# Overweight Cat



## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

First let me start off by saying hello! I'm new to this website and am excited to hear the views and opinions of others to help better my cats life and overall health.

I have an almost 8 year old, male Tuxedo cat named Onyx. My boyfriend and I have only had him for just over a year (I got him from an old co-worker who was moving) but he sure has changed our lives. We have to take him to the vet yearly as he's on amitriptyline, taking one pill everyday. Yesterday was his yearly check-up and to our surprise, he put on a few pounds from last year, up to 16lbs. He is already bigger than the average cat (length wise, he's fairly long) and we were surprised since we cut his food back a lot from how he was being fed last year.

Currently, we're feeding Blue Buffalo, both canned and dry. He gets 1/4 of a 5.5 oz can twice a day with 3/8 cup of dry at night. He greatly looks forward to eating everyday. We're trying to have him exercise more and want to try a different route with food. I would like to incorporate raw into his diet, with the hopes that higher protein will help. We have A LOT of cans of Blue left along with Blue dry food so we would like to at least get through what we have while also introducing this new food.

I bought a small bag of NV frozen raw bites as well as a bag of NV kibble (kibble with freeze dried raw). I would still like to have the option of having canned and dry in his diet in addition to the raw in the event that we were gone (not sure how comfortable my parents would be feeding raw to him). Plus, it's easier to give him his pill in canned food (he will not eat soft treats).

My question is first off, is this ok to do....feeding all 3 options? I was thinking 1/4 can of canned in the morning, raw for dinner (I would weigh it out) and then mixing the Blue kibble with the NV kibble (maybe 1/4 cup total) at night. Obviously I know weight changes won't happen overnight but we just want our guy to be happy and healthy. We are open to the option of feeding both meals raw eventually, but like I said, we have a lot of cans to go through still in addition to at least half a bag of Blue still.

Any thoughts, opinions and suggestions are greatly appreciated in addition to amounts to feed.

Thank you all!:thumb


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I would get rid of the kibble completely and just give him one full can split between two or three meals each day.

dry food isn't good for them and it promotes obesity.


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

MowMow said:


> I would get rid of the kibble completely and just give him one full can split between two or three meals each day.
> 
> dry food isn't good for them and it promotes obesity.



I would still like the option of giving kibble, even if it's just a small amount (which it would be) just in case if in the event we were gone all day. This is why I'm reaching out towards trying the NV Kibble with Freeze Dried raw pieces mixed with it.

Majority of his diet will still be canned and raw.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

More canned or raw, less dry. Get the dry down to l/8 cup or less per day.


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## howsefrau32 (Mar 6, 2013)

MowMow said:


> I would get rid of the kibble completely and just give him one full can split between two or three meals each day.
> 
> dry food isn't good for them and it promotes obesity.


This is exactly what I was going to say. I had a cat that ballooned up to 14 pounds....on a cat meant to be no more than 8 pounds. She was a kibble eater. When I give out kibble to my cats, it's as a treat, just a few pieces at a time. 

Also, maybe finding a better food might help? I know I am among many people here that are not big fans of blue buffalo. It is not a bad food, but I don't think it is all it's made out to be by the manufacturers of that food. It's not the worst you could give, but there are better within that same price range. Two of my big boy cats each eat about 1 5.5 ounce can a day, morning, evening, and a some right before bedtime. Just a few nibbles of dry, as a treat. My smaller females don't even eat that much. The one who used to be 14 pounds, once I got her off of kibble, she dropped very slowly down to a little under 9 pounds. That cat only eats maybe a half of a 5.5 ounce can twice a day. I have another tiny female who only eats half of a 3 ounce can twice a day, and she still has a gut on her


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

You could always donate the dry to a shelter. Most would be glad to take it and then you can substitute the dry with a small feeding of raw gradually transitioning to all raw for 3 smaller meals a day.


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## zuma (Nov 5, 2009)

I'm with the others. Just stick to wet or raw. I adopted a chunky kibble eater too and she slowly lost the extra weight when I took her off of it. I never had to ration her food. She pretty much got what she wanted and her weight was stable. Never over ate. 

