Maybe someone can offer some advice on my problem. I have 4 lovely kitties but one has just grown out of all proportion and is over-weight. The problem is how do I reduce his food without it affecting the others? I have tried using "light" food since they are all indoor cats but I noticed that his mother (Siamese) appeared to be losing a bit of weight. She is quite active inside so she really needs normal food. They have been used to having small amounts of food at regular intervals during the day. Obviously if he is hungry, he´s going to eat the food available but I don´t want the others to suffer because of his obesity! I have noticed his sister has a bit of excess so that needs to be addressed also. How can I use "light food" for them and normal food for the other two unless I have to literally separate everyone when I feed them? I have reduced the amount of food I am feeding them in general but am concerned about their mother losing weight again.

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated and I can weigh up (no pun intended) the options and move forward from there. I have thought about taking him for a walk outside but at the moment it is 35 degrees so this really isn´t practical. Maybe I need to devote more time for playing although we do have quality time together. I suppose a treadmill could be a final option...!

Thanks in advance...

I´m sort of going through this right now. Booboo has a UTI so I´m giving him different food then the others and it´s been somewhat of a task since of course everyone wants the others food as if one is better then the other lol I haven´t had to seperate them yet but I get Booboos food ready and put him up on the windowsill that he likes in the kitchen. So then all I have to do is keep the others away.... But, if I were you I would keep the chubby kitties in another room with me or something while the others eat. Only because if you feed the others in front of them it might make you guilty that your "starving" them haha....

Smudge is also a bit chubby, but my family refuses to feed him less, because he MEOWS in a very annoying fashion until someone feeds him, and they feel very guilty when they ignore him. He´s not obese though, just a little chubby round the tummy.

Jackson is a FAT CAT!! But all the others are within normal limits. I talked to my vet about his weight and he didn´t seem to think it was that big an issue as long as Jackson remained active, which he is, so basically I just feed everyone the same. I look at it like humans are all different too - I am a big lady but my sister is tiny and we grew up eating the same things!!

Sadly Kevscats, without separating them I don´t see a solution to your problem. I also used to foster an extra large cat with a large appetite, but Sophie is a nibbler, so I couldn´t eliminate all food without depriving her. You can try feeding your big cat in another room while you´re feeding the others somewhere else, but unless you put extra food away after meals, that may hot help. That may be your only solution - feed them twice a day, put away leftover food within a time limit after meals. That may turn picky eaters into gobblers, which also may cause problems. Has your vet any advice?

I now have serious problem with Sidney, who is overweight and his back legs are arthiritic. It is a case of slim or die. The vet has no useful suggestions. I am keeping him outside during the day for the summer, so that he is fed separately. I give mim 5g of Hills light pellets divided into 3 meals. He has lost about a kilo, but is now stuck on almost 7kg.

Separation from the other cats is the only option I believe, my Minoosh is what I call a furry vacuum and just sucks up everything so before we seperated her from the others at meal times she would eat all of hers and then push the others out of the way and then eat theirs too, now she gets put in a room away from the others until they are all finished.
I also throw some of her dried food (some of the amount out of her bowl for dinner) around the house for her to chase them, she loves it and thinks it´s a great game (little does she know it´s her daily catercise to lose weight).
My vet recommends for fat cats to cut down their food by half, especially the dried food (it´s the weight gainer), seems to be working with the older overweight not very active cats at work.

To all those chubby cuddly cats out their, start shedding those kilos with some catercise.
Obesity is the major cause of diabetes, urinary tract infections and bad arthritis, please help your kitties lose some weight for a longer healthy life (puss can´t do it alone, it´s up to you!)

Chipie also forms part of the club of Podgies ! I try, consequently, to supervise her food - what is not obvious with several cats.

I often consult a site which is very interesting. Here what is known as on “obesity”.

"It is often difficult to make lose weight at a cat, it is first of all important to define the energy needs and the ideal weight of the cat. The dietetic treatment can then be set up.

To make lose weight at your cat, it is necessary to stop giving him to eat at will and to separate him from the others during the meal.

To make lose your cat, it is necessary to decrease the caloric intake of his ration and to increase the fibre contribution.
It is also necessary to split the meals (into 4-5 times), that makes it possible to prevent that the cat does not fix too greases.
His food must be stable, i.e. always the same one. It is disadvised changing type of food (croquettes, boxes, made house…) because that supports the catch of weight.

It is then advised to give only croquettes, the rations are thus easier to determine, and no delicacy or remains of table at side.

Rather than to restrict the quantity of croquettes day labourer given to the cat, which would starve him, it is advised to modify the food. Indeed, there exist hypoenergetic croquettes, “light”, of which concentration in energy and in lipids is decreased, but which makes it possible to meet all the nutritional needs for the cat. The fibres are often increased thus bringing an effect of satiety.

So that the cat is not famished and, consequently, does not claim food, it is essential to decrease the ration by stages, very gradually."

I hope that will be able to help you.

Source : Wanimo

One of the problems I find with Sidney is that cutting down on his food makes him even worse tempered than he already is.

Do you think we need a slimming club for cats? I joined the fat cat club for a while, but did not like the ethos of it and left a after a while. A fat cat is no joke.

Thanks so much for all your advice - UC is such a wonderful community!
My added problem is one of my crew prefers the wet food and she generally lets the others get there first and is left in fourth place. Today I stood by and watched over her while she ate and Vodka turned away and had the dried food. If I haven´t left food for during the night I would be woken up at all hours with them scratching around looking for it. However, if I can build a routine of set times for eating then it may stop the picking after hours. It may be an uphill struggle but I will persevere. Smudge is quite active really but when he was at the vet last she said that he was overweight. I would hate that his health would suffer because of my neglect.