Easy Ways To Help A Fat Cat Lose Weight

Being overweight is never healthy whether you're a cat or a human. And according to the latest reports at least 50% of all cats are overweight. You're probably wondering why this is. Well to put it simply in the wild they are not always guaranteed a meal, instead they have to hunt for and catch their prey,exerting a lot of energy in the process.

But for a house cat there's always plenty to eat, and the hardest thing your furry little friend has to do is to walk to its food dish. Then you have the boredom factor, after all when there's nothing to do all day you might as well just eat!

Next his or her diet can also be to blame, in the wild cats consume a high protein and very low carbohydrate diet. But if you check out the ingredients label on a bag of commercial cat food you will note that it contains a large amount of grain products which are used as fillers. These fillers are also high carbohydrate which of course causes your pet to gain excess weight.

Felines are carnivores which means that their body requires a high protein diet, and in fact their body is not meant to process carbohydrates.This is because unlike other mammals they don't have the enzyme amylase in their saliva. This enzyme allows a mammal to digest carbohydrates.

So feeding a cat a diet high in carbohydrates leaves them prone to weight gain and obesity as well as several different diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis,

Before getting started with any type of weight loss program it's probably a good idea to schedule an appointment with your Vet just to make sure that kitty is healthy.

The first place to start is with the diet, and at first your kitty probably won't thank you for this. After all he loves and expects his high carbohydrate meals, and when it comes to taste the new healthy meals just can't compete.

It's like offering your kids a choice between a Happy Meal and a some baked fish with mixed vegetables. Nine times out of ten they will prefer the junk food and so will kitty. Switching your cat to another type of food should be a gradual process over a three to four week period. Otherwise you run the risk of him or her either rejecting the new food or even becoming sick. You can start by replacing a small amount of the old food with the new and as time goes by gradually increase this amount until eventually your cat is eating just the new food.

Next you will need to make sure that you're not over-feeding kitty, your vet should have some good recommendations on as to how much your cat should be eating. Otherwise you can also fallow the manufactures recommendations on your pet food. You might also try offering kitty several small meals a day instead of just leaving the cat food out all day. Cats usually respond well to this method.

Exercise is another important way to help your cat lose weight, life can be a little boring for indoor cats which is why they tend to eat too much and lay around. Because of this it's up to you to help make life a little more interesting for your feline friend.

The easiest way to do this is to pick up some new toys that he or she might like and start playing with them. Wand toys and laser lights are a couple of good toys to encourage more activity from your pet. You can also take him or her for a walk using a leash and harness, of course this won't work with all cats but some cats depending on their temperament are very open to learning to walk on a leash