# My cat is fat **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 19, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-fat/500301 "2009-06-19T16:23:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-fat/500301/41 "2009-06-21T17:56:44Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-fat/500301/42 "2009-06-21T19:20:20Z")
Behold. [Kirstie Ashleigh](http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj247/modrico/ashyspread.jpg). Revel in the gloriousness of her 20 lb. presence. And how does Her Highness sleep and eat? [You’ll never guess](http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj247/modrico/ashyeat-1.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-fat/500301/43 "2009-06-21T19:41:23Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-fat/500301/44 "2009-06-21T23:57:14Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-fat/500301/45 "2009-06-22T00:14:54Z")
Years, huh! Wow, that sucks. My cats definitely got over it after a month or two. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-fat/500301.md?page=2)