Overweight Cat Help

Feline obesity generally occurs when the body weight is >20% above their normal ideal body weight. This means that a 12 lbs. cat that should ideally be 10 lbs. is considered to be obese.

There are many different options for weight loss in cats. The first thing that can be done is look at the lifestyle your cat lives and the calories they intake. Do they consume their food twice daily and seem to be content to sleep most of the day? The reason I ask is that is not actually a natural cat behaviour. Cats in the wild have to seek and consume multiple small meals throughout the day. Based on this, we have seen results with doing multiple small feedings for cats and placing them in different places so they are “hunting” their food. You will want to change their food to an actual calorie reducing diet. If you were to just reduce the amount of their normal diet you can off-set the nutrition value of their diet, therefore, reducing the vitamins and minerals consumed as well.

During a nutritional consult the staff will measure your pet’s body condition score to determine if your cat is ideal overweight or underweight. We will then discuss with you the diet you are currently feeding and determine if another food would be beneficial. During the consult, we will address if a diet is needed to assist other concerns such as dental disease. If there is a past history of any organ damage or arthritic changes. We may also address diet changes just based on your pet’s current life stage.