Fat Cats. Information and advice on fat cats, health problems fat cats encounter, as well as a weight loss plan for your fat cat.

Research indicates fat cats are far more prone than cats of normal body weight to Diabetes, arthritis and a very serious disorder called Hepatic Lipidosis.

Being overweight causes many problems in cats. These can range from flatulence to reduction in life expectancy.

Some of the other problems are heart and circulatory disorders, arthritis, diabetes, increase in surgical and anaesthetic risks, heat intolerance and skin disease.

Overfeeding of an improper diet containing too much fat and too many carbohydrates, too many snacks or scraps and not enough exercise are all factors in the cause of obesity.

What We Should Do

We humans have complete control over what our pets eat and how much they eat. Any cat that is overweight should have a physical exam performed, exact weight measured and blood and urine tests run.

It is vital that normal thyroid hormone levels are present and that the cat has no physical or metabolic dysfunction. If the fat cat is physically normal, other than the abnormal body weight from fat deposition, then a gradual and careful weight loss program can be instituted.

Feed two to six small portions daily and control the amounts fed so that over a period of time the cat does not gain weight. Many pet owners must downsize what they think is a 'normal' portion.

A cat's meal should proportionally be about 1/25 of a human meal. That comes out to between 0.6 and 1.0 ounce of food per meal for a seven-pound cat.

Diet

Cats, unlike most mammals, have no carbohydrate-digesting enzyme called Amylase in their saliva(amylase secreted from the pancreas breaks down large carbohydrate molecules into absorbable smaller units of glucose).

Reports have proven that diets high in protein and fat are most beneficial for carnivores. Protein is the key nutrient in a carnivore diet.

Exercise

Most cats spend most of their time sleeping on the couch, are left alone for long periods of time and really have nothing happening in the home that would trigger a carnivorous hunter's interest levels.

Getting an obese cat to lose weight needs to be done gradually - no crash diets allowed!

Cats have a unique metabolic response to fasting and whenever a feline's food intake is rapidly and markedly depressed, a serious and potentially fatal disorder can occur called Hepatic Lipidosis.


First, your veterinarian needs to do a thorough physical exam, blood chemistry profile including Thyroid hormone evaluation, and record an accurate weight for the cat.

Then you should gradually, over a period of three to four weeks, add greater and greater proportions of the suggested feline weight-loss diet. Mix the new diet with the old, slowly decreasing the percentage of the old diet and increasing the percentage of the new one.

Pay close attention to how much the cat is eating every day. When the cat acclimates to the diet (fed in small amounts frequently during the day), reweigh the cat at four-week intervals.

If there is no weight loss at all, or even some weight gain, the amount of food you are allowing is simply too much.

Summary

To get a cat to lose weight, do the following after consulting with your veterinarian:

1.) Have a thorough physical exam, lab tests, and accurate weigh recorded. Be sure to rule out hypothyroidism or other metabolic disorders.

2.) Feed less food than you have been

3.) Feed foods high in protein and fat and low in carbohydrate

4.) Feed small portions at intervals rather than continuous free access/ free choice

5.) Increase the cat's activity/exercise by enriching the cat's environment

6.) Reweigh the cat at three to four week intervals to assess your weight loss diet's progress

7.) Reconsider the total daily amount fed if weight gain or no weight loss is noted