r/dechonkers • u/RelevantAddition517 • 6d ago
Dechonkin Advice needed! One cat is thriving, another has gained weight?
I have 3 cats: 1. Noelle, 2. Poppy and 3. Stella. It’s been about a month since we started the dechonkin’ process and…
Noelle: is down 0.3lbs from 13.6- 13.3lbs. She seems to be thriving.
But Poppy, my problem child, has gone up from 13.3- 13.6lbs… I’m feeling very discouraged. She’s had some issues during this month with her asthma, so she was on a brief course of prednisone which hasn’t helped.
Stella, she’s down from 12.2 to 12lbs. She’s not loved this month- beef Fancy Feast did not agree with her belly and she lost a lot of weight one week but we’re avoiding beef from now on and she’s on the right track!
I was hoping for some advice about Poppy.I normally give my cats 2 cans of Fancy Feast (between the 3) in the morning and sometimes they eat it all up but other times they eat and then graze. My vet said that they would be better at self regulating on wet food but maybe Poppy isn’t? My boyfriend found her as a food deprived kitten and I think she has some food hang ups. Any advice or sharing of experience really appreciated
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u/minkamagic 5d ago
I’ve never been lucky enough to have a cat that self regulates. I weigh out the food three times a day, a different amount for each cat.
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u/RelevantAddition517 5d ago
How much do you give each cat? I am only doing rough portions right now, so I appreciate the idea to weigh the food to be more precise.
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u/Laney20 5d ago
2/3 of a can of fancy feast each can't be all they're eating.. What else are you feeding them? How often are their meals and how much do they get?
It sounds like self regulating may not be an option for your cats. That's not uncommon and what got a lot of us here, lol. You just need to measure and manage their meals to make sure they get the right size portions.
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u/RelevantAddition517 5d ago
You are right- sorry, I got distracted and didn’t write the rest of their day.
2/3rd small can 8am 1/3rd small can noon 2/3rd small can 5pm 1/3rd small can 10pm ish
All cans are Fancy Feast.
2-3 greenies throughout the day Poppy also gets some lysine gel for her respiratory issues- looking at switching her to a powder once I finish this tube, as I suspect that might not be diet friendly, but haven’t heard back from the manufacturer yet on what the calories are.
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u/Laney20 5d ago
Perfect, thanks! That is probably around 200 calories a day? These girls aren't all that big, so the caloric deficit is pretty small, which is good! You want them to lose slowly. But it also means that if they aren't watched closely while they eat, one could end up getting some of the food from the others and end up not in a deficit at all.
I wouldn't make any big changes just yet. Keep on the current plan, but maybe work on taking away the food when meals are over and being sure they don't take from each other. And also, be sure you have a trustworthy scale. I've found most bathroom scales really suck. I got an infant scale a couple years ago and it's great for weighing cats!
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u/AmySparrow00 5d ago
I have a cat who continued to gain weight on her diet also. I had the vets do a full blood and urine work up and they couldn’t find issues, so seems like she just has a super slow metabolism and needs less calories than most.
So what I did was very gradually reduce her food every couple of weeks. If she didn’t lose any ounces after a couple weeks, then I would lower it again. I’ve stopped lowering at 180 kcal cuz I don’t want to go into malnutrition. The vet agreed it’s okay to leave her a bit overweight so we don’t have to lower more. Took a few years but she lost 2.5 lb (and now gained some back, ugh).
I find both my cats do better with more frequent small meals. My chonk will eat everything I give her and then be starved again a few hours later. So I find she actually does best with as many as 4-6 mealtimes per 24 hrs. I use a low calorie diet kibble in an auto feeder when I’m not around, and do 1/2 to 1/3 a can of Fancy Feast when I am around. Sometimes I also leave a serving of frozen wet food out so she can eat ot later, instead of one of the kibble meals.
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u/Pinewoodgreen 5d ago
How do you feed them?
We have 1 grazer, and one who was a food deprived kitten and if he gets food and doesn't inhale it all then and there, he is sure it will dissapear and he will never see food again.
We tried seperating them when feeding, but the grazer refused to eat more than 1-2 bites and so his brother would grab it if we let them together again. and we can't keep them seperated all day when we where at work. So we bought a " surefeed microchip pet feeder" for the grazer to keep his food safe. But even tho he easily could open the flap, he then preferred eating his brother's food and hoarding his own. so we had to buy a 2nd feeder.
yes, it's expencive. I think they where like $200 each where I live. But now they both have their own protected little food bowl, and they can graze or not graze. but I know for certain how much each cat eats and when.
The grazer haven't lost weight (he is barely overweight anyways, so not a priority) the chonky hungry boy is losing 100grams each week now. so about 0.8 to 1lb each month. It have also given me peace of mind as I can just give them their food at a set schedule and not worry about who crowds what plate and if any of them steals from the other. Poppy should lose weight if she is in a calorie defecit. so the fact that she is gaining suggest she is stealing food from the others.