Feline Obesity: An Epidemic of Fat Cats
Lisa A. Pierson, DVM
When was the last time you saw an obese lion? How about a chubby cheetah? Or a fat tiger? Have you ever seen an overweight leopard or panther? If you have ever watched nature programs on TV, I am sure that you know the answer to the questions just posed.
The answer is "never".
The next questions are also easy ones to answer - even if you are like me and turn your head when these scenes pop up on the screen!
Do these wild cats eat a dry food diet that is full of starchy carbohydrates in the form of grains? Do they eat a water-depleted diet in the form of dry kibble? Is their diet one that derives much of its protein from plants (versus meat) as is true of many dry food diets?
The answers are, again, simple: "no", "no" and "no".
There is a wonderful program on the TLC channel entitled Honey We're Killing the Kids. This program addresses the obesity epidemic in this country - starting with what we are feeding to our children. Americans are eating themselves right into an early grave but that is their choice. Our cats, on the other hand, do not have a choice and are stuck with whatever their human caregiver decides to put on their dinner plate and we owe it to them to feed a healthy diet.
This webpage could be aptly named Honey, We're Killing our Pets.
If you have not read my article entitled Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition, I urge you to do so now and then come back to this page. In order for you to understand how to tackle feline obesity, you must first understand how to properly feed a cat. After all, cats, like humans, do not become obese if they are eating a healthy, species-appropriate diet with their caloric intake properly balanced with their caloric expenditure.
Please note that I used the word "healthy" in the above statement. People and animals can, indeed, maintain an appropriate weight even when eating an unhealthy diet. So, to that end, it is very important to understand that even if you have a cat that is at an appropriate weight, this does not necessarily mean that he is eating a healthy diet.
Dry food, which is water-depleted, too high in carbohydrates and derives much of its protein from plants, is not an appropriate diet for any cat - obese or not.
Please click on the links below to read more about the key issues associated with feline obesity.
Why are there so many fat cats?
How to evaluate your own cat's weight
We owe it to our cats to feed them properly
Implementing a safe weight-loss program
Consider calories, not just ounces
How fast should my cat lose weight?
Why Are There So Many Fat Cats?
Obligate carnivores are designed to meet their energy needs with calories supplied by protein and fat - not by carbohydrates. Consider that the average prey of a wild cat is ~5% in terms of calories from carbohydrates. Now look at the carbohydrate content of dry cat food and you will see a serious disconnect between what the cat is designed to eat and what Man insists on feeding to them. Dry foods flood the cat's system with 5-10 times more calories from carbohydrates than what would be found in a wild cat's prey.
The feeding of dry food is the most common factor causing so many new people to seek help from the Feline Diabetes Message Board on a daily basis.
Carbohydrates are minimally used for energy by the cat and those that are not used are converted to and stored as fat. The so-called “light” diets that are on the market have targeted the fat content as the nutrient to be decreased but, in doing so, the pet food manufacturers have increased the grain fraction, leading to a higher level of carbohydrates. Hence, many overweight cats eating these diets are still obese. These "light" products are among the most species-inappropriate, unhealthy diets available to cat caretakers. Many caretakers feed very small amounts of these diets hoping that their cat will lose weight but feeding a small amount of a diet that is inappropriate for the species is NOT the answer! The caretaker usually just ends up with a crabby, overweight/obese cat.
Most people are familiar with the Atkins diet which is based on a high protein/high fat calorie distribution with very few calories coming from carbohydrates. Personally, I think that this diet is a bit extreme for humans since we are designed to consume carbohydrates in the form of vegetables and whole grains but the cat is definitely designed to eat an Atkins-type of diet. This is why the feline species-appropriate diet is often referred to as the "Catkins Diet".
Another very important factor contributing to the obesity epidemic is the issue of free-feeding a very palatable high carbohydrate diet. What would your human children's waistline look like if you put out a bowl of very palatable high carb food for them to eat whenever they wanted to?
There are two main reasons why cats tend to overeat when free-fed high carb dry food. The first reason is because the pet food manufacturers do not play fair when manufacturing dry food. They coat the kibble with extremely enticing animal digests which makes this inferior source of food very palatable to the target animal. (Think about the last time you sat down with a very tasty meal or snack. Did you eat well past the point that your stomach was satisfied in terms of 'fullness'? We all keep eating when we shouldn't.......simply because it tastes good.)
The second reason that cats tend to consume too many calories when eating dry food is because an obligate carnivore's brain is 'hardwired' to have the appetite center turned off when an adequate amount of protein and fat is consumed. Carbohydrates do not seem to send the "I'm full and can now stop eating" signal to a cat's brain like protein and fat does.
Of course there are many cats that are free-fed high carb dry food that do not gain an excessive amount of weight. Unfortunately, these cats are still being fed an unhealthy diet.
There are also cats that end up too heavy even when fed a species-appropriate diet. My Calvin (a large-frame cat) is free-fed a very healthy, balanced raw meat diet yet he gained one pound last year due to an injury that curtailed his energy expenditure. He is currently 14# and should weigh a nice lean 13 - 13.5#. Calvin is now in need of a bit of portion control since he did not cut back on his calorie intake once his activity level decreased.
Speaking of activity level, keep in mind that an indoor-only cat will usually not burn off as many calories as an outdoor cat. Also, indoor cats often eat out of boredom (just like humans) and end up overweight. Of course, the safest place for a cat is indoors but just because a cat lives its life inside, this does not mean that he has to be overweight.
Interact with your cat as much as possible using tassel toys, etc. This will not only burn off calories but will also alleviate boredom. Many people use laser lights but I always feel sorry for the cat since they are never able to actually catch their 'prey'! Some people hide small bowls of canned food around the house to make their cats roam around looking for their 'prey meal'. If your chubby cat is begging for food, try feeding bits of lean chicken meat as a nice high protein, low fat, no carb treat.
