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Alternative to Hills R/D for Cat

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  • 11-07-2011 7:28am
    #1
    audreyp
    Registered Users Posts: 351 ✭✭


    Hi,

    My vet put my cat on Hills R/D as he was 1kg overweight (or therabouts!) Does anyone know of any alternative? I know for dogs there are Burns etc, but what is the best diet food for cats? Also I looked on Zooplus and there isn't a Hills R/D option on it. Are those foods only available at a vet's clinic?

    Any advice is appreciated!


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    #2
    Themadhouse
    Registered Users Posts: 952 ✭✭✭Themadhouse


    You can only get it through a vet.
    In my experience the light food doesn't work. We lower the amount recommend on what ever food we feed. The recommended amount seems to be too much for all my guys, including my dog. We slowly pull down the amount given over time and see how much they actually need to keep them full without over feeding. Oh we also feed twice a day rather than free feed or we would have some huge bowling balls with legs! With one can we would encourage her to run up the stairs to eat her food as she wasn't the most energetic! It can take ages to pull weight down off a cat.
    A laser mouse also works really well for giving them a work out.


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    #3
    boomerang
    Registered Users Posts: 3,189 ✭✭✭boomerang


    It doesn't have to be a prescription food; Hills' Adult Light food has the lowest fat content of all the weight reduction foods for cats - 11% - and it's available in petshops. My aunt's cat is on it and he really likes it. His weight isn't going down though as he's allowed outdoors so he's getting access to other cats' food.

    Royal Canin is probably marginally better in terms of quality and they also do foods aimed at weight reduction, again available without prescription.

    With cats though I think the key thing is portion control. A friend of mine simply cut back on her indoor cat's normal food according to the vet's instructions. Her cat has had a fantastic result - he lost 1-2kg or so and has never looked better. He still gets a little sliver of tuna every day as his treat. :)

    Hills' r/d for dogs is awful stuff - hardly an ingredient in there that isn't a waste product from human food production - so I can't imagine the feline r/d is any better. While it might aid weight loss in the short term, it can't be good for your cat's overall health in the long term.


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