Cat / Mix - Answered 1407 days ago
My cat's weight has almost doubled since getting neutered last July. I give her a recommended amount of specialty dry food for weight control, but she keeps putting on weight. I'm concerned not only about diseases in her internal organs but also about her knees. Is there anything else I can do?
owner-avatar
Saoirse Walsh
Ireland
companion-avatar
Clover
Mix, 3 years old spayed female
user-avatar
Without some changes in behavior, Spaying or neutering your cat doesn't cause your pet to become overweight or obese. However, neutering is linked to an increased risk of weight gain if no change is made to what and how much you feed your pet after the surgery. Following neutering, prolactin (synthesised in the pituitary gland) is also shown to increase as does leptin (which is synthesised in the liver) and hyperleptinaemia has been found to induce obesity. An increase in food intake appears to be the most significant contributor when it comes to post-neutering weight gain. But to loose weight for many cats, the best way is with a canned diet food fed several times per day, rather than leaving food down all of the time. One of the reasons canned diet foods work better is because finicky felines often prefer wet food to dry.
icon
Read Other 5 Answers