I get your reasoning though, but I guess it depends on how often you need someone to watch your cat. Opening a can isn't much to ask of someone. I've had my vegan friend feed my cat raw when I was away and there were no issues. I just say this is what the cat eats, if you can't do that I'll find someone else to watch her. Now I use a professional cat sitter, so there are no problems with things like that.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

I feed raw prey model, canned, and kibble to my cats - depending on the feline and their medical needs and preferences. Most of my cats get 1/8 c of kibble (EVO) for breakfast and between 2.0-4.5 oz of raw prey model at night - NO TREATS! My youngest cats who showed up as stray kittens AFTER I learned about the detrimental short and long term physical effects of kibble do not get fed kibble at all, Instead, they get canned food soup (canned food mixed with warm water) for one meal and raw for the other.

My elderly kidney cats eat whatever they want whenever they're willing to eat it - raw, canned food soup, kibble, whatever. It's a struggle just keeping weight on a kidney cat, so I don't sweat an "ideal" diet for them. 

I used to have a houseful of fat cats ranging from mildly overweight to morbidly obese. Once I got serious about returning them to healthy weights, it really just was a matter of reducing food portions until slow, steady, safe weight loss was achieved. 

In addition to upgrading the quality of their diet and strictly portioning their meals, my most useful tool in achieving their weight loss goals was and continues to be a digital baby scale. I have been weighing each of my cats every two weeks and charting their weights for more than 7 yrs now (ever since I got tired of seeing cats waddling around my house). When they were actively losing weight, I set a safe weight loss schedule of 0.2-0.4 lbs every two weeks. Any cat who lost less than 0.2 lb in a two week period would have their daily food portion reduced slightly. Any cat who lost more than 0.4 lb in a two week period would have their daily food portion increased slightly. At that rate, I was able to bring all of my fat cats safely down to optimal weights within 18 mos.

I still weigh my cats every two weeks and adjust food portions, as necessary, to maintain their proper weights. I would hate to have to try to maintain their healthy weights without the assistance of a digital baby scale.

Laurie


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

I guess I would be willing to give an all wet food diet a shot. I guess I'm just afraid of feeding him too much or too little. If I fed him all wet, I would probably up the feedings to 3 times per day versus two. He currently gets 1/2 of a 5.5 oz can a day but that's in addition to his dry. If I cut his dry out completely, what's a good starting point?

I would prefer to continue feeding Blue Buffalo because personally I've never had an issue with it and I can easily get it at my local Petsmart.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Look up the calorie content of the foods he's eating (if not on the can or bag it should be on their website). Then reduce it by 10% and feed enough canned to equal that calorie amount. Weigh him before reducing the amount and then again 2 weeks later. Follow Laurie's recommendation for adjusting based on weight loss or gain. 

Never reduce by more than 10-15% of his current calorie consumption as cutting back food by too much can lead to hepatic lipidosis aka fatty liver disease.


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

doodlebug said:


> Look up the calorie content of the foods he's eating (if not on the can or bag it should be on their website). Then reduce it by 10% and feed enough canned to equal that calorie amount. Weigh him before reducing the amount and then again 2 weeks later. Follow Laurie's recommendation for adjusting based on weight loss or gain.
> 
> Never reduce by more than 10-15% of his current calorie consumption as cutting back food by too much can lead to hepatic lipidosis aka fatty liver disease.


All of this is starting to stress me out a bit so I apologize.

I usually like to rotate between the different flavor options that they have, 2 of which involve fish flavors. I'm noticing now that the fish flavors have less calories per can than say the turkey, chicken or beef, but even the meat flavors have at least only 200 calories (this is referring to Blue Buffalo). I was checking out some other food options just to see and (Nature's Variety for example) and their 5.5 oz cans offer slightly more than 200 calories (I think beef was 222). I'm so afraid now of offering him too small of an amount. I don't want him to get sick. 