Please do not fall for the marketing gimmick of the "Indoor Cat" formulas of food. Cats did not suddenly stop being obligate carnivores just because they stepped inside under a roof. These diets have an atrocious list of ingredients and are usually loaded with high carb grains.
Here are two pictures of a cat that, on the outside, appeared to be at an acceptable weight - even on the thin side. He was being fed a high carbohydrate dry food diet and you can see what his insides looked like. All of the light colored tissue is fat. There is so much fat inside of this cat that his kidneys (oval, pink organs) are barely visible. Some of you may also have heard of the deadly 'omental fat' that human nutritionists and doctors talk about when discussing risk factors for death in overweight humans. On the left side of the top picture and the right side of the bottom picture - you will see omental fat.
Right kidney
Left Kidney
You may be wondering if your cat really is overweight. Generally speaking, I find that humans tend to think that a chubby cat is 'cute' and 'healthy' when, in reality, the cat is carrying around too much fat. See this chart for a description and pictures of ideal weight.
Note that you should be able to easily feel the ribs with just a slight fat pad over them. Cats should also have a waist when viewed from above. They should not have any fat pads over their shoulders. Their top line (backbone) should be well-muscled and not terribly prominent (too thin) or hard to feel (too fat).
Important note: I do not consider loose skin on the underside of the cat's abdomen to be a sign of being overweight. Many cats (males and females) have this 'doolap' and if it is just loose skin - and not fat - this is nothing to be concerned about. (My Amber - sporting her new 'lion cut' hairdo - gave me permission to post her doolap for the world to see. She is well-muscled and not overweight.......but could use a tummy tuck. Maybe she should contact Dr. Rey of Dr. 90210 fame.)
Our cats are a 'captive audience'. They depend on us, with our opposable thumbs and the common sense part of our brains engaged, to feed them a diet that promotes health - one that they would be eating if left to their own devices in a natural setting - not one that is just cheap and convenient.
For more information regarding the financial aspect of feeding a cat properly, please see Commercial Canned Food Choices/Cost and Quality.
Unfortunately, many cats have been fed dry food for their entire lives. It is no wonder that they are conditioned to eat this unhealthy diet. If I had a dime for every time I have heard someone say "but my cat really....really likes his dry food" I would be wealthy.
In addition to the issue discussed above regarding the coating of dry food with enticing animal digests, another problem is the fact that texture of dry food is obviously so different from canned food.
Cats that have grown up on dry food find the consistency of canned food very foreign and often refuse to even give it a try.
My cats had been fed a 100% dry food diet for their entire lives. When I started introducing canned food to them, their ages ranged from 2 to 10 years. They all looked at me like I had rocks for brains.....wondering what in the world that wet stuff was in their food bowls. It took a very frustrating, three month-long period of time to get them off of dry food and eating canned food. See Tips for Transitioning Dry Food Addicts.
Low carb dry foods: There are three dry foods on the market that are lower in carbs than most dry foods but please do not think that these foods are a healthy option to low-carb canned food.
The three lower-carb dry foods are Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, and Nature's Variety Instinct. While these foods do address the high carb issue, they are still water-depleted diets that should not be fed to a species that inherently has a low thirst drive.
Cats are designed to obtain water with their food since their normal prey contains approximately 75% water. Dry foods only contain 10% water whereas canned foods contain approximately 78% water. Canned foods therefore more closely approximate the natural diet of the cat and are better suited to meet the cat’s water needs.
Cats are maintained in a chronic state of low-level dehydration when dry foods are fed. Cats do not make up the deficit at the water bowl and it has been shown that cats on an all canned food diet - when compared to those on a dry food diet - consume double the amount of water when all sources (food and water bowl) are considered. Dehydration wreaks havoc on every cell of the body but it is a particularly unhealthy condition for the urinary tract system (kidneys and bladder) to deal with.
I get extremely frustrated and angry when I see my colleagues repeatedly put cats on prescription dry food diets for urinary tract problems such as crystals, stones, and blockages. This is illogical and dangerous advice without strongly advising the client that they need to work very hard to get their cat on an appropriately hydrated diet of canned food.
In addition to being water-depleted, these grain-free dry foods are high in phosphorus which is not a good mineral to have in abundance when feeding for kidney health - especially for senior cats that may have marginal kidney function.
A third - and very important - issue is that these three dry foods are very calorie-dense. For instance, dry EVO contains a whopping 612 calories/cup. Considering that the average 10 pound cat only needs about 200 calories per day to maintain their weight, you can see that 1/3 of a cup of EVO meets these caloric needs yet many people feed far more of this diet.
Combine a very palatable diet with high caloric density and throw in the fact that many people free-feed their cats dry food and you have a perfect recipe for obesity. You can use these products as transition foods in order to cut the carbs in the diet but you must be very aware that these diets are very calorie dense and a 'little bit goes a long way'!
See this chart for the calorie content of many commercial dry foods.
A fourth issue is that these diets, like all dry foods, are cooked for a very long time at very high temperatures. Many vital nutrients are damaged or destroyed by this harsh cooking process and then Man has to guess which ingredients, and in what form and amount, will need to be added to restore the health of the diet. Man is just not that smart to know exactly what has been damaged and how to restore the food to an optimal level of nutrition.
Fish: I do not feed much fish. Cats tend to get fixated on it and then will not eat critters with feathers or long ears....ie...poultry and rabbit. There is also the issue of mercury contamination and now recent research has shown that fire retardant chemicals are more highly concentrated in fish and there is a strong link between these chemicals and hyperthyroidism.
