Obesity in Cats: 5 Vet-Approved Ways to Help Them Lose Weight

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Why are so many of our cats now obese? The biggest change I have seen in the last 50 years of being around cats is in their lifestyle. The majority of cats are no longer farm animals that wander the barn at night looking for food, or suburban animals that sleep in the house during the day and are let out to roam at night.

It has happened in dogs too, as when I was young, many dogs were loose on the streets and spent their time roaming the neighborhood looking for food. It has been even more of a change for cats.

Those lifestyle changes include:

Reduced activity: This is the most serious problem, as cats may just lie around much of the day and then sleep at night.
High-carbohydrate foods: Cats are obligate carnivores, and the only vegetable matter they would normally eat is the contents of their prey’s stomach and intestines. Although pet food companies will claim that carbs are needed to keep cats healthy, there are two big reasons that carbs are added to the dry food that most people feed their cats:
Over-availability of food: Since cats do not need to hunt to eat when they are confined to the house, they sometimes eat just out of boredom. This is made even worse by humans who keep their dry food down all day long out of convenience and a misunderstanding of what a cat needs.
Incorrect amount of food, or overfeeding: A sedentary housecat only needs about 20 calories per pound. This does vary somewhat, as young pets and cats with a higher metabolic rate may need more, but excessive calories are often given. Dry cat foods that are labeled for “normal” cats are usually high in simple sugars.
Neutered cats: Females that are spayed and males that are neutered have a slower metabolism and are even less active. The sex hormones are probably also responsible for appetite control.
Medical causes: There are a few medical reasons for a cat being overweight, but they are certainly not as common as the other reasons listed above. In many cases, illness just leads to reduced activity.

Risks Posed by Obesity in Cats

In the US, about 40% of the cat population is obese or overweight. Overweight cats have from 10 to 20% excess fat, and obese cats are 20 to 30% over their normal weight (2). Obesity is a serious issue and has terrible health implications.

The major side effects of a cat being obese include:

Inflammation: Fat tissue is biologically active and produces hormones and chemicals that lead to inflammation. All diseases, even if they are mild in a healthy cat, are going to be more severe in an obese cat because of that inflammation.
Arthritis: In the past, we thought that overweight cats put stress on their joints and, for that reason, developed severe arthritis. It is now known that the chemicals produced by fat cells produce inflammation in the joints that leads to early arthritis. Cats in pain from arthritis move around less, become even more obese, and produce even more of the substances that lead to arthritis.
Diabetes: Obese cats become insulin resistant and may eventually become diabetic.
Cancer: The inflammatory chemicals released by fat cells cause oxidative stress, so there are more cases of cancer in obese cats.
Heart disease
Internal organ diseases
Difficulty breathing

5 Ways to Help Your Cat Lose Weight

If you want to help your cat shed excess weight, you should introduce the following changes:

1. Stop Feeding Dry Food

Dry cat foods, no matter which brand you choose or how much you pay for it, are going to be full of cheap carbohydrate fillers. Feral cats get by just fine with a high protein-high fat diet free of carbohydrates. Their diet is 52% protein, 46% fat, with only 2% made up of other things (3). Dry cat foods only contain 26% protein and 20 to 50% carbohydrates.

I have several articles available on PetHelpful on alternative diets for cats, both those suffering from diseases like hyperthyroidism and for healthy cats.

2. Use a Puzzle Feeder

No matter how you choose to feed your obese cat, make it a challenge for your pet to get a meal. There are great puzzle feeders available in pet stores or on Amazon.

3. Feed Your Cat Multiple Times per Day

Cats that have to hunt for their food eat about nine times a day. Cats are built differently than dogs and big cats like lions, and they do not have the capacity to take in a huge meal. Feeding smaller meals more often during the day lessens the chance that your cat will try to gorge on the food available.

4. Provide Exercise Options

Environmental enrichment can keep your cat mentally stimulated and more active than bored cats. A feline exercise wheel, climbing shelves, several scratching posts, and interactive hunting toys are all great ways to provide exercise.

Many cat owners have reported even greater success when they rotate the scratching posts and toys so that they are relatively new when taken out of the closet.

5. Provide Access to a Catio

A catio is an enclosed outdoor area for cats to be outside but without the risks of getting hit by a car, chased by a dog, beaten up by a stray cat, or coming into contact with diseases like bird flu or parasites. If you build a catio and there is nothing for your cat to do, they will just lie there, so the spaces do need climbing shelves and other things to keep a cat active.

If you do not have space in your apartment, I have seen many people set up a catio on the balcony. You can install the exercise wheel and some climbing shelves in this space to save room in the home.

Use All the Suggestions to Best Help Your Cat

Just switching your cat to the high-fiber dry diet suggested to you by your neighbor or veterinarian is not going to be enough for your obese cat. Any one of these other suggestions, like building a catio or providing a hunting toy, is not going to be enough by itself either.

You need to use all the suggestions I listed to start a lifestyle change that will help your cat lose those excess pounds of fat.

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Sources

Verbrugghe A, Hesta M. Cats and Carbohydrates: The Carnivore Fantasy? Vet Sci. 2017 Nov 15;4(4):55. doi: 10.3390/vetsci4040055. PMID: 29140289; PMCID: PMC5753635. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5753635/
Saavedra C, Pérez C, Oyarzún C, Torres-Arévalo Á. Overweight and obesity in domestic cats: epidemiological risk factors and associated pathologies. J Feline Med Surg. 2024 Nov;26(11):1098612X241285519. doi: 10.1177/1098612X241285519. PMID: 39560296; PMCID: PMC11577473. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11577473/
Plantinga EA, Bosch G, Hendriks WH. Estimation of the dietary nutrient profile of free-roaming feral cats: possible implications for nutrition of domestic cats. Br J Nutr. 2011 Oct;106 Suppl 1:S35-48. doi: 10.1017/S0007114511002285. PMID: 22005434. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22005434/