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My spayed cat gains weight despite exercise. How to prevent obesity?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Female | spayed | 1 year and 5 months old

My cat seems to be gaining weight after being spayed. She gets lots of exercise. I don't want her to become obese. What can I do?

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

Published on July 23rd, 2016

Cats can be prone to weight gain after being spayed due to the hormonal changes this causes. I would recommend switching her to a weight management food that is lower in calories than a regular adult diet. If you are able to, feeding her canned food only will also help, since canned food is less calorie dense due to its water content. If you want to leave some dry food out for her, consider feeding it from a puzzle toy like an Eggcersizer or Kibble Nibble - this way, she has to play with the toy to get the food out, which provides her with some additional exercise and also limits how much she can eat at a time.

39Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on October 21st, 2018
The type of food won't make a lot of difference. What you should consider would be the quantity of food which should be slightly adapted to her needs.
Unfortunately castration/spay changes slightly pet's metabolism and they tend to decrease their activity and put on some weight. It is very important not to increase the amount of food given.

Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.
5Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Lauren Barry, BVSc, MRCVS, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on June 1st, 2017
Hi there, that's a great question! As you probably know, cats tend to gain weight after being spayed/ neutered. To help prevent this, you need to feed less calories OR there is a particular food made by Royal Canin (in the USA its called "Spayed/ Neutered ") and is an ideal food to transition Goodie onto. Also if you'd like to continue with her current brand of food, change her onto the adult version instead of the kitten food. I hope this helps!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Claudia Fioravanti
Veterinarian
Published on January 15th, 2019
Good job you have noticed the weight fairly soon. In order to lose weight my favourite food is metabolic food by Hill’s. I would change the food gradually by mixing her previous diet to this one. You should also increase her exercise routine through play and often interactive feeding is advisable too. Your vet might run free of charge weight loss clinic which I find are a good way to make your cat get used to the vet hospital without getting anything painful done. Hope this helps !
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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