Overweight kitty...advice much appreciated!

I've been worried about my cat, Cricket, for awhile now. He's put on a great deal of weight and really needs to be on a diet. I know it's my fault...I should have noticed this and taken steps much sooner. The first reason I believe he's gotten fat is because I used to have a second cat, Shadow, who passed away from a brain disease about two years ago. He and Cricket used to play all the time, but after he was gone, Cricket became very sedentary. Also, I am on a low, fixed income and couldn't afford really good cat food...hence Cricket's grown up on a diet of Kit n Kaboodle. I had a bad 2016 and, unfortunately, Cricket came second to all of my health concerns. But now, in this family, it's gonna be all about him!

I recently took him to the vet and had a very bad experience. She accused me of animal abuse and had me in tears. In the end, she said he seemed perfectly healthy, but that I needed to put him on a starvation diet immediately. She didn't recommend any particular food and the only other advice she gave was to "play with him more."

I read pages and pages online about obese cats and putting cats on a diet. What I learned (please correct me if I'm wrong) is that cats should not lose in excess of a half pound a month for health reasons. I also read that I should either feed my cat at the weight I want him to be or feed him for a weight about 2 pounds below his current weight and adjust it downward as he loses weight. I'm not sure which I should be doing, but my cat weighed in at 28.5 pounds. I've had him on 320 calories a day and now he's down to 27.2, a loss of over a pound in just two months. I've had him on Weruva canned cat food and, because he really loves dry, crunchy food, one to two tablespoons of Orijen dry cat & kitten food each day. And I forgot to mention that he's 6-years old.

It's time to reorder cat food, but before I do so I wanted to get some advice. First, am I feeding him enough calories? Second, are there better foods I should be giving him instead of Weruva and Orijen?

I will do and sacrifice everything for my cat. He is my best friend and he's what keeps me going on most days.

Sorry for the long post and THANK YOU to all who reply with suggestions for me.

 

I know you feel sad but what's important is that you care for your cat,
Here are some of the basics in limiting calories and slimming down your cat:

• Measure out food. Divide the cat’s targeted calorie intake into four to six small meals.
• Keep his water bowl full.
• Leave out cat food for a limited amount of time.
• Set a weight loss goal with your veterinarian.
• Avoid giving treats, or if you must, use a few pieces of her dry food as a substitute.
• Don’t allow your cat access to dog food.

In terms of diet try to replace fat with protein and carbs, low calorie canned food is highly recommended.