Many cat owners who have overweight cats find it very difficult to get their cats to lose weight. There are a number of reasons for this but one of the main reasons is that owners often underestimate how overweight their cat is. In some cases, they do not recognize that their cat is overweight. The other factor that contributes to weight problems in cats is that cats do not exercise very much. Even when owners try to get their cats to exercise and succeed, it is not enough to help the cat lose weight.

Kelly Swanson, Kraft Heinz Company Endowed Professor in Human Nutrition in the Department of Animal Sciences and the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Univ. of Illinois has conducted research to determine the safest way to help cats lose weight.

One of the problems associated with reducing weight in a cat is that there is a health risk if the cat loses too much weight too fast. The liver becomes over loaded with fat which can cause is hepatic lipidosis. The best way to prevent this is to reduce the cat’s food intake gradually. Cats will hit a plateau the same as people who go on a diet. The key is to keep slowly reducing their food intake.

Interestingly, the researchers monitored the overweight cats in the study to see if their activity level increased with their weight loss. They found that it did, a tiny bit, but not enough to make a difference. Therefore, it is important that cat owners continue to play with their cats to get them to exercise more. Don’t be afraid to experiment with ways to help your cat exercise. In the photo above, I discovered that my cat liked to chase tiny snowballs in footprints. Who would think a cat liked to play in snow?

Overall, the researches concluded that when the cats lost weight, they were generally healthier. Doesn’t that sound familiar?