What to Do About an Overweight Cat

1 Managing Cat Obesity

I. Harms of Cat Obesity

1. Obesity burdens the heart, causing congestive heart disease, and may cause cardiopulmonary issues and respiratory problems.

2. Obesity lowers insulin sensitivity, causing feline diabetes; cats rarely have congenital diabetes, so obesity is a big cause. It may also cause liver, kidney, neurological and gastrointestinal disease.

3. Cat obesity directly links to hypertension, easily overlooked. Severe hypertension affects eyes, nerves, kidneys and heart.

II. How to Solve Cat Obesity?

1. Most key is controlling diet—not just daily amount but strict food choice: low-calorie kibble, light diet.

2. While controlling diet, increase exercise gradually, not abruptly, giving the cat time to adapt.

3. Put kibble in several small bowls in different places to make the cat move more, and create a ‘ate a lot’ illusion for fuller feeling.

4. Though limit oily, high-fat food, nutrition must keep up; weight loss and nutrition don’t conflict.

5. If conditions allow, use weight-loss cat food to help.

6. Though dieting, don’t starve it—that causes gut problems.

For an overweight cat, losing weight is a big deal and needs the owner’s help; after all, half the blame for weight gain is the owner’s. If you have other related questions, you can also consult an online pet veterinarian.