Exercise is great – but the key to weight loss will be diet. Any will do – if your cat is reluctant you may have to force him to play. Drag a string around for him to chase. Make him jump up on something to get to his food. Throw balls. Whatever it takes!

From my blog:
In a nutshell, most cats are fat because they’ve been fed too much (free-feeding or indulging them) and because they’re fed dry food which is NOT appropriate food for them due to the grain/carb/sugar content. Cats are obligate carnivores who need to eat a high meat-based protein diet, which is also high in fats and low in carbs.

Many vets, who are sadly ignorant on the topic of proper cat nutrition, will recommend prescription diet foods (usually dry). Cats are expected to lose weight on a starvation diet of 1/4 or 1/3 cup of food per day. Everyone is miserable in these situations.

The solution is to switch the fat cat (and any others in the household as well) to a good quality canned food. Because these foods are species appropriate, the cat will lose weight at a safe, slow pace (no more than 1 pound per month). Switching foods needs to occur slowly, and if you’re trying to get a kibble junkie to eat canned food, that will happen naturally.

That’s it. Easy as pie. Not only will fat cats lose weight, but it and any others in the home will reap many benefits of eating a speciies appropriate diet.

See the links below for detailed information on this topic.

UPDATE: Poppy lost 5 pounds and Sophie lost 2 following this plan (from October to October). Each cat gets one can (5.5oz) of Nature’s Variety Instincts per day. No one is starving or miserable. My vet is happy with her progress and so am I. Only 4 pounds to go!

you have lots of answers
just want to add a resource where you should read for weight control ideas
and to know what could happen

treadmill?

I would put him on a lower protein diet (made for Indoor or less active cats). Introduce it gradually by mixing a bit in with the current food first, then half & half, & eventually just the new. It should be done over a week to 10 days. Never switch foods suddenly or they can get sick.
My cats all like IAMS but are used to dry food. My vet said it is hard to gain weight on canned food as it is mostly water but I would still try to choose a low protein one if you use canned. I prefer dry as it is supposed to be better for their teeth & doesn’t go bad in the dish. Also, they don’t like canned cold from the fridge as much but I guess getting your cat to eat is not the problem.
Spending some time each day playing with your cat to get him to exercise is a good idea. You can use the laser light but don’t shine it in the eyes. Or put a piece of string on the end of a yard stick with a ball or piece of styrofoam on the end of the string to get him to chase it. Play on the stairs for more exercise going up & down. Play with him until he’s tired.
I doubt he would use a treadmill.

You ant to prevent diabetes? (read my profile) You want your cat to lose weight? You want your cat running around again? it’s east. Just feed the proper foods which means NO dry food aka kitty crack. Cutting down on potato chips isn’t a great diet

Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s health
Contrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat.
Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingrdiant a muscle meat like chicken or meal or other things?
Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i’s and a host of other problems. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms
The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process them. Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food but in
Dry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and don’t use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive.
You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn’t have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all. Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck?

Please read about cat nutrition.

Put his food in a place where he has to exercise to get the food, like jumping up. I have my cats food on a small table beside my freezer so whenever the cats want food or water they have to jump up on the freezer. (which is often because they are grazers rather than eating their food all at once)

Hi there…most cats become bored with toys quickly. It’s important to rotate them by hiding them and then bringing them back out again so the appear to be like new toys. Interactive toys are the best ones to use to get a cat moving such as a laser light. Most cats love chasing the light. The goal is to get the cat to move back and forth at least for 5 minutes to begin as some tire more easily than others especially if they are overweight. You can increase play time more if they enjoy it. Some cats love chasing feather teasers tied on a string too. Experiment to what gets your cat moving. Just please remember most overweight cats tire easily so keep the sessions short and fun. Interactive toys are the best ways to get your cat to exercise rather than leaving toys for them to play with. They only bat at those and really don’t move enough. Not only does the interactive toys work better, but it’s a bonding experience for both of you as well.

There are actually treadmill exercise wheels made specifically for cats: =-3051950202798053661 …if you are interested.

Generally, it’s first recommended to discuss an appropriate weight loss guideline with your vet as it appears you have already done. Sudden changes in dietary requirements can be distressing to a cat and could contribute to other health problems. Cats who have dramatic caloric intake can suffer from something called fatty liver disease (hepatic lipidosis) which shuts the liver down and is fatal.

