Cat Weight Loss Guide: How to Help Your Cat Lose Weight Through Exercise?
Cat Weight Loss Guide: How to Help Your Cat Lose Weight Through Exercise?
Feline obesity is a growing problem, and it can negatively impact a cat's health, leading to issues like arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease. To help your cat lose weight, you need a two-pronged approach: diet restriction and increased exercise. In other words, you need to reduce your cat's calorie intake and increase their activity levels to achieve a "calorie intake < calorie expenditure" balance.
Your Cat's Energy Needs
The amount of energy your cat needs each day is called their "daily energy requirement" (DER). This energy is composed of several factors, including "resting energy requirement" (RER), "exercise energy requirement" (EER), "thermic effect of food" (TEF), and "adaptive thermogenesis" (AT). However, in practice, only "exercise energy requirement" fluctuates significantly. Therefore, to increase your cat's calorie expenditure, we need to focus on how to increase their "energy requirement during exercise."
Calculating Energy Needs During Exercise
To calculate your cat's "exercise energy requirement" (EER), which is the number of calories they burn while walking or running, you can use the following formula:
```
EER = ERR (d BW^0.75)
```
Where:
EER: Exercise energy requirement (unit: calories)
ERR: Running energy requirement, similar to EER (unit: calories/km/kg body weight)
d: Distance (unit: km)
BW: Body weight (unit: kg)
While the formula looks complex, you can use tables to directly look up the calories your cat burns at different exercise distances. The following tables list the calories your cat burns while walking 10 meters and 1 kilometer:
Cat Energy Chart (10m)
| Weight (kg) | Calories Burned (kcal) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1.3 |
| 1.5 | 1.7 |
| 2 | 2.1 |
| 2.5 | 2.5 |
| 3 | 2.9 |
| 3.5 | 3.2 |
| 4 | 3.6 |
| 4.5 | 3.9 |
| 5 | 4.2 |
| 5.5 | 4.5 |
| 6 | 4.9 |
| 6.5 | 5.2 |
| 7 | 5.4 |
| 7.5 | 5.7 |
| 8 | 6.0 |
| 8.5 | 6.2 |
| 9 | 6.6 |
| 9.5 | 6.8 |
| 10 | 7.1 |
| 10.5 | 7.3 |
Cat Energy Chart (1km)
| Weight (kg) | Calories Burned (kcal) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 3 |
| 1.5 | 3.9 |
| 2 | 4.8 |
| 2.5 | 5.6 |
| 3 | 6 |
| 3.5 | 7 |
| 4 | 8 |
| 4.5 | 8.2 |
| 5 | 9 |
| 5.5 | 9.4 |
| 6 | 10 |
| 6.5 | 10.5 |
| 7 | 11 |
| 7.5 | 11.6 |
| 8 | 12 |
| 8.5 | 12.6 |
| 9 | 13 |
| 9.5 | 13.6 |
| 10 | 14 |
| 10.5 | 14.5 |
Exercise Needs for Cat Weight Loss
Using the tables above, you can calculate the amount of exercise your cat needs on a diet. For example, if you want to increase a 5 kg cat's daily calorie expenditure by 15 kcal (450 kcal per month), you need to make them exercise "target calorie expenditure 15 kcal / calories burned per 10m 4.2 kcal."
How to Increase Your Cat's Activity Levels
Once you know your cat's daily energy expenditure and have determined their exercise goals, you can start increasing their activity levels. The key is to ensure the exercise is intermittent, even if the distance is short, and gradually increase the amount of exercise.
Ways to Increase Your Cat's Exercise:
Play with your cat: Use interactive toys like feather wands, laser pointers, and toy balls to engage your cat's hunting instincts and encourage them to move.
Provide climbing structures: Cats love to climb and jump. Providing climbing structures allows them to expend more energy while playing.
Encourage exploration: Take your cat to new environments, like a balcony or garden, to allow them to explore and increase their activity levels.
