Top 10 Tips For Your Cat To Lose Weight
If you’ve ever embarked on a plan to eat healthier and lose weight yourself, you’ve no doubt been told you should eat as much fresh, unprocessed food as possible, and avoid things like refined sugars, unhealthy fats, and heavily processed carbs.
You would think this approach would also apply to our animals, but a cursory glance at the weight loss section of your local pet food store reveals even more heavily processed foods that are carbohydrate based and bear no resemblance to anything that could be considered fresh or whole.
Typically, they achieve their lower calorie density with the addition of large amounts of indigestible fibre, which can actually interfere with nutrient absorption, rather than encourage it.
Their refined flour foundation is likely to cause insulin to spike, which may ultimately lead to weight gain.
These foods leave your cat feeling hungrier than ever and poorly nourished, while rarely actually leading to any major weight loss – and certainly not healthy weight loss.
A far superior way to support your cat to reach a healthier weight is to provide them with nutrient dense and highly digestible food that suits their digestive and metabolic needs.
This will not just help them lose weight, but also improve their overall health and wellbeing. Fresh foods contain highly bioavailable nutrients – as opposed to the synthetic nutrients in most pet foods – as well as digestive enzymes, pre and probiotics and antioxidants.
Before we get into the meaty stuff (pun intended), we have summarised out top ten tips for ensuring your cat doesn’t become a statistic, like so many overweight and obese cats have.
- Ditch the heavily processed, carbohydrate dense cat food
- Start your cat on a high meat, low carb diet of suitable whole foods
- Play with your cat to keep them active
- Always ensure your cat is hydrated
- Make simple, healthy treat swaps
- Include your cat’s mealtime and food preparation into your family’s routine
- Keep healthy, easy options in the pantry for when life inevitably gets busy
- Weigh your cat and check their body condition score regularly
- Focus on nourishing your cat with fresh, whole foods
- Invest in your cat’s health and wellbeing to extend their quality of life and your life together
Our website is also full of expert advice to help you become a more informed pet owner about the benefits of good nutrition for your pet.
You can also see some useful links here
- FAQ's on raw feeding
- FAQ's on Healthy Active Pet
- What is in commercial pet food
- Why good nutrition is important
Check out our 4 week cat challenge that will put your cat on the right track