In the wild, animals will naturally eat what they need and no more. The task of searching for food and other basic necessities involves lots of exercise and so wild animals remain naturally fit and healthy.

The food available to them in their natural habitat is perfectly designed to meet their needs in an environment that has not been tampered with.

Domestic animals are provided with food which they do not have to hunt for and which is not always suited for their bodies. Cats who are free fed as well as given table scraps are more noted to have obesity problems because they eat out of boredom. In addition, they are often exposed to a lifestyle which contributes to sluggish metabolism, underactive thyroids and livers which are not able to remove toxins or eliminate unwanted fat from their bodies.

Most commercial grade cat foods contain corn, corn meal which are fillers (carbohydrates) that bind the dry food together as a way of keeping foods lasting longer. Try finding cat food products which are devoid of these ingedients. The first ingredients should show chicken, chicken meal, etc. Most show the first ingredients as corn on the ingredient labels. IAMs, Science Diet, Purina, Whiskas, Friskies …all have corn listed as the main ingredient. Cats who eat these tend to always feel hungry because the carbs don’t metabolize fast enough and cats are obligate carnivores so they need a diet devoid of these types of carbs. Products such as Innova EVO, Nature’s Variety Prairie, Wellness are premium brands. Most cats who eat these find that they do not eat to eat as much because their appetite is better satiated.

Additionally, it’s important to schedule feed a cat so you can monitor servings taken in during the day. . Each product lists the recommended servings based on a age and weight. For an overweight cat you would be reducing the intake gradually by 10% each week that the vet recommends is an appropriate caloric intake. Cats who are switched from a free-fed diet should be fed multiple times a day (if permittable) such as once in the morning, mid-day, and then evening before your bedtime.

When switching to a new brand of cat food it is also important to note that sudden changes can cause sever bowel distress. Cats have very sensitive digestive systems so the quick change will cause bouts of diarrhoea and vomiting. Any vet can confirm this fact. Cat food should be changed gradually by mixing the current brand with the new brand over the course of several weeks. For example you would take 3/4 servings of the old cat food to 1/4 servings with the new for one week…then the next week 1/2 to 1/2…then following 1/4 of the old to 3/4 of the new in the third week before completing the switch in the final week.

Furthermore, some cats can take off the weight faster by feeding a canned food diet. For some reason the hydration in the canned products helps metabolize food better and are also completely devoid of carbohydrates, which is more optimal for the feline’s body. When cats eat raw meat in the wild they get hydration from the fresh meat juices as well as some roughage from the animals who are natural herbivores. A mixture of canned and dry are always best for cats in the long-term, which many people are unaware of. We are have been exposed to so many commercial ads regarding dry food for cats, but in reality it’s the manufacturer’s who benefit rather than the cats. Cats are not naturally designed to eat dry–the products were designed for convenience for the owner.

Here’s an article about commercial cat food; dry vs. canned, proper nutritional needs, etc:

He needs to play a lot with toys, so get some toys or a ball of wool.
A laser light is a great toy too

Wow, that’s young for a fat cat. Is he obese or just a little chubby? Some cats are a tad fat via hereditary. Especially some tabbies. You can try low cal food, there are many different varieties on the market.

As far as playing, get a cat tree, it will be good to have him do some jumping and playing with toys on it. There are different toys at the pet store that might be intriguing to him. My cat loves a rolled up ball of foil and paper bags.

You asked about food. I’m not an expert on cat food but I buy Royal Canin for my cat, she’s on the skinny side, she’s a Siamese always moving. So I have to suppliment her diet with canned food for the calories.

It’s tough when you have 2 cats. I used to have 2 cats, the other one died a few months ago. She was my fat one, not obese but definitely chubby and lazy, but she lived to be 17 so it didn’t affect her health negatively. Anyway, it’s tough especially if they share food, you can’t regulate it as easily.

You could try a leash and take him outside for walks. I did that sometimes. My cats loved it. Though it’s usually them taking you for a walk.

My cats like it when I throw a little ball up the stairs. It will make them run up and down the stairs trying to get it. Great exercise !