Why are my male cats always hungry and gaining weight on diet food?

I recommend feeding an all meat canned or wet diet with added canned plain pumpkin. Cats do not do well with carbohydrates so feeding only meat will help Pumpkin lose weight. The canned pumpkin will help fill her up and add fiber and bulk up the stool to prevent constipation. Increasing her exercise also will help. You can feed her up on the dryer or a table so she has to jump up, and having her increase her activity chasing toys or a laser pointer will help also. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Pumpkin.

If he's on a weight loss diet prescribed by your vet, then it may be that he just isn't used to getting "less" food. Feeding a higher fiber diet (most weight-loss diets add fiber) can help him feel fuller on less food, which can help with his being hungry on fewer calories. If the problem continues, ruling out any issues such as metabolic problems is also a good idea to make sure there isn't an underlying cause with it. You may also want to spread out his meals to several more throughout the day, instead of just 1-2 large meals, so that he feels like he is getting "more" over a longer period of time.

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.

The amount of food they eat depends on how many calories are in that food. Pets should eat enough to maintain a normal body condition. You should be able to feel their ribs like your fingers on the back of your hand. They should have a waist from above and 'Tuck' from below. Adding regular dry food to the canned will only increase the calories they are getting and make them gain more weight. If pets are gaining weight, there are pet foods that are formulated for weight loss and to maintain an ideal body condition that are available from your veterinarian. Ask about weight loss foods and see what they suggest. Unfortunately, housecats are prone to becoming overweight as a lack of exercise and read access to food make a perfect situation to pack on the weight.

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!

I recommend changing his diet to a specialized weight management diet such as hills metabolic so he can feel full and receive all the necessary nutrition to be healthy, whilst still losing and then maintaining weight. Mist vets offices provide free weight clinics to monitor and advise on feeding such diets and maintaining health and fitness

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.