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Put my porker of a cat on a diet and how it

Posted: Jan 22, 2014

I tried to give that chunky guy some incentive. I even joined him and dieted right along with him. You would think he would say well we both can do this. Noooooooo, that has not happened. I researched, came here, others offered suggestions, bought some nice grain free food, called the company to find out how much to feed him, got him in the habit of going separately in a room to feed, he really takes a couple of bites and ready to leave out and go as fast as he can to where the other cats have finished up. He does not like his food and about back where I first started. He has been a hamburger type kitty and now I have tried to change him into a filet mignon top cat and he has not just bitten, excuse the pun. What is a mother to do? ;

Feed him what he'll eat, just try less of it - Do not change food completely

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Cats are so very finicky sometimes. The best thing i ever read about feeding a cat was on a site that had to do with feline kidney disease and it said the best food to feed your cat is one that he or she will eat.

Try feeding him the same thing he had before that you know he likes, just try smaller portions, maybe.

Is your porker a Maine Coon cat, by chance? - whatwzthat

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I have the same issue...

my maine coon is huge too! - not the OP

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but i think that's just their body type. She doesn't eat people food and I don't give her many treats. She's fine the way she is :)

I have several. I had one huge cat but the others were - regular size. The huge one was a male

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cat. He was beautiful but had a bad personality.

Not the OP but - Maine Coon lady

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I also have a Maine Coon. He is huge. He is on a diet (and I am, too). But he begs and begs and begs. He swats my face at 5 a.m., meows and runs to his dish. Another MT friend of mine also has a Maine Coon and hers is greedy, too. I have never seen anything like it and I have had cats all my life. I do love his intelligence and affectionate nature; just wish he would not beg so much!

It's hard to control portions because of the - way felines prefer to eat . (S/M)

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They don't wolf it all down at once like canines do. Like cats in the wild, they eat a bit, then go off and wash themselves. Then maybe go back for a bit more. Then bury, hide, or just leave it for a long nap. Then back for a bit more.

I have double trouble with this because one of my cats is a bit overweight, and the other is old, underweight, and it's hard to keep her weight up. My place is too small to keep them separated, so they eat side-by-side in the kitchen.

The best I've been able to do is buy the best quality food I can afford (and they will eat), and give smaller portions to both cats. Then, I help my older kitty keep the pounds on by giving her a bit of kitten kibble (higher calories, easier for her to chew because they're tiny) in her own bowl on my computer desk, where she sleeps. My bigger cat is of course hugely attracted to it, so when I'm going to be away during the day, or during the night when I'm asleep, I have to hide the kitten food. But on most days, while I'm here at the computer, my smaller kitty has access to the "higher octane" kitty food. It's not a perfect solution, but it's the best I've been able to come up with currently!

The porker is not Maine Coon but every bit - as big if not bigger

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I have been on constant kitty feed schedule for the last week. I am tired. I took away their grazing, buffet type food and now not having anything to chomp on overnight wake me at 6 something in the morning meowing at my door. I am weary, tired. This has worn me out trying to do what I hoped to get him in better shape. I probably will have a breakdown trying to help him. I will try the smaller portions because he sure does not like the higher priced supposedly better for him type food. I even bought him better treats, some not as high in calories and fed him separately while the others enjoyed the regular. Thanks for the input!

porker - tristen

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take him off kibble completely and only feed him canned, works like a charm.

I tried that - SM

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I tried taking away the dry food overnight, even just not filling the bowls before bed so they run out. I have 6 cats, so when they are hungry, they'll fight and make noise and jump on my bed during the night. That only lasted a couple of days. I would like to try the canned food only, like the above poster suggested, but I do need my sleep. Just feed them a lot before bed? I guess it's an adjustment for all of us. I tried the diet food too, some cats will eat it; the grain-free food only 1 or 2 cats will eat it, the thinner ones. Fat ones absolutely will not touch it. At least I got them weaned off the Meow Mix, though. Baby steps for our porker cats.

