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How to put a cat on a diet. Please help !!!

(45 Posts)
Sheilasue Sun 07-Jan-18 12:30:58

My cats the opposite he grazes through the day. Very fussy and will only eat tin fish cat food. Has to be Wilkos tuna and tuna a shrimp. Likes dreamys though have to be strict there.
Does like tuna though. Has that once a week.

glammanana Sun 07-Jan-18 12:16:01

My Oliver is such a greedy boy and I have to watch him carefully as to what he eats,he is a big breed anyway a chunky large British Shorthaired Blue who weighs in at 6kgs,we have put him down slowly to 2 cartons of food a day along with treats (6 at a time only) he seems to have kept the weight the same for a few months now so we must be doing something right.All my neighbours have been told not to feed him if he appears in their garden begging pretending he is a starved cat.

GoldenAge Sun 07-Jan-18 12:10:23

Does he have a 'gym' in the house? You could try putting his food in small amounts on the different levels of a cat 'activity centre' to at least encourage him to hunt for the food rather than having it presented to him in a comfortable place.

Musicelf Sun 07-Jan-18 12:01:10

My late-lamented cat Charlie was enormous too, and he lived to eat and sleep. He was a very gentle, friendly cat, and although we rationed his food, he would find others who would feed him. Whenever I came home from work I would hear a nearby door open and a "Bye Charlie!"..........he knew where to go! In the end I had to put a tag on his collar which said, "Please don't feed me!"

Poor Charlie met his end while impersonating a roundabout on the road outside the house. The whole street was devastated.

quizqueen Sun 07-Jan-18 11:57:21

One of my cats had liver cancer and a symptom was wanting to eat constantly. Not what you want to hear, I know, but please get your cat checked out by a vet asap.

kazzabarbie Sun 07-Jan-18 11:34:11

Have your cat checked for hyperthyroidism its quite common as your cat gets older. One of the signs is eating a lot just thought I would mention it. I also buy bon-apettreat.com/product/super-premium-senior-cat-food/
its reduced fat and no nasties and has helped my cat with stomach problems. My dog is on the reduced fat no grain food from here too and he is so much healthier. Best Wishes

Cold Sun 07-Jan-18 11:31:12

Talk to your vet first - check there are no medical problems that need resolving

Then you can buy the prescription diet cat foods that have reduced calories

LadyGracie Sun 07-Jan-18 11:23:46

Try Hills Prescription Feline r/d (reduction diet) dried food. It can be bought online, much cheaper than buying from a vet. It is still quite expensive but lasts for ages, both my cats love it, and it works.

Jalima1108 Sun 07-Jan-18 11:19:58

Is he a Six Dinner Sid?
grin

SewAddict Sun 07-Jan-18 11:16:35

I have the same problem with one of our rescue cats. He constantly clamours for food and will steal the other one's food unless I stand guard. I try hard not to give in. Removing the bowls after feeding is a good suggestion.

lesley4357 Sun 07-Jan-18 11:08:57

Try Senior Iams- it has less calories as older cats don't need as many. Supermarkets sell it and can usually find it on offer. Measure carefully!

IngeJones Sun 07-Jan-18 11:08:51

Don't put an overweight cat on a crash diet they have to lose weight very slowly. This is because cats have something special about their livers that if they start metabolising fat too fast their livers give out. I don't really understand it but the long and short of it is be careful to make sure they only lose weight slowly.

vampirequeen Sun 07-Jan-18 10:01:38

Is he a Six Dinner Sid? It's very hard to control a cat's food intake if they go out because they'll scavenge and take food where they can.

MissAdventure Sat 06-Jan-18 22:23:44

See if you can encourage him to play, maybe? Get him to have a mad half hour every day. I'm not sure if rice is an option, mixed in with his food, because I've known it to used for an overweight dog.

lemongrove Sat 06-Jan-18 20:36:25

Yes, check he has been wormed and then halve his diet.
I would actually take food dishes away after he has eaten, until the next meal is due.He will pester you for a while but eventually wait until his dish is put out with food in it.
We did this once with a greedy cat and it worked.
If you leave the dish out he will sit by it waiting for a refill.

Jalima1108 Sat 06-Jan-18 20:29:59

You can control what he eats - but does he go out and is he fed by someone else as well?
Cats are very canny.
Does he need worming? That could make him eat but his tummy could look large.

suzied Sat 06-Jan-18 20:02:44

Halve his portions. Buy the low calorie good quality dried food, occasional cooked chicken, plenty of water.

tanith Sat 06-Jan-18 19:37:51

Why can you not just stop giving him so much? You know it's for the cats health and wellbeing why wouldn't you.

kittylester Sat 06-Jan-18 19:36:23

I'm watching this this thread with interest. Our 6 year old cat has suddenly ballooned!

1974cookie Sat 06-Jan-18 19:31:03

Long story, but briefly, we were adopted by a beautiful cat just over 4 years ago. He appeared in our garden and has stayed with us ever since.
'Blue' as we called him is an amputee. One of his front legs was amputated a long while ago. My Partner and I after much searching, discovered his previous owners.
Nice kind people, but they rescued so many animals, we suspect that Blue felt left out, and as such left home and came to us. We consider ourselves extremely lucky as we love him so much.
However, he just wants to eat, and eat, and eat, and he is putting on too much weight. This is not good for a 3 legged cat. We are trying to cut back, but apart from expensive Vets food, which most cats do not like anyway, what can we do??
Please help.