Hello!

My 7 y.o. shorthair kitty Pete the Cat had his annual checkup today. He has to eat the Hill’s science diet prescription z/d food for digestion care (not a new development, he’s needed this since he was just over 1 y.o.).

Over the last couple of years Pete has gained weight. He used to eat the canned z/d food, but he still was having symptoms (bowel issues) that he does not have on the dry version of the z/d. I add water to his kibble meal to help up his water intake, and he happily eats these meals 2x/day.

At today’s appointment, his vet recommended a joint supplement and weight loss due to his knees having strain on them and bending in the wrong direction a little bit due to the strain.

My question is this : how do I encourage weight loss while still feeding him the food that keeps his digestion healthy? He does play some with our other cats, and a little bit with toys. Unfortunately, his primary motivation is…food. We have 3 cats in addition to him, so they eat portioned out meals 2x/day and do not have free access to food during the day.

Thank you for any suggestions you can give!