Why is my cat getting so fat!

Hi yall! havent been around in forever. My cat Shasta who was a stray adopted us almost two years ago has become obese :shock:.

At first I thought it was because he was supplemting his diet with birds and lizards but not I am not so sure, I have cut back dramatically on his food but when I do he gets birds. I think a check up may be in order but do you have any ideas?

here is a pic, kind of hard tos ee how big he is but beleive me he is

 

I would take Shasta to the vet could maybe be a thyroid issue?? Sorry to hear keep us informed....
Good luck

 

what are you feeding him for food? If it's cheaper dry food check the ingredient list. If it starts with corn anything that would probably help toward his expanding waistline.
Cheaper dry foods are full of fillers - makes the cat feel full for a little while but they eat a lot to feel full. The better quality foods you feed less as they ingredients are such they are more nutritious so when the cat is full they are full of better stuff, so you use less food.
If he was a stray chances are he considers every meal to be his last one so he eats too much to compensate.
My SIL has an obese cat and she now has to measure her food (cat's not hers although she should consider measuring her own). She now buys a better quality food rather than the cheaper grocery store ones (she started reading labels) and gives her cat measured amounts of dry food 2x a day with about 3 tablespoons of wet at night so she doesn't keep them awake.
This cat has lost weight. Hard to tell but on the vet's scale she's dropped some. Cats should only lose about half a pound a month. Or so they told me with Dixie :shock: she's still waiting

 

he was on Natures Variety which is a top of the line freeze dried meat with a tbsp of fancy feast.

Now I have him on Natural balance duck and potato light.

I dont free feed him, I give him just enouggh twice a day to eat at once.

I thought maybe because he was on his own (which I think it was about 4 months he thought he needed to eat a lot I know dogs do that.


This was the first day he decided to check out my dog, as you can see he was lsim and I think he was about 8 months old?




another of him the first day


nowtoo much a a good thing?

 

he knows a good thing when he sees it LOL
MY SIL's cat was a stray, left behind at 6 months of age when her owners moved and forgot they had a kitten.
She was also pregnant (they aborted the litter).
She eats like she isn't getting another meal.

 

After the vet check is cleared, I would see if he goes on a strict exercise regiment when he's indoors. Shasta's quite a handsome fella. :mrgreen:

 

Shasta is a very handsome boy!!!

 

Hi Honeybears. So good to see a post from you. If he's in good medical condition, perhaps he is eating some of the neighbor's cat's food? Or even maybe one of the neighbors is feeding him?

 

I would have to agree if the vet does give a clean bill of health and you did cut down on the food Shasta may be getting food elsewhere...... sneeky kitty!! :mrgreen:

 

Thanks he is handsome. he tail is weird, it is huge and fluffy with a T bone at the end and he also has the extra toes.

We live out in the country so no going to neighbors eating.

See he has been indulging in birds and lizards, since htat was his food while he was living on his own
except he has been good the last few weeks no birds in the house

 

I was thinking the same as others that maybe somebody else is feeding him that you don't know about. Does he get any treats besides his regular food? If so, stop them completely. You can always take some dry bits out of his daily ration of regular food to use as "treats". How much do you currently feed him everyday and what is his current weight? Do you know how many lbs he has gained since you noticed him getting bigger?

Cats don't typically have hypothyroid issues, thats a dog thing, but they can develop hyperthyroid which causes them to LOSE a lot of weight even if they eat all the time. That doesn't appear to be the case with your kitty. Once a cat gets to a certain weight, it can be extremely difficult if not impossible for them to lose weight. Depending on how big he is, i would definitely continue measuring out his food into distinct meals up to 1/2-3/4 cup of a light dry food per day. I don't know what his weight is, but to give you a point of comparison, I have 2 cats just under 10 lbs each, one eats only canned, the other only dry. The one eating canned food gets one can for the entire day split into 2 feedings. The other one gets 1/4 cup of light dry for the entire day also split into 2 feedings. These are both very active indoor cats and maintain their weight on these meaurements. To be sure, talk to your vet about bringing him in once a month for weight checks to give you a better idea of how much food he should be getting.

I would express your weight concerns at his next vet visit and they may even prescribe a prescription diet food such as r/d, w/d or m/d-usually used for diabetic cats, but its low carb also sometimes good for weight control. You may have to try different ones to see what works for him. He may very well just have a genetic perpensity to put on weight. If he does go on a diet and begin losing weight, don't be upset if its only seeming like a tiny bit every month. It can be so hard for cats to lose weight, but even so, healthy weight loss should not be more than 3% every month.

I also wanted to add: you can actually do the feel test to check for proper body weight. Place your thumbs on his spine at the middle of his back and spread your fingers over his ribs. Ideally, you should be able to feel both spine and ribs without pressing. Not TOO easily, but you should be able to. If you cant feel the spine or ribs without some pressure or can't feel them at all, then your kitty gets to join the feline obesity club.

 

Good post faeiedust1127!! good advise I actually have an big cat that needs to cut down.....and I have an 11yr old that is loosing weight...I do need to cut down on Harley's food intake. It is just hard because my 11 yr old is currently not eating much so she is eating soft but she isn't that interested. So I still leave out food so that if she does want to eat it there is some and Harley can't eat all of it....