According to the VCA Animal Hospitals, the general feline population is obese, with more than 50% of cats worldwide aged 5-11 years old weight higher than their ideal weight.
Obesity can significantly affect your cat’s life, increasing their risk of developing different health problems, such as arthritis, diabetes, urinary problems, liver disease, and pancreatitis. Fat cats also have a decreased quality of life and are at a higher risk of cancer.
Making sure that your cat maintains a healthy weight is one of the most important responsibilities you’ll have as a pet owner. Cats who reach and maintain their ideal weight experience better, healthier, and more active lives.
This article will discuss everything you need to know on how to help your cat maintain a healthy weight — from determining the ideal weight of your cat to identifying effective strategies to help them lose weight healthily.
What’s Your Cat’s Ideal Weight?
Most domestic cats should weigh about 10 pounds, though that may vary by frame and breed. For example, a Maine Coon can be 25 pounds while a Siamese cat may weigh 5 pounds, and both are still considered healthy.
Your vet can assess whether your cat is overweight, but there are easy steps to determine that information on your own. Cats who have healthy weights will show hourglass figures when you’re looking down at them and shouldn’t have a saggy belly hanging down. Most importantly, you should be able to feel their ribs.
What Are the Best Practices for Putting Your Cat on a Weight Loss Diet?
Your cat’s weight loss diet should be your priority the moment you find out that they’re overweight. To achieve this goal, you need to pay attention to your cat’s diet and ensure that they’re getting plenty of exercise every day. Incorporating these into your cat’s daily routine requires adjustment, which is why it’s important that the two of you are ready.
Listed below are some of the best practices when putting your cat on a weight loss diet:
Always Talk To Your Vet First
Before changing your cat’s diet — whether it’s about adding or removing certain foods — consult your vet first. Cats have different needs and physiology, and the tactics that helped one cat lose weight might not have the same effect on your cat.
Your vet can create a tailored-fit weight loss diet plan for your cat to guarantee that they lose weight safely. Vets are the best sources of advice who can give you specific dos and don’ts as you put your cat on a weight loss diet.
Identify How Much Weight Your Cat Needs to Lose
One of the first steps in creating a highly effective weight loss plan for your cat is to determine how much weight they should lose. As mentioned, the ideal weight of cats varies depending on many factors, so consult your vet. It’ll be challenging for you to create and stick to a weight loss diet plan if you don’t know how your cat should weigh.
Give Your Cat Time to Transition to a New Diet
Regardless of how much weight your cat has to lose, chances are, you’ll need to change their diet. You might have to replace their existing kibbles with something healthier or remove certain food from their diet.
To avoid any health issues as you’re giving your cat a new diet, give them time to adjust. This usually means spending at least two weeks transitioning from the old diet to a new one. You can mix their old and new food together, gradually changing the ratio from mostly their current food until it only contains their new food.
Giving your cat time to transition to a new diet will also allow you to monitor if the new food is causing any symptoms or allergic reactions.
Don’t Rush the Process
Similar to how humans lose weight, your cat will also need a lot of time to put off those extra pounds. Losing weight healthily requires a lot of time, which is why it’s important to stay patient all throughout the process.
Avoid changing your cat’s food or incorporating exercise into their daily routine drastically. Taking this route will only do more harm than good. For example, cats that aren’t fed for two consecutive days can develop fatty liver diseases and can worsen into liver failure when left untreated. This health condition can become fatal, especially to kittens.
How Can You Help Your Cat Lose Weight?
Once you’ve noticed that your cat is overweight, it’s crucial to take action immediately. Losing weight requires time, and the longer you put off the task, the more challenging it’ll be for your feline friend to achieve a healthy, happy life.
Here are ten ways to help your cat lose weight:
- Hide Their Litter Box and Meals
How physically active your cat is influences their weight. And because most indoor cats don’t want to exercise, it’s crucial for pet owners like you to look for ways to ensure that they still move around.
One way to encourage exercise in your cat (without them knowing it) is by hiding their litter box and meals around your house. Move their litter box and meals every day, so your cat can get exercise along the way.
For example, if your home has more than one storey, you can place their meals on the first floor and their litter box on the second floor. In this way, your cats won’t have any other choice but to go up and down the stairs regularly.
- Introduce a Feeding Ball or Treat Toy
Cats are motivated to do something when they’re rewarded, which is why they’re willing to work for treats. Buy a feeding ball or treat toy that’ll make your cat trade physical effort for a yummy treat. We love this feeder ball from Amazon because it’s easy to clean and combines mealtime with exercise.
Aside from making mealtime more fun, using a feeding ball and treat toy also provides mental stimulation. Since these toys release treats a little at a time, using them regularly can also help your cat slow down when eating.
- Spread Out Meals
Feeding your cat once every day might be convenient for you, but do you know that this practice actually contributes to overeating and weight gain? Instead of feeding your feline friend once daily, spread out their meals and feed them several times a day. This feeding pattern will prevent your cat from feeling hungry all the time.