I recently heard a well-meaning fellow rescuer proudly comment that two of her foster cats had become "beefy" as if this was a favorable condition. Unfortunately, she was missing the concept of what constitutes a healthy weight gain. These cats had put on fat - not muscle so there was now nothing "beefy" about them. They were soft as marshmellows......far too fat. This person also fell into the all-too-common trap of not recognizing that these cats were actually at a healthy (lean) weight when they came into her foster care and were now overweight and not as healthy.
This is a very common problem that I see. People must understand that there is a big difference between lean muscle mass and fat. I often hear about people feeding dry food to "fatten" their cats up. And, unfortunately, that is exactly what high carb dry food does - it adds too much fat to the body. These cats would be much better off on a high protein, moderate fat, low carbohydrate canned food which would promote lean muscle mass instead of fat deposits.
Unfortunately, many humans end up 'killing them with kindness' and feed their pets right into obesity.
Remember.....think 'Catkins diet' for your obligate carnivore.
Implementing a Safe Weight Loss Program
The biggest hurdle to overcome on the way to a svelte body for your cat is their fixation on dry food. Please see the Tips for Transitioning Dry Food Addicts section on my Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition webpage and pay special attention to the statements regarding Hepatic Lipidosis (fatty liver disease).
Hepatic lipidosis (HL) is a life-threatening condition that can occur when a cat is either completely anorexic (not eating at all for 48 hours or more) or is consuming less than 50% of his daily caloric needs over several/many days. It more commonly occurs when overweight cats are not consuming enough calories but cats that are carrying a proper amount of weight can also end up with HL. These 'calorie starved' cats end up with this condition because their fat is broken down and mobilized and then it gathers in the liver - destroying liver cells.
Because HL is a unique problem among felines, I strongly urge you to invest in a scale - preferably a digital one that weighs to the nearest ounce. It is always a good idea to weigh all cats several times each year regardless of whether they are on a weight loss program or not. Weight loss can be an early sign of disease so it is always nice to monitor your cat's weight on a regular basis.
Here is a link to a Health -O-Meter HDC100-01 scale that weighs to the nearest 1/2 ounce and has a 'hold' button on it that helps obtain an accurate weight even for a cat that is moving around a bit.
I would never attempt to handle cases like Molly and Benny without closely monitoring their weight every 2-3 days but even cats that only have a few pounds to lose should be monitored.
Getting your cat to eat canned food is the first step but another challenge is dealing with a multiple-cat household when there is only one cat that needs his calories restricted.
Fortunately, many cats lose weight successfully even when they are free-fed canned food. For this reason, I would suggest simply getting all cats in the house to transition to a 100% canned food diet and then monitoring your overweight cat. In most cases you will see a nice weight loss for the chubby cats and the other cats may lose a bit of weight but usually do not become too thin. Of course, every cat is different and must be monitored individually.
If after a few weeks of the new diet your chubby cat has not lost any weight, you will then have to figure out how to implement portion control.
Molly lost weight in a healthy manner when living in my foster room which has Wellness canned food available at all times. Bennie, on the other hand, did not do well on Wellness because he did not consume enough calories to maintain a SLOW rate of weight loss. He lost weight too quickly - both in the form of fat and muscle mass.
The problem was two-fold: Bennie clearly was not consuming enough calories (4 ounces/day for 150 calories) but the other issue was that Wellness is a bit low in protein and that, coupled with his low food intake, combined to cause a loss in muscle mass.
As soon as I switched him to my favorite commercial diet - Feline's Pride - the change in his body was incredible. This high protein, high quality diet provided Bennie with the needed protein to quickly (within 3-4 weeks) regained much of his lost muscle mass along his head and backbone.
Cats definitely can lose weight safely on Wellness (see Molly's story below) but they need to be monitored very carefully for signs of muscle loss around their head and backbone area and I would not want them to lose more than 1% of their body weight per week.
Please pay close attention to the area around your cat's backbone and the back of his head - in addition to weighing him on an accurate scale every 3 days. If these areas become excessively prominent, this is a sign of too much loss of muscle mass which stems from protein malnutrition.
I then started supplementing his free-fed canned food with 50 calories/day by using EVO dry food. This is .4 ounce (less than 1/2 ounce) - or 55 pieces of this food. EVO is VERY calorie dense so be sure to measure it accurately if you choose to use this food for a cat that is refusing to consume enough canned food for a safe rate of weight loss.
PLEASE do not feed any dry food if your cat is willing to consume enough canned food to achieve a safe rate of weight loss.
Back to the issue of free-feeding canned food and hoping that your carnivore will properly regulate his calorie intake to maintain an optimal weight:
Even though a meat-based canned food is a more species-appropriate diet than any dry food, some cats will still overeat even when provided with a proper diet. For these cats, you will have to implement portion control by feeding measured amounts ~3 times/day - or smaller amounts even more frequently. Just figure out the number of calories/day that your cat should be eating and then divide those calories up between the number of meals that you will be feeding.
As has been proven in humans, eating small meals more frequently keeps the metabolism 'reved-up' and helps with weight loss. It may also be more beneficial for your cat's mental health to eat smaller meals more frequently. If you work a regular job, then feed in the morning....again when you get home from work....and then before you go to bed so that your cat(s) lets you sleep!
I realize that it is much easier to free-feed cats but you really can train *all* cats to be meal-fed which makes it much easier when you are dealing with a feline obesity project.
If you have a thin cat that just does not eat very much at one sitting and is a die-hard 'grazer', then you can leave canned food (please....no dry food....) out some place high up but only if your fat cat cannot jump up to get the food. Be aware that once your chubby cat loses some weight, they will be able to jump up on just about anything.....if they smell food.......
Some people have cut holes in boxes/crates that will allow a thinner cat to enter while not allowing a larger cat to gain access. This might end up being a bit of a 'tease' for the dieting cat so I prefer keeping the food up high - until your chubby one is able to jump up to the food.
Other people have figured out ways to prop a door so that it is barely open.....just enough for a thin cat to enter the room where food is kept.
I cannot stress this enough - I can give you a formula that will provide an approximation of the optimal caloric intake for a safe weight-loss program but the bottom line is that you need to weigh your cat every 3-4 days to make sure that he is not losing weight too rapidly - or not losing weight at all.
Also, as stated above, pay attention to his top line (back bone area) and the back of his head for signs of excessive loss of muscle mass.
There are two ways to arrive at a starting figure for the amount of calories to be fed.
First method:
The most accurate way is to calculate how many calories your cat is currently eating to maintain his not-so-svelte figure. Then take 80% of those calories as a starting point. Check the bag of dry food that you are feeding and see if it lists the calories/cup. If not, see if you can find it on this chart. Unfortunately, canned foods do not list the calorie content on the label so you will have to check this chart to see if the canned food that you are currently feeding is listed.
Second method:
Since most people free-feed dry food, the amount of calories consumed in a day is not known. In this case, figure out what you think your cat *should* weigh and plug that number into this formula:
Required calories per day = [13.6 X optimal lean body weight in pounds] + 70
Most female cats should weigh a nice, lean 10 -11 pounds. Most male cats should fall into the 11 -14 pound range.
Using an optimal body weight of 12 pounds as an example, we come up with 233 calories/day as a starting point.
[13.6 X 12 pounds] + 70 = 233
This formula provides a generous starting point (usually far too generous) but be aware that some cats will not lose weight when eating the number of calories generated by this formula. I would suggest feeding according to this formula for 2 weeks and then re-evaluating the caloric needs based on the cat's weight loss, or lack thereof. Of course, if during that period of time your cat is losing weight too rapidly, you will need to increase his calorie intake immediately.
If he is maintaining his weight on the number of calories provided by the above formula, I would reduce the amount by 10 - 20%.
Many veterinarians recommend Hill's Prescription r/d but I cannot recommend this diet in either the canned or dry form. Both forms are low quality diets and are too high in carbohydrates. Canned r/d = 37% carbs and the dry = 35%. These foods contain a list of ingredients that would not find their way into a food bowl owned by any cat in my care. In fact, dry r/d was the diet that Molly had been on when she came to me - in horrible shape.
Consider Calories and Composition, Not Just Ounces
An average canned food contains ~30 calories/ounce. The plain chicken and plain turkey Wellness products contain ~40 calories/ounce. Some of the lower quality canned foods only contain ~20 calories/ounce. So you can see by this wide range that you need to pay attention to calories - not just ounces of food.
For high protein/low fat snacks you can offer small pieces of chicken but remember that you are feeding a small cat, not a human. A little bit of food can be significant in terms of calories.
Chicken meat:
Raw, lean, skinned leg meat = ~34 calories/ounce.
Cooked, lean, skinned leg meat = ~50 calories/ounce.
This site is a good source for calorie/nutrient content of many foods.
Please understand that your overweight cat took months to get into his current condition and that it will take months to safely lose the weight. This is not a race but it is critical for you to stay the course and not give up.
A safe rate of weight loss is 1 - 2% of their current body weight per week. I do prefer to stay closer to the 1% than the 2%.
For example, if your cat weighs 20 pounds, he can safely lose up to ~6 ounces per week. (20 pounds X16 ounces/pound = 320 ounces. 2% of 320 = ~ 6 ounces.)
1% would be 3 ounces per week - or 3/4 pound/month.
As your cat loses weight, the amount of weight that he should lose each week will decrease.
For example, if your cat is down to 16 pounds, his weight loss should slow to ~2.5 -5 ounces each week which represents 1-2% of 16 pounds.
Molly and Bennie are two very sweet cats who were literally crippled by their owner's misguided feeding practices.
Molly = 20.5 pounds. Healthy weight = 10-11 pounds. She is a small-framed cat.
Bennie = 27.5 pounds. Healthy weight = 13-14 pounds.
Skip to Bennie
Molly
...made a
great pillow for kittens...
Bennie
Let's start with Molly's story and see how she got to be obese on Hill's Science Diet Light dry food - a diet that is atrocious in terms of quality and one that is inappropriate to be feeding to any cat.
Molly was adopted as a kitten from TLC Adoptions in 1997. She was fed a diet of dry food only. When her owners noticed that she was getting too heavy, they started feeding her Science Diet Light dry food. She continued on her path to obesity and ill-health. Molly was returned to the adoption agency in 2004 - terribly obese and limping from carrying around so much fat. If she laid down on her side, it was very difficult for her to get up. Molly's coat was a mess - oily and full of dandruff.
Her obesity prevented her from being able to clean herself properly and the result of this was a painful skin inflammation and infection around her anus and vulva - extending to her lower abdomen.
Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of her at her worst but see below for a picture of Bennie's rear end/abdomen to get an idea of what Molly looked like. Here is a picture of the 'sanitary shave' that I did for Molly. Hair traps urine, feces and heat making the area harder to keep clean and more susceptible to infection and inflammation.
One thing that this picture does not show is the skin fold dermatitis within the folds of her vulva. There was a large fat layer on either side of her vulva that trapped moisture and bacteria. Since she was unable to clean herself, this resulted in a painful inflammation and infection.
After Molly was returned to TLC Adoptions, she was adopted to a man who ended up feeding her another very inappropriate and unhealthy diet that was prescribed by a veterinarian. The diet was Hill's r/d in the dry form.
