How to lose weight for a cat?

About the need for calories: how to help the cat lose weight, make me move

How to help the cat lose weight? Let's talk about the needs of cats in calories, choosing food and diet. And also – how to make a cat move more.

How to lose weight a cat?

How to lose weight for a cat?

Losing weight is not easy for everyone – both two -legged and four -legged. However, loss of excess weight and good physical form will not only add your cat for several years of life, but will also make this life better.

To make a fluffy fat woman throw off a kilogram or two easier than it might seem. It is necessary very little: firm intention, attention to details and control from your veterinarian.

Why do my cat need to lose weight?

How to make a cat lose weight

One single kilogram of excess weight already increases the risk of developing serious diseases in your pet. Unfortunately, if your cat suffers from excess weight or obesity, it is no longer a question of whether it will have complications and illness associated with this, but about when exactly they appear and how serious they will be. Most often, excess weight is accompanied by:

  • II diabetes – in cats with obesity, it occurs three times more often than in animals with normal weight;
  • Heart disease;
  • Increased risk of joint injuries;
  • Osteoarthrosis (arthritis);
  • High pressure;
  • Some forms of cancer, especially the tumor in the abdominal cavity.

Animals with excess weight and obesity live, as a rule, less than their slender counterparts. If the cat has excess weight, it moves less, becomes less energetic and playful. Murlyka prefers just lying, and because of this it is easy not to notice the first signs of the disease, taking lethargy for “normal laziness”.

Now we are just beginning to understand what danger extra pounds can be represented for both a person and his four -legged friends.

Where to begin?

In theory, everything is simple: consume less calories, consume more – and this will lead to weight loss. Unfortunately, in fact, everything is somewhat more complicated. Never put a cat on a diet without consulting a veterinarian.

Physiologically, cats differ from people and dogs, and a two -day hunger strike can lead to the development of a deadly disease, known as liver lipidosis (or fatty hepatosis). First, your cat should be examined by a doctor who can prescribe additional tests to make sure that she does not have hidden diseases or other obstacles to loss of weight. If everything is fine, you can already think how to help the cat lose weight.

How to feed a cat to lose weight?

To answer this question, a veterinarian must examine your cat and, based on the features of its physique and size, determine what weight it will be perfect for it. The specially designed formulas and graphs will help him in this, thanks to which you can also calculate the cat’s need for calories for a day in order to achieve the desired weight without harm to health.

On average, an adult domestic cat should weigh 3.6 – 4.4 kg. Depending on the degree of obesity, the doctor may recommend that you first reach an intermediate weight, which is slightly more than ideal. For example, if your cat weighs about 8 kg, the ideal weight for her would be 4.4 – 5.5 kg, but a more realistic goal would be an intermediate weight of 6.8 kg. After it is reached, it is necessary to re-evaluate the condition of the pet and determine whether the cat should lose weight further.

How to calculate the calorie requirement of cats

The weight loss formula for cats is based on the resting energy requirement (the number of calories a cat needs when not physically active, or RER), which is calculated as follows:

  1. Method: PEPP in kcal/day = 70 x (ideal weight in kg) x ¾;
  2. Method: PEPP in kcal/day = 30 x (total weight in kilograms) + 70.

For weight loss, the cat must be on 80% PAP (multiply PAP by 0.8). In order not to waste time on calculations, you can use the table:

Ideal Weight: lbs (kg)

Calories that make up 80% of the AED per day

Please note that these are general recommendations and cannot replace the advice of your veterinarian. If your cat is unable to lose weight on the indicated calorie intake, it should be reduced.

What food to choose?

Since cats are obligate carnivores, human diets are not suitable for them. A diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates should help a cat lose weight. This is the kind of food you should choose.

The amount of food needed to provide the desired amount of calories depends on its calorie content. Usually, the calorie content of the food is indicated on the package, and the specialist will explain to you what portions of it should be given.

Usually, the most effective way for a cat to lose weight is by receiving dietary canned or dry food several times a day. You can’t leave it in a bowl during weight loss, because regular meals are healthier than constant snacks throughout the day. How to make a cat lose weight if she always has the opportunity to crunch something out of boredom or for pleasure?

It is very important to learn how to count calories and measure the prescribed amount of food. If there is too much food, the animal will not lose weight, and if it is too little, it will begin to starve, which, as already mentioned, is very dangerous for cats.

How long does it take to accustom a cat to a diet?

Give your cat a week or two to get used to the new diet. First, mix ¼ of the new food with ¾ of the old food for 2 to 4 days. Then increase the amount of new food to half, and in the last 3-5 days before the final transition to a new diet – up to ¾.

