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Metomucil?
So Bam is overweight and our vet said she wants him on the r/d food. I never feed him cheep food thats made out of bi products,so i dont want to buy that. I feed him healthy kitty foods,like wellness and other good brands :) She also mentioned something about adding some metomucil to his diet if we choose not to go with the r/d. She said metomucil speeds up metabolism because of fiber in it. Is that true? Does it work for fat cats?
How long has he been getting 3/4 cup twice a day? If he's been on this for over a month, and his weight is not budging then I would say to cut back some more.
What about trying 3/4 cup in the morning, and 1/2 cup in the evening? That wouldn't be cutting back to drastically.
What about trying 3/4 cup in the morning, and 1/2 cup in the evening? That wouldn't be cutting back to drastically.
Thanks for the encouraging reply :). Yeah i think a male bengal should be somewhere between 18 and 20 lbs...Well the thing with the amount i feed him is that its already kind of small....I feed him 3/4 of a cup 2 times a day. Hasnt worked so far...I hope it does....I just want him to be able to jump high and run fast...and do things that normal weighing cats do...We are planning on moving out of state within the next month and where we are moving ,there will be stairs...I hope he will lose some punds running up and down those :)
Hi Kandy
I would not be a happy camper either, w/ the vet pushing the prescription food on you like that. I would try using the metamucil just to see if it works, that would do Bam no harm. My vet has recommended this to my cats before, too.
I'm glad you mentioned that Bam is a bengal, because they weight more-especially the males. If I'm remembering right, the males can weigh up to 20 lbs. Maybe Bam could stand to lose a little bit of weight, especially if he's big boned. I agree w/ you that 10-14 lbs is too small for a male bengal.
I would try giving him smaller portions of what you're feeding him now, and see how he looks after losing a few more pounds.
Good luck!
I would not be a happy camper either, w/ the vet pushing the prescription food on you like that. I would try using the metamucil just to see if it works, that would do Bam no harm. My vet has recommended this to my cats before, too.
I'm glad you mentioned that Bam is a bengal, because they weight more-especially the males. If I'm remembering right, the males can weigh up to 20 lbs. Maybe Bam could stand to lose a little bit of weight, especially if he's big boned. I agree w/ you that 10-14 lbs is too small for a male bengal.
I would try giving him smaller portions of what you're feeding him now, and see how he looks after losing a few more pounds.
Good luck!
THanks a lot everyone. One thing i love about this website is that everyone is very helpful. Well actually Bam is 24 lbs,but i got him that way...His previous owners were free feeding him all the time and they had a total of 5 cats...Im guessing Bam was trying to be the more dominant one...They said they had to lock him up in the bathroom when feeding other cats...Plus they fed him Purina KITTEN CHOW....Which is sooooo high in EVERYTHING sinse it is for little kittens....When we got him we started to feed him on scheduled times and the funny thing is he really didnt mind. I think the other cats really had a big part in him overeating. THe thing with him now though is that even though he is on a immited diet,he isnt losing a bit of weight...I mean he looks slimmer to us but according to the vet he actually gained a bit....We play with him as much as we can every day so i dont know what else to do...We refuse to give prescription diet because its all a bunch of bi products....
About the veggies in his diet...eh....I dont know if that would work...Just the other month we went to our local family business pet store and got him 24 cans of Weruva canned food...Which had veggies mixed in in...He refused to eat for 2 days....So idk...
JUst keep giving me suggestions...The vet is honestly just being very pushy with that r/d diet....And i dont like that.
OH and also...Bam IS 24 lbs,but his body stucture is actually quite big...Bigger then regular cats(maybe cuz he is bengal)...So i dont think he should IDEALLY weigh more then 18lbs...But also no less....The vet thinks he should be 10 to 14lbs...Which honestly sounds waaaay tooo small for Bam.
Thanks everyone Im looking forward to reading more from you...
Oh and I didnt get metamucil :)
About the veggies in his diet...eh....I dont know if that would work...Just the other month we went to our local family business pet store and got him 24 cans of Weruva canned food...Which had veggies mixed in in...He refused to eat for 2 days....So idk...
JUst keep giving me suggestions...The vet is honestly just being very pushy with that r/d diet....And i dont like that.
OH and also...Bam IS 24 lbs,but his body stucture is actually quite big...Bigger then regular cats(maybe cuz he is bengal)...So i dont think he should IDEALLY weigh more then 18lbs...But also no less....The vet thinks he should be 10 to 14lbs...Which honestly sounds waaaay tooo small for Bam.
Thanks everyone Im looking forward to reading more from you...