Molly was fed a small amount of this food in a separate room twice daily. This man then put a shock collar on her and put the transmitting wires around the food bowls (filled with an inappropriate diet of dry food) that were being left out for his other cats - all of which who were terribly overweight also. Unfortunately for Molly, she was the one being focused on.
At this point, Molly was in great danger of developing hepatic lipidosis which can be fatal if not treated in time.
Molly did not like the Hill's r/d and was now being shocked every time she tried to squelch her hunger pains when going toward the food bowls filled with what she had been eating her entire life.
This wonderful, sweet cat was very depressed, confused, jumpy (from the shock collar) and in grave danger of becoming fatally ill.
Within hours of hearing of Molly's horrible situation, I called the man to discuss having her returned to TLC Adoptions. She would then be placed in my home for careful monitoring - both medically and nutritionally.
He agreed, saying that he was "tired of the mess that she was leaving around the house".
Molly's rear end was so sore and itchy from her lack of ability to groom herself, that she was dragging her rear-end on the floor and furniture in an attempt to clean herself and to relieve her discomfort. The discharge from around her vulva was black and messy.
If you cringe at the above comments, just think how poor Molly felt! Cats, by nature, are very clean/fastidious creatures and when they can't clean themselves properly, it becomes a very stressful situation for them.
The First Day of the Rest of Molly's Life.....
......and the beginning of a VERY frustrating time for me!
3/28/04
Molly is a horrible Kibble Addict and needs a 12-step program in the
worst way. I have said many, many times on various internet groups
and during my consulting work that *all* cats *can* be switched to a proper
diet of low-carb canned food and NO DRY FOOD, if the human is patient
enough and tries enough
tricks but I
can tell that Molly is going to be a tough one.
Molly is fed dry food on arrival. Trying to force a diet change
on a stressed animal is never a good idea. A few more days on
a lousy diet is not going to matter but I will continued to offer canned
Wellness, Fancy Feast, and lower quality canned foods like Friskies.
Unfortunately, she will not have any part of this healthier diet.
3/30/07
Molly is a pretty laid-back cat...not terribly stressed and she has had
a couple of days to acclimate to her new surroundings. I would
give her more time on dry food if she was a nervous type of cat but
since she is not......it is time to get serious. I am starting to
syringe-feed her *pureed canned chicken Wellness. This is done
very gently and slowly so as to not create a food aversion.
Interestingly, Molly does not fight the syringe-feeding so I am not too
worried about a food aversion resulting from this feeding method
although I will keep it in mind as a possibility.
*I puree the Wellness in a blender - one 5.5 ounce can with about 4-5
TBS of water added. Important: Run it through a wire
strainer! If you don't do this, your syringe will clog.
(The food is thick - even with the added water - but if you bang the strainer
on your bowl repeatedly, the food will flow through it.)
Amount fed: Using the
formula above to arrive at an approximate figure for needed
calories, I make sure that Molly consumes 180
calories/day (one 5.5 ounce can of Wellness chicken) as a starting
level. Adjustments will be made based on her weight loss progress,
or lack thereof.
Molly will be weighed every 2-3 days.
One 5.5 ounce can + 4 TBS of water is ~150 cc. Molly had no
trouble taking 50 cc at each meal. She was fed 50 cc 3x/day.
See this chart
for the calorie content of many commercial foods.
4/18/04
I have switched many kibble addicts to canned food and have never lost a
battle but Molly is my toughest patient yet. I have actually ended
up in tears on more than one occasion out of utter frustration. I
know that the only hope for Molly to lead a normal 'cat life'....one
where she can run, jump and play - and clean herself properly... is for
her to get off of dry food and start eating a proper diet of low-carb
canned food or a balanced homemade diet.......but she has other ideas.
I have tried many tricks with her. Tuna, crumbling dry food or parmesan
cheese on top of
the canned food, dipping the dry food in a tiny bit of canned or even
just the juice from the canned. I have tried cooked and raw chicken and
cooked fish. I put a bit of canned food on her paw to see if she
would clean it off. No way. Molly will not even eat a piece
of dry food that has so much as touched any part of canned food!
In a nutshell, Molly does not recognize anything but dry kibble as
food.
(Since Molly will be put back up for adoption, I want to get her on a
commercial canned food instead of the homemade diet that I feed to my
own cats. Most people are not prepared to
Make Cat Food and so switching her to a
canned food is more appropriate.)
Now....before you get too discouraged by the above
'frustration' narrative, please understand that I was being a bit
impatient with regard to Molly's diet change. She was a foster cat
that needed to eventually find a loving home of her own and so I wanted
things to move along a bit more quickly than was realistic for Molly.
PLEASE do not rush the diet transition.
PLEASE be patient and do not give up. And be sure to read
this
section regarding transitioning stubborn kibble addicts and pay close attention to the comments about Hepatic
Lipidosis.
To give you an example of the timeframe that I am talking about, my own
herd of kibble addicts (yes....I fed a 100% dry food diet for ten long
years before I saw the error of my ways.....) took 3 months to switch
from dry to canned. And, yes, I was frustrated by the slow process
but my cats were going to be with me for life and I was committed to the
long, slow battle of wits and tricks. It really is not a race - but
you do need to get to the finish line.
4/20/04
Molly goes to the clinic for a dental cleaning and ends up needing a
couple of teeth extracted. Because of her reluctance to eat canned
food on her own, a feeding tube is put in
which makes both of our lives MUCH...much easier!! I can now feed
her with much less stress to both of us and in much less time. We
are both very relieved.
"Do I look thinner in this dress?"
5/7/04
2.5 weeks after the feeding tube was put in, Molly returns to her carnivorous roots and starts licking the pureed Wellness from the syringe and eating canned food from a plate. She is living in my foster room with other cats and kittens and I think that it is helping her to watch them eat their canned food. I will not remove the tube until she proves to me that she will consume enough calories by eating canned food on her own.
