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My cat is overweight. How can I help him lose weight and get active?
Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Cat | Russian Blue | Male | neutered | 1 year and 11 months old | 13.2 lbs
I have a 2 year old male kitty who is about 13lbs. I would like for him to lose weight, but I don’t know how to go about doing so. I would appreciate some tips about what a good goal weight for him would be, what brands of food are good for weight loss, how much food/how many calories he should be eating a day, and ways to get him to be more active!
4 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Answered By Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH
Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner
Published on March 26th, 2018
Since cats are obligate carnivores, we think the most biologically appropriate food for a domesticated cat is a mouse which is a high protein diet. The closest we can get to that ideal diet with commercial food is a canned food diet. Canned food diets are lower in carbohydrates and higher in protein than dry foods. Since cats are obligate carnivores, they are not able to utilize carbohydrates effectively and will often just gain weight on foods that are higher in carbohydrates.
The best website I have found to describe this well is listed below.
http://catinfo.org/
The above website also discusses changing cats from dry food to canned food. I most commonly recommend Wellness canned food for cats. It is a very food company with a good history and cats tend to do well on it. The general rule for cats is that they should eat about 5.5 ounces of canned food each day for each 10 pounds of ideal body weight. But be sure to go slowly with any diet changes to prevent GI upset.
As far as getting Kit to be more active, I would recommend looking at the website below for ideas to get an indoor cat more active.
https://indoorpet.osu.edu/cats
Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answered your questions. Thanks for using PetCoach.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpfulRelated Answers from Veterinarians
Answered By Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH
Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner
Published on January 28th, 2018
Cuddles is adorable! Thanks for posting pictures.
I certainly understand the struggle with getting weight off cats. You didn't mention what you are currently feeding Cuddles, but the best weight loss plan I have found is changing from a dry food to a canned food. Cats are obligate carnivores and cannot utilize carbohydrates efficiently. Therefore the carbohydrates that are necessary to make a dry food dry are converted directly to fat and are not able to be metabolized efficiently for energy. Although diet food is lower in fat and calories, it is usually higher in carbohydrates, so it is very difficult to get cats to lose weight with.
I am attaching a link to a website which has some great info on transitioning a cat from a dry food to a canned food (which can sometimes be a challenge).
Finally, one thing that I have used to keep my cats busy (and not crying for food when they are hungry) is to feed a small amount of treats in a feeder such as this.
https://docandphoebe.com/
Good luck! I hope that was helpful and gives you some ideas for Cuddles. Thanks for using PetCoach.1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Dr. Davis
Veterinarian
Published on August 21st, 2017
Feeding the overweight cat 100% meat wet food and no dry kibble will keep him feeling full and help him lose weight. I also like to give them plain canned pumpkin as it increases the fiber in the diet and has minimal calories. Most cats like the canned pumpkin surprisingly. Cats are carnivores and the carbohydrates in dry food often makes them fat. As far as the others go they can eat both wet and dry. I try to have the dry available only when you are monitoring who's eating or when you have Brian separated so he doesn't eat any. He should lose slowly about .5 kg a month. I'm glad you are addressing his weight as it puts a strain on his organs, joints and many overweight cats get diabetes. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your cats.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By C. Rathjens, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on March 18th, 2019
I'd actually recommend focuses on calories per cup rather than the percentage fat. The percentage that is shared on the bag doesn't really mean whole lot. You want less than 300 calories per cup for it to be a weight loss food. I don't recommend grain free diets because they can be lacking in important nutrients, are linked with heart disease in dogs, and we just don't know enough to figure out exactly what the problem with them is. I would definitely recommend trying to do some canned food and give him just a bit of dry food. Think of canned food as the protein and dry food as the carbs -- if you eat carbs all day it's hard to control your weight AND you want to eat more. You can also try to get Pepe to be more active with toys like this: https://docandphoebe.com/ Finally, before you switch foods or otherwise changing things up, consider just giving him a bit less. If it was working, you may just need to adjust down a bit.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful