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Calling all kitty CHUBSTERS! – this ones for you! If you have a fat cat in your life then pay attention!
We love them, we hug them and we feed them, but what happens when you feed them a little too much?! It seems silly but overweight cats can have a host of health problems that can last a lifetime and for us we have let our cats get a bit to fat from time to time. can last a lifetime including (but not limited to):
While a fat cat can be cute, and great for meme’s it can cause real health concerns that last a lifetime that can include things like:
- Arthritis and joint problems (leading to lameness)
- Liver issues
- Diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes)
- Inability to groom properly leading to skin problems and parasites
- Heart and Respiratory diseases
- Shortened lifespan
Plus, if none of that is enough to convince you, then just think of the associated vet costs! (If you need help with vet bill affordability check out this post)
I mentioned in my Indoor Cat Care post that you are more likely to have a fat cat if they stay indoors and they are prone to weight gain due to the limitations on the amount of exercise they get. However, all cats can have weight problems for a variety of different reasons from what they are eating to the amount that they eat! You should always check with a vet to make sure there are no underlying conditions that could be causing the weight gain and then next you should look at how, where and when you are feeding them. Here are a few ways to get the weight back under control and turn a fat cat into a healthy and happy cat.
*There are many reasons that cats gain weight (and lose it) and you should check with your vet if you have any concerns or if the weight gain is very rapid. It could be a sign of pregnancy in un-neutered females or other more serious conditions*
Regulate Feeding Times – Breakfast and dinner is what we do in our house but you can always do times that suit you. Making sure you only feed your cat at certain times of the day and lift the bowls up when they are done and this can help to regulate their hunger in the same way it does for humans and this controls the amount they eat. If your cat is a grazer and prefer to eat throughout the day, only put food down at the regulated times but don’t bring the bowl up. Ensure that all members of the household know these times and don’t accidentally double feed (we realized several months ago we were accidentally feeding our cats 4 times a day and couldn’t work out how they were getting so porky!)
Check the food – Check the type of food your cat is eating. Are they stealing off plates too? do they get “bonuses” and treats? you should cut these down and ensure the biscuits or wet food that they are being given is part of a well-rounded diet. Check the back of the labels to ensure the food is a good quality. If you are uncertain on what type of food to feed your cat then check out my post: Wet vs Dry Cat Food: Which is Best?
Sneaky Seconds (and thirds) – Make sure they aren’t sneaking food from elsewhere; neighbors, or doing some hunting of their own! Our fat cat likes to visit an elderly neighbor of ours if he is feeling a bit hungry and we had to kindly ask them to deter from feeding him. Make sure that you clean excess food away from plates or the kitchen if they have access and ensure you have a bin with a lid, a few days into the food control and they will go hunting for things.
More Playtime – Play with them more, this provides more exercise for both indoor and outdoor cats, as well as providing extra stimulus to keep them entertained. The more exercise they get, the better! You may think that your cat doing outside will automatically get them more exercise but more often than not they are sleeping in a bush instead of on the sofa so make sure you actually see, and help them to exercise.
Pick up the bowls – If your cat is a grazer but seems to be non-stop eating you can pick the food bowls up after meal times so that there is only food down for a set period of time. This helps with regulating feeding and not encouraging overeating. Grazers may not like this at first but should generally get used to the idea so you should try doing it for at least a week.
Fresh Water – Providing fresh water at all times can help keep your cat properly hydrated and regulate their appetite. It is also essential if you feed your cat dry food which can dehydrate them.
Do you have a fat cat in your life? What did you do to get them to lose weight?
You may also be interested in these Pinterest Boards:
24 comments on “Weight Loss Tips For Your Fat Cat”
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All your pictures in this post had been so funny, although I know it is a substantial health concern! I have to share this with my mom as this lady has two kitties this wounderful woman has loved too hard. They are big boys!
Charlotte, I don’t have a cat, in fact I’m allergic, but we do have lots of friends with cats. And these are great tips, I’ve pinned and stumbled them so others can use your advice. The images are hilarious, especially the cat wearing the kittydoor around his hips! LOL When pregnant that’s exactly how I felt!!! Our pets deserve to be happy, but only if it’s not endangering their health, it could give so many extra years to love on them, now that’s PRICELESS!
Thanks so much for sharing and commenting! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! the pictures are so funny and an excuse to share my love of cat meme’s as well as important issues :p xx
All of your pictures in this post were so funny, but I know it is a real health concern! I need to share this with my mom as she has two kitties she has loved too hard. They are both big boys!
I have to admit that I giggled when I initially saw this post’s headline, but you’re quite right. Free feeding can be the worst because you can’t keep track of what amount actually gets eaten daily, and some cats are little piggies. That’s one reason one of my dogs is not free fed – he’d make himself sick and eat and eat and eat.
Great post. 🙂
I don’t own a cat, but I have a friend who does, and she needs to read this article. Great info.
I am telling you now – he is NOT going to like this. Especially not the “pick up the bowls” bit. Makes sense though. I’ll tell him it’s for the sake of his health.
Great tips 🙂 It can’t be good for a cat’s health to be over weight!
Thanks for linking up to #AnythingGoes
Debbie
This is such a useful post and very helpful to those who have cats. Thanks for sharing, hope you can join next week with @withfranca #KCACOLS
I’m sure these tips will come in handy for all those with cat. Funny little picture captions too.xx #KCACOLS
Great post – our two cats are always wanting more food, but we’re a bit stingy with them and make them finish all their cat biscuits before giving them any more… they supplement their meals with birds and mice anyway! #AnythingGoes
Whilst we all like to have a chuckle at pictures of fat cats and the jokey words accompanying them, it is true that having a fat cat is so bad for their health. Three of our cats are outdoor farm cats and very much self-regulate their weight. In hot summers they go really skinny and then we can tell when a cold spell is on the way as they fatten themselves up. But it is nothing like the amount of the overweight cats above and purely to help them through the cold weather. At the moment they are somewhere between their min and max weights and the winter has so far been mild. Mind you as soon as they put on any more weight I’ll be searching out my thermals! #AnimalTales
Some great tips. We’ve never had a cat quite as fat as the ones in the pictures though!
Unfortunately we lost our cat a couple of months ago, when he was run over. He wasn’t overweight, but last summer when I was pregnant he suddenly gained weight. The funny thing was that it was my husband’s cat before I moved in and he had always thought it was female, so we envisioned that the cat was now pregnant too and we would not only have a baby but a litter of kittens. Turned out he was a male cat! oopps! Miss him terribly. Great tips! #KCACOLS
Nadia – ScandiMummy x
Oh thanks for the great tips. Our kitty is a growing girl at the moment as she is still a kitten but she is indoors and I know we will need to watch her as she is greedy. I catch her breaking into the bin and she has to be locked away when we eat as she jumps up onto the table like lightning and then down again before we can stop her. I am sure that bread and porridge are not good foods for cats but she will do just about anything to get them.
I’ve been told my cat is 2kg over weight and it has been rapid weight gain over the past year, i recently discovered a batty old cat lady is feeding all the strays in the area of which there are quite a few, this means Pushkins is eating the stray cat food that is constantly left outside our front gate, I’ve spoken with the woman who feeds the cats and explained that she isn’t actually helping as they are now breeding more but she just yelled at me and threatened to call the police, i in the meantime continue to throw the food away
yes it’s a real shame when people do this! sometimes it’s more of a hindrence than a help. Encouraging all of the un neutered strays into the area encourages breeding which increases the stray population further which is a vicious cycle. cat lovers who want to help can adopt, take in strays or even foster/volunteer but encouraging lots of cats into a heavily populated area is a recipe for disaster. Thank you for commenting 🙂 xx
These are really useful and we are needing to help yoda loose a little weight as he has gained a little too much recently!
Angela
Yoda is such a fab name! thanks for commenting ! x
Good tips! I have one plump boy (nothing like the photos above) and one who has trouble keeping weight on. Very challenging. The slight one gets food all the time — but up high where Murphy’s belly and short legs won’t let him go. Murphy’s big problem is the fosters — especially kitten food. They’re pretty messy and he’s happy to clean up! We try for regular exercise sessions with a laser pointer to keep things under control.
haha that’s great! i can see how it would be difficult to try and stop one from eating whilst getting the other to eat! Thanks for commenting 🙂 x