My kitty is getting kinda chubby....

[Anonymous]

My cat just turned 8 yrs old this month. He is the love of my life.

When I adopted him from the Shelter, he was 5 mos. old and normal weight. Just the past 8 mos. me and my family have noticed that he has put on a considerable amount of weight. He still eats the same amount of food, doesn't appear lazier, etc. I feed him about 5-7 Temptations Treats a day which my family says is causing the weight gain. However, he ate them before and didn't gain extra lbs.

Could his metabolism be slowing down as he gets older like it does for us humans?

If so, does anyone have any recommendations for taking weight off cats?

My cat is 100% indoor so letting him out to run around is not an option. {I live in an apt. building.}

I want him to be around for many more years and will do ANYTHING to keep him healthier.

Thank you everyone in advance for any and all advice received.

[Anonymous]

Does he eat dry food only or wet food ?
dry food can sometimes cause weight gain.
They have "weight control" wet food at the pet store.
also how much play time does he get? indoor cats need to stay active. try yarn, a ball, laser pointer, cat wands..my kitties love those and they love to play fetch.
Hope this helps
good luck

[Anonymous]

What are you feeding him? How much do you play with him?

[Anonymous]

Don't male cats tend to pork out once they're neutered? Might be worth a google search.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't male cats tend to pork out once they're neutered? Might be worth a google search.

Googled it myself. Here's some info. Apparently once neutered a cat's metabolic rate drops by about 20%.
http://www.fabcats.org/owners/feeding/overweight.html

[Anonymous]

IF he's eating a lot of dry food, he's going to put weight on b/c it's like carbs, carbs, and more carbs. Can you transition him to an all-wet diet? OR is he on wet already? If so, I would think a vet visit would be in order b/c that would not be normal for a cat eating a wet food high in protein. . .??

[Anonymous]

Another cat would force him to run around more, play, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My cat just turned 8 yrs old this month. He is the love of my life.

When I adopted him from the Shelter, he was 5 mos. old and normal weight. Just the past 8 mos. me and my family have noticed that he has put on a considerable amount of weight. He still eats the same amount of food, doesn't appear lazier, etc. I feed him about 5-7 Temptations Treats a day which my family says is causing the weight gain. However, he ate them before and didn't gain extra lbs.

Could his metabolism be slowing down as he gets older like it does for us humans?

If so, does anyone have any recommendations for taking weight off cats?

My cat is 100% indoor so letting him out to run around is not an option. {I live in an apt. building.}

I want him to be around for many more years and will do ANYTHING to keep him healthier.

Thank you everyone in advance for any and all advice received.

What type of food does he eat? We have two cats - one has always been on the chubby side and developed diabetes a couple of years ago because of that. The other has always been thin, although now that she is 12, she has put on some weight. Just like humans.

I do think that cats tend to put on weight as they get older - they are simply not as active as they were as kittens/young cats.

You could try limiting his food, or switching to one that has fewer carbs and more protein. We give our cats Evo dry.

[Anonymous]

OP Here....I feed him both dry + wet food. Dry food 80% of the time. IAMS, Friskies, Meow Mix. And he eats wet food (Fancy Feast) 20% of the time. Do you think I should stop feeding him the Temptation treats? (God he'd hate me, but I would do it if it meant him sticking around a little longer.)

We do have another cat, but the only interaction they have together is when they fight. Other than that, they ignore each other. (Both Males.)

I agree I should play w/him more. He does love laser light kitty toys and anything long and stringy.

[Anonymous]

My fixed male cat eats dry food only and we give him temptation cat treats but we make him "earn" it ..
Try to set a limit on treats your giving him now.
I only give him less than 5 and i hold it high of the floor so he gets on his back paws/legs and trys to reach for them, or toss them down the hall and he will run to get the treats.
my cat also has a box we put a treat in and he works his paws to get the treat out. it keeps him in the hunt mode and he likes it..

[Anonymous]

My fixed male cat eats dry food only and we give him temptation cat treats but we make him "earn" it ..
Try to set a limit on treats your giving him now.
I only give him less than 5 and i hold it high of the floor so he gets on his back paws/legs and trys to reach for them, or toss them down the hall and he will run to get the treats.
my cat also has a box we put a treat in and he works his paws to get the treat out. it keeps him in the hunt mode and he likes it..