SOME ONE HELP ME WITH MY FAT CAT!

collingmommy
collingmommy Posts: 456 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
yes, u read it right.. I have a fat girl cat!!

Dusty is my 5 year old torti, she used to weigh in at a whopping 3 lbs! then, we got her spayed.. since then, she has grown to a hefty 10 lb girl. she was small enough at 2 years old that I could hold her in my hands ... now, I am not kidding, I cant pick her up with out the fear of hurting her and shes already got a tough time cleaning her self and she snores. Shes always been "my baby" although I have 3 other tom cats, dusty is my "not so little girl" . the part that I don't get is that I haven't changed her food or her eating schedule! is it possible that maybe shes not eating enough? I give her and her "brothers" 1/4 cup of purina indoor cat food at 530 am and one at 6 pm .. none of them eat table food. the other biggest cat I have, Gypsie,(6 years) is 17 lbs, he was 22 lbs!! and Nibbler is all hair, he may weigh 5 lbs he is (3years) Jax is the baby, he isn't even 6months old yet, so im not to concerned as im feeding him "purina kitten chow" I just need some input on my cat as I don't have the money to go to the vet.
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Replies

  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    is it possible that maybe shes not eating enough?

    Wtf? No.

    Some of your cats are eating too much and getting fat.
  • redsnapper8
    redsnapper8 Posts: 31 Member
    Is it possible she has a double life and is sneaking off to get fed by a neighbour on top of what you're feeding her?
  • nicolen160
    nicolen160 Posts: 197 Member
    My fat boy, Buddy, is my pride and joy and I love that he is huge! He looks like a lion walking through the house at 19lbs! LOL I also have a 15 yr old mama cat that only weighs 4lbs and she is so scrawy and sad looking, she has a overactive thyroid. But I love them just the way the are, my favorite animals :)
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    10 lbs isn't all that much for a cat. If you're concerned for her weight, take her to the vet and see what he/she says about it. Do you play with her at all? If not, then play with her a few times a day, each play session being 15ish minutes. Play until she's on the floor panting. Help her burn energy. There are also cat foods out there that are "weight control" and can help.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    Well, I'd think it's a change in her hormones. She's not as active or not burning as many calories, so she's gaining either because she's eating too much or not moving around as she used to do. You could try limiting how much food she gets, providing you can be that watchful (not a knock on you, but you can't watch cats 24/7).

    Any spayed/neutered cats I had got fat, but we did a free feed rather than portion out food at certain times.
  • minniejane
    minniejane Posts: 1
    It's an uncommonly known fact that an animals caloric requirements drop once they've been spayed. Once she was spayed, she actually needed to be fed less food.

    However, you really need to get to a vet. She could have an underlying condition that is leading to her weight gain because according to my calculations of what you say you feed her, she's not technically being overfed (do not take my word for this, the estimates are generally quite broad and are based on the average caloric content of dry cat food). Unless her calories in exceed her calories out, she should not be gaining weight so it's likely there could be an underlying issue.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    I walk mine around the block 3 times a day.
    hes a whopper fat cat.
  • babyj0
    babyj0 Posts: 531 Member
    I'm going to be weird one and ask for pics. I just love fat cats! They are so adorable. :love:
  • SpecialKitty7
    SpecialKitty7 Posts: 678 Member
    laser pen. the best $10 you can spend. run them 'till they pant. (and yes, cats can pant)
  • laserturkey
    laserturkey Posts: 1,680 Member
    Our female tabby weighs about 13 pounds and the vet says that's a healthy weight for her. She eats dry, light formula cat food, as much as she wants whenever she wants.
  • itscoezy
    itscoezy Posts: 33
    I just took my cat to the vet a few weeks ago and she weighs just over 10 pounds maybe 10.4 or something i can't remember exactly. I asked him if she needed to go on a diet and he said i wouldn't change a thing about her food or anything. He showed me this chart:

    http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://media.marketwire.com/attachments/200802/MOD-402887_weight-chart1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.thecatsite.com/t/239177/so-they-hate-the-good-stuff-and-question-on-how-much-to-give&h=600&w=800&sz=58&tbnid=scUSi584BFo5LM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=120&zoom=1&usg=__c88a7KMYQ5Sc5y8xhqPDRgkVX4A=&docid=XjwUqdR4sTUu2M&sa=X&ei=-yqBUq7XFcP7yAHEk4DIBQ&ved=0CDkQ9QEwAg

    So depending on where your cat fits on this chart you may or may not need to adjust it's food-intake. my cat is number 4 on this chart..

