Any tips for getting my cat on board with my new lifestyle?

Options
2

Replies

  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,298 Member
    Options
    Don't let him do the shopping. Please ask him is he likes mushrooms as one of mine did.
  • Char231023
    Char231023 Posts: 702 Member
    Options
    Throw him out! you don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

    Go ahead and send him my way I love cats and carbs.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,946 Member
    Options
    97f753854a9e90f00e13e0e0391fc561.jpg
  • catmaster
    catmaster Posts: 34 MFP Moderator
    Options
    Please be kind to the cats.

    or else.


    gumpy-cat-fire.jpg?resize=720%2C480
  • Badger6170
    Badger6170 Posts: 17 Member
    Options
    Sleeper1968 wrote: »
    I asked my cat about this, specifically what his thoughts were on ketogenic diets, carbohydrate removal, glycogen depletion, and the resulting effects on the body. He said 'meow' and brought in a half eaten bird. I'm not quite sure what he meant by that, but I think he approved.

    He wanted you to switch to a paleo diet?
  • BruinsGal_91
    BruinsGal_91 Posts: 1,400 Member
    Options
    FabianMommy wrote: »
    I recommend you buy him a Fitbit and get him to see a therapist pronto, also take his credit card.

    This cat wears a Fitbit. Not sure if he sees a therapist though.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,359 Member
    Options
    lesleyloo7879 wrote: »
    This it the third cat thread today.....

    Don't push your lifestyle on to your cat...let your cat make his own choices he is an adult cat! If he chooses to lay in his bed of Cat nip and be fat who are you to judge .....and if he is still a kitten FOR SHAME ON YOU!!!!!

    Yeah, this! Trying to bully housemates into a new lifestyle is only for boyfriends, girlfriends, fiances, and spouses. Have you been reading the forums? SMH.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    Options
    .
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
    Options
    This is why I only deal with dogs. They're always quick to please.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    edited April 2016
    Options
    kkenseth wrote: »
    Get a dog.

    ^^^This. My dog chases my cats. Everyone is too tired at the end of the day to *kitten* about what I'm feeding them or myself. My house, my rules.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    Options
    Maybe if you tell him he's fat and rub his belly he'll be shamed into eating carrots.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Options
    I find this ironic considering cats are obligate carnivores. ;)
  • starwhisperer6
    starwhisperer6 Posts: 402 Member
    Options
    He is just feeling insecure, he thinks if you get to a healthy weight you will run around with the other cats and leave him behind. Just sit down with him and explain that he is the only cat for you, that you are on this journey only for you, and you really want HIM with you for it.
  • Char231023
    Char231023 Posts: 702 Member
    Options
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    I find this ironic considering cats are obligate carnivores. ;)

    Unless you have a cat like mine, who will eat dry rice chex, popcorn, nilla wafers, and string cheese.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    edited April 2016
    Options
    Char231023 wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    I find this ironic considering cats are obligate carnivores. ;)

    Unless you have a cat like mine, who will eat dry rice chex, popcorn, nilla wafers, and string cheese.

    then your cat may be diabetic. :( If not, ensure that any of that is cut out immediately so that he doesn't develop it.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2387258/

    "A commonly raised issue with regard to cat foods is the suitability of carbohydrates in dry foods for cats. Cats are recognized to have evolved as obligate carnivores, consuming foods (small mammals, insects, birds) containing mostly water, protein, and relatively little carbohydrate or fat. Studies have shown that cats are less efficient than some other mammals are at metabolizing dietary carbohydrates under certain circumstances. This observation appears to have led to speculation that long term feeding of carbohydrates may have detrimental effects on the health of cats. Concerns have been raised that some association between the carbohydrate content of dry cat foods and risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) may exist,"

    I'm totally not joking though. if your cat is purposely eating carbohydrates he may very well be diabetic. this is a classic warning sign of diabetes, and exactly what happened to my cat who passed away a few years ago. At the time i was ignorant of what is and is not a species specific diet (i fed him dry cat food, and free fed) and ultimately he became diabetic, we tried insulin daily, before he finally fell into ketoacidosis and passed.

