailed information on this topic.
UPDATE: Poppy lost 5 pounds and Sophie lost 2 following this plan (from October to October). Each cat gets one can (5.5oz) of Nature's Variety Instincts per day. No one is starving or miserable. My vet is happy with her progress and so am I. Only 4 pounds to go! |
