How To Better Control Your Cats Weight
Though obesity in cats is a growing cause for concern among pet parents, theres no reason to wait until a cat is unmistakably overweight in order to address it. Taking a proactive approach to controlling your cats weight now can go a long way toward maintaining their overall health in the long run.;
In addition to measuring their food, dishing out kibble in a single meal and prioritizing exercise, be sure to monitor your cat for changes to their weight, as well as persistent extra pounds that just wont budge. Both are signs that you may be dealing with an underlying cause like a bad gut biome or a medical issue that requires a trip to the veterinarian. Getting a proper diagnosis and treatment planor even an all-clearis key to keeping your cats weight in check and ensuring they will live a long, healthy life.
How Can You Help Your Cat To Reduce Weight
Firstly, you can do this by reducing her portions. Some cat owners have a technique called free feeding . The idea is to leave food out all day for the cat to graze on food at their leisure.
The problem with this is cats typically do not know when to stop eating and will just continually eat all day, which can lead to obesity.
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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Prevention Of Gaining Weight
Most cases of obesity in cats can be avoided simply with a proper diet and a good amount of exercise. When determining whether or not your cat is on the right weight track, you can use the Body Condition Score chart that can be found from pet food manufacturers like Purina. It is a simple process that involves three assessment stages:
Perform a rib check by gliding your hands, palm face down on the fur, across your cats rib cage on each side.;
Observe your pet from the side and take note of its profile; does the stomach hang low towards the ground?
Observe your cat from above. If the cat is severely obese, you will not be able to see the ribs, there will be heavy fat deposits over the spine, face, and limbs. Additionally, the stomach will be distended with no visible waistline.;
If any of these steps suggest obesity, then it is advised to visit your vet for further diagnoses. Through careful planning and care, your cat will once again be able to live a full and happy life, free from extra weight.;
As for any underlying internal issues that your cat may have, the vet will be able to help prescribe the required medications to help alleviate the issue and further treat any diseases.
Or Is It All About Exercise
There is no doubt that indoor cats get far less exercise than their wild outdoor counterparts do. Personally I believe wholeheartedly that the reason my current cats arent fat all come down to having a nine year old daughter who loves to play with them. Between our fishing cat toys and the laser pointer, my cats run like crazy daily. In addition, of course, they have each other and happily tear around the house several times a day chasing each other or the dog.
So go get yourself some cat toys and try to play with them for ten minutes twice a day. There are also many great suggestions in this document from the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, such as hiding the cats food or placing the food far away from your cats favorite spots. You can also use toys such as this to make food play, and you can even make your own.
Whatever you can do to help your cat lose weight, do it. Your cat will live longer and be happier as a result!
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Is The Swollen Abdomen Due To Cancer
In the worst-case scenario, the swollen abdomen may be a sign of cancer in your cat. If the swelling is sudden and is not all over, and if your cat is older, it may have developed some kind of internal organ cancer.
I have faced this type of cancer with my own cat, and the only sign that he was facing cancer was the tight and swollen abdomen. He had no lethargy or lack of appetite. If you suspect that your cat has cancer, your vet will most likely do an ultrasound to make a diagnosis.
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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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
Your Cat Is Bored Or Lonely
A simple answer to, Why is my cat always hungry? Just like humans, some cats will eat because theyre bored. The solution to this problem is to provide your cat with more stimulation and to stop leaving kibble out for him to munch on, or free feeding him, all day. If you want to have a supply of food available, provide it in puzzle toys, which will make your cat work for his meal. This will help him burn calories and keep his mind engaged.
Be sure to provide other intellectually-stimulating toys to keep his mind off his dish. You can also buy automatic feeders, which provide access to a set amount of food at set times of day.
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A Little Home Cooking Can Be Helpful
One simple method to get Kitty to eat is to heat up her food just a little. This will intensify the smell, making it more appetizing to your cat. You may also want to try making her some eggs.
Scrambled eggs will be easier for her to eat. Just make sure the eggs are fully cooked. As said before, this is not a boxer, so no raw eggs.
Raw eggs contain avidin that makes it hard for her to absorb vitamin B plus there’s the possibility of salmonella. Skip the salt, pepper and butter as these are not very good for your cat.
Eggs are high in the fat and protein your cat needs to put on some healthy weight. A bit of thoroughly cooked tuna or liver might help things along, but keep this small and infrequent.
There are other methods depending on the situation. A sickly or highly reluctant to feed cat may need to be fed with a syringe. A cat that’s being bullied out of his share by other cats may need to be fed separately.
A nursing mother just needs more food to help her replenish. Intestinal parasites can be dealt with by administering a few pills. In any case, talk with and cooperate with your veterinarian to find out which solution is best for your cat.
Cory Cat Very Fat Full Of Eggs Or Bloated
I have a couple of Bronze cories. They’re inseparable. I’ve only had them a few weeks, and yesterday I bought two albino to increase the herd to four.
One of the things I was noticing on one of the two older fish …. she looks very convex, rounded on the underside. I know they get quite chubby when preparing to lay eggs, though I am not sure that I had a male and a female prior to getting the two half-pint albinos.