Do you have a kennel or garage you can put him in at night? - I used to have to do that with one of mine

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she would just meow at the door to be let in. I do not let them sleep in my bedroom because all of their movement keeps me up at night. The others were good about staying away all night but one in particular just would not let up. Eventually had to put her in the garage every night.

having this problem with my dog - OHMT

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My dog used to self-feed. She would just nibble a little throughout the day. I would try to take her for a walk and/or play catch in the yard every day. But now she's 12 and with her arthritis we just can't play as much (although she still wants to!) and she started gaining weight. So I got her the diet formula dog food and I ration it out 4 times a day based on what the bag says to give her. She starts yelling at me to feed her an hour or two before feeding time, wolfs it down in about a minute, and then starts barking at me again because she's still hungry! So I'll give her a couple of baby carrots (no more dog biscuits). The problem is, she seems to be gaining weight, not losing! She looks a little smaller (not much!) but when I weigh her the number is higher. I wonder if her body is going into conservation mode and is holding onto the calories. I can't take her outside right now for walks because it's just too darn cold. We just play catch in the house but there's not enough room for her to really run. I was thinking that once the weather gets better & we can get outside, I would go back to the self-feeder, but I don't know if I want to wait until spring. She's driving me nuts every day, bugging me all day long for food.

Anyone have any ideas?

Has your dog been checked for Cushing's? - SM

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Our dog was diagnosed with canine Cushing's. Older dogs are more prone to this, and they will cry for food due to the disease process. Don't mean to alarm you.

Forgot to mention - SM

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Weight gain is another sign of canine Cushing's with the typical pot belly.

i sure hope it's not that - OHMT

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I lost my last dog to Cushing's. She suffered with it for 2 years and died at age 6. It was heartbreaking. She's not exhibiting any of the other symptoms that my other dog had, so I hadn't even considered it. But I think I will take her to the vet soon for a checkup anyway so we can at least rule that out. I certainly don't want to go through that again! Thank you for posting.

Cushing's - SM

[ In Reply To ..]
I am glad you are going to have her checked. We lost our precious little Tiny last June to Cushing's. Since you are not seeing symptoms similar to those in your other dog, she is probably fine. Wishing you the best!

I know where you are coming from. - I have a morbidly obese and blind cat.

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So trying to get her to exercise by playing with her is not an option.

She is food obsessed, and it seems that eating is almost her only pleasure in life. She just wolfs down any food, and it is never enough. It is so sad seeing her stumble around crying for more food.

She WAS on 2 to 2-1/2 cans of Fancy Feast a day.

I am now trying Blue Buffalo light dry - mixing 1/4 cup of it in with one can of Fancy Feast, consumed in several feedings over the course of a day.

It is not working! I guess that is still too much food, so I will have to cut back even further.

That just breaks my heart about the blind - cat and crying for food- from OP

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I probably would just feed ad lib if that were the case. As far as putting the cat out in the garage, that would not be something I could do. It is like bitter cold here now, the garage is also besides the oil, paint, other things that cats should not be around. I am going in the morning to try some Sheba because have read that might be a little better than the Friskie's brand. My cats seem to eat maybe twice a day, morning and around 4. I am giving up on the more la te da food because they are not having any part of that.

Yeah I know, and I do usually end up feeding ad lib! - I just worry I am killing her with kindness.

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I so can't stand seeing her cry for food, but it has gotten better since mixing in small size kibble with the wet, and it makes the food last a lot longer! She can't wolf down so fast!

Good luck to you, OP. It is so hard, but let's keep trying!

Here is a picture of my fat blind kitty. - See link.

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OP et al: Do you have any pictures of yours? I would love to see them.

don't give up - Val

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I had an obese dog and I did not push the diet issue enough. She might have lived a little longer, in less joint pain, if I had been more relentless about the diet and not given in to her big brown eyes.

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