My cat is fat

[Malleus, Incus, Stapes!]

Just got back from the vet. The verdict: Tikva tips the scales at 16 pounds.

Not that it exactly comes as a shock. I knew my tabby was tubby. Just not that tubby.

Now I get to put my always-hungry kitty on a diet. Oh, what fun!

Wish me luck.

P.S. Any advice for convincing Tikki she's not about to starve to death?

[Meatros]

Can you put fiber in her meals??

[Malleus, Incus, Stapes!]

The vet gave me some special diet food. Actually, she already was on diet food, but this is extra-extra-diet food.

[Anne Neville]

Tikva is a pretty kitty.

If I only had one cat (I have two, which really complicates putting one on a diet), I might get one of these treat balls and put her food in that (assuming she's fed dry food and likes to play with toys like that, as my Luna is and does). That way, she gets some exercise while she eats.

[Hakuna Matata]

That isn't fat.

Our cat is 23 pounds...wait he is 21 pounds now after the last visit to the vet. We have him on a special diet now to lose weight. But he is a healthy cat--part Maine Coon cat which is a large breed. We don't realize how big he is, until someone else comes over and the exclaim 'damn that cat is huge!" and we focus on him. The vet would like him at 18 pounds or so if we can get him there, if not, hey he is 8 years old and if he makes it a couple more years I am happy. But we will follow the vet's advice and see if we can slim him up a bit more. The two pound loss was over about 6 months.

He is a lovable smoosh though, very easy going, good natured and likes people, especially their feet. The problem is if he sleeps on your feet at night--you can't move them. Try moving 21 pounds with your feet at 2 am.

As for advice--dont' have any. The diet food he is on is supposed to expand and fill him up with less food. I guess it is working but he still is right there at feeding time and wolfs it all down and then cries for more. That part drives me crazy.
Good luck!

[AuntiePam]

Tikva is lovely! Mick is 18 pounds and has a waddle, but he's 15 years old and has no trouble leaping three feet to get to a window, or running through the house lickety split chasing phantoms, so he eats what he wants. The other cat is on the thin side. I put out two cups of Iams in two dishes every other day. If I forget, they yell at me and lead me to the dishes in case I've forgotten where they are.

[Sudo Intellectual]

Othello is 19 pounds and is just big boned. Seriously though, the vet is fine with his weight because he's just an exceptionally long, tall, large cat. He's a huge cat, but he's not fat. (I swear this is not denial).

[Malleus, Incus, Stapes!]

Originally Posted by Anne Neville

Tikva is a pretty kitty.

If I only had one cat (I have two, which really complicates putting one on a diet), I might get one of these treat balls and put her food in that (assuming she's fed dry food and likes to play with toys like that, as my Luna is and does). That way, she gets some exercise while she eats.

I tried that. She wasn't interested.

[cwthree]

Originally Posted by Malleus, Incus, Stapes!

P.S. Any advice for convincing Tikki she's not about to starve to death?

Ooh, pretty girl! Seriously - you're talking about an animal that can sit in front of a bowl overflowing with food while crying piteously in that voice just screams, But There's Nothing to Eeeeeeeat Heeeeeere!

You'll have to learn to harden your heart and close your ears, Malleus.

[Markxxx]

Is she getting food anywhere else? I had a dog when I was little and the entire neighborhood was using him as a garbage disposal.

Neighbour)

Well I was going to use that hambone to make soup, but he looked so hungry.

The dog was 40 pounds overweight. Another neighbor had a driveway that ran up next to our fence. She actually bought dog biscuits, and gave him some every time she came home from work.

He was the only big dog in the neighborhood so everyone knew him and liked him, and apparently fed him.

He eventually lost the weight but make sure your cat isn't fooling people into feeding it. Animals are awfully cute and can manipulate people

[Kalhoun]

I'll see that fat cat and raise you a 24-lb lard-ass: http://www.flickr.com/photos/karlen/573724037/

He's trimmed down considerably in the last couple years. He's down to 19 and change. I think it's due to him being FIV+.

[Zsofia]

Laser pointer. Run her up some walls for half an hour a day.

[Soul Brother Number Two]

Pick up the food. Pick up the food. Pick up the food.

