Why Is My Cat Getting Fat

Reasons Why Your Cat Is Not Eating

Adrienne Kruzer, BS, RVT, LVT, has worked with a variety of animals for over 15 years, including birds of prey, reptiles, and small mammals.

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It’s common for a cat to suddenly decide it doesn’t want to eat a certain food or treat anymore. But sometimes a cat stops eating for a more serious reason. You should be aware of the potential causes and concerns for a cat’s food aversion. There may be things you can do at home to help your cat regain its appetite, but sometimes veterinary intervention is necessary.

How To Help Your Cat Lose Weight

While cats gaining too much weight and getting fat is pretty common, there are some strategies to deal with the issue. Lets start off by discussing how exercise can help your cat.

Giving Your Cat Regular Exercise

When it comes to overweight tabby or domestic cats, lack of exercise is usually the culprit. Cats who do not have enough room to roam around and explore can never balance the output of energy with food intake. As a result, you might notice your cat developing a big belly.

A quick solution to keeping your cat in shape is to play with them for 15 to 20 minutes per day. This can include tossing around stuffed toys, using catnip, laser cat toys, and even running around the room. The physical activity does not need to be too intense, but consistent. Your cat can easily shed a few pounds each week by doing this.

Stop Your Cat From Free Feeding

The next thing you want to do to cut down your cats body fat is to reduce their self-feeding intake. Especially for busy owners who leave kibble out for their cats, they can easily eat too much if they get bored. If you plan to let your cat self-feed, be sure to measure out no more than a cup of food per day.

Planning out your cats meals is really helpful too. Its usually a good idea to feed your cat wet food early in the morning. You can then provide a small amount of dry food for daily consumption, and then give them another wet meal at night.

Avoid Alternating Your Cats Diet

Sickness and Depression

Old Age

Check The Condition Of Her Back

Have a look at your cats back, in particular, is their back flat? Is there signs of matting or greasy fur around that area? Can you see obvious signs of a potbelly?

Also, look out for dandruff around the middle of their back. You tend to find that obese cats have difficulty grooming these areas, and this is an indication that she is overweight.

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When My Girl Walks Down The Street

Now, if you have dogs or have ever walked a dog, do NOT expect walking your cat to be like that. Like, at all. In fact, you should definitely prep your cat WAY ahead of time to even be okay with the very notion of going outside attached to a leash. You can do this in all the usual ways letting her sniff the leash, hooking her up to it and walking her around the apartment before going outside, and letting her get used to the feeling of it all in preparation for The Big Day.

When you do finally take her outside, dont expect much. For the most part, Lula just looked around, wide-eyed and terrified, let out a few pitiful mews, and then slithered against the perimeter of the building until she demanded to go back inside. However, its been a few days now, and every day she gets more and more emboldened. If your cat refuses to move even a paw, carry her a few feet away from your doorstep. This will encourage her to, at the very least, run back to the door to be let back inside. Also, if you live on the top floor like me, have her go up and down the stairs a few times. Doing so is an excellent way to get some cardio out of your chubby baby bubs!

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Thoughts On Homemade Cat Food Recipes

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If I Spay Or Neuter My Cat Will It Cause Them To Gain Weight

Its been shown that cats are more likely to become overweight after spaying or neutering. We routinely recommend to decrease the amount of food after this procedure by 20-30% and to watch body condition closely, but its still important to keep your kitten on a diet that meets the needs of growing cats until he is at least 1 year of age.

What Is The Best Homemade Food For Cats

The healthiest cat food is home-cooked dishes for cats but only if the meals are nutritionally balanced and complete. Felines need a certain amount of protein, fat, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. You must provide your cat with the right mix of meat, bones, organs to balance its feline needs. Generally, the best cat foods cooked at home consists of 80-85% meat, 5-10% organs, 7-10% bones. You can or must use nutritional supplements especially if you grid home-cooked dishes for your furry.

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A Different Cat Food May Be Necessary

Your veterinarian may recommend feeding a specifically formulated cat food to help your kitty lose weight safely and slowly. Thats because weight management diets are designed to provide all of the nutrients a cat needs while reducing the number of calories eaten. Diamond CARE Weight Management Formula for Adult Cats is one food that can help address your feline friends weight issues. You can learn more about this cat food by visiting the product information page.