What food options would be good to recommend as well as a safe amount to feed? I like to rotate but he has also been known to be picky with his food but I'm willing to try some other options. He has already been fed 1/4 can this morning, but I'm willing to go out and buy some other canned food options to give them a try.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

If you're getting yourself all stressed out, here's an easy way to start reducing your cat's caloric intake safely ... and it'll give you all the time you need to figure out how to change his diet, if so desired.

For now, continue to feed him the same foods you've been feeding, but reduce the kibble meal to 1/4 c instead of 3/8 c. Don't change the amount of canned you're feeding. Buy a digital baby scale today, if possible, and weigh him. Weigh him again in two weeks. From there you can adjust his food portions slightly, if necessary, to establish a safe and effective rate of weight loss. That way you won't stress about changing his diet immediately. You can do that gradually over time without feeling any pressure to make drastic changes right away, which is NOT the way to alter a cat's diet, anyway.

Laurie


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

laurief said:


> If you're getting yourself all stressed out, here's an easy way to start reducing your cat's caloric intake safely ... and it'll give you all the time you need to figure out how to change his diet, if so desired.
> 
> For now, continue to feed him the same foods you've been feeding, but reduce the kibble meal to 1/4 c instead of 3/8 c. Don't change the amount of canned you're feeding. Buy a digital baby scale today, if possible, and weigh him. Weigh him again in two weeks. From there you can adjust his food portions slightly, if necessary, to establish a safe and effective rate of weight loss. That way you won't stress about changing his diet immediately. You can do that gradually over time without feeling any pressure to make drastic changes right away, which is NOT the way to alter a cat's diet, anyway.
> 
> Laurie


Last night, we actually did reduce his kibble to 1/4 c rather than giving him 3/8 c. He ate it all in one sitting. We've only ever been giving him 1/2 of a 5.5 oz can a day (1/4 in the morning & 1/4 for dinner, giving the kibble just before bed). I already feel like we aren't giving him enough food which is why we were so shocked that he had put on 2lbs from last year.

I know he sleeps most of the day since we're usually gone working all day so we're trying to get him to be more active when we're home. He doesn't have a strong interest in toys, not even a laser but we can usually get him to chase around a shoe lace. He can be pretty stubborn.

I'm just worried he isn't getting enough.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

You just have to change your perception, and that can take time. I went through the same thing when I started portioning my cats' meals and working on their weight loss. I had no idea just how little cats actually need to eat in order to maintain weight, so I always thought I was starving them. But the scale always tells the truth. It isn't influenced by our human misperceptions. If your cat was gaining weight on the amount of food you were feeding him previously, then you were overfeeding him. It's as plain as that. In order to reduce his weight, you have to reduce his caloric intake - esp. if he is disinclined to increase his activity level.

When a cat is actively losing weight, he will generally be feeling and acting hungry. That's to be expected. Again, you can trust a scale to tell you whether he is losing weight at a safe rate, regardless of how starving he may act. Without a scale, though, you could get him into trouble.

Laurie


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

laurief said:


> You just have to change your perception, and that can take time. I went through the same thing when I started portioning my cats' meals and working on their weight loss. I had no idea just how little cats actually need to eat in order to maintain weight, so I always thought I was starving them. But the scale always tells the truth. It isn't influenced by our human misperceptions. If your cat was gaining weight on the amount of food you were feeding him previously, then you were overfeeding him. It's as plain as that. In order to reduce his weight, you have to reduce his caloric intake - esp. if he is disinclined to increase his activity level.
> 
> When a cat is actively losing weight, he will generally be feeling and acting hungry. That's to be expected. Again, you can trust a scale to tell you whether he is losing weight at a safe rate, regardless of how starving he may act. Without a scale, though, you could get him into trouble.
> 
> Laurie


Ok. I'm sorry for my ranting. Onyx is actually my first cat so I'm used to dogs. They're much easier to figure out lol.

Do you know typically where baby scales can be bought? Meijer? Babies R Us? Maybe both? My boyfriend wants to also get a white board so we can keep track of his weight weekly.


