When we started domesticating cats, we let them retain some of their wild nature. They chased mice through barns and tracked birds in the fields, but now that our cats are more like family we keep them tucked away inside. A comfortable life for our cats has led to many of them becoming overweight!
| Cat Food | Lifestage | Price | Our Rated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Hill’s Prescription Diet | Adult | $$$ |  |
Buy From Chewy |
| 2. Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets | Adult | $$$ | |
Buy From Chewy |
| 3. Blue Buffalo Indoor Hairball and Weight Control | Adult | $$ | |
Buy From Chewy |
| 4. Royal Canin Veterinary Diet | Adult | $$$ |  |
Buy From Chewy |
| 5. Hill’s Prescription Diet | Adult | $$$ | |
Buy From Chewy |
Top 5 Cat Food for Overweight Cats
1. Hill’s Prescription Diet m/d Glucose/Weight Management Pork Flavor Canned Cat Food
[img_products4 img_number=”69653.” alt=”hills-prescription-diet-md” img_code=”V1460478783″ product_name=”https://www.chewy.com/hills-prescription-diet-md/dp/54757″ check=”Buy from Chewy”]- 5 oz Cans
- Low-fat
Made of pork, which if there’s any similarity in taste preferences, cats should find this recipe delicious! Hill’s prescription diet uses pork by-products, pork liver, and water to ensure that this recipe is full of protein and moisture. The supplements of vitamin E, C, and B12 will help your cat maintain their energy, as well as their skin and coat health.
This recipe requires a veterinary prescription which is honestly the best thing about this cat food option. The extra weight can come off too fast if you don’t follow your vet’s advice. When a vet suggests using Hill’s Prescription Diet for Glucose and Weight Management, you can ensure that your cat will lose weight safely.
We don’t like that the primary ingredient in this formula is pork by-product. Nothing against piggy’s, but, the by-product part is the issue. A by-product is a processed version of the unwanted parts of the animal. Similar to a chicken nugget or a hotdog.
Overall, if your veterinarian suggests Hill’s Prescription Diet for Glucose and Weight Management, you should follow their advice. The formula uses a balance of proteins, broth, and corn to ensure that your cat will lose weight without feeling hungry.
But, keep in mind that the Hill’s Prescription Diet isn’t for long-term use. When your cat loses the weight and gets to a healthy stage in their life, you need to change them to something more wholesome.
2. Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets OM Savory Selects Overweight Management Formula
[img_products3 img_number=”64891″ alt=”purina-pro-plan-veterinary-diets-om” img_code=”V1534451537″ product_name=”https://www.chewy.com/purina-pro-plan-veterinary-diets-om/dp/49851″ check=”Buy from Chewy”]- 5 oz
- Turkey-based
- 2% fat
Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets OM Savory Selects Overweight Management Formula is made for cats to lose weight at a healthy pace. Their feeding suggestions advise pet owners to provide a number of cans per day based on the current weight of your cat. Although it might seem like a lot of food at first, keep in mind that the calories are far less than what they usually get.
We love that this recipe is low in both fat and calories but keeps a high protein build. The ingredients deliver quality and can have your cat feeling full throughout the day. You shouldn’t worry about your cat being hungry between meal periods.
We would prefer that the food texture be a pate rather than a chunky texture because cats are picky eaters. But, if your cat is overweight, it’s likely that they don’t have too many texture preferences.
Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets offers a cat food that creates a diet to help melt away the ounces of excess weight. The formula is low in fat, and low calorie too. But, their ingredient choices keep the recipe high in protein and fiber.
The balance between nutrition and safe weight loss planning, you can keep your cat on this diet to lose weight, and then change their portion size to help them maintain a healthy weight.
3. Blue Buffalo Indoor Hairball and Weight Control Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe
[img_products3 img_number=”84167″ alt=”blue-buffalo-indoor-hairball-weight” img_code=”V1536875523″ product_name=”https://www.chewy.com/blue-buffalo-indoor-hairball-weight/dp/111971″ check=”Buy from Chewy”]- Meant for weight control
- A healthy amount of fiber
Blue Buffalo delivers another useful recipe that caters to our fur babies that need a little help with their diet. The indoor hairball and weight control chicken and brown rice recipe also support healthy digestion, and balances calories for high energy!
The 9% fiber in this recipe is outstanding, and a lot of the time overweight cats lack in the fiber department. The high fiber comes from peas, flaxseed, sweet potato and carrots! That’s a pretty impressive list.
We dislike the fact that this is dry food. Unfortunately, the low moisture content means that your cat won’t feel as full as if they had eaten wet food. Blue Buffalo tries to combat this issues by using brown rice as a filler.
If you’re looking for an option to transition to easily, Blue Buffalo might be your best choice. Cats that usually eat kibble can have a hard time switching over to wet cat food. The cat food for overweight cats needs to fit their own specific preferences too.
If you have a picky eater, of a cat that won’t eat wet food, this Blue Buffalo formula can still help your cat lose weight safely. Be sure to follow Blue Buffalo’s feeding instructions carefully though. It’s very easy to overfeed cats on dry food!
4. Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Gastrointestinal Moderate Calorie Canned Cat Food
[img_products3 img_number=”61810″ alt=”royal-canin-veterinary-diet” img_code=”V1475099849″ product_name=”https://www.chewy.com/royal-canin-veterinary-diet/dp/46787″ check=”Buy from Chewy”]- 3-oz Cans
- 5% fat
Royal Canin works with various vets to develop formulas that will treat very specific problems. Although this food isn’t meant to treat obesity or weight gain, the reduced calorie formula will help your cat safely lose weight. This recipe has pork, chicken, liver, and a ton of nutrients to keep your cat healthy and boost their activity.
