Fat cats, and people who feed them....

Options
24

Replies

  • flossicle
    flossicle Posts: 90
    Options
    My mum put my cat on a diet. I was horrified. But it turns out i was wayyy over feeding him and a lot of it was thru guilt @ me being out the house @ work or away so much. He had constant access to biscuits.. in 2 rooms none the less.. some in the kitchen and some in my bedroom where he slept, so if he woke up peckish in the night he didn't have to wander all the way down stairs to have a snack?!? He also had @ least 4 pouches of wet cat food a day plus a bit of whatever i was having, i'd deliberately buy him tins of tuna or chicken fillets. Sounds mental doesn't it.... Well anyway, he's a big boned cat but he was extremely over weight, the vet weighed him 1 time and i don't know who was more mortified, me or Lorenzo.. He was 7kgs!!

    I moved house and was unable to take him with me :cry: (the hardest decision of my life) and he's now happily settled living with my mum (his grandma) and she's since cut his biscuits down and he has warmed up butternut squash mixed in with his food every day.. this seems to have worked cos he's now lost a lot of weight (he can happily walk thru the garden without the grass tickling his belly) and he's healthier and it seems happier for being a bit trimmer..and hopefully has a lot more years left in him happily being spoit rotten by his grandma and me when i get chance to go home!

    Maybe i should've posted this on a cat site and not a weight loss site..but i got carried away talking about my boy and couldn't stop..sorry! :happy:
  • elainegsd
    elainegsd Posts: 459 Member
    Options
    My mum put my cat on a diet. I was horrified. But it turns out i was wayyy over feeding him and a lot of it was thru guilt @ me being out the house @ work or away so much. He had constant access to biscuits.. in 2 rooms none the less.. some in the kitchen and some in my bedroom where he slept, so if he woke up peckish in the night he didn't have to wander all the way down stairs to have a snack?!? He also had @ least 4 pouches of wet cat food a day plus a bit of whatever i was having, i'd deliberately buy him tins of tuna or chicken fillets. Sounds mental doesn't it.... Well anyway, he's a big boned cat but he was extremely over weight, the vet weighed him 1 time and i don't know who was more mortified, me or Lorenzo.. He was 7kgs!!

    I moved house and was unable to take him with me :cry: (the hardest decision of my life) and he's now happily settled living with my mum (his grandma) and she's since cut his biscuits down and he has warmed up butternut squash mixed in with his food every day.. this seems to have worked cos he's now lost a lot of weight (he can happily walk thru the garden without the grass tickling his belly) and he's healthier and it seems happier for being a bit trimmer..and hopefully has a lot more years left in him happily being spoit rotten by his grandma and me when i get chance to go home!

    Maybe i should've posted this on a cat site and not a weight loss site..but i got carried away talking about my boy and couldn't stop..sorry! :happy:

    Totally weight loss related. My only question is whether this belongs under "Success Stories"?
  • Oranda
    Oranda Posts: 121
    Options
    -Find out how much of your cat's food it should be getting per day (there should be a feeding guide on the bag and each food is different in it's caloric density)
    -You will probably need to feed less than what the feeding guide suggests in order for your cat to lose weight and not just maintain.
    -Look into different kinds of food. Talk to the people at the veterinary clinic you go to. In Canada we have many diets for weight loss in pets that are sold in clinics - some of them work to satiate appetite so your pet feels full even though they are on a restricted diet. These diets go through a lot of testing and are formulated with fibre etc.
    -Actually measure the food with a measuring cup and decrease the amount if you are also feeding treats and/ or wet food
    - Yes, there can be genetic factors to weight for cats too, but the biggest impact you can make is with how much you are feeding
    -Play with your cat. They need exercise just like the rest of us. Laser pointers and the toys that are like sticks with a string or toy on them work great - you may need to try a few different things to find out what your cat likes
    - Unfortunately when cats are young their owners assume that when they cry at them or try to get their attention, that they are hungry. This is not always the case. Although the cat may just be bored or wanting attention, many owners assume they need to be fed and it then becomes habit for the cat as well as the person to eat/feed. (Not saying this is what you did but it's good to keep in mind)
    -I don't know where you live but one of the big food companies in Canada (Medi-Cal) has a program (kinda like MFP) for pets. Your veterinary clinic may have this on their computer - ask. You have weigh ins and can regulate their food intake through the computer at the clinic to keep track of what is working for your pet. The program is called Slimfit.
    -Good luck with your cat!
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
    Options
    My cat was really fat - about 17 lbs on a not-super-large frame. I had been living with someone who also had cats, so it was hard to restrict his food intake when we left the food out for all the cats to graze off of all day. I moved into my own place, and started limiting his food. I switched him to a wet diet, due to some health problems he was having, and gave him the amount recommended by the vet (a can and a half, so a little over 8 oz. of wet food a day) . He no longer had dry food out all day for him to eat whenever he wanted. I rarely fed him scraps and only gave him treats once a day (at most). He dropped to a much healthier 12.5ish pounds. I've moved again and am living with some other people who love feeding him dinner scraps... plus he's getting more treats. I haven't increased his meal-time food, but he's definitely gaining weight again. :grumble:

    I highly recommend people get their cat's weight under control if at all possible - a cat my mom had developed diabetes (it's not just in humans!!) and that was NO fun.
  • elainegsd
    elainegsd Posts: 459 Member
    Options
    -Find out how much of your cat's food it should be getting per day (there should be a feeding guide on the bag and each food is different in it's caloric density)
    -You will probably need to feed less than what the feeding guide suggests in order for your cat to lose weight and not just maintain.