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## Mochas Mommy (Dec 9, 2013)

We bought our baby scale online from Costco. It is a Salter brand, which is the same as our vet, but obviously his is a lot bigger and more expensive. The weights are identical though when weighed at home and there. We weigh our kittens every Saturday and record on a chart in a binder we keep for them. Then we can track each week and long term.


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## Mochas Mommy (Dec 9, 2013)

This site has excellent info on overweight cats and how to put them in a proper diet.
http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

I purchased my digital baby scale on eBay ... or on amazon ... I can't remember which. I think I paid around $50. I imagine you could buy a baby scale anywhere infant products are sold, including Walmart. 

I keep a piece of paper and pencil next to my scale for the twice monthly weigh-ins, then I transfer the information to a spreadsheet I maintain on my computer.

Laurie


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

Just giving an update...

I purchased a digital scale off of amazon this afternoon so it should be here by next week. In the meantime, we decreased his dry food to start out until we can better monitor his weight consistently. He's currently eating 1/2 of a 5.5 oz can a day with 1/4 cup of kibble before bed along with 2 pieces of freeze dried chicken a day. We're also trying to exercise him more but he just isn't crazy about most cat toys. Usually I can get him going with a long shoelace. He also has 2 cat towers that he enjoys.

I will keep everyone posted on my journey through this.


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## Jakiepoo (Jan 5, 2013)

Your cat sounds like my cat in terms of toys he likes. Any wand and string toy should do the trick, try tying some feathers or something on the end of the shoelace and see if he finds that more enticing (we have craft feathers laying around the house and my cat loves chasing them). My cat generally doesn't like playing with toys by himself, he likes the more interactive ones that involve me running around as well! 

Also, don't worry about him acting starved, most cats I've met act starved when you walk around their feeding area unless they're free fed. They're just trying their luck. My cat acts like he hasn't been fed in days whenever me or my mom walk in the door, even if we were only out for 20 min.


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

Jakiepoo said:


> Your cat sounds like my cat in terms of toys he likes. Any wand and string toy should do the trick, try tying some feathers or something on the end of the shoelace and see if he finds that more enticing (we have craft feathers laying around the house and my cat loves chasing them). My cat generally doesn't like playing with toys by himself, he likes the more interactive ones that involve me running around as well!
> 
> Also, don't worry about him acting starved, most cats I've met act starved when you walk around their feeding area unless they're free fed. They're just trying their luck. My cat acts like he hasn't been fed in days whenever me or my mom walk in the door, even if we were only out for 20 min.


We have several toys that are the "wand" with a feather duster attached, things with bells, even one with a little dragonfly. He will sometimes take an interest but usually just stares at it. A plain old shoelace that I can fling around does the trick for him. He'll go nuts over it.

As far as feeding goes, my biggest fear is that I'm not giving him enough food because like you said, as soon as we walk to his feeding area, you would think we haven't fed him in weeks, but like another member said, he gained weight from last year feeding how much we used to feed & really we only cut back a small amount until we get our scale delivered to monitor his weight.


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## Katiee (Nov 10, 2014)

Blue is where your problem starts...it is an extremely rich and high calorie food.

I am personally highly opposed to raw diets.

I would highly recommend Hills Ideal Balance Slim & Healthy...my Siamese gets 1/4 cup twice daily. I mix T/D (also Hills) in with his food and use it as treats...they're low in calories and they help clean the teeth.

He has lost 3 pounds so far  If your kiddo isn't a big drinker, a spoonful of wet a day will help the added moisture content.

I've been feeding my older cat Hills since he was 8 weeks old (now 13), and he has (knock on wood) never had any health issues. It is an absolutely fantastic food.


Feel free to message me with any questions


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## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

Uggh no Hills, please!


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## ezmeray (Nov 8, 2012)

I'd recommend a food ball. I'll link to what I have for my cat, Gypsy. Gypsy will only eat dry, so kibble is the only option for me. But the food ball kind of makes the cat work for the food. So if you're really afraid he's hungry, you could put his dry food inside the food ball, so that if he really is hungry between meals, he can get food, but has to roll the ball around and put in some effort, and whatnot. (also it'll slow down his eating--I think you mentioned he ate his dry serving all at once--this should prevent that). It took Gypsy a while to figure out how to use it (she's not very smart) but she loves it now. 