5/10/04
The feeding tube is removed since Molly is eating on her own.
Molly finally gets it!!
7/18/04
Molly's BIG DAY!!!!
Molly gets to go to her forever home! (Thank you, Maurine....)
Molly's Weight Loss Progression on 5 ounces/day of canned Wellness
Molly's new mom was removing about 1 heaping tsp from the 5.5 ounce can of Wellness leaving 5 ounces as Molly's daily intake. This resulted in a nice weight loss pace.
3/28/04 - 7/18/04 (16 weeks)
20.5 pounds => 17.1 pounds = a loss of 3 pounds, 5 ounces ---- 3.3 ounces/week = 1% of her body weight lost/week
3/28/04 - 9/1/04 (22.5 weeks)
20.5 pounds => 16.25 pounds = a loss of 4 pounds, 4 ounces ---- 3.0 ounces/week
3/28/04 - 12/22/04 (38.5 weeks)
20.5 pounds => 14.8 pounds = a loss of 5 pounds, 10 ounces --- 2.3 ounces/week
Backslide........
Well.....sometime in early 2005, Molly conned her mom into feeding her more than the 5 ounces. Her intake was increased to 7-7.5 ounces/day which was a 40 - 50% increase over the amount that she was losing nicely on. To us humans, a 2 ounce portion of food does not seem like a lot but you can see that jumping from 5 ounces to 7 ounces is a huge increase (40%!) in her caloric intake.
5/26/05
Molly weighs 16 pounds - a gain of 1.2 pounds in 5 months! Even at this weight, however, there is a noticeable difference in how she moves. She walks much better and no longer limps.....but.....she still cannot clean her rear end.
Her intake is reduced to 6 ounces/day.
9/1/05
16.25 pounds
6 ounces/day is proving to be too much for Molly. Back to 5 ounces/day!
3/13/06
15.1 pounds => A loss of 1.1 pounds in 6 months. She has a nice waist but still has a lot of fat around her shoulders. She is active and running around and feels great!
9/12/07
It has now been 1 1/2 years since I have weighed Molly. (I think that Molly has breathed a sigh of relief since she has not seen me walking up her driveway....scale in hand.....for her Jenny Craig weigh-in.) On a good note, she now has a good looking, thin, boy-kitty friend named Pablo, also rescued by TLC Adoptions. Molly and Pablo have actually been chasing each other around - pretty good for a chubby 10 year old girl and a 9 year old boy! This sure makes me smile considering that Molly could barely walk when she first came to me. She now runs and jumps and plays like a normal cat!
4/17/08
13.2 pounds
I am ecstatic.......I just visited Molly and she looks fantastic! Her coat is incredibly shiny....no more of her former greasy coat loaded with dandruff. Molly is very active and happy.....she now runs and jumps and plays like a normal cat.
Her backbone and head are well-muscled which means that she has lost a great deal of fat while maintaining great muscle tone.
She has been on 5.5 ounces of Wellness Chicken and Herring canned food per day and I could not be happier with the way that she looks. She is still carrying a bit of fat (I am still thinking that there is a 10-11# kitty in there somewhere) but, overall, I am extremely happy with the way that she looks!!
Molly, Pablo, and their mom are all moving to Arizona soon so, sadly, I had to kiss Molly goodbye. It has been a wonderful 4 year journey to get Molly back to being an active, healthy cat......an experience that I will truly treasure for life.
6/24/08
11.8 pounds
As you can see by her weight, she has lost more fat and looks great. She has been eating the same amount but the key to her weight loss has been an increase in exercise in her new, very large home.
However, this is a very sad update......Molly has been extremely active and playful up until today. It appears that she has had a stroke and it is doubtful that she is going to survive.
6/25/08
It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of our sweet Molly. Molly was a very special girl. She was incredibly kind, affectionate and very gentle. Molly was a wonderful companion to Maurine's 90+ year old mother - providing Mrs. H with great comfort in her remaining days as the elderly woman dealt with advancing Alzheimer's disease. I know that Maurine will always be grateful for the comfort that Molly provided for her mother.
Thank you, Molly, for all that you taught me during our journey to find your inner svelt and healthy cat.
8/26/08
Bennie (see his full story below) went to live with Maurine on 7/9/08. Although no kitty can ever replace our sweet Molly, Bennie is doing a great job of winning Maurine's heart.
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Bennie's video......updated as time goes on.
7/30/07
Bennie was dumped at a city dog/cat 'pound'. His owners cited "health issues" as the reason for abandoning Bennie. What fate were they expecting for him? Did they really think that cats like Bennie get adopted? Sadly, the "fate" in my neck of the woods is euthanasia for cats like Bennie.
Bennie is only 4 years old.
8/2/07
A shelter volunteer sends me an email wanting to know if there is any room at Dr. Pierson's Fat Camp for Obese Felines...knowing what a sucker I am for nutrition 'projects'. I cringe....wanting another foster cat like want a hole in my head. But....then I start praying that Bennie is not a diabetic and I know that I cannot just delete the email and continue on with my day. (Diabetes is not an uncommon illness that plagues cats that eat an inappropriate diet of dry food. See my article on diabetes for more information.)
8/7/07
I break down and go to the shelter to meet Bennie. I review his lab work and there are no abnormal values. Hopefully, he will dodge the diabetes 'bullet' since he is still young and will spend the rest of his life on an appropriate diet.
Painful/itchy...inflammed rear end - severe dermatitis - this is what happens when a cat gets so obese that that they can no longer clean themselves properly.
Bennie was such a good boy for his bath. He just plopped over on his side and seemed to really enjoy it when I gently washed his horrible skin condition and trimmed all of his overgrown claws.
