Do you want to keep your cat at a healthy weight? In light of National Pet Obesity Day on Oct 12th I wanted to let you in on a secret to get your cat to slim down without doing anything special. Yes, you can get your cat to slim down safely without doing anything special or even extra. You don’t have to change your routine or even your cats routine. You don’t have to buy any special brand of food. You just have to change one thing. It has to do with water, but not the water they drink.
Do you realize that the majority of pets are too big? Cats are one of the easiest to help though. All you need to do is feed them wet food. Canned cat food. The reason behind this trick is two fold: A:) Cats simply eat less calories on wet food. You feel fuller if you have water with your food. Almost every diet today will tell you to drink a glass of water before a meal. B:) Cats are historically desert animals (think Egypt), so to cats water isn’t found in most places naturally, so cats brains think they get most water from fresh kills aka food and have a lower drive to drink from open water sources, so water content is a even more important factor to consider in cat food. To a cat brain, food already has water in it.
Also helps with bladder and kidney issues
Canned food is more beneficial than dry food for several reasons. As fresh-kill hunters, cats in the wild consume most of their water along with fresh prey and do not have a strong drive to drink independently of eating. I believe most dry food cats under consume water resulting in stress on their kidneys and overly concentrated urine. Canned food mimics the water content of their prey in the wild. This encourages more dilute urine that is less likely to lead to bladder and kidney issues overtime.
Canned food also tends to be lower in carbohydrates compared to dry food and thereby higher in protein. But remember, you can’t make dry food without flour, and flour is carbs. High protein, low carb diets are touted by some to be less likely to cause obesity in cats, but this has been disproven in feeding studies; total calories consumed is most important.
How do I know if my cat is too big?
How do you know if your pet is getting too big? Simply feel the ribs. If you can’t feel each individual rib as well defined, it indicates a layer of fat on the ribs and that you should reduce caloric intake.
I hope this helps you and your cats to live happy and healthy lives.