Overweight cat- begging
This topic was created in the Pets forum by KillerGemini on Saturday, November 30, 2013 and has 12 replies.
I have 2 cats. One is overweight, 22lbs. The other is 5lbs. My 5 lb cat has chronic renal failure so she eats a lot but doesn't gain much. Both cats are older the fat one being 8 or 9. The little one being 12-13.
I feed Cleo, my sick cat, canned food bec she's got no teeth. ( She's a stray... abused. Someone kicked her teeth out.) Anyway, I feed her and I watch her eat because if I don't the fat cat, Tigger, will sit and watch her eat, which intimidates her and she leaves... then Tigger can swoop in and he'll eat the food.
I give Tigger Science Diet Light... he eats it but he begs constantly. Not for human food. He will bite you when you're sitting watching tv, he'll meow at you, clae you... anything. I figure, attention will distract him from food. He goes with it for about 30 seconds and he wants food again.
How do I stop the begging?
I feed Cleo, my sick cat, canned food bec she's got no teeth. ( She's a stray... abused. Someone kicked her teeth out.) Anyway, I feed her and I watch her eat because if I don't the fat cat, Tigger, will sit and watch her eat, which intimidates her and she leaves... then Tigger can swoop in and he'll eat the food.
I give Tigger Science Diet Light... he eats it but he begs constantly. Not for human food. He will bite you when you're sitting watching tv, he'll meow at you, clae you... anything. I figure, attention will distract him from food. He goes with it for about 30 seconds and he wants food again.
How do I stop the begging?
I'm not sure what to do about the begging. But, I would suggest a different food. Your "Lite" simply has less fat (most likely). Weight management foods have more fiber to help fill your cat up quicker so that they eat less in general and stay full longer. You may want to try Purina Pro Weight Management Formula (Note: Pro Plan IS supposed to be a better option than Science Diet for health in general). A little on the less expensive side is Purina Healthy Weight.
Iams and purina both made my cat really sick. Also when he was on purina he actually gained weight. Science Diet is the best it's just the begging is annoying. He knows that the food we give him is diet food but that's all he's gonna get.
Sorry... do you feed dry food to Tigger?
The science diet is the dry food and that's what I give him.
Well... I will tell you from my own experience:
I had a cat that was 30lbs. Dry food since the day I got him. It got to the point where you are at. Incessant begging for food. Didn't matter if he had just eaten, he seemed insatiable.
I switched him to wet food (although inconvenient, it is much more in-line with what cats are meant to eat diet wise). I switched, mainly because he was having a hard time with bowel movements, but also in search of not having to feed him every other time I blinked.
To the best of my knowledge, cats need protein rich diet (cats that survive on their own eat mice/birds/rabbit/etc (protein). Protein is what makes them feel full/gives energy/best serves their physiological needs. There is minimal protein in dry food.
My cat had gotten so big and bloated, that he wasn't comfortable. He hated to be picked up, because it was uncomfortable for him.
SO.... the point of my story is - after switching to wet food - not only does he not beg me for food anymore, but he has also lost quite a bit of weight (a lot quicker than I would have liked, and that's something to be cautious of), but he seems overall more content. He still eats numerous times a day, which I attribute to other things not worth going into for your benefit. He will only eat very small amounts at a time, but they crying and begging has stopped. Even when I look at the "recommended serving size" for a cat of his weight... he comes nowhere near eating that much of the wet food. Where the dry food he was eating a LOT more.
I'm no vet, so please don't take what I'm saying as gospel, but that is my experience from a very similar if not the same position as you are in.
I had a cat that was 30lbs. Dry food since the day I got him. It got to the point where you are at. Incessant begging for food. Didn't matter if he had just eaten, he seemed insatiable.
I switched him to wet food (although inconvenient, it is much more in-line with what cats are meant to eat diet wise). I switched, mainly because he was having a hard time with bowel movements, but also in search of not having to feed him every other time I blinked.
To the best of my knowledge, cats need protein rich diet (cats that survive on their own eat mice/birds/rabbit/etc (protein). Protein is what makes them feel full/gives energy/best serves their physiological needs. There is minimal protein in dry food.
My cat had gotten so big and bloated, that he wasn't comfortable. He hated to be picked up, because it was uncomfortable for him.
SO.... the point of my story is - after switching to wet food - not only does he not beg me for food anymore, but he has also lost quite a bit of weight (a lot quicker than I would have liked, and that's something to be cautious of), but he seems overall more content. He still eats numerous times a day, which I attribute to other things not worth going into for your benefit. He will only eat very small amounts at a time, but they crying and begging has stopped. Even when I look at the "recommended serving size" for a cat of his weight... he comes nowhere near eating that much of the wet food. Where the dry food he was eating a LOT more.
I'm no vet, so please don't take what I'm saying as gospel, but that is my experience from a very similar if not the same position as you are in.
Posted by KillerGemini
He knows that the food we give him is diet food but that's all he's gonna get.
lol wut?
lol Milky gave the more scientific version of what I was getting at
Make sure that if you do decide to switch Tigger over to the wet food... that you do it gradually, so that he has time to adjust. You may know this already - just saying it in case you didn't.
A squirt bottle or a can of compressed air, and just don't give into the begging. Also, switch them to something better than science diet. That food is crap, vets just push it because they get sponsored by it, but if you look at ingredients, it's utter crap.
Posted by KillerGemini
My 5 lb cat has chronic renal failure so she eats a lot but doesn't gain much.
Can you expand on this? How did you find out? How did the vet diagnose? What do you do to make your cat more comfortable?
Get some dry vegan food for you're cat.
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