Use exercise aids: Some exercise aids specifically designed for cats, like treadmills or cat wheels, can help them exercise indoors.
Important considerations:
If your cat has leg or back problems, do not force them to exercise.
For obese cats, start with a diet plan first, and gradually increase exercise levels after reaching a more ideal weight.
For very obese cats, consider "hydrotherapy."
Avoid over-exercising to prevent joint injuries in your cat.
Challenges with Exercise for Adult Cats
Adult cats generally play less, and for indoor cats, exercise opportunities are even more limited. Cats mainly rely on the following activities for exercise:
Walking around the room
Jumping to higher places
Moving around at night
Playing with their owners
Of these activities, the only thing an owner can consciously increase is the "time spent playing with you." However, many adult cats are unwilling to play with their owners, and due to the lack of pressure to hunt in the wild, and fatigue from obesity, exercising obese cats is not easy.
Cat Exercise Ability
Cats' muscles are primarily designed for sprinting, not endurance exercise. They are better at anaerobic exercise than aerobic exercise. This means that cats burn a lot of energy when exercising, but it is difficult for them to sustain prolonged aerobic exercise, which is a challenge for cats losing weight through exercise.
Reasons for Failure in Feline Exercise Therapy
Sudden exercise: For cats who haven't been exercising, sudden, prolonged exercise can lead to joint injuries and heart problems.
Over-exercising: Excessive exercise for cats can lead to joint injuries, aversion to exercise, and weight rebound.
Too rapid weight loss: Cats losing weight too quickly can increase the risk of rebound, musculoskeletal diseases, and aversion to exercise.
Other Considerations
Don't let your cat roam freely: Letting your cat roam freely increases their risk of getting sick or encountering traffic accidents.
Choose the right exercise method: Choose exercise methods suitable for your cat's age, health, and personality.
Conclusion
Helping your cat lose weight requires a long-term process that involves changing their diet and lifestyle. When increasing your cat's exercise, remember to be gradual, avoid sudden exercise and over-exercising, and choose exercise methods that are appropriate for your cat.
Feline obesity is a growing problem, and it can negatively impact a cat's health, leading to issues like arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease. To help your cat lose weight, you need a two-pronged approach: diet restriction and increased exercise. In other words, you need to reduce your cat's calorie intake and increase their activity levels to achieve a "calorie intake < calorie expenditure" balance.
Your Cat's Energy Needs
The amount of energy your cat needs each day is called their "daily energy requirement" (DER). This energy is composed of several factors, including "resting energy requirement" (RER), "exercise energy requirement" (EER), "thermic effect of food" (TEF), and "adaptive thermogenesis" (AT). However, in practice, only "exercise energy requirement" fluctuates significantly. Therefore, to increase your cat's calorie expenditure, we need to focus on how to increase their "energy requirement during exercise."