The information in this blog has been developed with our veterinarian and is designed to help educate pet parents. If you have questions or concerns about your pet’s health or nutrition, please talk with your veterinarian.

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What Other Reasons Can Make A Cat Get Fat

The reason why your cat is getting fat could be linked to a few reasons. Most likely linked to not enough activity, overeating, or having too many treats. Fortunately, most of these issues can be resolved.

Indoor cats, in particular, find it harder to get regular exercise. So, you must get around this . Let me explain why older cats tend to gain weight easily, the risks that weight gain introduces, how to reduce weight, and more.

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Cat Obesity: How To Help Your Overweight Cat Lose Weight

Concerned your cat is overweight? Worried about their health and want to help, but don’t know how? Our tips for fighting cat obesity are here to help.

While there might be plenty of jokes about fat, obese, or overweight cats online and elsewhere, the health of our feline friends is nothing to laugh about. Obesity in cats is on the rise, and this negative health trend can lead to many consequences for our beloved cats, and for us. If left untreated, an overweight cats weight problem will ultimately lead to worse health and lower quality of life. So what can we do to help our feline friends get healthy and lose weight? Read on for more information, or check out our other cat-friendly articles.

Overview:

Your Cats Food Isnt Meeting His Nutritional Needs

You know how when you eat fast food, youre usually hungry an hour later no matter how much you ate? Unsurprisingly, another answer to, Why is my cat always hungry? is that poor-quality cat food can have the same effect on your cat. And like a person who eats a lot of fast food or who can only afford starchy foods, your cat will eat and eat because he cant satisfy the true hunger at the root of his desire to eat.

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Causes Of Obesity In Cats

If your cat is overweight or obese, you might ask yourself, how did this happen? First of all, remember theres no need to feel guilty. Sometimes, things go wrong even if we mean well. Then, you can start looking at potential causes.

Like humans, cats can become overweight for a variety of reasons, including overfeeding, lack of exercise, old age and a slowing metabolism.

Weight gain can occur any time calories consumed exceed the energy expended. Excess energy gets stored in the body as fat.

Weve highlighted some of the main causes of weight gain in cats below:

Think Vertical With Tunnels

If you’re keeping your cats indoors most of the time, Dr King and Dr Lawson recommend to think up, as well as around, the house for spaces for your cats to move.

Cat towers, window seats, shelving, boxes, tunnels or just regular furniture can all be used to encourage your kitties to climb and jump, which keeps them more active.

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What Causes Cats To Get Fat

A cat that is overweight is never a good sign. Cats with excessive weight can end up developing serious health problems. Too much weight can add additional pressure on their limbs and cause them to develop arthritis and other physical problems.

Sometimes its hard to determine what exactly causes a cat to get fat, especially if you do not monitor them all the time. Here are a couple of things that cause cats to get fat.

• Lack of exercise
• Sickness & Lethargic
• Old Age

The good news is that most of the issues are easily fixable with the right change in your cats schedule and what they are fed. Some things such as depression and old age are a bit harder to fix. When it comes to sickness youll need a vet to help determine the cause and get them on medication to help reduce their weight. Well go into each of these areas in detail next and talk about strategies to help your cat lose weight.

Your Cat Is Depressed

Is your cat always hungry? As in humans, overeating can be a self-soothing behavior for cats who are depressed or grieving. Ive seen this happen: I once met a couple who had a cat theyd exiled to the basement after their baby was born. In response, the cat started eating to self-soothe, and the result was incredibly sad.

If your cat is depressed, try drawing him out of his shell with gentle interactive play. Give him love blinks close your eyes slowly, leave them closed for a second, and then open them slowly, while thinking I love you.

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Your Pet May Have Gastrointestinal Issues

You may not be entirely aware of it but your pet may have a gastrointestinal problem.; Your pet may have intestinal parasites or worms, food allergies, inflammatory bowel disease or pancreatitis. These disorders may prevent nutrients from being properly absorbed and digested by the body thus resulting in extreme loss of weight.;

Overweight Cats: A Growing Issue

Cat obesity is a growing issue around the world. As people in developed countries have become rounder, so too have our feline friends!

According to a 2018 study by the;Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, 59.5% of cats in the U.S. are classified as overweight or obese¹.

