Cat Food and Weight!

All right, since the dog food thing has been raised, I'm going to ask for some advice for my cats.

We have three and they are a P.I.T.A. to feed. They all have their own dishes and we ration their food because we have been trying to put the middle kitty, Peeps, on a diet forever now. But nothing works.

To start, I have three cats:

1. Missy: older female around 10, hyperthyroid and being treated for it. Thin as a rail and will steal anything she can get ahold of that's vaguely food-like.

2. Peeps: middle-aged female 5 to 6ish, getting scary obese. Refuses to eat in a room by herself.

3. Teddy Bear: young male Ragdoll about 3, just about perfect weight.

Peeps and Missy are the problems. We need to put Peeps on a diet, but we can't change out her food. They all get a morning measure of standard cat kibble in the morning, different amounts for each and none more than Teddy's heaping 1/3 c (he's a beast). And in the evening, they get a bit of wet food.

We tried to put them on a no-grain, high protein kibble to jump start Peeps' metabolism after her diet stalled. But she immediately came down with bladder problems. This happened both times we tried it. So we're back on grain kibble.

She won't eat if we try to isolate her with her own food. She's convinced that the others are getting something really good that she needs to have her nose in ...

At any rate, I am at my wits' end with her. How do we get her to drop weight especially since we can't put the other two on a diet? They don't need it and Missy really doesn't being hyperthyroid.

Sounds like you are describing people in this thread. Cats aren't people, they are a superior breed of beings that control their owners.

a reply to: ketsuko

For Peeps, get a small crate and feed her in that. Start feeding her smaller amounts, but be very careful not to reduce too quickly. Leave her in the crate for 15 minutes and if she doesn't eat, pick it up. let her out, and try again in an hour. Give her distilled water only for her bladder problems. If you can, change her to canned food only, also better for bladder. (why can't you change her food?) Also, exercise her. Use a clump of feathers on a string or any of the cat play toys. Even take her for a walk if you can.

Are each of them eating all their own food at one time, or do they "graze" all day?

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

No, we stopped free feeding when we realized that Peeps was gaining too much weight.

They get their food in the morning and we based the amount off of what their ideal weight should be. So they each get a different amount in their dish. Missy is the hard one because she will eat hers and go poaching what's left from the others, but since she's burning the excess off with her condition, I'd rather her do it than Peeps.

We tried to change their food twice, but the one we were changing it for Peeps, got bladder problems from the better quality food. They happened soon after the switch. We tried another food thinking it might have been brand, but she really seems to have problems with the high protein stuff. So, we're afraid to switch up her diet too much on the kibble end because it gets expensive to treat her bladder problems.

We can try shutting Peeps up, but I'm thinking she'll be much more pre-occupied about being shut up. Just like she is when shut in another room with her food.

I think when we take them in for their checkups this spring, I'm going to ask to have her tested to see if she has metabolic problems of her own. Maybe she's hypothyroid? My husband will LOVE that.

Well, we had a cat that was simply eating too much so we had to put him in a crate. He balked at first, but eventually, he learned to do it. It's best for the animal.

Also, he had bladder crystals and urinary tract infections for YEARS! We finally switched to canned food only and distilled water and he never had another problem. Kibble actually contributes to bladder problems because cats are carnivores and get most of their water from their food, so they're not big drinkers. Feeding them canned insures they'll get the water they need. Plus distilled water doesn't have the minerals that form crystals.

Give Missy a little more and Peeps a little less.

I've had cats my entire life- I could name a dozen of them, and tell their life stories.

I've never once had an overweight cat.

I've also never in my life had to limit a cats food intake- I leave enough food for both of my cats to eat for about a week out at any given time, in a self- refilling bowl thing.



If there is always food, the cat won't eat until the food is gone- they'll simply eat until they're full. Unfortunately, I don't know that this can be a change in a cats life- in my case, it's just been there since they were kittens.