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Petsafe-SlimCat-Meal-Dispensing-Blue/dp/B0018CG40O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415760461&sr=8-1&keywords=food+ball+cat[/ame]


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Katiee said:


> I would highly recommend Hills Ideal Balance Slim & Healthy... It is an absolutely fantastic food.


The Ideal Balance line is an improvement over the regular Hill's line but it is far from a fantastic food. Not enough meat, a large portion of the protein is coming from pea protein concentrate...not appropriate for an obligate carnivore. Waaaaay too many carbs. HUGE amount of fiber used to fill the cat up...13% is a ridiculous amount. One poop must fill up an entire litter box. In fact I'd be concerned that producing huge poops will stretch the colon and cause issues after eating this food long term.

Then there's the price (within a couple bucks of Orijen) for a bag full of cheap fillers.


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## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

This Katiee person pm'd me asking why I said no Hills. I think she's a Hills rep


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## ezmeray (Nov 8, 2012)

DeafDogs&Cat said:


> This Katiee person pm'd me asking why I said no Hills. I think she's a Hills rep


That's awfully conspiracy-esque : ) 

She was probably just curious--as you didn't elaborate much in your post about it.


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## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

She said "we have studies" etc I don't generally jump opinions like that without alot of reasons.


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## Katiee (Nov 10, 2014)

Hi, I work at a vet office...I'm not a Hills rep, thank you for your assumption. We can read the studies.
And I came here to learn others' opinions....which is why I asked you why you said no Hills, I was not being argumentative about it, simply from a curiosity standpoint as I am a naturally inquisitive person. I do not need someone snapping on me and assuming I work for a company that I like.


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## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

Oh well. I apologize then... and that was my second guess


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## Katiee (Nov 10, 2014)

It's fine


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I have to admit that your post also made me wonder if you were a Hills employee. It just came off that way. Enough to make me go look at your other posts to see if you were pushing Hill's. We've had food companies plant employees here in the past.

In any case, I shared my opinion on why Hill's is not an awesome food.


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## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

Lol doodlebug... I did the same thing... after I posted. Which, had I looked before I posted, I likely wouldn't have said that. The PM's were even more suspect for me, but that she works for a vet explains alot


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## Katiee (Nov 10, 2014)

Ah...I could never work for a big corporation. My bad! xD
And that's why I came to this site...to learn what others' views are on certain things


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

LOL Katiee....you're going to find that most of us hold opinions that are completely opposite of what you've learned in your vet office. We are not fans of Hills (Royal Canin or Purina), we are not fans of vet offices that promote these foods. We advocate canned or raw and discourage kibble. We encourage high protein (animal protein, not plant) low carb foods. Free of corn, wheat, soy, by-products, ethoxyquin, unspecified protein sources (e.g. meat meal), etc. 

So be ready for a bit of a roller coaster ride....


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## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

Lol yes. You're either going to be on a steep learning curve, or think we're all a bunch of jerks  sorry in advance


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

I'm not a fan of Hill's no matter what kind it is. I would NEVER feed that food. Raw worked wonders for my dog so I'm definitely not opposed. Onyx is so used to canned food though that I'm just going to stick with that for awhile, maybe try rotating some different high quality brands to change things up.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

doodlebug said:


> LOL Katiee....you're going to find that most of us hold opinions that are completely opposite of what you've learned in your vet office. We are not fans of Hills (Royal Canin or Purina), we are not fans of vet offices that promote these foods. We advocate canned or raw and discourage kibble. We encourage high protein (animal protein, not plant) low carb foods. Free of corn, wheat, soy, by-products, ethoxyquin, unspecified protein sources (e.g. meat meal), etc.


This.

The Hills slim and healthy is certainly a HUGE improvement over the crap Hills usually makes I still wouldn't feed it. Why on earth would I stuff my cat full of pea protein when he's an obligate carnivore. He doesn't just want meat, he *NEEDS* meat to be healthy.

