Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 1/22/2010

Question
Marble is the strangest cat I have ever met. she was a devious skiddish kitten with allergy problems that I bent over backwards for. she finally grew out of that a few years ago but now she is the most clingy annoying adorable little brat. She has had half of her teeth pulled and has been severely overweight for the past ten years. I have been feeding her and her sister Iams Weight control food for the longest time. it worked to some extent and they loved it. When her teeth got bad the vet told us to keep giving them that food because they don't really chew it anyway but marble puts food in her water dish which I now keep on the other side of the room so I know it's not an accident. They would never eat people food until recently and now she doesn't want anything but, so of course I caved in and started about a year ago occasionally as treats but now its getting out of control. just things like chicken, tuna and milk and a few shreds of cheese and things like that, but now Marble will eat anything. they never used to meow often but Marble has been ridiculously chatty for a while and makes sure that I know when she wants something. I have been seeing a lot of puddles of clear vomit that has no food in it occasionally for a year or so. her sister was the runt of the litter and she wants to do everything that her big sister does. Marble is getting sick often now and actually threw up on my bed last week so last week I started feeding them canned food in the morning attempting to fix this problem. I divide a can up into six servings and that is breakfast for 3 days. I want to continue giving them soft food because they are old now and I want to make them happy but I'm afraid they will stop eating anything else and I wont be able to leave them home to go anywhere anymore. I don't mind spending a little more on them (to an extent) so I am asking you now if there are a few things you recommend that I can try. Are there quality softer foods that can be left out? (that wont stink up my refrigerator lol) preferably something that comes in larger packages that I wont have to buy every single week if that even exists. I appreciate any and all suggestions you may have for me. Thank you
-Angela

Answer
Well Angela,
Marble wasn't born with bad teeth or overweight. These are the result of a lifetime of bad diets and lack of dental care for her.

At 13 years old it isn't easy to switch a cat to a new food, mostly because she has you so well trained. Overweight cats are a real health hazard also- if they lose weight too quickly they can develop some bad liver issues and get really sick.

You have compounded the human food issue by throwing fat on the fire with canned food. Canned food is full of fat, sugars, and junk. It is truly one of the worst things you can feed a cat. and you are not feeding them a proper amount as it is.

One of the reasons this cat is fat, other than the fact she eats junk food, is that the food she does eat has no nutrition in it. Cats and dogs eat for energy needs. That is, their bodies, (and ours) will tell them to eat to meet the needs of daily living- grooming, eating, walking, hunting etc. If those needs are not met with the food they eat because it doesn't have any NUTRIENTS in it that they can USE, then they will continue to eat and eat to try and get that nutrition into them.

It's like trying to get a pound of steak protein from a box of saltine crackers.
Think about that for a minute. Now, since we all know saltines have no protein in them, what's going to happen?

So the question now is what do you do about it? The first thing you do is stop the canned and human food. Cold turkey. No more.
Then you buy them a bag of Science Diet Adult light food or Sensitive stomach food DRY.

Get a few cans of Light canned food while you are at it. They sell Science Diet canned foods at pet stores, petsmarts, etc, where ever the dry is sold.

There is no Sensitive stomach canned so use the light diet in the canned.
http://www.hillspet.com/products/science-diet/sd-feline-mature-adult-active-long...

I would use these foods to wean them off of the canned you are using now, and leave out the dry food the rest of the day. You HAVE to stop feeding the human food no matter what. Feeding them soft food doesn't make them happy- they just want to be fed some food with nutrition in it!

This food will change the way your cats look and feel. After three weeks you will notice a change for the better. There is a three bag challenge you can take also to prove it to yourself plus get coupons for the food.

http://www.feedingisbelieving.com/believe/3-Bag-Challenge-Form.html

Why do I recommend Science Diet? Because after feeding it and having our clients on it for over 30 years, I have seen life changing results from it. Once your cat is on this food and loses some weight, she should be healthy enough to have some dental work done.

Once you have them weaned off of the junk food and they are eating the light food and losing some weight, then I would switch them to the Science Diet Senior or Longevity food for the long haul. But not until they lose more weight. Iams weight loss formula has over 600 calories more per cup then the Science Diet Adult Light formula. It obviously isn't good for their teeth either!! Science Diet however, is formulated to help a pets teeth no matter what formulation it is fed in. It always promotes healthy gums and teeth.

So that is my recommendation Angela. No more excuses, no more human food. I have been a clinical nutritionist since 1988 and I have seen it all. But never have I seen a cat or dog that was in control of their own feeding habits. So you need to take the first step in helping your girls get healthy.

Good for you for taking it by writing in here! Please keep me informed on their progress monthly.