To improve the palatability, you can heat the food, add flavoring additives to it, for example, based on fish oil, containing omega-3 fatty acids.

If your cat refuses a new diet, or if you have any questions during the process of accustoming her to a new food, do not hesitate to seek advice from a veterinary clinic.

How to make a cat move more?

How to make a cat lose weight

In the ideal world, you can go with her for a morning run, but we, unfortunately, do not live in an ideal world. To make a cat lose weight, doing fitness with her, is not just difficult – this contradicts the very nature of this animal.

Sprinters, not marathons

Cats are not adapted to the lifestyle of scavengers or flocking hunters, like people and dogs. They are ambush predators that spend very little energy on the search for prey and rarely go beyond their territory. Having discovered prey, the cat starts in a very intense and brief chase.

Most wild cats haunt the victim at maximum speed for no longer than a minute. When the chase is over, the cat requires many hours of recovery for the next hunt.

Homemade cats are reduced copies of wild. We can take a dog with us for a walk or run, but among cats of outdoor enthusiasts are units. Cats and cats prefer short distances, not marathons. You will have to call on to help all your ingenuity in order to make the mustachioed more intelligence more.

Useful ideas

Put a bowl of food in different places, for example, at the top or below the stairs, and try to place it so that the cat overcomes a certain distance before it gets to the feed. Cats are smart: realizing that the bowl is now standing upstairs, they themselves will go upstairs.

Place a bowl of food as far away as possible from the places chosen by a cat. Many obesity cats sleep and rest next to a bowl so that they do not have to go far for food.

Buy containers with food-they usually have the shape of a ball that a cat rolls to get a treat. Inside these interactive toys, you need to put a certain amount of dry food, and the cat will have to work in order to get it.

Highlight the time for games with a cat, use feathers, laser poisoning, paper or foil balls – all that your cat will be interested in catching. Try playing with a cat ten minutes twice a day. This can be done during eating, watching a TV or even reading.

There are many mobile and squeaking toys that may interest your cat. Cats love diversity, and the toy that the animal liked today can get bored tomorrow.

How often to conduct repeated weighing?

After you have developed a plan, how to lose the cat in such and such, with your help, it is very important to understand whether it is effective.

Each cat is unique, and perhaps the recommended diet will require several adjustments before you notice the result. On average, the cat must be weighed every month until it reaches the perfect weight. If the result (weight loss is approximately in a pound) is absent within a month, the program needs to be adjusted.Sometimes even a small change is enough.

What to do if the cat constantly begs for food?

When cats wake us up at four in the morning, demanding food, yelling like crazy or non-stop poking their foreheads at the owner, we give up. Cats have trained us well, they know very well which buttons to press to get what they want! Here are some tips for pacifying annoying Persians or restless Siamese:

  • Do not use automatic feeders. It is quite obvious that the automatic feeder for the tailed fat man is a candy machine full to the brim.
  • Pet your cat or play with her when she begs for food. Many cats perceive food as the equivalent of the owner's attention, and you may eventually find that the game replaces the cat's meal.
  • Feed smaller meals more often so you can provide a late dinner for a cat who likes to wake you up in the morning. Divide your total calories into four to six small meals. Most importantly, do not give your cat food in excess of the prescribed amount.
  • If the bowl is empty and the cat is not letting up, put a couple of pieces of food in the bowl. A couple of pieces, not a handful.
  • Offer your cat fresh water instead of food. When a cat stubbornly stares at an empty bowl, a sip of fresh cold water can curb its appetite.

How to feed other cats if only one needs to lose weight?

You may find a better solution to the problem, but here are a few tips to get you started:

  • Feeding cats separately is the ideal solution for such cases. Feed a losing cat diet food in one room, and feed the rest in another. When the time allotted for a meal is over – usually from fifteen minutes to half an hour – remove what the animals have not eaten until the next feeding.
  • Feed a non-obese cat upstairs where it is harder for a fat cat to climb.
  • Never leave food out in the open unattended. So you can not control who eats what and when!

How long will a cat have to be on a diet?

Most cats reach their ideal weight within 6 to 8 months. If the process is delayed, then something needs to be changed. Healthy weight loss is about half a kilo per month. Some cats need more time, while others, on the contrary, lose weight faster.

For most cats, the secret to effective weight loss is attentive and responsible owners. Cats don't understand that obesity is killing them. We, as good owners, must protect them from danger and, of course, not unwittingly contribute to the development of serious illnesses in them or their premature death.

Only in close cooperation with the veterinarian and your entire family can you ensure that your cat remains in good shape and good health.