I have an indoor seven year-old cat who is a "little bit fluffy" as her vet says. I've tried every indoor cat food sold in the stores, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to switch to the expensive stuff at the vet to control some of her fluffiness. Has anyone out there bought a specific brand/type and been satisfied with the results?
While doing that go get one of those laser pointers at Petsmart. HTey are $6 or so maybe up to $10. My cats love them. My hubby keeps one on his keyring adn every time they here him jingle it they come running.
That way kitty can also have some exercise.
We used Iams but I think the key is actually reading the back and getting ear plugs. He lost five pounds in one year while on the weight loss amount. The problem was cats are very vocal about being on a diet. Very!
They also feel that turnabout is fair play so if you leave your dish out he will remove a portion from that, just to see if you like it.
Oh and even lacking opposable thumbs they can open your pantry door if it is left without securely locking it. :(
Yeah, that is about all....
The prescription diets are a little lower in calories and higher in fiber than the low-calorie over-the-counter diets, so theoretically you can feed slightly more while still cutting calories. But like others have said, the key is not allowing an all-night buffet. My cats are fed various premium-brand dry foods (Wellness, Blue Buffalo, etc.) but I only limit their dry food to 1/2 cup a day to keep them lean. Sometimes they get canned as a treat, but that's in place of their dry food for the day. When the food is gone, it's gone. I've discussed this with many clients with "fluffy" cats and they always seem shocked and I just remind them that the cat is not going to starve to death if there's no food in the bowl for a few hours or overnight. Many of these cats have a full bowl of dry food out at all times and the bottom of the bowl is never seen because it's constantly getting refilled!
Interestingly, there is an internal medicine specialist (for cats) that advocates more canned food diets and no dry for cats that are diabetic and need to get their diabetes under control. The theory is that canned foods, if they are just meat and don't contain rice, wheat gluten, etc., are higher in protein and very low in carbohydrate, which is more the way cats are designed to eat. Cats evolved as strict carnivores and their bodies and metabolism are not really designed to process carbohydrates and starches very well. Might be something worth discussing with your own vet. There are also dry foods out there that are as high in protein, and grain-free, as a dry food can get, and might be helpful - but again, portion control is really important too. Good luck with your "little bit fluffy" puddy-tat! :)
I have found grain-free foods to be best all around for my kitty. It helps keep her weight in check, her fur is super soft, her digestive issues are gone since switching and since the food is not full of grain fillers, she eats less cause she get fuller faster. I typically buy Taste of the Wild - it's a great brand and a little cheaper than some of the other grain-free brands. She has had other grain-free brands as well and loves them all. I find it in our local pet shop, but I believe PetSupermarket carries it as well. Many of the local pet shops often have samples that you can try and see which your kitty may like best. The staff also tend to be much more helpful and willing to talk to you about your pet's needs and I have found them very knowledgeable about the various foods available.
I also agree with the portion control. Our kitty gets one 1/4 scoop in the morning and evening. If she ever looks for additional food, we will give her some treats like fresh meat or veggies, depending on what we are eating that day.
My mom is the one who introduced me to the grain-free food for my kitty. She has 5 cats and they are all very healthy and vibrant kitties, including her 13 year old cat who acts like a kitten now that she's on a healthier diet.
Science Diet helped saved our eight-year-old cat that had liver failure and was given less than a 50/50 chance of living. He lived to be 19! I haven't fed a cat anything else since.
Our 16 lb cat has been put on a diet! We switched his food to the Iam's Diet cat food and he has already lost half a pound in three weeks! (That's a lot for a cat, I think.) He gets 1 cup each day.
Our vet told us he needs to get down to 12 lbs.
I have found that Science Diet Light dry food works pretty well. However, what is even more important is portion control. 1/4 cup food in the am and 1/4 cup food in the pm is all they need, especially an indoor kitty who doesn't get the same amount of exercise as an outdoor kitty. It seems like so little but really it's true. We can't make cats exercise but we can stop them from over eating by carefully controlling how much they eat. You might also get portion advice from your doctor. Do not leave food out all day for grazing. Kitty may mew for awile when she gets hungry but she will adapt to the new regime and probably stop after awhile. Good luck and long live kitty!
I have three "fluffy" indoor cats and have recently switched to the IAMS reduced calorie and really stuck to a certain amount. I'm sticking to it!!
I no longer have cats, I now have dogs and I have always found that feeding them all natural foods like Blue Buffalo and Nutro (dog only I think) are best for healthy lifestyle management. I have also found wonderful help on choosing the best one for my pets from the people at petsmart they often have brand representatives on site to help answer your questions as well. I do think that an all natural diet and new exciting toys will help your cat back into its ideal weight.
We have an extra-extra-large, I mean, fluffy cat who is fifteen. We have tried Science Diet but now use the weight control Iams. Truthfully, it hasn't controlled her weight. If I was good "mom" I would do portion control, but she sneaks leftover table food (or maybe the kids slip it to her?), so I'm not sure it would help anyway. On the plus side, I think her food has helped her maintain an excellent health record; even at her age, she gets around fine and has only been sick once in her life (UTI--due to weight, incidentally...), and that was just this spring.
This is something to talk to your vet about. Pets are like kiddies - when they're hungry they let you know!
A few years ago we had a dog (not a cat) who was, well, yes, fluffy. We did do the expensive prescription dog food (dry) for a while. The reasons were that the food we could buy from the vet was more nutritious than the "light dog food" sold in the stores - and that we could give her the same quantity. So she was eating the same volume and felt well-fed, but was taking in fewer calories. After a few months she was back to her proper weight and was able to go back to the regular food (with her people keeping an eye out that she didn't get too many treats!).
Is your fluffy kitty on senior food? At seven, they've considered feline senior citizens. Again, ask your vet about this.
The vet should have some prescription cat food, though a little pricey, Science Diet is a great one, and worth it. Also, work on feeding smaller portions. You can also make healthier food options. Lots of great recipes online. just be careful, since some veggies/fruits are poisonous to cats or difficult for their digestive systems to digest.
My kitten is teeny tiny and is always meowing for food! We give her small amounts of healthy snacks throughout the day to help her appetite, and we do not allow her to graze on her food bowl, otherwise she would pig out like a little oinker.
Cutting back is the main thing. You can replace some food with veggies too. We have done that for our cats, low sodium peas or green beans are great. Read the labels on the bags, I can't remember which is actually regulated, but between diet, low calorie, lite only one is actually required to have a set number of calories or less. Wet food can also help instead of dry. The main thing is to meal feed and measure how much you are feeding and cut back as needed.
