My senior cat is overweight and inactive. How can he lose weight?

Oh my, Kitty is a very handsome boy! I love his socks on his feet, so cute. Feeding him canned food watered down is an excellent way to get him to lose weight. Canned food has lower calories than dry kibble, and the added benefit is that it will get extra moisture into his diet hopefully preventing any further occurrences of constipation. Dehydration is the number one cause of constipation in cats. Do not feed him any treats, and try to play with him at least once a day to get him moving. At his age, he certainly won't be running around like a kitten, but movement will be good for him. I hope this helps!

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!

Kit is very handsome! Thanks for posting a picture. 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.

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!

Wet food actually helps cats lose weight. It has a higher moisture content, so it takes more of it to give a cat their daily caloric requirements I would have him seen by a vet today or tomorrow. In a senior cat, this weight loss can not only be caused by dental problems, but also diabetes, kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, or cancer. I recommend having a physical exam, geriatric blood panel, and urinalysis to diagnose what is causing his weight loss. Once the cause is found, the vet can discuss treatment options.

He probably just has a very slow metabolism. I do not know what brand of food you are currently feeding but you may need to switch him to a lower calorie food. If you would like to post again with the name of food you are feeding then we could probably help you better.

Adding in the wet food while providing her regular dry diet available as much as she wants should help increase her calorie count some. It is common for cats to start to lose weight as they age as their nutritional needs tend to change when they hit their senior years, plus absorption of nutrients overall tends to decrease with age as well. Mixing the wet into the dry may encourage her to eat a bit more and increase calorie count which should help. Your vet can also monitor her weight/BCS (most vets will let you weigh your pets at no charge) to make sure she is gaining/maintaining a healthier weight with the changes.