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?
Can you put fiber in her meals??
The vet gave me some special diet food. Actually, she already was on diet food, but this is extra-extra-diet food.
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.
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!
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.
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).
I tried that. She wasn’t interested.
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.
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)
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
I’ll see that fat cat and raise you a 24-lb lard-ass: P6050008 | Karlen Sanberg | Flickr
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+. 
Laser pointer. Run her up some walls for half an hour a day.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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?
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.
So now I’ll dine
And eat all up
This cat of mine