    I make it my mission now to educate pet owners on the importance of a species specific diet, high in protein and water, and low in fat and carbs (to no carbs).

    http://www.catinfo.org/
  • megzchica23
    megzchica23 Posts: 419 Member
    Options
    I don't know. I have one cat that can't stop eating and her sister is too busy playing and hardly eats. Then I have an old cat that I have to set her in her cage her food or she just goes and lays in some corner and never eats...
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
    Options
    I tried giving my underweight cat wet food to fatten her up. She loves the wet food, but is not putting on weight. Vet says she might be eating less dry food (though she still eats it) and running around more to compensate. So therefore, my cat is smarter about maintaining her weight than her owner is.

    She does occasionally lick plastic though, so only so smart...
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    edited April 2016
    Options
    blues4miles wrote: »
    I tried giving my underweight cat wet food to fatten her up. She loves the wet food, but is not putting on weight. Vet says she might be eating less dry food (though she still eats it) and running around more to compensate. So therefore, my cat is smarter about maintaining her weight than her owner is.

    She does occasionally lick plastic though, so only so smart...

    wet food is not more fatty or even higher in calories than dry cat food.

    Sorry, doesn't work that way. I don't know why people think this or something.

    Anyways, dry cat food is bad for cats because it's usually high in plant proteins (which they cant use), carbs, and it's low in water which they should be getting 70% of their water from their food as they have a naturally lower thirst drive.

    If your cat is underweight and losing weight and drinks a lot and peeing a lot this is also a common side of diabetes. So is "pica" or eating/licking things that aren't food. Cats are generally "eat as much as i can" creatures, so if it's not putting on weight you either aren't feeding enough calories OR it has some sort of disease like thyroidism, diabetes, etc.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    Options
    I had a clerk at our local Petco tell me that cats naturally eat peas in the wild when I asked why she was recommending a pea-protein based diet for a carnivorous animal. Beware, Gardeners! LOCK UP YOUR PEAS!

    Anyway, as to cats bringing in Twinkies and Little Debbie Snack Cakes, etc, it comes down to your own will-power. You have the ability to resist a twinkie or a headless goldfinch, or even a spider with only three legs left. Don't put it on your cat if you can't resist. ;)
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
    Options
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    blues4miles wrote: »
    I tried giving my underweight cat wet food to fatten her up. She loves the wet food, but is not putting on weight. Vet says she might be eating less dry food (though she still eats it) and running around more to compensate. So therefore, my cat is smarter about maintaining her weight than her owner is.

    She does occasionally lick plastic though, so only so smart...

    wet food is not more fatty or even higher in calories than dry cat food.

    Sorry, doesn't work that way. I don't know why people think this or something.

    Anyways, dry cat food is bad for cats because it's usually high in plant proteins (which they cant use), carbs, and it's low in water which they should be getting 70% of their water from their food as they have a naturally lower thirst drive.

    If your cat is underweight and losing weight and drinks a lot and peeing a lot this is also a common side of diabetes. So is "pica" or eating/licking things that aren't food. Cats are generally "eat as much as i can" creatures, so if it's not putting on weight you either aren't feeding enough calories OR it has some sort of disease like thyroidism, diabetes, etc.

    Maybe you haven't owned very many cats. I have had the "eat until full" cats and the "binge until I throw up" cats. She has dry food out all the time, I am not limiting her access to food. The wet food was to entice her to eat more, not because I think it has magical properties, nor did I state anything about it being higher calorie.

    Dry food bad for cats? Not generally. In fact, cats who don't chew dry food can get tooth/gum problems if they are restricted to only eating wet foods. Maybe you should talk to your vet, like I talked to mine for all this info. She is not underweight such that they are concerned, just slightly below average. Stop suggesting everyone's cats on here have diabetes.

    Ingredients in my cat's dry food: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Dried Beet Pulp, Dried Egg Product, Natural Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Bisulfate, Choline Chloride, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dicalcium Phosphate, DL-Methionine, Carrots, Tomatoes,Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Spinach, Taurine, Fructooligosaccharides, Green Pea, Minerals (Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide), Dried Apple Pomace, Calcium Carbonate, Rosemary Extract

    So...chicken first ingredient. Bunch of other meat sources of protein in there. Profile recommended by AAFCO. Who probably know more about cat nutrition needs than you or I.

    I have had cats with kidney and urinary issues where they drank more and am familiar with those symptoms, my cat does not drink more than normal. Cats licking plastic is a pretty common phenomenon and they do it for a variety of reasons that don't always track to some issue with eating non-food (she doesn't eat it, she just licks it). My last cat was afraid of plastic bags, too bad there are no cat psychologists.

Categories