Oh and I didnt get metamucil :)
Good advice here. Like Opus, I have never heard of the fiber/higher metabolism ratio. Well, to be specific the Metamucil.....do be careful of giving kitty this commercial preparation.
At the human level, I am an anal cancer survivor, and have to be sure to include lots of fiber in my diet, as well as a probiotic. I tried Metamucil,,,,,,and it was awful! Just gave me lots of gas.
Annie Brooks mentions green beans. My daughter uses them when her Yorkie gets a bit plump. I thought it wouldn't work, but it did. As far as giving kitty veggies, easy does it. As he has been on an excellent diet of high quality foods, maybe Natural Balance, with veggies is an idea? Don't know if caloric values are same or higher than Wellness.
I'd try a bit of pumpkin......don't know what r/d means....but am guessing it is a diet food???
Cutting portions is hard for us humans to do to our furry little guys, but that is probably what I'd try too.
You know my last word is ......kitties can be plump without having health issues. Wonder if your vet is humanizing yours? Best luck.
At the human level, I am an anal cancer survivor, and have to be sure to include lots of fiber in my diet, as well as a probiotic. I tried Metamucil,,,,,,and it was awful! Just gave me lots of gas.
Annie Brooks mentions green beans. My daughter uses them when her Yorkie gets a bit plump. I thought it wouldn't work, but it did. As far as giving kitty veggies, easy does it. As he has been on an excellent diet of high quality foods, maybe Natural Balance, with veggies is an idea? Don't know if caloric values are same or higher than Wellness.
I'd try a bit of pumpkin......don't know what r/d means....but am guessing it is a diet food???
Cutting portions is hard for us humans to do to our furry little guys, but that is probably what I'd try too.
You know my last word is ......kitties can be plump without having health issues. Wonder if your vet is humanizing yours? Best luck.
ps -- my cats also are willing to eat certain fruits and veggies straight, without mixing into the food. In particular, Siamese breeds seem to like cantaloupe, and all my cats like fresh green beans, especially if they have been cooked in butter.
Our cats never seem to get fat, but for our dogs (who were very plump) the vet recommended cutting their dry food ration in half and giving them cooked mixed vegetables for the other half, both so they would feel full and also so they would have something a little less processed than kibble. We did this using frozen veggies (which we would heat and cool first) and also with cans of (cooked) mixed veggies and also cans of green beans. The dogs loved it and lost weight too.
If I was using this regimen with a cat, I'd just grind up the cooked veg in a blender and mix it with the food, cutting down the food amount by the amount of veggies I was putting in.
In the wild, cats not only get the meat from their prey, but they also get the calcium from their bones and often the grasses and grains from their stomachs as well. So it isn't that far fetched to up the veggie quotient to replace some of the high-calorie volume in the cat food, to help in weight loss.
If I was using this regimen with a cat, I'd just grind up the cooked veg in a blender and mix it with the food, cutting down the food amount by the amount of veggies I was putting in.
In the wild, cats not only get the meat from their prey, but they also get the calcium from their bones and often the grasses and grains from their stomachs as well. So it isn't that far fetched to up the veggie quotient to replace some of the high-calorie volume in the cat food, to help in weight loss.
hi Kandy. r/d food is very hard to get a kitty to accept IMO...they just don't like the taste of it, but you can sure try.
Wellness is a 'very' good brand of food so Bam has been on a good diet. How much does he weigh?...what does the Vet consider overweight?
Kandy I've never heard of metamucil or any fiber for weight loss, thats a new one for me. I don't see how fiber can speed up metabolism???...
Nor would I give that to a cat!!!...
If you do want to give some fiber to see if it helps in weight loss, try some natural fiber such as pumpkin(canned but NOT pie filling). just give a tiny amount(1/4 teas.) to introduce slowly and see how Bam tolerates it.
But do not use Metamucil it has phenylalamine the primary ingredient in aspertame and this isn't good for cats!!!
I wish Vets would do more research into things they are recommending.
Wellness is a 'very' good brand of food so Bam has been on a good diet. How much does he weigh?...what does the Vet consider overweight?
Kandy I've never heard of metamucil or any fiber for weight loss, thats a new one for me. I don't see how fiber can speed up metabolism???...
Nor would I give that to a cat!!!...
If you do want to give some fiber to see if it helps in weight loss, try some natural fiber such as pumpkin(canned but NOT pie filling). just give a tiny amount(1/4 teas.) to introduce slowly and see how Bam tolerates it.
But do not use Metamucil it has phenylalamine the primary ingredient in aspertame and this isn't good for cats!!!
I wish Vets would do more research into things they are recommending.
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