I'm very pleased my vet has taken extensive courses on nutrition and requires her staff to do the same. I can trust that she knows what's best for my boys and doesn't just spout what the local Hills rep said.


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

Tomorrow will be the first day that we weight Onyx. It will have been one week since his vet visit. We haven't changed his diet drastically, only decreasing his dry food to 1/4 cup versus the 3/8 cup he was getting and of course he's still getting 1/2 of a 5.5 oz can.

I'm also planning on picking up some different cans of higher quality foods rather than only Blue Buffalo. I've attached a link below of one of the pet stores near me that sells a variety of pet foods, most of which are all natural products. I know which ones to stay away from (Science Diet, Eukanuba, etc.) but are most of the higher quality brands listed ok? I'm also not a fan of Evo or Innova due to their past.

Thanks again everyone!

Pet Foods We Carry | Rocko's PET DEPOT®


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## Mandy and Ellie (Oct 22, 2013)

Yep, I see many great, high-quality brands on that list!  Some that instantly jump out to me that I really like are Weruva, ZiwiPeak, Merrick... I saw some other good brands on there (Honest Kitchen, Acana, Orijen) but wasn't sure if they had canned food... I know Orijen/Acana does not.


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

Mandy and Ellie said:


> Yep, I see many great, high-quality brands on that list!  Some that instantly jump out to me that I really like are Weruva, ZiwiPeak, Merrick... I saw some other good brands on there (Honest Kitchen, Acana, Orijen) but wasn't sure if they had canned food... I know Orijen/Acana does not.


Thank you very much!

I'm excited to purchase some of these and give them a try with Onyx. I'm hoping he likes them!


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## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

The Honest Kitchen is freeze dried raw, fyi you just rehydrate it


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

Hey there, just fyi, sometimes a store may feature some brands on their website, but may no longer carry that brand. It's happened to me more than once. Other times, they may carry it for dogs only, not cats. Weird, I know. So, just to be safe, I'd call the store to confirm before heading down there to save you some time and gas. Hope they do carry all that you're hoping to buy, though! And I hope your kitty likes the all the positive changes to the food!


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## Zephyriddle (Mar 28, 2012)

DeafDogs&Cat said:


> The Honest Kitchen is freeze dried raw, fyi you just rehydrate it


THK is dehydrated, not freeze dried, so it's not actually a raw product. Stella and Chewy's etc is actually freeze dried raw. 



Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

Oh, I didn't know that. I thought it was freeze dried. Lol


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

So I just weighed him. He's down to 16.4 lbs compared to 16.8 from last week. Is this a little too much too fast or ok?

I'm thinking I still want to possibly add another meal of canned food and decrease the dry even more, go from 1/4 to an 1/8 cup and increase the canned food from 1/2 can (5.5 oz) to 3/4 of a can daily. 

Thoughts?


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## zuma (Nov 5, 2009)

16.8 was at the vet? If so I wouldn't read too much into it, the scales might be slightly off. I would decrease the dry as much as much can though.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

That's the maximum amount of weight loss that I wanted to see over a TWO week period with my cats when they were actively dieting. So yes, IMO that's too much loss too quickly. However, if those weights came from two different scales, they may not be giving you an accurate comparison. You really need to weigh on the same scale each time to maintain accurate comparisons from weigh-in to weigh-in.

I think to be on the safe side, I'd decrease the dry to 1/8 c. and increase the canned to an entire can daily (split into two meals). Then weigh again in two weeks and see how those food portions have impacted his weight.

Laurie


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

Yes they were two different scales. Last week was at the vet, this week was on my own that I just bought. Like I said, I'm planning on trying some higher quality brands in hopes that they will make a difference as well as increasing his wet food.


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

I managed to pick up a variety of cans, steered clear of any fish based flavors, stuck with turkey and chicken to start and chose only grain free options. We have a lot of Blue Buffalo cans still and I want to use most of them up so I'll easily be able to test out these different brands. Below are the different kinds I chose (he also only will eat pate so some options I couldn't choose, plus pate is easier to give him his pill with)...