    I don't know if it is the same for cats as it is for dogs, but the feeding guidelines on the dog food bags have WAY too much food for the average dog. As my vet explained, the companies are there to sell as much food as possible...

    You may need to feed your cat some quantity of food that is less than (even significantly less than) what the bag recommends.
  • alantin
    alantin Posts: 621 Member
    Options
    My cat has always had food available all the time. Still, she is slim.. :huh:
  • elainegsd
    elainegsd Posts: 459 Member
    Options
    My cat has always had food available all the time. Still, she is slim.. :huh:

    LOL. Some people are lucky like that too!
  • alantin
    alantin Posts: 621 Member
    Options
    My cat has always had food available all the time. Still, she is slim.. :huh:

    LOL. Some people are lucky like that too!

    LoL
    She has brains enough to only eat when she needs to. :laugh:

    Some people aren't fortunate like that.. :blushing:
  • jhedeen
    jhedeen Posts: 22 Member
    Options
    Nikki get one of those laser lites, they go bizzerk.
  • Valtishia
    Valtishia Posts: 811 Member
    Options
    I have 2 male rats that seem to try to steal all the food. Sometimes I will give them a treat, like a grape, banana, popcorn, etc. I give them each one, rather than eating thier own they go and steal the other ones treat when they have stopped eating it and hide it. They will steal it from eachother for hours lol but then again, they are both chunky buggers.

    I had 2 female rats before these 2 and I had to make sure to give the big one her treat first or she would steal the treat right out of the slim ones mouth. I got them at the same size but the big one was almost twice the size once full grown.

    Even though we can control what we give them, we don't always control how much they eat lol
  • MireyGal76
    MireyGal76 Posts: 7,334 Member
    Options
    I also have a cat that is obese. I used to have two and they were free fed... He was thin, she was huge. She used to eat all his food so we put his food on a counter (she was too fat to jump up) in an attempt to control her intake.

    He has since passed away and she IS STILL obese.

    I've tried the following :
    - changed to canned food
    - two set meals a day

    I've moved into a two storey house and was sure all the stairs would help... But i wonder if maybe I'm not feeding her enuf and she's gone into starvation mode. Is this possible for cats?. Could it be a thyroid problem?

    Ps. My profile pics are not my cats... Those are my cousin's (aren't they cute?)
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,710 Member
    Options
    put all her dry food into a treat ball. that way she has to work for each bite. it'll stop her from getting bored and it'll make her food last for hours.

    TreatBallIndexImage.jpg
  • MireyGal76
    MireyGal76 Posts: 7,334 Member
    Options
    Lol. I tried that and it ended up being more exercise for me... Constantly getting that darn thing out from behind the couch or the chair. Se also liked kicking it down the stairs... Lol

    Maybe its time to try again!
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
    Options
    put all her dry food into a treat ball. that way she has to work for each bite. it'll stop her from getting bored and it'll make her food last for hours.

    TreatBallIndexImage.jpg

    That's a great idea, one of mine also plays fetch - honestly, you should see if your will, she loves chasing a paper ball and bringing it back to me. :laugh:
  • casy84
    casy84 Posts: 290 Member
    Options
    The quality of the food also matter, as it does for us. Most cat food has lots of grain in it and it shouldn't. Cats don't need to eat 'bread', that's like feeding them mc donald's every time. You should read the labels of pet food too and notice that cheap pet food=fast food.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,454 Member
    Options
    My cat eats as much as he likes (of high quality food) and he's slim! My dog was the same. My son's the same too, now that I think of it. I'm the only one who has a weight problem!
  • fitbum19
    fitbum19 Posts: 198 Member
    Options
    My cat is 8 lbs, she is petite. and i free feed her. the vet says that for her size, she is a healthy weight. and proof that free feeding will not always make your cat fat.
  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
    Options
    You should go to your vet for safe advice.
  • nannyal
    nannyal Posts: 50
    Options
    What are you saying, you are still over feeding your cat or yourself or both? Animals will always beg and yes i have given my dog food i was eating. She will literally eat anything. But i have forgiven myself for being silly and now she eats her food and is slinky, and i am losing weight.:smile: You can both be slim it takes time
  • lausa22
    lausa22 Posts: 467 Member
    Options
    If it was up to my boyfriend my cat would definitely be fat! My cat is just turning one so I feed him 3 small pouches and he has dry food overnight (so he doesn't wake up and cry all night because he's hungry) I also hardly feed him treats.
    But my boyfriend would feed him 3-4 pouches, dry food through the day, give him tons of treats each day, feed him ham, chicken, fish off his dinner! So I told him to stop but he does it whenever im not there. He just wants the cat to like him I suppose haha. Btw my cat is an indoors cat!

Categories