It may be strange to wonder how a mouse would factor on the Weight Watchers “point” system, but it may interest you to know when faced with changing the diet of an overweight or obese cat. Here are some stats from feline specialist Margie Scherk, dvm, dabvp.
Since a cat’s preferred natural diet in the wilderness would consist of eight to 10 meals—or mice—throughout the day, allow your cat to mimic the native way of eating at home.
This means small, frequent meals for your indoor cat. Just like the “paleo” diet popular with humans, a Paleolithic diet can work as a healthy diet option for cats as well.
That means small meals high in protein and fat, eight to 10 times a day. According to Dr. Scherk, cats with a higher protein diet lose more fat and retain more lean muscle.
Remember: Middle aged, obese cats have 2.7-times greater risk of mortality than cats at a healthy body weight—and the longer they remain at an unhealthy weight the larger the risk for diabetes mellitus, skin problems, hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) and lameness. Get your indoor cat moving!
Cats’ native diet consists of small, frequent, high protein meals, but it also requires cats to burn calories catching their little snacks. Please ask us how to best exercise your cat.