And can you put him on a diet?
I think my cat’s too fat. I’m planning a vet visit at the end of the month for some updated shots. In the meantime is there anything I should do if I think my kitty’s in need of a cat version of Richard Simmons?
We knew it was time to cut back on the cat food when ours started looking like pears with legs when they were standing up. They’d lay down and just spread out like melting ice cream. We stopped keeping the bowl filled and just give them food twice a day now. They’re starting to be more active again instead of doing their miniature tiger rug impressions all day…
Can you feel the cat’s ribs beneath its coat and skin, without digging very deep?
If your cat will eat dry, and you’ve been feeding him or her wet regularly, just consider free feeding of dry, for a start, if you can resist the inevitable mewlings. I wouldn’t know about any more advanced dieting techniques, but your vet will surely know all about it.
Maybe your cat just has that Bengal tiger build.
Cats can of course diet. There are many low calories diet food available. Purina brands (Cat Chow, Purina ONE, and Pro Plan) called theirs “Indoor Cat Formula.” It is lower in calories for indolent indoor cats. Other competing mid-range brands like Iams and Science Diet also have low-calorie varieties.
However, if your cat is really obese, you may need to use a “prescription strength” diet cat food. Several varieties are available through your vet from the Science Diet brand (one is called R/D – Reduction Diet, I think). I’m afraid these cat foods are not cheap. However, just as it is unhealthy for a human to be overweight, it is also unhealthy for your cat.
If you view your cat from above and you cannot distinguish a “dip” in his sides before the hips – if he appears smoothly oval from the top view – he is definitely overweight.
More exercise will help, also. Unless you have one of the few cats who will actually walk on a leash (mine immediately flop on the floor and go limp if I put a harness on them - I’d have to take them for a drag) a laser pointer makes an excellent cat exerciser. I can get a few of mine six feet up the wall with mine. 
Measuring their dry food instead of just keeping the bowl filled can make a big difference. Mine got a half cup of dry in the morning, then a half can of wet in the evening. (He’s now an elderly cat whose teeth aren’t what they once were, so I leave the dry food down and he occasionally takes a mouthful, and I feed him a half can morning and evening.)
Is your cat orange with black stripes?
We have two cats, both of which were acquired about a year and a half ago. One was a stray, and definitly overweight. The other was an adoption from the Humane Society, and she was slightly pudgy.
We feed them Indoor cat formula dry food. I put about 1/2 cup in each bowl in the morning, and about 1/2 cup in each bowl in the evening. They get occasional hairball treats or teeth-cleaning treats. They have definitely lost weight, but they are not starving or underweight (despite the pitiful sounds they make when they think it’s dinnertime).
They have gotten more active–especially in the evening when we’re home to play with them. Toy fur mice, soft plastic jacks, and laser pointers are the favorite toys here, but they also just like to chase each other around. (One of them also likes to play Tag with our daughter.)
My vet just recommended we get our two older cats on a weight-loss diet. She recommended doing away with dry food altogether, as it leads to insulin resistance.
We haven’t tried it yet as the new one is still finishing his last bag of kitten food (from which they all eat, the little sneaks). Our middle cat won’t eat wet food and just finds towels or socks on the floor to cover it with. So he’s going to stay on dry, but not be free-fed anymore.
Her recs were 1/2 a tuna-size can of catfood a day for each cat or 1/2 a cup of dry a day (all split between two feedings).
Yes, if your cat looks like this, then it’s time to cut back on the lasagna.
we know ours is getting too big when it is too large to get through the cat flap (true)
If nearby rodents make beeping noises when your cat starts to back up, it’s too fat.