Spreading out your cat’s meal also works if you’re changing how much you feed them. For example, if you want to cut your cat’s caloric intake by feeding them less every day, giving them small meals frequently will prevent them from whining from hunger. This will also help their bodies transition to the changes in their diets.
- Invest in an Automatic Feeder
A lot of pet owners are guilty of overfeeding their cats. Pet owners can’t resist their cats and will likely feed them more whenever they purr and bunt. You can easily curb this practice by investing in an automatic feeder.
An automatic feeder is a must-have if you want your cat to lose weight. This item releases food at a specific time of the day, while carefully measuring the amount of calories your cat gets. Automatic feeders are also beneficial if you’re often away during day time.
This automatic feeder from Voluas is one of our top choices because you can set it between 1-4 meals with 0-12 portion choices. The PETLIBRO Automatic Cat Feeder is our runner-up as it comes with an easy-to-setup program and allows pet owners to record a 10-second message.
Choose a timer-based feeder, not one that dispenses food based on your cat’s actions. Using a timer-based feeder will prevent your cat from overeating, resulting in a healthier weight in the long run.
- Maximize Water
Who says you have to spend a lot of money to help your cat lose weight? Using water is often enough to achieve that goal. You can add water to your cat’s food as this will help them feel fuller for longer periods. This strategy also works if your cat regularly eats dehydrated, canned, or wet food.
You can also give your cat water if they start to beg for food before or after their meal time. Encouraging your cat to drink more water can stave off hunger a little longer and can prevent overeating and weight gain.
One alternative you can consider is giving your feline friend some low-calorie hydrating snack, such as The Honest Kitchen’s Goat Milk or Raw Paw Store’s Goat Milk. Goat milk increases hydration, features probiotics for better digestive health, and provides many nutrients.
- Prioritize Play Time
Making sure that your cat stays healthy is your responsibility as a pet owner — and that means you need to allocate time to play with them. Cats are playful creatures and require playtime to stay mentally and physically healthy.
Find the time to play with your feline friend for at least 30 minutes every day using different toys. We highly recommend MeoHui Cat Toys because they’re interactive and encourage your cat to run, jump, chase, and pounce. We also love the Baoblaze Cat Tunnels as it provides hours of exercise for your pet.
If your cat consistently begs for food several times a day, distract them with toys and engage them in playtime. Most cats will forget their hunger and desire to eat if they get your undivided attention.
- Use Filler-Free Cat Food Instead of High-Carb Foods
Besides the quantity of food you give to your feline friend, the quality also matters. In the wild, cats are carnivores who have diets full of fresh protein. Unfortunately, modern cat foods and kibbles available today are highly processed and contain excessive amounts of carbohydrates.
Pay attention to the ingredients of the kibbles you feed your cats and ensure that they don’t contain too many carbs. For human-grade, lean, and tasty foods ideal for cats who want to lose weight, The Honest Kitchen’s Grain Free Turkey Dehydrated Cat Food and Grain Free Salmon & Turkey Pâté are great options.
- Take Your Cat For A Walk
Walks aren’t only for dogs — your cats can also benefit from a stroll around the neighborhood! Aside from being a great exercise, taking your cat for a walk regularly also helps boost their confidence as they get to explore a bigger, more diverse area.
To ensure your cat’s safety during walks, let them wear a harness and a leash, like this set from FAYOGOO. With a harness and leash, your cat can play freely outdoors, and you won’t have to worry about them getting lost.
- Cut Back on Treats
Just because treats are small doesn’t mean they don’t impact your cat’s diet. On the contrary, most cat treats have high-calorie content, and giving your cats too many too often can cause digestive problems, such as vomiting and diarrhea and obesity.
Instead of giving your cat treats, spend more time cuddling and playing with them. This is one of the easiest ways to reduce the amount of calories your feline friend consumes every day.
- Add L-Carnitine
According to studies, dietary L-carnitine supplements have a metabolic effect on overweight cats, helping them lose weight faster. The study showed that L-carnitine interacts with the fatty acids found in a cat’s liver and helps their bodies convert fat cells into usable energy.
There are plenty of L-carnitine supplements available for felines today. Some of Amazon’s top-rated L-carnitine supplements are from Corditab and FERA Pet Organics. But it’s always best to consult your vet before giving any supplements to your cat. These supplements will only provide benefits if you choose one that suits the nutritional needs and age of your cat.
Partner With Your Vet
Helping your cat lose weight isn’t an easy feat as the process requires effort, time, and commitment. You might even have to change your own lifestyle to better accommodate your cat’s healthier diet and better eating habits.
To make the process easier and increase your chances of succeeding, always ask for help from your vet. In fact, you should never change your cat’s diet without their approval. Vets are experts on feline nutrition and your biggest allies to ensure that your cat achieves a healthier weight!