Why isn't my overweight cat losing weight despite diet and exercise?

That's tough because cats hate exercising so you really have to make then adhere to a strict diet. First off make sure that you are feeding based on the resting energy requirement which can be calculated by the following equation: 30 x body weight (kg) + 70 Which gives you the number of kcals required per day. Then you need to look at the food and figure out how many kcal are in a can or cup. Once you figure that how you should be able to calculate amount to be fed per day. For an average cat: 30 x 5kg + 70=220 kcal If the food contains 315kcal/cup, 220/315=0.69 cups or about 2/3 of a cup. Also, the science diet metabolic diet is great for weight loss.

I understand what you are saying about Lulu. I would recommend doing at least a base line blood test which checks red blood cells, white blood cells, organ function, thyroid function and blood sugar. Most cats will not loose this amount of weight in a short period. Also it sounds like you are seeing some muscle wasting which does not happen in typical weight loss. A good vet exam and some basic testing will help you determine what caused the weight loss. hope that helps

Hi. Great job trying to get some weight off of her. A few recommendations....pets are NOT vegan. So it is not recommended for pets to be on this type of diet. If there is a food allergy, she should be on a prescription dog food prescribed by your veterinarian. Pets are usually 93% of the time allergic to the protein source, not carbs. So chicken or beef, etc. Therefore, a different protein source such as fish or other novel proteins are recommended. With weight problems, you will want to cut back, or stop all treats and people food. Some pets don't lose weight if they have metabolic or endocrine conditions. The most common is a low thyroid. So getting her thyroid checked is an important step. Also increase exercise as much as possible. Lastly, have your veterinarian give you a recommendation bases on weight for the amount of dog food she should have per day. Good luck.

It sounds like you're doing everything right. You didn't mention how long Sheena has been on that amount of canned food and if you have rechecked her weight. Cats tend to lose weight very slowly, so if you have changed her diet within the last 6 months, you may not be able to tell a difference yet. Unfortunately, some cats just have very poor metabolism and need very few calories. If Sheena is not losing weight, then you are certainly not starving her (even if she thinks you are). Be sure to pay attention to the number of treats that she is getting too because if you are feeding dry treats, those can significantly increase her calorie intake. Of course more exercise can always help too, so you might consider adding something like playing with a laser pointer into her daily routine. You might just need to be a little more patient with her weight loss plan, so don't get frustrated just yet. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It's unusual for Hill's metabolic diet (the prescription version) to not work at the labeled feeding amounts. I would recommend that you discuss your concerns with your vet. They can consult with representatives from Hill's to determine a different feeding regiment. It's also important to point out that some stalled weight loss can be caused by inappropriate measuring tools, feeding treats, or having the pet get food from other pet food bowls. Your vet can help you determine if this may be the case.

Getting cats to lose weight can be very challenging. Cats are obligate carnivores and cannot use carbohydrates efficiently, so they tend to be converted straight into fat. Any any dry food needs to have a good amount of carbohydrates in it in order to makes it "dry". So, even using low calorie biscuits, it can be very difficult to get a cat to lose weight. (And the bags generally recommend more calories than a normal cat needs.) My best recommendation for weight loss in cats is to change to a completely canned food diet. This website has some good information about cat nutrition. http://catinfo.org/ Some of the packets are actually also high in carbohydrates, so you have to read the labels carefully. It will seem odd that you are actually feeding a higher fat and higher caloric food in a canned food, but cats tend to lose weight that way. I generally recommend an average of 5.5 ounces of canned food per day for an average ideal body weight of 10 pounds for a cat. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

These are good questions, and I will try to help you as best as I can. The problem with judging how much a cat show weight depends not only on their breed, but their bone structure as well. Some cats are naturally bigger than others, and what is a healthy weight is individual per cat. American shorthair females can range in weight from 6-12 pounds, so it can be normal for some females to be at Luna's weight or even higher. That being said, however, she may be smaller in frame, and needs to be closer to the middle or lower end of the weight range. I certainly wouldn't want to say she needs to lose a certain number of pounds, and have her be too skinny. It's great that she has lost 1.4 pounds, and if she hasn't been seen by a vet since the summer, it may be that she has reached a better weight (sometimes cats only need to lose a few pounds to reach a healthy weight). I would recommend taking Luna back into the vet for an exam to see if she has reached a healthy weight according to them. Another way to tell is to look at her body condition score. This will help give you an idea of how she is doing weight wise, and the vet can confirm how much more she needs to lose. I will put a link to a body condition chart for cats: http://www.wsava.org/sites/default/files/Body%20condition%20score%20chart%20cats.pdf As for how much to feed her, what you've been doing has clearly helped her lose weight, and I would continue to do that if the vet feels she needs to lose more weight. If she doesn't, then you can discuss with a vet a healthy diet for her. It's normal she will be hungry, dieting is not easy for either humans or cats :-)