    Maybe there is a vet in your area that does a free first checkup? Almost all of the vets in my town do a free first appointment.

    Goodluck!
  • babyj0
    babyj0 Posts: 531 Member
    laser pen. the best $10 you can spend. run them 'till they pant. (and yes, cats can pant)

    It is so fun to watch as well. :tongue:
  • asp415
    asp415 Posts: 1,492 Member
    My kitty Boo weighed 17lbs, the vet asked me to switch him to diet Science Diet Formula, which I did & by the next year weighed 28lbs. I loved every muscular inch of him.

    Many years go by & he suddenly started losing weight, it turned out he was diabetic, I gave him insulin shots for several years, but he didn’t gain the weight back he stayed @ about 16-18lbs until he died. There no moral to the story, I just wanted to share my muscular kitty story. I say muscular instead of fat as he didn’t have belly flab hanging down, he wasn’t all gushy feeling either, so like any mom in denial I said he was muscular when people saw him. Some nicknamed him superman because he had broad shoulders like a superhero.

    No I did not give him table food, nor did I give him canned food, just plain old dry cat food.
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    yes, u read it right.. I have a fat girl cat!!

    Dusty is my 5 year old torti, she used to weigh in at a whopping 3 lbs! then, we got her spayed.. since then, she has grown to a hefty 10 lb girl. she was small enough at 2 years old that I could hold her in my hands ... now, I am not kidding, I cant pick her up with out the fear of hurting her and shes already got a tough time cleaning her self and she snores. Shes always been "my baby" although I have 3 other tom cats, dusty is my "not so little girl" . the part that I don't get is that I haven't changed her food or her eating schedule! is it possible that maybe shes not eating enough? I give her and her "brothers" 1/4 cup of purina indoor cat food at 530 am and one at 6 pm .. none of them eat table food. the other biggest cat I have, Gypsie,(6 years) is 17 lbs, he was 22 lbs!! and Nibbler is all hair, he may weigh 5 lbs he is (3years) Jax is the baby, he isn't even 6months old yet, so im not to concerned as im feeding him "purina kitten chow" I just need some input on my cat as I don't have the money to go to the vet.


    10 pounds is a normal weight for a cat. Cats will lose weight when you feed them wet food and gain some weight when you only feed dry. If you are concerned about your cat, ask a vet to look at her. Again, 10 pounds is NOT fat! 3 pounds is the weight for a kitten. 17 pounds is overweight, 22 pounds is VERY overweight.
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
    I have 3 spayed females. My smallest is 8 pound, largest is 10. The vet has said they're all perfectly healthy.
  • castlerobber
    castlerobber Posts: 528 Member
    I give her and her "brothers" 1/4 cup of purina indoor cat food at 530 am and one at 6 pm .. none of them eat table food. the other biggest cat I have, Gypsie,(6 years) is 17 lbs, he was 22 lbs!!

    I've had this problem with my kitties.

    Cats are obligate carnivores, something I didn't know until a year or two ago. That means they have to eat meat; it isn't optional. They cannot survive on a vegetarian diet.

    I used to feed my cats only the Purina indoor dry cat food. Even though I measured out the amount the vet said to give them, a couple of them just got fatter and fatter. The ones that stayed trim were the ones that went out and hunted (we live in the country).