So if youre wondering if your cat is overweight, chances are they probably are.

But what is obesity exactly?;Obesity is the accumulation of excess body fat. Your cat may be overweight, and not considered obese, but still have excess body fat that could be hurting their overall health and well-being.

Yes, #fatcatsneedlovetoo! But not only belly rubs and encouragement. A vet-approved and carefully implemented weight reduction plan is the best way to help your overweight kitty take back their full health.

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Your Cat Has Hyperthyroidism Or Diabetes

These diseases both cause a vast increase in appetite: hyperthyroidism does so because your cats metabolism is burning too many calories, and diabetes because your cats body cant convert sugar to energy and the nutrition doesnt even get into his body in the first place. If your cat is always hungry, eating constantly and still losing weight, and especially if hes also drinking a lot of water, get him to the vet as soon as possible.

How To Get My Cat To Lose Weight

Of course, while the solution to helping your overweight cat might be a simple one, we appreciate that its easier said than done. With a multitude of different resources available online detailing different ways to help your cat lose weight, it can be difficult to know which one works best. Which is why Reveal will help cut to the chase and discuss what we know works from experience. While there are certain quick fixes that cat owners can do to help encourage exercise, such as activity-based toys like climbing and scratching frames or by allowing outdoor access for indoor cats, we suggest getting more creative with your approach.;;

For example, every cat owner has experienced the begging routine their furry friend likes to play whenever theyre feeling peckish. When begging for treats, theyll come up to you with a cute little expression, perhaps with a soft meow and paw placed gently for the icing on the cake and youll melt every time. Were not saying you cant treat your cat. The key, however, is to change up the routine.

Once youve tired them out, reward your cat with just the one treat. They may not take to the new change initially, but the repetition of daily playtime will breed a new routine and create a deeper bond between you and your cat. Remember the golden rule; play more, treat less.;

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Why Does It Matter If My Cat Is Overweight

Feline obesity has been associated with many diseases including diabetes, skin disease, and arthritis/joint pain. While you might not see any problems, overweight pets have more risks if they need anesthesia and higher medical costs. Additionally, studies have shown that being overweight increases inflammation throughout the body and we are just learning about a large number of health problems that can be associated with chronic inflammation.

Spending More Calories Than In Taking

Kittens and adolescent cats have a lot of energy that they can burn off just running and playing. Don’t discourage Kitty from exploring her world or honing her abilities with healthy exercise.

Just feed her kitten chow, which is formulated to be higher in protein and fat content than adult cat food.

Get the high quality stuff without fillers that will make your cat feel full but won’t actually cause the weight to stay on. Once your cat is old enough, look into spaying or neutering, which can slow the metabolism.

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Benefits Of Homemade Cat Food

There are several good reasons why some cat owners choose to feed their furry friends homemade meals and discard any other options. Here are they:

1. The owners can control the ingredients as well as the process of cooking.Bulk cat food on the market is not what it seems and advertises.

Both expensive and cheap cat food can include low-quality components, chemical preservatives, useless or even harmful fillers. So commercial cat food can be regarded as junk food for humans and home made cat food like home cooking. If you start preparing food for your cat at home, you choose the ingredients and control the way of cooking. Thus, you are sure that your furry eats really quality meals.

2. The pet parents can protect their cats from a variety of allergic reactions.A lot of commercial cat food brands say that their kibbles can improve cats skin and coat.

But thats not true. Using low-quality ingredients for making such kinds of cat food, on the contrary, can cause some allergic reactions or sensitivities. Homemade raw food diet for cats lets you notice a great benefit to your four-legged friends skin and coat.

The difference is that raw food provides about 80% moisture when commercial cat food offers just 10%.

4. Making your own cat food fosters increased energy.

5. The cat owners can save money if they choose to cook feline food at home by themselves.

Is Your Fluffy Feline Fat Or Thin

Veterinarians typically use one of two body condition scoring systems to determine whether your feline friend is overweight, just right or even underweight. Both body condition scoring systems are easily found online, complete with pictures of how underweight, ideal weight, overweight and obese cats look from different viewpoints. You can compare your cat to the scoring systems pictures to get an idea of your kittys body condition score. You can also determine if your cat has an appropriate body condition by using the following approach:

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