Overweight cat

Question
We have 2 cats-a 7-yr-old female & a 4-yr-old male.  We adopted the female first and she is the dominant cat.  She is also quite overweight while the male is a good wight (but always acting hungry!).  We are certain that the female is eating the majority of the food and don't know how to limit her food while still allowing the male to get enough-- they are fed Hill's Science Diet Light Dry food per the vet's advice.  Any recommendations?

Answer
Hi Linda,

Actually it isn't too hard to get them both on track with their feedings. It will take a change in their food and the way they are fed. I would use a high quality canned cat food. I'll list a few suggestions at the bottom. This is more like their natural diet. Cats are carnivores. They don't usually have rice or corn in their own diets. They usually eat 4-8 times a day. You need to move the cats back to their natural way of eating.

You have to make a gradual change over of their food and feeding schedule. Also feed them in separate rooms. When you have control of the feeding schedule you can make adjustments for each cat. This process will take about a few weeks.

Do not leave dry food out for them. You are allowing unlimited food and calories for the female. You want eventually to have a schedule of 4 feedings for the female and 5-6 for the male.

You will need to mix the wet with the dry food for about 3-4 days to make the transition over between the dry and wet foods. Check the label for feeding instructions. Say for example it works out to be a can a day for the female; then you feed her 1/4 of the can 4x a day. Once she eats the correct amount for herself you can gradually cut back the amount she is eating till she gets to a healthy weight. Don't go crazy and decide you are going to cut her back drastically on the amount of food because she can develop problems with her liver. Make sure she also gets a little bit of exercise. The male should relax and not be as hungry because he doesn't have to compete with the female for the food.

If you have a problem with feeding them that amount of times write back to me and I will help you figure something else out.

Here are some brands that are excellent for cats. There are lots of others but these are some of the most popular. Wellness, Nature's Variety, EVO, Innova, Eagle Pack, Trader Joe's, Merrick, Triumph.

Good luck with your two. Let me know how it goes.

Ciao, Karen