Calculating Energy Needs During Exercise
To calculate your cat's "exercise energy requirement" (EER), which is the number of calories they burn while walking or running, you can use the following formula:
```
EER = ERR (d BW^0.75)
```
Where:
EER: Exercise energy requirement (unit: calories)
ERR: Running energy requirement, similar to EER (unit: calories/km/kg body weight)
d: Distance (unit: km)
BW: Body weight (unit: kg)
While the formula looks complex, you can use tables to directly look up the calories your cat burns at different exercise distances. The following tables list the calories your cat burns while walking 10 meters and 1 kilometer:
Cat Energy Chart (10m)
| Weight (kg) | Calories Burned (kcal) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1.3 |
| 1.5 | 1.7 |
| 2 | 2.1 |
| 2.5 | 2.5 |
| 3 | 2.9 |
| 3.5 | 3.2 |
| 4 | 3.6 |
| 4.5 | 3.9 |
| 5 | 4.2 |
| 5.5 | 4.5 |
| 6 | 4.9 |
| 6.5 | 5.2 |
| 7 | 5.4 |
| 7.5 | 5.7 |
| 8 | 6.0 |
| 8.5 | 6.2 |
| 9 | 6.6 |
| 9.5 | 6.8 |
| 10 | 7.1 |
| 10.5 | 7.3 |
Cat Energy Chart (1km)
| Weight (kg) | Calories Burned (kcal) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 3 |
| 1.5 | 3.9 |
| 2 | 4.8 |
| 2.5 | 5.6 |
| 3 | 6 |
| 3.5 | 7 |
| 4 | 8 |
| 4.5 | 8.2 |
| 5 | 9 |
| 5.5 | 9.4 |
| 6 | 10 |
| 6.5 | 10.5 |
| 7 | 11 |
| 7.5 | 11.6 |
| 8 | 12 |
| 8.5 | 12.6 |
| 9 | 13 |
| 9.5 | 13.6 |
| 10 | 14 |
| 10.5 | 14.5 |
Exercise Needs for Cat Weight Loss
Using the tables above, you can calculate the amount of exercise your cat needs on a diet. For example, if you want to increase a 5 kg cat's daily calorie expenditure by 15 kcal (450 kcal per month), you need to make them exercise "target calorie expenditure 15 kcal / calories burned per 10m 4.2 kcal."
How to Increase Your Cat's Activity Levels
Once you know your cat's daily energy expenditure and have determined their exercise goals, you can start increasing their activity levels. The key is to ensure the exercise is intermittent, even if the distance is short, and gradually increase the amount of exercise.
Ways to Increase Your Cat's Exercise:
Play with your cat: Use interactive toys like feather wands, laser pointers, and toy balls to engage your cat's hunting instincts and encourage them to move.
Provide climbing structures: Cats love to climb and jump. Providing climbing structures allows them to expend more energy while playing.
Encourage exploration: Take your cat to new environments, like a balcony or garden, to allow them to explore and increase their activity levels.
Use exercise aids: Some exercise aids specifically designed for cats, like treadmills or cat wheels, can help them exercise indoors.
Important considerations:
If your cat has leg or back problems, do not force them to exercise.
For obese cats, start with a diet plan first, and gradually increase exercise levels after reaching a more ideal weight.
For very obese cats, consider "hydrotherapy."
Avoid over-exercising to prevent joint injuries in your cat.
Challenges with Exercise for Adult Cats
Adult cats generally play less, and for indoor cats, exercise opportunities are even more limited. Cats mainly rely on the following activities for exercise:
Walking around the room
Jumping to higher places
Moving around at night
Playing with their owners
Of these activities, the only thing an owner can consciously increase is the "time spent playing with you." However, many adult cats are unwilling to play with their owners, and due to the lack of pressure to hunt in the wild, and fatigue from obesity, exercising obese cats is not easy.
Cat Exercise Ability
Cats' muscles are primarily designed for sprinting, not endurance exercise. They are better at anaerobic exercise than aerobic exercise. This means that cats burn a lot of energy when exercising, but it is difficult for them to sustain prolonged aerobic exercise, which is a challenge for cats losing weight through exercise.
Reasons for Failure in Feline Exercise Therapy
Sudden exercise: For cats who haven't been exercising, sudden, prolonged exercise can lead to joint injuries and heart problems.
Over-exercising: Excessive exercise for cats can lead to joint injuries, aversion to exercise, and weight rebound.
Too rapid weight loss: Cats losing weight too quickly can increase the risk of rebound, musculoskeletal diseases, and aversion to exercise.
Other Considerations
Don't let your cat roam freely: Letting your cat roam freely increases their risk of getting sick or encountering traffic accidents.
Choose the right exercise method: Choose exercise methods suitable for your cat's age, health, and personality.
Conclusion
Helping your cat lose weight requires a long-term process that involves changing their diet and lifestyle. When increasing your cat's exercise, remember to be gradual, avoid sudden exercise and over-exercising, and choose exercise methods that are appropriate for your cat.
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