Tortilla Cat is getting Chubby

[katluvr]

Oh can I relate.
And I have been thru all the website info on raw diet, homemade diet, etc when one of my cats had problems w/ Inflammatory Bowel.

But I am off course...last summer we found the "kittens". I found out they did NOT have an "off" button when it comes to eating. Serously, you are supposed to keep food avaialbe at all times for kittens, but they got fat.

2nd problem: multi cat household, some fat and only a couple thin (old sick girl first mentioned)

3rd problem: although had them all on organic or other "non" grocery store or vet distrubuted brands I have a cat w/ renal failure (d/t blocked urethera way back when). Putting HIM on the prescription diet DID help get his BUN/CR down...but everyone is on it. I hate that it is not more natural. And it is not low cal/low fat.

So I have an 18 pound cat w/ renal failure (not the typical renal failure cat)
Finally fixed my IBD cat w/ prednisone (tried everythign else--this works) and man what an appetite she has now. She is about to go from underweight to overweight in record time!

2 over weight 1 year olds.

And the timid cat..normal weight.

But then again, both the of their mommies have a few pounds to shed. When we go to the vet I am sure they are saying...."Here comes the fat family"!

I did digress some...(hyjacked?)...There is a LOT out there about how bad dry food is.
If I only had one cat I would not do the dry and focus on wet food that is mostly (if not all) protien. As some have said here.

K

[Aggie_Ama]

I have made her an appointment for Saturday to see the vet. I don't get her food at the grocery store but I do go to Petsmart. Maybe I will look around for other options. She is not the most awfully fat cat I have seen but she is too large, I would guess she needed to put on a little weight when we got her but not this much!

Do you have to worry about their teeth if they eat only wet food?

[Biciclista]

yes, you do have to worry about their teeth. But that's true of dry food as well.
Thanks for reminding me, I've been meaning to check all my cats' teeth.

[Eden]

Do you have to worry about their teeth if they eat only wet food?

I love this quote - I think it sums it up nicely.... "The idea that dry food promotes dental health makes about as much sense as the idea that crunchy cookies would promote dental health in a human."

I do give my cats large (dog size) jerky style treats to give them something that must chew on to eat.

[WindingRoad]

Since we are on the subject, my baby is about 15 years old now (I had to work for that). I've been feeding her dry Iams for her whole life. Peanut has always been pretty chubby and I'm noticing now as she gets older she's getting chubbier. Do you all think it would be OK to switch her to canned food at this point? I would like to get her weight down. I only have her so I can regulate the food supply easy enough. Are there any specific canned foods that are better for older cats like her?

[bmccasland]

Maybe because I've been searching for answers, but got to the feline diabeties web site http://www.felinediabetes.com/diet.htm
There's a link to nutrition charts, that includes % protein, fat, & carbs, and calories for most higher end cat foods. Charts for dry and wet are separate.
I'm a data junkie, so having the data makes me happy. Now if there'd just be a chart on taste....

And I'll have to remember Mimi's suggestion to get them jerky treats next time I'm at Petsmart for their chewing and teeth cleaning pleasure. Thanks Mimi!

[tulip]

Reposted from Show Us Your Pets in case Aggie Ama doesn't read both.

When I had cats growing up in the 70s and 80s, we fed them what was available, which was cheap-o Purina dry food. But they were farm cats and they supplemented that with plenty of mice and birds and lizards and crickets. They also got plenty of exercise and were always trim and healthy. Fudge lived to be 21, Khin-lin was 18, Marblehead was 20, and Vronsky was 15.

But if you have indoor cats, you have to feed them high-quality food. A raw diet is very much preferred for healthy, happy, and appropriate-weight cats, but not everyone is inclined to do that. So get the best food you can and give them plenty of opportunities for exercise (climbing towers and feather toys and that awesome ball-racetrack that BleekerSt Girl has for her munchkin).

[Biciclista]

I didn't say anything about jerky treats! but for those of you feeding dry food, you can wet that stuff too!

[Eden]

And I'll have to remember Mimi's suggestion to get them jerky treats next time I'm at Petsmart for their chewing and teeth cleaning pleasure. Thanks Mimi!

I'm the one who give my cats the jerky treats. I get Dogswell "Happy Hips" duck treats and "Breathies" chicken treats. I've had "Vitality" on occasion too. Stay away from the fancier ones like "Mellow Mutt" though - they contain lavender oil, which could possibly be harmful to cats, especially if they already have kidney problems.

The chicken ones I usually just break in half and give one half to each cat. They crunch on them - make a lot of noise, sometimes they will even try to swallow a piece that was a bit big and regurgitate it..... So I always keep an eye on them when they have the treats, but so far they've never seriously worried me (and these two tend to *bolt* food...) The duck treats tend to be a bit tougher and sometimes have what look like tendons, so I do break them into slightly smaller pieces unless they are very crisp.

My cats loooooove them - don't even think about trying to take one away once they've got it. They treat them like little prey.

[Veronica]

Tucker Cat was getting fat on dry. We switched both my kitties to canned only - Wellness Chicken from Petsmart - last January. Tucker lost two pounds and Cassie has stayed the same. Tucker's energy level also increased when we took him off dry.

Veronica