That's it and that's all. Some cats can self-feed and some cats can't. She will stop hollering after awhile. Mighty Manfred the Wonder Cat is hee-uuge. And fat. Got well over 20 pounds at one point. We wouldn't pick up the food for the longest time cuz Rudy ate, like, 2 bites at a time. But we finally picked it up, put it down for 20 minutes twice a day, and Rudy didn't starve. And Teh Fatty lost some weight.

[SaharaTea]

Originally Posted by Kalhoun

I'll see that fat cat and raise you a 24-lb lard-ass: http://www.flickr.com/photos/karlen/573724037/

He's trimmed down considerably in the last couple years. He's down to 19 and change. I think it's due to him being FIV+.

I love your cat! I've always been a sucker for black & white lard-asses. What's his name?

[Kalhoun]

Originally Posted by SaharaTea

I love your cat! I've always been a sucker for black & white lard-asses. What's his name?

His name is Domino, a.k.a. "The Good Boy With The Nice Face." We are crazy about him. Just the sweetest Hitler Kitty you'll ever meet!

[Oakminster]

So what if it's fat? It's a cat, not a swimsuit model. If it lived outdoors, odds are it would have a much shorter life. Let kitty eat as much as kitty wants. That's one of the major perks of being domesticated.

[gigi]

Originally Posted by AuntiePam

Mick is 18 pounds

Hee. My co-worker has a cat who sits on his butt like that on the couch, legs stuck out. I think he is 20+ pounds.

[Queen Tonya]

My tortie is underweight, on the other hand. There isn't a treat manufactured that she likes, she won't eat people food other than the infamous tuna water, but no actual fish is welcomed. I've tried the chi-chi expensive little single-serve canned stuff, nothing doing. She'll eat whatever crunchies are put down, however, and at 8 years old and 7 1/2 pounds, we're back to feeding her enriched kitten food.

The vet just glares at me, even as he admits she's perfectly healthy, like I'm purposefully starving the fuzzbutt.

Obviously, we just need to get our cats together, your place or mine?

[Nutty Bunny]

My 13 year old Mr. Bean is about 25 pounds the last I checked. He's an indoor cat, so as Oakminster says, we let him eat what he wants. It's not like he's eating human food, just dry cat food and some treats. His taste for treats has increased in the last couple of weeks. He can't get enough of them lately which is weird for him, since he didn't really care if he got treats at all until recently.

I may weigh him when I get home. I suspect he's a little bigger now.

[Johnny L.A.]

So now I'll dine
And eat all up
This cat of mine

[Kalhoun]

Originally Posted by Oakminster

So what if it's fat? It's a cat, not a swimsuit model. If it lived outdoors, odds are it would have a much shorter life. Let kitty eat as much as kitty wants. That's one of the major perks of being domesticated.

It's hard on their little kitty hearts, or so I'm told.

[Oakminster]

Originally Posted by Kalhoun

It's hard on their little kitty hearts, or so I'm told.

That's probably true. Maybe a couple extra pounds will shorten its life by some unknown amount, but that time comes off the end, which ain't always quality time anyway. However, if you asked the cat, I bet it would vote to stay fat and eat all it wants.

[Lynn Bodoni]

I'm going to agree with Oakminster here. The cat really doesn't care if it will die a year or two sooner, when it is half-blind and in kidney failure. Unless the cat is having serious problems right now, let it eat what it wants if it's just a little tubby.

I'd consider serious problems to be things like the cat can't move easily, it can't clean itself properly, or has diabetes or something of that nature.

Let the cat be a happy cat. Certainly you don't have to let it eat butter, or give it other really fatty or high calorie foods, but don't put it on a starvation diet and make it suffer.

[lizardling]

I have a couple Maine Coon mixes too. Daniel the Terrible is 24 pounds while his daintier (and neurotic) sister Miss Minx is 19 pounds.

The vet tells me Daniel needs to lose weight. Unfortunately the super special diet food from the vet also leads to gastric issues in Miss Minx, sigh.

[ShadowFacts]

We had a vacuum-eater cat (sadly now gone). The breeder we got him from recommended feeding him green beans in addition to his food. Apparently it is very low calorie and healthy, but fills him up. He absolutely loved them, more than his regular food, and it kept him at a healthy weight.

PS. Tikva is a beautiful cat.

[Zsofia]

Well, shit, let's let Uncle Raymond be happy, too. He's got the sugar, but he wants his groceries (seriously, that's what he calls it) and the devil take the consequences. Honestly, who cares?