Merrick Chicken
Wild Calling Beef
Wellness Core 
Wellness
NV Instinct
Natural Balance

Tomorrow I'm going to start incorporating one meal with a new food while still doing the other meals with Blue and then make changes as necessary.


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

laurief said:


> That's the maximum amount of weight loss that I wanted to see over a TWO week period with my cats when they were actively dieting. So yes, IMO that's too much loss too quickly. However, if those weights came from two different scales, they may not be giving you an accurate comparison. You really need to weigh on the same scale each time to maintain accurate comparisons from weigh-in to weigh-in.
> 
> I think to be on the safe side, I'd decrease the dry to 1/8 c. and increase the canned to an entire can daily (split into two meals). Then weigh again in two weeks and see how those food portions have impacted his weight.
> 
> Laurie


Do you think that's too much of a change in amounts too fast?

I bought a bunch of high quality, grain free options of canned food that I plan on trying with him throughout the week. Should I eliminate the Blue altogether? I gave him 1/4 of a 5.5 oz can of Wellness this morning. He's used to only getting 1/2 of a 5.5 oz can daily.


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

Hi all!

I haven't posted in a week or so. I've been so distracted with work and the holidays coming up lol.

So for an update...

I just weighed Onyx this evening once I got home and he was 16.2lbs, down 2 ounces from last week. I figured weighing him weekly for a bit would be better since 2 weeks ago, his weight was via the vet scale and the past two weeks have been the scale that I bought.

We have since changed him to all grain-free foods, completely eliminating Blue Buffalo. He has had both Wellness and Wellness Core so far with no issues & we still have several other kinds to try. We've kept him at 1/2 of a 5.5 oz can daily (split between two meals) with 1/4 cup of NV Instict Boost kibble at night (has freeze dried raw pieces in it which he loves).

Is he still losing too much too fast? Should I change up his diet at all? Obviously I know the less dry the better so I was thinking about adding another feeding of 1/4 can and lowering the dry to 1/8 but my boyfriend wanted me to wait to see where he was at first. 

Opinions are greatly appreciated!


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Most digital baby scales weigh in tenths of a pound, NOT ounces. So if he went down from 16.4 to 16.2 lb in a week. that's a 2/10 of a lb weight loss, which is perfectly acceptable for one week. You wouldn't want him to lose more than that in a single week, though.

I see nothing wrong with adding another 2.25 oz of canned food and reducing the kibble to 1/8 c daily. Your first weigh-in after making that change will tell you if you're on the right track with portion sizes.

Laurie


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

What I bought isn't a baby scale though, it's a pet scale. It has grams, pounds: ounces, kilograms, pounds (by itself) and ounces (by itself). I have it set to pounds: ounces.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

ncies1011 said:


> What I bought isn't a baby scale though, it's a pet scale. It has grams, pounds: ounces, kilograms, pounds (by itself) and ounces (by itself). I have it set to pounds: ounces.


Do the ounces go up to 15 before they convert to the next pound, or do they only go up to 9 before converting?


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## kizz (Apr 21, 2013)

Does he hunt?

My cat doesn't, infact she hasn't got a clue what to do and birds even taunt her by landing about 5 feet away from her and eating off the ground.

However, the cat next door does. They got her as a kitten and when she was fully grown she was still tiny next to my cat (not overweight I don't think, around 4kg) but during the summer, she'd be running down our path with a mouse in her mouth every day. It wasn't long before she ballooned to almost twice the size of my cat. Then in the winter, she shrinks to a tiny cat half the size of mine. Each year it's been like this and it's quite funny to see her sat next to my cat being dwarfed by her then a few weeks later being a giant (thankfully she is a sweet cat that gets on with mine although mine is older and doesn't want to play with her, and unfortunately the other cats seem to pick on her) 

She is always outside running about, or being chased by other cats so she is far from lazy. Mice are very fattening so if he hunts you might want to try and stop that if you can.


