I need some help . I really want to find a better diet for my cat Smokey who is about 11 years old. He is neutered and all of his vaccinations are current.

About 4 years ago he was diagnosed with oxalate crystals. Our vet at the time prescribed Science Diet X/D. (A side note we were also moving at the time, which we do quite often being a military family. I'm sure he was pretty stressed out.)

Smokey is obese. He is currently 15 pounds (down from 17.5) which my current vet is telling me is about 5 pounds more than his ideal weight.

Here are the things that I have learned that I have been doing wrong (thanks to your show) and have contributed negatively to his health.

1. Smokey is on feline x/d, but it is dry. I now know dry food is a major no no. But when I try to give him wet, even when mixed with dry food, he vomits.

2. I was allowing him to free feed. My vet told me that this goes against how cats eat in nature and has turned him into a fat, lazy, couch potato. At his recommendation, I now feed him once a day and only leave the food down for 1 hour. Using this technique he has lost 2.5 pounds.

Here are my questions:

1. I know that I am feeding Smokey "kitty crack". How do I get him off the junk when he vomits every time I feed him wet food?

2. Do I need to feed him the x/d??? My vet doesn't offer any alternatives. Can you recommend an alternative diet?

3. How do I help Smokey continue to lose and get down to a healthy weight?

Smokey is an important part of our family. We want him to have a long healthy life. Please help me start doing the right things.

Thank you

Heather
New Bern, NC

The first thing you need to do is read the Q&A's on www.CatChatRadio.com to learn more about good nutrition for your Smokey and answers for many of your concerns. I spend a great deal of time answering and posting Q&A's and I wish more people would take advantage of them, since they have the answers to questions like yours.You would know that the dry prescription foods sold by vets both create and maintain life-threatening medical conditions in cats.

Dr Elizabeth Hodgkins, the official vet of Cat Chat, also suggested that you go to www.catnutrition.org to educate yourself.

We also want to assure you that your cat won't vomit all wet foods. You need to keep looking for a good canned (she should try Fancy Feast among others that are on the approved list (PDF File) at CatChatRadio.com) and or try raw (including Feline's Pride).

You definitely do need to switch foods because the dose of food you are getting now is not supplying his nutrient needs and he is likely to become diabetic soon if you don't get the carbs out of his diet.

By the way, you are not the cause of your cat's obesity - the recommendations from your vet are at the heart of the problem.

Tracie Hotchner