There is a question as to just how much Bennie weighed when he entered the shelter. The technician recorded 30 pounds on 7/30/07 but I question the accuracy of that value since only 8 days later, he weighed 26.5 pounds. I really hope that he did not weigh 30 pounds on the impound day because that would represent a very drastic and unhealthy rate of weight loss and fluid loss. (Dehydration will also result in weight loss.)
I am going to use 27.5 pounds as a starting weight for Bennie as of the day that he was turned into the pound - 7/30/07. I will use 26.5 pounds as his starting weight on the day that he came into my care which was 8/7/07.
Bennie will be weighed every 2-3 days.
His severe dermatitis/scalding will being treated with Preparation H until the scabs and loose skin comes off:
8/8/07
I observe what may be one of the "health issues" that his owners were referring to when they abandoned Bennie. He is going in and out of his litter box up to 3 times within 30 minutes. He is passing small amounts of urine each time. This scenario illustrates why it is so important to use a clumping litter (always UNscented) for all cats. Clumping litter allowed me to appreciate the following information:
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Bennie was able to pass some urine and was not completely blocked which would have been a life-threatening emergency.
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His urine balls were very small - grape size - indicating cystitis (bladder inflammation).
Many people make the big mistake of jumping to conclusions that the above signs are due to an infection and automatically think that antibiotics are warranted. 95% of these signs in cats under 10 years of age that are not diabetic or in kidney failure are due to sterile cystitis. "Sterile" means that the inflammation is *not* due to an infection and antibiotics are *not* warranted.
In order to diagnose a bladder infection properly, a cystocentesis must be done. This is a safe procedure that involves putting a needle directly into the bladder through the abdominal wall. It is not painful for the cat and it ensures that a clean sample is obtained for a culture and sensitivity. A C & S tells us if there actually is an infection present and which antibiotic to use on the bacteria that was grown in the culture.
But.....Bennie is too fat to easily perform a cystocentesis on so I had to do what I could to help make the decision to put him on antibiotics or not.
Bennie urinated in an empty litter box that was near his regular litter box and I could see that the urine contained blood. The urine specific gravity (urine concentration) was high (1.050) which told me that the probability of an infection causing his cystitis is extremely low. He is only 4 years old and is not diabetic, nor in kidney failure. Therefore, he will not be put on antibiotics.
I will count on a high moisture diet of all canned food (with added water if he will accept it) to help keep his bladder flushed out and I will monitor his clinical signs. I will also give him a bit of Buprinex for the pain since cystitis can be painful. Cystitis is thought to be highly linked to stress and Bennie has been under tremendous stress lately. Also, Pain => Stress. Therefore, pain management is very important in moderate to severe cases of cystitis.
8/11/07
Weight = 26 pounds, 4 ounces
Bennie is losing ~1 ounce/day which is just under the 2% per week rate that is considered to be a safe rate of weight loss.
He is being free-fed canned Wellness with some meals of the raw rabbit diet that I make for my own cats thrown into the mix. (See Making Cat Food.) I either feed it raw or lightly cooked depending on his mood. I do this in order to increase the protein in the diet and decrease the fat. (Wellness is a good commercial food but it is a bit higher in calories from fat than I would prefer.) However, I did not add any extra meat to Molly's Wellness and she lost weight at a nice rate.
Please do not add more than ~15% (by weight) plain meat to any commercial food. Otherwise, you will risk feeding an unbalanced diet since there is no calcium in plain meat. (I feed a raw meat and bones diet to my cats. The ground bone provides the necessary calcium.)
Bennie is not exactly a big eater. I am lucky to get him to eat 5 ounces/day of the Wellness/rabbit mix for a total of ~180 calories/day. Some days he eats even less - closer to 140 calories/day. I am happy with the daily intake of 180 calories but 140 calories is less than his calculated needs for a safe weight loss. He is not acting hungry and is not begging for food and is bright and alert and seems perfectly happy but given his very low caloric intake, I am worried about malnutrition.
Important: Keep in mind that Bennie is just one individual cat and that his lack of caloric intake illustrates just how *very* important it is to have an accurate scale during this process to ensure that the patient is not losing weight too quickly! Please error on the side of caution with your own cats and work with your veterinarian during the implemented weight-loss program to ensure that hepatic lipidosis does not set in and a safe rate of weight loss is maintained.
After 4 days of using only Preparation H, I switched to baby powder to keep the area dry. I still applied a bit of Prep H to the few remaining scabs to soften them in order to facilitate removal.
8/13/07
Weight = 26 pounds, 2.5 ounces
8/16/07
Weight = 25 pounds, 15.5 ounces
8/18/07
Weight = 25 pounds, 13.0 ounces
Video - Bennie is now trained to get on the scale when I ask him to!
Bennie's cystitis seems to be clearing on its own as is the usual course for sterile cystitis. The urine balls are getting bigger and less in number and I do not see him going to the litter box frequently when I am with him. I have not been able to observe his urine directly since he is going to the litter box every time.
There is a joke in veterinary medicine that says most cases of cystitis get better in 7-10 days with antibiotics and in a 1 - 1.5 weeks without antibiotics. Antibiotics need to stop being overused for this condition.
8/19/07
Up to this point, Bennie has been eating 4-5.5 ounces of Wellness per day. Sometimes I do mix in some Fancy Feast Chicken Feast to get him to eat more but from here on out, he is on his own with 100% Wellness available at all times. He is now running (well....I wish that he was "running") with my other foster cats (1 adult and 2 kittens) and so I will not be able to monitor his intake but will keep a very close eye on his weight.