ETA - if it isn't clear, Uncle Raymond is not a cat. He is a very stubborn human being. You can't make him give up his groceries, but you can see that he OUGHT TO.

[jsgoddess]

I were dealing with allergic issues in itty bitty Cosmo Kitty, so I switched over to a non-grain food, and all of the tubby kitties in the household lost weight and looked great. I free feed Merrick B.G. (Before Grain). It looks more expensive, but lasts longer than Iams and the like.

[ShermanAter]

Looks like you are starving that kitty to me.
Feed the damn thing.

[Lynn Bodoni]

Originally Posted by Zsofia

Well, shit, let's let Uncle Raymond be happy, too. He's got the sugar, but he wants his groceries (seriously, that's what he calls it) and the devil take the consequences. Honestly, who cares?

ETA - if it isn't clear, Uncle Raymond is not a cat. He is a very stubborn human being. You can't make him give up his groceries, but you can see that he OUGHT TO.

Yes, let Uncle Raymond (a human) be happy too. YOU might be happy with the thought that you can extend your life a few years, or a decade or so. Maybe Uncle Raymond would rather be happy NOW, rather than live a little longer in misery.

I am not convinced that a longer life is a happier one, for humans or for other animals. In fact, from what I see, people (and animals) tend to suffer greatly if they live very long lives. It's not pretty, and it's not pleasant.

If you want to have a cat live the longest life possible, then don't get one as a pet. Don't let it think that its happiness matters to you. Just treat it as a scientific subject, and don't let it become attached to you and think that you love it. I'd rather have a happy cat than have one think that I'm deliberately being mean to it. It's one thing to get it vaccinated, that happens once a year and is over with, and the cat is able to get on with its life. It's quite another thing for the cat to be convinced that you are starving it. The cat does not understand that the vet thinks it should lose a pound or two. The cat just knows that the person who it loves, and who it thought loved it, is now not feeding it. Or at least, not feeding it anything that it thinks of as food. That's just torturing the poor kitty.

[Kalhoun]

Originally Posted by lizardling

I have a couple Maine Coon mixes too. Daniel the Terrible is 24 pounds while his daintier (and neurotic) sister Miss Minx is 19 pounds.

The vet tells me Daniel needs to lose weight. Unfortunately the super special diet food from the vet also leads to gastric issues in Miss Minx, sigh.

Maine coons are naturally pretty huge, I think. To me, 24 lbs doesn't seem all that huge for that breed.

The rest of my cats are all about 7-8 lbs. They're dwarfed by Big Domino, but he's such a marshmallow...they always have the upper hand.

[panache45]

I used to have a 27-pounder. Good luck.

[FriarTed]

Originally Posted by AuntiePam

Tikva is lovely! Mick is 18 pounds and has a waddle, but he's 15 years old and has no trouble leaping three feet to get to a window, or running through the house lickety split chasing phantoms, so he eats what he wants. The other cat is on the thin side. I put out two cups of Iams in two dishes every other day. If I forget, they yell at me and lead me to the dishes in case I've forgotten where they are.

*sings* Bustofer Jones
is not skin and bones.
In fact, he's incredibly fat!

[FriarTed]

Originally Posted by Kalhoun

His name is Domino, a.k.a. "The Good Boy With The Nice Face." We are crazy about him. Just the sweetest Hitler Kitty you'll ever meet!

"Springtime for Kitler and Germany!"

[Cicero]

I had this.

I now have this.

It doesn't adequately display his barge arse. If I could fit him into a cage and take him to the vet I could get him weighed.

[Hanna]

I have found, over the years, that the diet 'food' from the vet does diddly-squat in reducing weight in felines. They're miserable, I'm miserable (because they are), and there is a lot of hate for meal times. If you free feed they'll just eat more food than normal, and if you don't they will pester you all the time because they're hungry!

With my tubby tabby, I got her to lose a few pounds by:

1. Switching to a grain-free canned food. Cats are obligate carnivores and don't need that corn- or rice -filled crap to help them lose weight. A nice, low carb food made of MEAT is perfect.

2. Feed on a schedule. Don't let them gorge all they want.

Well, that's what worked for me.

[Leiko]

With my probably-part Maine Coon cat Zathras (he was a barn cat at my aunt's, so we don't know his father, but even living the slightly underfed barn cat life as a kitten he's structurally large) the easiest way to get him to slim down a bit was to feed him MORE often.