This formula is made for cats with digestion issues, and overweight cats will often experience gastrointestinal problems while you’re trying to help them lose weight. To curb the gastrointestinal issues and to help lose weight, Royal Canin has kept the fat content very low!
The downside with purchasing Royal Canin Veterinary Diet is the can size. We mentioned this earlier in the value section, and although someday you’ll hopefully have a cat that is a healthy weight, right now you have a big kitty on your hands. These 3 oz cans aren’t going to cut it for meal times.
As long as you don’t mind opening up 5 cans of food a day, Royal Canin has a lot to offer your cat in the way of nutrition. Although the formula is meant for cats that may tend to gain weight, your cat can lose weight safely on this diet.
5. Hill’s Prescription Diet w/d Digestive/Weight Management with Chicken
[img_products4 img_number=”69821.” alt=”hills-prescription-diet-wd” img_code=”V1460478783″ product_name=”https://www.chewy.com/hills-prescription-diet-wd/dp/54739″ check=”Buy from Chewy”]- 5 oz Cans
- Pork based
This pork-based product can help you manage your cats’ weight while bringing it down to a healthy level safely. The Hill’s Prescription Diet does require a veterinary prescription so be sure to discuss which option is best with your vet first. What sets this option apart from the other Hill’s Prescription Diet option is that this uses both chicken and pork, further reducing the fat content!
We like the introduction of chicken as a lean protein that will help your cat build up lean muscle. The pork can be great for helping cats develop more energy, but when it comes time to metabolize the fat the chicken works best.
While the fat content is low, the carbohydrate content is fairly high. Because of the use of corn and grain fillers, about 24% of the recipe is from carbs. Carbohydrates are slow burning sugars which can lower energy in your cat.
If you know that the amount of energy isn’t the problem, but the quality of food is what has led your cat to weight gain, this Prescription Diet formula from Hill’s is a great option. The feeding instructions here aren’t clear, but that’s partly because they want you to discuss how much and how often you feed your cat with your veterinarian.
Hill’s Prescription Diet with Chicken offers a weight loss solution that is high in fiber, low in fat and high in protein. This combination is the best way to help your cat lose weight. It’s important to keep in mind that these types of diets aren’t usually a long-term solution but a way to get your cat down to a reasonable weight.
What to Look for When Buying Food for Overweight Cat
Whether you’re looking to help your cat get fit, stay active and cultivate a healthy lifestyle or you’re just looking to bring down their weight slowly!
Type of Food for Overweight Cats
There’s a trick to losing weight that many people have learned, but cats haven’t caught on yet. Dry food will always have a lot of carbs and carbs are hard on the metabolism. They are also a form of sugar which associated with weight gain.
The wet food, however, is mostly water or broth. Intaking more liquids can help your cat feel full without relying on heavy carbs to weight them down through the day. Wet food usually has higher quality proteins and less processing.
But, if you’re cat has been on kibble their entire life they may hesitate to make the transition. Always work with a slow 2-week transition to get your cats into the groove of wet cat food. There are a few great things that come from using cat food.
There’s the benefit of a more hydrated cat which may help them keep their activity levels up. But, there’s also the benefit of portion control. Because can come in reasonable portion sizes you can rest knowing that your cat will get everything they need without restricting their diet.
Choosing the Right Portion
Portion control is easy to talk about when you’re looking at your own diet. You know when you’re hungry and when you’re full. But, you can’t know when your cat feels that way, and what’s worse is that your cat doesn’t know either. Cats are notorious for boredom eating, and overeating.
So, marking portions for your overweight cat will need some help. First, if you choose a kibble or dry food, you want to make sure that the nutritional label suggests reasonable portions. Second, stay away from foods that suggest calorie or food restriction. Third, stop free feeding! Finally, split up your cat’s meal times.
Many pet owners will leave a food bowl down so their cat can eat whenever they want to, and there’s nothing wrong with this habit. Cats are picky eaters, and some pet parents can’t wait around all day! But, overweight cats will have to say goodbye to the free-feeding bowl.
Choosing the right portion starts with knowing your cat’s weight, and then following the suggested servings on the food you chose. After you know your cat’s weight, you’ll want to determine how much food they should have per day and then divide that between 2 meal periods. Because you’re removing the free-feeding bowl, you want to feed them in the morning and at night to ensure they aren’t going hungry!
Look for Wholesome Ingredients
Although it’s always true that we should eat the things that are best for us and provide the things that are best for our cats, pet food companies try to cut corners. When you’re looking for wholesome ingredients, you should avoid food options that use a meal and by-product proteins.
Another tip for finding wholesome ingredients is avoiding pet food that uses dehydrated vegetables, or fruit. When these ingredients are dehydrated, they can lose valuable nutrition, and your overweight cats need all the nutrition they can get!
The Clear Winner…
The clear winner here is the Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets OM Overweight Management Feline Formula which allows cats to lose weight in a healthy weight. But, when your cat is done losing weight, you can stick with this formula to help them maintain their weight.
Purina starts this recipe out with water, turkey, and wheat gluten. They add in chicken, whitefish and a variety of supplements to ensure that your cat isn’t missing out on any nutrients they need.