So…. how do you know if it’s bloat or just preparations for laying eggs? I wasn’t aiming to breed them, though it might be interesting to see if any babies make it through the gauntlet .
I’m more worried about her than I am worried about eggs or babies. I just want her to be healthy. She eats fine, frolics with the two newbies and the other bronze (who doesn’t have the same “paunch”… I’ll be snapping a lot of pictures on the weekend, and can nuke a few organic frozen peas for everyone prior to going to sleep tonight. But in case it matters, it seems that the “bulge” starts between the pelvic fins or possibly even just a tiny bit closer to her whiskers than the latitude of her pelvic fins.
This picture from Keeping it Aquaticis approximately the same as my girl, though this one is not a Bronze, but a green brochis?
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Raw Cat Food: The Risks And The Rewards
When it comes to the risks of raw cat food, it is all about common pathogens like Salmonella and Listeria. People who want to feed their cats raw diet must know about animal to human disease transmission and contagion problems.
Despite these risks, more and more pet owners choose a raw food diet for their cats because it offers some fantastic rewards like big improvements in skin, coat, energy and overall well-being.
It is known that raw food helps felines recover faster from numerous health issues such as urinary tract problems, digestive problems, dental disease, allergies, asthma, degenerative diseases, immune disorders, epilepsy and so on.
Overweight Cat: Why Being A Fat Cat Isnt Always A Good Thing
I had a cat named Dylan a few years ago, and he was morbidly obese. He was a big, fat, white overweight cat with gray spots and he just loved food. Cat food, dog food, people food. Food from the trash. All of it. At the time I had nine cats , and it was nearly impossible to moderate his diet at all. He was the kind of fat cat that got clumped fur on his back because he couldnt groom himself properly.
Then one day he jumped from a dining room chair to the floor in a most un-cat like fashion and he broke his back. Literally broke his spine. Thankfully, he healed, and we worked in earnest to decrease his access to food so he could lose some weight. When he died of natural causes a few years later, he was merely overweight instead of obese thanks to efforts on our part to moderate his food intake.
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Does Spaying And Neutering Make Cats Fat
Although most of my clients are eager to have their cats spayed or neutered , an almost universal concern is that their cats will get fat after the surgery.
;Research is a little ambiguous on the question of whether or not a cats energy needs decline after sterilization. Some studies seem to support this assertion, while others do not. Practically, however, veterinarians take this effect into account when determining how many calories a day a cat should be eating. For example, the resting energy requirements for an adult cat that weighs 10 pounds would be around 218 kcal per day. But we apply certain multipliers to this number to determine what an individuals maintenance energy requirement actually is.
The MER is what were actually interested in. This is the number of calories a cat needs on a daily basis, taking into consideration her activity level, reproductive status, any illnesses she might have, whether or not were trying to help her lose weight, etc.
The “multiplier” for a typical spayed or neutered cat is 1.2, while that for an intact individual is 1.4, which leads us to a MER of 261kcal/day for the former and 305 kcal/day for the latter.
Of course, you dont want to scrimp on nutrition during this important time , so make sure the food that you are offering packs a lot of nutritional bang per bite and is made from natural, high-quality ingredients.
How Your Cats Saggy Belly Serves Their Bodies Functions
Biologists have 3 solid theories as to the purpose of your cats primordial pouch, which all cats have regardless of age, sex, weight, or breed.
Theory 1: This pouch protects a cats organs should they find themselves in a fight
Its well-known that cat battles are often met with some serious bunny kicks when cats are in full fight mode. Cats will also do bunny kicks when they wrestle with one another, too. So these saggy bellies are a way to protect their vital organs from potential injury during battles or intense wrestling matches. And in case you didnt know, your cat actually has loose skin around their entire body as a means to help them wriggle and escape predators!
See this male lions primordial pouch is clearly visible as he walks
Theory 2: Their saggy belly helps them to fully extend when running
When your cat is chasing their prey, their primordial pouch helps them to move easier. It also enhances their ability to move, twist, and jumpjust as their big cat cousins rely on theirs in the wild! Remember, all cats are extremely flexible. And the looseness of their skin, especially their undercarriage, is what enhances their extension.
Theory 3: Get that extra food in my belly!
If only our saggy bellies could do the same! Thats just another reason why cats are so amazing, their mechanics are simply incredible.
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Does Wet Cat Food Make Cats Fat
Wet cat food can make cats fat too, but it is less likely than dry cat food.
Cat owners can purchase low-quality canned, wet cat food, but wet cat food is usually made with higher quality ingredients that are not filled with empty calories.;
Even though wet cat food is of higher quality, too much of a good thing can still be bad. Overfeeding your cat wet food can also lead to your cat getting fat.;
How To Let Your Pet Gain Weight
Underweight pets should be eating foods that are around 30% protein and 20% fat if they’re eating dry kibble, or 7% protein and 5% fat, or higher, if you’re feeding a wet food. Intersperse your pet’s diet with small amounts of high-calorie supplemental canned food or canned products made of 100% meat sources.
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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.;