    Once I found out about meat-eating being required, I switched them to canned cat food (almost entirely meat) for their evening feeding. They've all stopped gaining weight, and the heaviest one has lost a pound or two. Their coats are softer and shinier, instead of being rough. If I could afford to do it, I'd drop the dry food altogether and go to canned food for both feedings, or ideally feed them unprocessed meat. But this has helped some.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    My kitty chunked up when we switched her to an inside cat...gained 3lbs
  • miranda_mom
    miranda_mom Posts: 873 Member
    My cat is about 10 lbs. and the doctor said that's the perfect weight for him. (He looks a lot bigger though because he's a longhair). Three lbs. is what mine weighed when they were tiny babies.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    I'm going to be weird one and ask for pics. I just love fat cats! They are so adorable. :love:

    And this if it wasnt such a risk to their little kitty heart I'd say make em' all fat
  • punkinkat
    punkinkat Posts: 85 Member
    I don't think a 10 lb cat is all that much to worry about... Jeez, my boy Jack was just under 30 lbs before I got him on a "program." Even at his max weight, he was in good health and still acted frisky; he just loves to snack even more than his Mortal Mama does :)

    We have to do separate feedings for our kitties, or Jack would eat both bowls himself. I try to feed the little one when Jack is asleep or outside, otherwise he can make it rather uncomfortable for the other kitty. I actually feed the little one behind closed doors -- seems to make Jack less likely to lash out in jealous anger.
  • emartin17
    emartin17 Posts: 123 Member
    laser pen. the best $10 you can spend. run them 'till they pant. (and yes, cats can pant)
    ^^this!!! and yes cut back on food. there is no reason to see your vet- they will give you the schpeil about changing the food to a special dietary one.
    I would just recommend that you switch the cats off purina, that stuff is made of crap.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    My sister's cat was getting fat. The vet told her to switch from dry to wet food. It worked. Don't try to get the weight off fast, though. Quick, dramatic weight loss can be fatal to cats. Something about how their liver metabolizes. I'm too lazy to Google it.
  • lydbug08
    lydbug08 Posts: 73 Member
    yea, 10 lbs really isnt all that much. i have a fat cat too. he was a 27 pounder, then i changed his food to higher end food and restricted how much i was giving him. he was on evo brand, but then they had all these recalls so my vet recommended nature's variety instinct dry kibble. i have him on 1/4 cup twice a day and he gets about 2 tbs wet food as a treat. he also gets a few kibbles of greenies and temptations treats, but i really try to limit those w/ him. he's lost 5 lbs, but he still has a ways to go. it's hard w/ cats, like my vet explained, some cats just have slower metabolisms. i know you dont have money for a vet, but i agree w/ the person who posted there could be an underlying problem. get her checked out, but truthfully, at 10 lbs, i wouldnt worry unless she keeps putting on weight.
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    The New York Times this weekend had an editorial on the obesity epidemic in this country. It said that a little known aspect of this epidemic is that our pets and our lab animals appear to be getting fatter over time too. This editorial said that, as far as the experts can tell, this is happening even though the animals really aren't eating more than they used to.
    The point of the editorial was that the rising level of obesity is a bit more complicated, probably, than just a lack of willpower and bigger soda drinks.
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
    My sister's cat got really fat, wasn't even able to jump much and was mean. She put it on a diet, lost a bunch of weight and he is much more confident now. He has a fair amount of loose skin but is much more playful.

    Funny, sounds a lot like humans. :laugh:
  • cmw822
    cmw822 Posts: 3
    First of all, stop feeding your cats garbage food. Go get them something that has real food in the ingredients (not "by-products") and preferably grain-free.
  • JoyeII
    JoyeII Posts: 240 Member
    Are you separating them when they eat? Are you watching them? How do you know they aren't finishing their food, then eating one of the other cat's food as well?
  • IPAkiller
    IPAkiller Posts: 711 Member
    disappointed.gif
  • aleggett321
    aleggett321 Posts: 186 Member
    Your cat's weight doesn't sound like a problem but the crud you're feeding her certainly is. Cats don't naturally eat carbs but four out of the first five ingredients in Purina are grains. Find a food with actual meat in it. It might help keep her at the weight you want and she will definitely be healthier.
  • castlerobber
    castlerobber Posts: 528 Member
    First of all, stop feeding your cats garbage food. Go get them something that has real food in the ingredients (not "by-products") and preferably grain-free.

    Any suggestions for brands?

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