8/22/07
Weight = 25 pounds, 5.5 ounces
Bennie has lost too much weight (7.5 ounces) in the past 4 days but he is acting like he feels great! He is starting to play with Penny:
Even though the introduction to the other cat and kittens was done slowly (they were in separate rooms with a screen door between them for almost 2 weeks), Bennie may have eaten less over these past few days due to the stress of being in a new environment with new roommates.
Progress report:
8/7/07 - 8/22/07 = 15 days......18.5 ounces lost = 8.6 ounces/week = a little over 2% per week.
8/23/07
Weight = 25 pounds, 5.5 ounces
8/24/07
Weight = 25 pounds, 5.5 ounces -
It is odd that he has weighed the same for the past 3 days but I am relieved that the rapid weight loss has stopped.
He had 2 golf ball-size urine balls in his litter box within 12 hours. This is a vast improvement from 8/8/07 when he was urinating very small amounts frequently.
8/25/07
Weight = 25 pounds, 5.0 ounces
8/27/07
Weight = 25 pounds, 4.5 ounces
8/29/07
Weight = 25 pounds, 1.5 ounces
After one month of eating a species-appropriate diet of canned food and no dry food.....and losing 2.5 pounds, Bennie finally feels like playing!
9/1/07
Weight = 24 pounds, 12.25 ounces
Progress report:
8/7/07 - 9/1/07 = 25 days.....28 ounces lost = 7.8 ounces/week
Now that he is down to 24.75 pounds, 2% of his current weight is ~8 ounces. So Bennie should not lose anymore than ~ 8 ounces/week...... or ~1 ounce/day.
9/3/07
Weight = 24 pounds, 8.25 ounces
9/7/07
Weight = 24 pounds, 2.0 ounces
9/10/07
Weight = 23 pounds, 15.5 ounces
Weekly progress report:
9/3/07 - 9/10/07 = 1 week.....8.75 ounces lost this past week
Overall progress report:
8/7/07 - 9/10/07 = 34 days.....lost 2.5 pounds (40 ounces) = average of 8.2 ounces/week. This represents a total weight loss of 9.4%.
This is *much* faster than I had planned for his weight loss program but he is becoming more active and playful each day and is still very bright and alert. He is still being free-fed canned Wellness - only the grain-free ones. There is food available to him 24/7.
Not yet, Bennie, but you're getting there!
9/12/07
23 pounds, 12 ounces
Bright, alert and playful - interacting with the other cats. I am still concerned that he is losing weight too fast and I hope that he is not quietly working on a case of hepatic lipidosis - or becoming malnourished.
Even though I am not a fan of Fancy Feast, I fed him some today....... but he really is only slightly more interested in FF than he is in Wellness.
9/14/07
23 pounds, 9 ounces
Even though Bennie is losing weight a bit more rapidly than I had planned for him, he is becoming more active and appears to be feeling great every day. However, please do not allow your cat to lose weight this quickly. Please stick to the 2% per week weight loss as a maximum.
I am continuing to free-feed him canned Wellness with a bit of Fancy Feast thrown in. The Fancy Feast does not make up more than ~10 -15% of his diet. Fancy Feast has always bothered me in terms of quality since it is a bit like "kitty crack"......meaning that most cats just love it and I have a jaded eye regarding the ingredient(s) that are contributing to this tremendous palatability. I have no idea what is in the "artificial flavors" and prefer not to feed a lot of this food. There is also the issue of by-products. You will find my views on that issue here.
9/16/07
23 pounds, 7.5 ounces
Bennie tried to run up some stairs that he would only slowly lumber up a few weeks ago. He actually sort of jumped up them! Ok....it was not terribly graceful but it is a start.
9/19/07
23 pounds, 2.0 ounces
9/12/07 - 9/19/07 weekly progress report:
He has lost 10 ounces this past week. That is 2.6% of his body weight. (10 ounces is 2.6% of 23 pounds, 12 ounces......or stated another way.......23 pounds, 12 ounces is 380 ounces. 10 divided by 380 = 2.6%.)
9/21/07
22 pounds, 15.0 ounces
9/25/07
22 pounds, 10.0 ounces
9/29/07
22 pounds, 2.5 ounces
Bennie is becoming more active each day. He used to slowly lumber across the room when I would call him...or he would just lie around and not move. Now he is walking briskly in order to follow me around the room.
9/19/07 - 9/29/07 progress report:
He has lost 1 pound in 10 days. This works out to be ~3% of his body weight per week. He is losing weight too quickly. I need to find a diet that he likes better so that he consumes more calories/nutrients.
10/6/07
21 pounds, 11.5 ounces
Bennie has lost 7 ounces in the past 7 days which represents just under 2% of his body weight. He is becoming even more affectionate than he already was.....if that is even possible! Bennie is a very affectionate cat but, in the past, he would tend to wait for me to come to him. He was so large that he did not want to move around much. Now I am tripping over him!! He is constantly underfoot gazing up at me begging to be acknowledged and petted.
I am also happy to report that he actually broke out in to a run....ok...a medium trot.....to go after Dexter in play! He is also running up a couple of steps in the foster room versus just lumbering up them.
One issue that makes me a bit sad, however, is that Bennie really wants to be with humans. I am not able to spend much time with him and I am really looking forward to getting him adopted into a loving home with people who will appreciate his great personality and who will also feed him correctly.
Bennie will be available for adoption after he loses a bit more weight.......but good homes are so hard to find.
10/13/07
21 pounds, 1.5 ounces
Bennie has lost 10 ounces in 7 days. This represents a 2.9% loss this week and is not a safe rate of weight loss. Even though he is becoming more active and playful each day, I am concerned about him. I recently had to bring in 2 new foster cats and while Bennie is very good with other cats, I feel that this has stressed him to the point that he has decreased his calorie intake to a dangerous level. I will be moving him to another room to see if that results in an improved appetite.
10/15/07