Have you ever tried to help your cat lose weight, but despite the many ways you tried, it seemed impossible?
There are myriads of reasons why cats are poor at losing weight.
Follow along as we explore this and some of the reasons for losing weight.
Most cats end up with uncontrollable weight due to the lifestyles their owners expose them to
As a pet owner, one of the main challenges that you should expect when handling cats, especially when you`re caring for older cats, is the task of assisting them to lose weight.
There are myriads of reasons behind this, but there is an inherent need for you to differentiate between facts and myths.
Some of the facts as to why cats hardly lose weight are associated with the lifestyles that their pet owners expose them to.
Excessive feeds and unnecessary treats fall at the top of this list as numerous researches done globally have shown them to be behind overweight cats.
However, it is crucial to note that the roots of this issue run much more profound. We will shed some light on some of the reasons why our feline friends have a hard time losing weight.
Failure to Account for the Calories Your Cat Gets Daily
As most of us probably know, one of the reasons for losing weight in any animal is lack of adequate feeding.
In light of this, it is common to find pet owners who fail to realize that there is a difference between their children and cats.
Such owners think that the best way to show affection to their feline friends is through constant feeding.
What`s worse is that they have no account of the calories that they have fed their cats hence predisposing them to an excess of everything.
Failure to Consider Age
Most pet owners often forget the age of their feline friends.
This, in turn, affects numerous aspects of their pets` lives as they will miss out on their cats losing teeth as well as get their feeds mixed up.
When a kitten is fed with a similar quantity of food as fully-grown cats, then the chances of losing weight are next to nil.
Ensure that you track your cat`s age and growth patterns, and factor it in when coming up with the proper feeding schedule to help in weight control.
Free Feeding
As a cat-owner, you have the freedom to choose whichever feeding technique and strategy you`d want for your pet.
However, out of the many options that are on the table, it has been shown that free feeding is one of the methods that contribute to poor weight loss for cats.
There are a few cats that can maintain their weight despite numerous feeds, but this is not the case for a more significant percentage.
Having snacks ready for your cat whenever the need arises is a good way to keep it happy, but is detrimental towards achieving the ideal weight for cats.
Failure to Consider the Recommended Measurements
One of the reasons for losing weight in cats, other than disease, is receiving below average feeds.
Likewise, one of the significant ways in which your cat can get uncontrollable weight gain is receiving feeds that are above what is recommended.
You should always follow the feed`s instructions to the letter and ensure that you are aware of the recommended number of calories that should be in your cat`s feeding tray.
Guessing the feeds you should use is a habit you should get rid off as you will end up adding extra feeds out of misplaced affection.
Your cat, in turn, will pay a heavy price for this.
Failure to Consider Health Reasons for Losing Weight or Uncontrollable Weight
Most of us know that stress causes weight loss in animals, but one of the more significant causes of extreme weight loss is disease conditions and a toxic environment.
Likewise, when it comes to the addition of weight in your cat, one of the things that make its weight to get blown out of proportion is disease conditions that aren`t managed appropriately.
Cats that are diabetic or have hypothyroidism are likely to gain weight uncontrollably.
If your cat has been diagnosed with any conditions that fall within a similar spectrum, then rest assured that you will end up with myriads of reasons for losing weight.
The best way to handle this is by treating the underlying condition before proceeding to change the diet.
Give your furry friend the best grain free cat food to avoid metabolic anomalies that will cause excessive weight gain.
Conclusion
Have you ever raised an obese cat that wasn`t losing weight and you found yourself worrying to the extent of wishing for skinny kittens?
If so, then there are some things in your cat`s lifestyle that may be going awry as has been expounded on above. Take a look into some of them and sit back and watch as your cat loses some weight.
Do you know of any other reasons that lead to poor loss of weight for cats? Please share with us by commenting below.
About the author: Acquiring a wealth of experience in writing articles about pets, Sophia has found herself as a freelance journalist. She is also working as a web designer at https://777spinslot.com/
Antoinette M
Sunday 25th of April 2021
Thanks for the info. I have to keep an eye on my cat's weight, as well.
Shannon Holmes
Thursday 5th of March 2020
I agree that it is hard to help a cat lose weight, thanks for this article.
revdl
Saturday 20th of July 2019
thank for sharing madmin
Calvin
Monday 3rd of June 2019
Interesting. I am not free feeding my cat anymore, it's partially because of controlling weight, but more like he eats too fast and hurls everything back up.. waste.
Angela Saver
Friday 12th of April 2019
Great post and interesting information!