Simple ways to help your cat lose weight

If your cat is piling on the pounds you should first talk to your vet to determine the cat’s ideal weight and receive appropriate dietary advice. Most weight loss will come from reducing your cat’s calorie intake but it will help to increase the amount of calories your cat burns too. You should always seek professional advice specific to your cat and rule out any underlying health problems, but here are a few tips to help the process:

Feed more wet food

Wet food has less calories than dry food and can speed up the weight loss process. If your cat happily munches on biscuits all day restrict availability and replace a few, if not all meals, with a nutritionally appropriate wet food.

Move the food bowl

Moving your cat’s food around the house means your cat will have to search for it and get a little more exercise in the process! Don’t hide it but place it further away from your cat’s favourite sleeping spots. Bonus points if you can encourage him or her to walk up and down the stairs a little more often.

Make your cat work for it

Putting dry food into treat balls or on special feeding boards means your cat has to work a little harder to get their meal. This slows down their eating and increases exercise. Supervise this style of feeding to make sure your cat gets their meal, some cats can get a little frustrated and may need help.

For a budget version of a slow feeder, make a treat box or place food into a cardboard loo roll tube.

Increase play time

Chasing games are excellent for getting cats up and moving. Try feather stick toys that mimic bird flight, laser pointers and chaseable toys. Small plush toys, jingle balls and even paper balls are popular with most cats.

Introduce more climbing toys

Cat trees or even shelves can give a cat more spaces to climb. Cats love climbing and introducing more accessible high spots means your cat is more likely to do a little clambering to check them out. Turning cardboard boxes into a stable stack can even increase their interest in exploring.