The prevalence of obesity in cats is growing. In 2020, 78% of veterinary professionals told us that they have seen an increase in pet obesity over the last 2 years. Obesity has remained a top concern of veterinary professionals since the PDSA collected data for the first PAW Report in 2011, consistently being chosen as one of the top 5 welfare issues facing dogs, cats, and rabbits in the UK. Despite this, in 2020, only 18% of cat owners reported their pet to be overweight or obese.
Table of contents
First key point: many pets are now overweight. If your vet tells you your pet is overweight, please listen and start making changes to reduce body weight.
Is obesity bad?
As with humans, if your cat is overweight or obese, it greatly increases their risk of certain health conditions; many of which can be life-limiting and require costly care going forward.
It can also reduce their ability to partake in natural feline behaviours, affecting their ability to groom, general movement, ability to hide and play.
Some health conditions cats are more at risk of if they are obese include:
- diabetes
- urinary conditions
- osteoarthritis
Clearly weight loss is in the best interest of an overweight cat, for this to happen, you may find that changing onto a weight control or weight management specific diet helps you achieve your goals – why?
What’s the theory?
A weight loss diet for your cat focuses on three general principles:
- Reducing the amount of calories they ingest
- Managing the feeling of hunger during the diet
- Adapting the amount of essential nutrients to balance the whole formula
Why can’t I just feed less?
It is true that many owners with overweight cats are probably overfeeding, but there are so many other factors that come into play. Sex and neutering status, indoor vs outdoor, breed and genetics all can play a role.
In most cases just feeding your cat less of their regular food is not an effective way to facilitate weight loss. If reduced too much it could also result in the cat missing out on essential nutrients. Remember they don’t need less of everything – maintaining the appropriate level of vitamins, minerals and other key nutrients is important. Plus there’s always the risk that cats with access to the outside will go somewhere else for top-up feeding if they’re still hungry and you don’t give them any more!
High protein, high fibre?
A weight-loss diet could typically have a higher protein content than the cat’s usual food; to help maintain muscle mass and compensate for the restriction of portion sizes. It will also have a low amount of fat and a high mineral and vitamin content.
Some diets also include a fibre blends and precise formulas to help maintain the feeling of satiation (feeling full) in the cat, and therefore reduce the chances of begging. Begging is a guilt-tripping behaviour and a massive pitfall in weight loss is owners giving in because they feel sad for the pet. A full, content, happy cat allows for a more successful weight-loss programme.
Top tips
I understand that weight loss and diets can be hard for you to do because of the guilt you feel for not giving treats, or not giving them food whenever they want. The guilt will be far worse when they get a preventable disease due to obesity – so please try to stick with it and be strong.
My tops tips include:
- Go to clinics with your local registered veterinary nurse for support and advice
- Use a weight control specific diet
- Weigh it out daily using scales for accuracy
- Play with your cats and rotate toys used for variation
- Encourage drinking by getting a water fountain or separating the water bowls away from food bowls– cats generally prefer this
- Partake in enrichment feeding to mix things up – use scatter feeding, puzzle feeders
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