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

laurief said:


> Do the ounces go up to 15 before they convert to the next pound, or do they only go up to 9 before converting?


To be honest, I'm not sure. The past 2 weigh-ins he wasn't over neither of those number of ounces to tell. Is there a way I could find that out?


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

kizz said:


> Does he hunt?


He doesn't hunt. He's an indoor cat.


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

laurief said:


> Do the ounces go up to 15 before they convert to the next pound, or do they only go up to 9 before converting?


I actually just figured it out. It goes up to 9 before converting.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Then it's not in ounces, it's tenth of a pound...which is 1.6 oz.


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

doodlebug said:


> Then it's not in ounces, it's tenth of a pound...which is 1.6 oz.


So would that mean that he's losing at a good pace? I'm sorry I don't understand the math stuff very well lol. How do I figure out how much he loses each week then?

Would it still be ok to increase his canned food to 3/4, of a can a day & decrease his dry to 1/8 of a cup?


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

doodlebug said:


> Then it's not in ounces, it's tenth of a pound...which is 1.6 oz.


Ok I just realized I was looking at the wrong thing. The ounces DO go up to 15 before rounding to the next pound. I'm sorry. I was looking at the wrong thing.


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

Good morning everyone!

Just to give an update....I have since changed Onyx's feedings a bit. He now gets 3/4 of a can a day (split between 3 meals) along with 1/8 of a cup of dry before bedtime. He seems to be enjoying the extra meal of canned food lol.

In regards to a previous post, it was questioned whether my scale rounded up to the next pound at 9 or at 15 ounces. I had made a mistake thinking it was 9 when it is in fact 15.


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

It's great that you've gradually increased the amount of wet food he gets and decreased the amount of dry. I know many cats who've lost weight just by changing from dry to canned food. With some kitties, it's a fight to get them to eat canned, so you're lucky that Onyx likes the wet food! I hope he continues to lose weight at a healthy pace!


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Just to clarify, my scale measures in tenths of a pound, NOT ounces. So when I said that I wanted to see between 0.2-0.4 lb weight loss over a two week period, that was 2/10-4/10 of a lb over a two week period, or 1/10-2/10 of a lb weekly. 1/10 of a lb = 1.6 oz

Laurie


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

In case you still have any confusion about whether your scale is displaying tenths of a lb or ounces, the easy way to tell is to put your finger on the scale and slowly press down. Watch the number immediately to the right of the decimal point. If it goes back to 0 immediately after passing 9, then it's measuring tenths of a lb. It if continues to 15 before going back to 0, then it's measuring ounces.

Laurie


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

The scale goes to 15 before going back to zero. Originally I thought it was 9 but then I realized I was looking at the wrong number. With that being said, what is a safe amount to lose per week/two weeks using a scale like this?

I really appreciate all of your help and advice. I'm constantly learning something new everyday about all this and I do have to say that even making the small change of increasing his wet food as well as switching to a grain free diet seems to have made a difference. He just seems happier overall.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Rounding to the nearest ounces, and using the guideline that I felt was a safe range of weight loss for my own cats, it would be about 3-6 oz of weight loss every TWO weeks.

Laurie


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

laurief said:


> Rounding to the nearest ounces, and using the guideline that I felt was a safe range of weight loss for my own cats, it would be about 3-6 oz of weight loss every TWO weeks.
> 
> Laurie


Ok perfect. That helps a lot. Thank you!


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## onyx_kitty0813 (Aug 28, 2013)

Did a weigh-in this morning & he actually put on 2 ounces so now I'm thinking the 3/4 can is too much. I'm going to go back down to 1/2 can daily with 1/8 cup of dry a day and see how that goes.

He is eating all grain-free foods. We rotate between Wellness, Wellness Core, Natural Balance, NV Instinct, Go! & Wild Calling. His dry food is currently NV Instinct Boost. I just received an email from Wellness with a coupon off of dry food so I may buy a bag of Wellness Core next. He was used to eating dry food his entire life (we've only had him for a year and a half) so I still want to feed it even though it's such a small amount.


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