 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneral TopicsCat AnecdotesHealth and BehaviorRescue CatKB.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Cat Forum / General Topics / October 2005Weight Loss::: Am I doing it right?
I have two cats. They are both male. Both are 6 years old in human years and neutered. One is 14-15 lbs. This one is able to manage the amount of food and water he eats. The other was almost 24 lbs. I use to leave food down for them all day, every day. I think I'm on the sixth week of the change. I feed them now twice daily. In the morning I feed the smaller one 1 cup of Hill's WD dry cat food (He can't eat that much but has control to stop eating when full.) and the larger one I feed about 1/4 cup of the same food. I have to watch them eat or the larger one will go to eat the food from the dish of the smaller one. I'm worried if I am giving the larger one too little food. My gage is the smaller cat. The smaller cat is now accustomed to the new eating arrangements. He only whines for food in the morning and in the evening which is the new schedule. The bigger cat is now 21.6 lbs. Is this too much of a weight drop? I've noticed he moves quicker. I'm not sure if it is the hunger making him move faster or the weight drop. Please let me know if I'm doing this right. The water stays down all day every day. I freshen it in the morning and in the evening when I get home from work. Thanks! Did you talk to your vet before you started this weight loss for them is just like us you need to be under doc supervision 6 weeks 2.4 lbs lost no that is not dramatic I say this is ok but check with the vet > Did you talk to your vet before you started this weight loss for them is > just like us you need to be under doc supervision > > 6 weeks 2.4 lbs lost no that is not dramatic I say this is ok but check > with the vet I must have gotten lucky with my two cats which I have had for just over a year now. When I got them they wieghed 9½ lbs and 10¾ lbs. On the last vet visit a few weeks ago they wieghed 9¾ and 10¼ lbs. I simply feed them the same amount and at the same time every day. Two types of dry food are always available to them plus whatever they catch and eat. The dry foods are Flint River Ranch and Mewo Mix Hairball formula. As for wet food, they will only eat about 1½ ounces twice daily and they may leave some of that in the bowls. They don't want treats when I offer them, so I quit bying them. But that's my cats, I'd do like NMR suggest and check with your vet. Stone Some pic's http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/stoneman72/my_photos : I have two cats. They are both male. Both are 6 years old in human : years and neutered. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] : I've noticed he moves quicker. I'm not sure if it is the hunger making : him move faster or the weight drop... I am not an expert and I urge you to pay more attention to them. By temperament I am a gradualist. I would now maintain his weight at this level for a few weeks, and then go for another round of reduction, perhaps a bit slower. Then another pause. And so on. Good luck. > I have two cats. They are both male. Both are 6 years old in human > years and neutered. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > stop eating when full.) and the larger one I feed about 1/4 cup of the > same food. Oh no! w/d only contains 281 kcals/cup. You're feeding your cat only 70 kcals/day -- that's much, much too little food to feed a 24# cat. A 24# cat has daily caloric requirement of 436 kcals/day and should *never* be fed less than 305 kcals/day to lose weight. Overweight cats that are fed too little and lose weight too rapidly are at high risk of developing a serious liver disease called hepatic lipidosis (HL) (a/k/a "Fatty Liver Syndrome"). Didn't your vet explain this to you? If he didn't- you better find another vet as soon as possible. > I have to watch them eat or the larger one will go to eat the food from > the dish of the smaller one. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > The bigger cat is now 21.6 lbs. Is this too much of a weight drop? How fast did he lose the 2.6 pounds? Cats should not lose any more weight than 1 pound every 4 weeks or 1% of their body weight every week whichever is less. For your 24 lb cat, 1% = about 4 oz (3.84 oz) per week or 15.oz/4 wks. When overweight cats lose weight too rapidly excessive amounts of fat broken down and transported to the liver faster than the liver can process it. The accumulation of excess fat in the liver causes the liver cells (hepatocytes) to swell with fat which results in severe liver damage and death if not treated quickly and aggressively. Cats with HL feel very sick and usually become anorexic which results in even more rapid weight loss and liver damage. If your cats stop eating - take them to a vet *immediately* don't wait for their appetites to return- because they won't. Phil No, my vet didn't explain this to me. They basically said to cut back. On average they said 1 cup of W/D per day is enough food. One Assistant told me that 1/2 cup W/D per day for him would be ok. So I don't know if the correct answer is 1 cup or if I should just put the food down in the morning and whatever they can't eat in that one feeding (when they walk away) is enough and feed them in the evening in the same manner. I may switch to that technique allowing their bellies to dictate their hunger and still not leave food down for them. I would rather my cat be overweight and healthy which is possible than to be malnurished. If he doesn't lose weight or maintain the lost weight and increases I will cut the feeding time down to 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes at night for the one overweight that is the fast eater. > > [quoted text clipped - 52 lines] > > > No, my vet didn't explain this to me. They basically said to cut back. > On average they said 1 cup of W/D per day is enough food. One Assistant [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > will cut the feeding time down to 20 minutes in the morning and 20 > minutes at night for the one overweight that is the fast eater. I think you should follow the advice I gave you in my previous post. If you don't want to follow my advice, consult a veterinary nutritionist http://www.vmth.ucdavis.edu/vmth/services/nutrition/faq.html Your method will result in your cat's death or serious illness. > >>I have two cats. They are both male. Both are 6 years old in human > >>years and neutered. [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > > > >Phil |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.