If he complains that he's hungry- "Really I am look I can't even knock you over I am so SKINNY" he implies while tripping you into the fridge door- he gets between 2 tablespoons (estimate) and a half-cup of food- he only gets that much for breakfast. His urge to chew is satisfied, but the overall caloric load isn't too bad. The only reason he's not as thin as he could be is that my dad is a huge pushover and gives Zathras tons of different treats.

The other thing about his feeding is that he has to jump up to his food shelf before he is given food. If he doesn't jump, we decide he's not hungry enough, and if he does jump, it's a bit of exercise and he gets the food.

Boscibo's schedule idea is also a good one, but with the way my family works, it's easier to just feed Zathras more or less on-demand.

[Malleus, Incus, Stapes!]

Originally Posted by Oakminster

So what if it's fat? It's a cat, not a swimsuit model. If it lived outdoors, odds are it would have a much shorter life. Let kitty eat as much as kitty wants. That's one of the major perks of being domesticated.

Yeah, but Dr. Vet says that if I don't trim her down, she could get diebetes. Pretty good reason for dieting in my book.

[jsgoddess]

Originally Posted by Boscibo

I have found, over the years, that the diet 'food' from the vet does diddly-squat in reducing weight in felines. They're miserable, I'm miserable (because they are), and there is a lot of hate for meal times. If you free feed they'll just eat more food than normal, and if you don't they will pester you all the time because they're hungry!

With my tubby tabby, I got her to lose a few pounds by:

1. Switching to a grain-free canned food. Cats are obligate carnivores and don't need that corn- or rice -filled crap to help them lose weight. A nice, low carb food made of MEAT is perfect.

2. Feed on a schedule. Don't let them gorge all they want.

Well, that's what worked for me.

I agree with 1. I don't disagree with 2 but I haven't found it necessary.

[notfrommensa]

Originally Posted by Nutty Bunny

My 13 year old Mr. Bean is about 25 pounds the last I checked.

Maybe you should start getting Lite Beer for him instead of Miller Genuine Draft.

[Nutty Bunny]

Originally Posted by notfrommensa

Maybe you should start getting Lite Beer for him instead of Miller Genuine Draft.

Good call. That's what the vet recommended, too!

[Soul Brother Number Two]

Originally Posted by Lynn Bodoni

If you want to have a cat live the longest life possible, then don't get one as a pet. Don't let it think that its happiness matters to you. Just treat it as a scientific subject, and don't let it become attached to you and think that you love it. I'd rather have a happy cat than have one think that I'm deliberately being mean to it. It's one thing to get it vaccinated, that happens once a year and is over with, and the cat is able to get on with its life. It's quite another thing for the cat to be convinced that you are starving it. The cat does not understand that the vet thinks it should lose a pound or two. The cat just knows that the person who it loves, and who it thought loved it, is now not feeding it. Or at least, not feeding it anything that it thinks of as food. That's just torturing the poor kitty.

Lynn, with all due respect, this is anthropomorphization to the nth degree. The cat will get over not being fed as much as it wants to eat. It _will_ get over it. Furthermore, it will not believe that you, its human companion, loves it any less. You are attributing emotions and thought processes to it that it does not possess.

[Rico]

Behold. Kirstie Ashleigh.

Revel in the gloriousness of her 20 lb. presence.

And how does Her Highness sleep and eat? You'll never guess.

[jsgoddess]

Originally Posted by Soul Brother Number Two

Lynn, with all due respect, this is anthropomorphization to the nth degree. The cat will get over not being fed as much as it wants to eat. It _will_ get over it.

My experience doesn't match yours. Though I've never thought my cats thought they were unloved for being fed less, I've definitely suffered through years of cats becoming anxious and pesky because of less food. Constant begging or harassment is annoying.

Many cats are extremely food-oriented. An empty dish is anxiety-producing, even if they aren't hungry at that moment.

I've had other cats who didn't seem to care if they ever ate again. As with people, there are definite degrees of food obsession amongst cats.

[t-bonham@scc.net]

Originally Posted by Zsofia

Laser pointer. Run her up some walls for half an hour a day.

I agree with Zsofia here.

Cats (like humans) have a hard time reducing weight just by dieting. Increasing exercise to match the food intake is much more likely to be successful.

[Soul Brother Number Two]

Years, huh! Wow, that sucks. My cats definitely got over it after a month or two.