What, how, and when should I feed my obese cat for weight loss?

I adopted a cat that weighed 28 pounds. I measured his diet food and added in several tablespoons of plain canned pumpkin to his food twice daily. It took almost two years but he is now 12 pounds. He still gets canned pumpkin daily to maintain his weight. Most cats enjoy pumpkin. The cats may lose weight better on an all meat canned diet or Hills metabolic diet. With pumpkin, canned food, or the metabolic food most cats are not as hungry, and can still lose weight. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Miso.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, you can cut back a bit on how much you feed her. Ideally, this is based on your veterinarian's recommendations on how much to cut back which is based on how much she weighs and the kind of food she eats. Another alternative, is feeding her a weight loss diet that works great called Hill's Science Diet metabolic weight management diet. This is something you can buy online or at your local pet store. Good luck and have a good night!

It's great that you want to be proactive about Tiger's health! Feeding an all canned food diet can help a lot with weight loss in cats. There are also several prescription food options for weight loss like Hill's Metabolic that you may want to discuss with your veterinarian. Getting Tiger more active will also help him lose weight. I'd recommend setting aside 10-15 minutes a day to play with him with a laser pointer or other toy to get him moving. Because most cats are most active around feeding time varying the times of day he is fed will help stimulate more activity as well. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and good luck with Tiger!

She should gradually lose weight over several months. Cats usually only lose about one half a pound a month unless you restrict the amount of food given daily. It’s rare for them to get too thin if she’s an indoor cat who is fairly inactive. When she is a normal weight then you may want to increase the amount of wet daily a little so she maintains her normal weight. I have found that some cats still don’t lose on a wet food only diet. If she’s slow to lose the weight I give less wet food and add a tablespoon of plain canned pumpkin to each feeding to increase fiber and fill her up with less calories. Increasing her daily activity will speed the weight loss also by building muscle and burning calories. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your cat.

Blue buffalo is one of the highest calorie foods. I recommend switching to Hills Metabolic diet, or another low calorie cat food. I’ve found the metabolic diet very effective with weight loss in cats and dogs. You’ll need to measure the food amount and in addition I add a tablespoon of plain canned pumpkin with each meal for added fiber and to fill them up. After my mother’s obese cat came to live with me I gave this diet and he lost over ten pounds. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Gatsby.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! A great diet for Summer would be Hill's Science Diet metabolic weight management diet. This is a dry diet. I recommend that you feed her the amount recommended in the bag based on her weight. This diet is very effective for this purpose. Good luck and have a great day!

Thanks for more information! Wet food has fewer calories that dry food due to the higher moisture content, so I'd recommend wet food for Snowball. Do not free feed, give him food twice a day at set times, and feed him according to the instructions on the can of food. No treats at all and no human food. I see he's an older boy, so he may not be into playing, but you can look at trying to get him more active with some toys. I hope this helps!