The Continued Chronicles of Dewey the Fat Cat
Written: Sep 25 '06 (Updated Sep 25 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Works, healthy, generally the best option...
Cons: EXPENSIVE
The Bottom Line: If you have a severely overweight cat or a diabetic cat, then Prescription Diet m/d is worth checking out. Talk to your veterinarian about feeding options as soon as possible.
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| lambchops's Full Review: Hills Science Diet Prescription Canine t/d |
When it comes to fat cats, I have something of a freak of nature. My cat Dewey is fat. Not fat like Maine Coon or fat like a little chubby. Dewey has rolls and rolls of puckered fat draping his squat frame. His orange and white cow-style print fur is uniquely perfect. He has a tube neck. His belly comes about a millimeter from dragging on the floor. He is too lazy to stand and eat and instead prefers to lay on his bulbous side whilst pawing individual nuggets of food from the overturned bowl. It is really a sad situation. At least he is a conversation piece.
That was just a few months ago. That was before I consulted a veterinarian worried about his lack of shape. That was also before Hill’s Prescription Diet m/d.
Hill’s Prescription Diet m/d is not available anywhere besides your local veterinarian. It is, as the brand name suggests, a prescription for sick cats. This particular formula was created for the health of diabetic cats. Dewey was not yet insulin deficient, but he was well on his way. Weighing in at around 23lbs, he was too lazy and unmotivated to exercise. Changing his food really was the only option and since traditional carbohydrate-based dry food was not working it had to be changed to protein-based food. I’d tried Iams, Science Diet, and about everything else on the market. What the vet told me was that carb-based cat food wouldn’t make an obese cat lose weight. Protein-based food would. And so went our conversion to m/d.
Dewey was put on one-half a cup a day total. We split that miniscule amount into three “meals.” Needless to say, this didn’t exactly please my 23lb cat. He was whiny, lazy, mean, and overall a bad animal for a few days. But then something changed. He began to realize his “schedule” and aside from begging for food every moment of every day (while awake, of course) he was happy. He even ran occasionally and played with a toy occasionally. It was a pleasant surprise.
Prescription Diet m/d was working. My cat was losing weight. Suddenly you couldn’t grab his fat cheeks—there was no fat! Suddenly his tube neck was a little less obvious. I waited for the next appointment with the vet for confirmation but I knew the food was doing its job. As it turns out m/d helped Dewey lose 3.5lbs in three months. That’s right. My cat is now below the 20lb mark which is quite an accomplishment to my mind. And he’s still a decent pet to boot.
As it turns out m/d is specifically formulated for cats with diabetes mellitus and also general obesity. It is one of two prescription options for fat cats by Hill’s. According to the literature it is a low-carb, high protein food with the “highest levels of L-Carnitine that alters a cats unique metabolism to reduce body fat and increase muscle mass.” I can’t say whether Dewey’s muscle mass has been increased but there is zero doubt that he has lost a good deal of body fat. My cat isn’t quite so embarrassingly obese. It is available in both the dry formula (which we use) and the canned formula. I can only vouch for the dry.
Dewey’s “target weight” is 17lbs. He is never going to be a thin cat according to the vet, but he can be a healthy feline. The biggest target weight on the back of the bag is 15lbs, but she chose to follow those guidelines for feeding. He gets a measly one-half cup a day. To start, we actually mixed his original Iams Weight Control and Hairball Relief with m/d over the first week or so. He is now obviously on m/d exclusively. He seems to like the flavor, then again any animal that hungry would eat just about anything. The vet is happy with a one pound a month loss and Dewey is on track. The literature mentions that you should not supplement with other food as it decreases the effectiveness of the formula. In addition, it is important to mention that if another cat gets into your fat cat’s food it will not harm them. m/d is formulated for the obese or diabetic cat, but other animals will only benefit.
Along with the high levels of protein and carnitine and low levels of carbohydrates, m/d has high levels of arginine and taurine and low levels of magnesium. This means nothing to me. What is important is that Dewey has gotten healthier while eating much, much less. There really is no better solution to help cure your morbidly obese cat. The only drawback to m/d is the price. It is expensive. I just spent $15 on a 4lb bag. Then again, when he eats so little it lasts a very, very long time as compared with the old Iams that I went through very quickly.
Hill’s Prescription Diet m/d is the best choice I ever made for Dewey. He is a healthier and better cat because of it.
Recommended:
Yes
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lambchops
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Member: Shelly T.
Location: Metro Detroit, Michigan
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Bye-bye CL hat. Hopefully I'll write some new reviews some time soon!
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