MetaChat - AskMeCha: Fat cat.

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29 March 2007

AskMeCha: Fat cat. →[More:]I've been around cats quite a bit but I haven't usually been the primary cat person. Now I have my brother's cat Bert (indefinitely) and he was a bit fat when he came to me due to being on a continuous feeder.

I'm pretty sure Bert was about 22 pounds when I got him last October. I switched immediately from Purina Indoor Cat Chow to Purina 7+ Care Cat Chow as he's close to 13 years old. I also started feeding him a specific amount twice a day. It's helped a bit -- he got from being unable to climb up on my leg using his claws (!) to jumping up to the desk (but he still likes being picked up a lot).

I think his body type is a "7" here. He's still chubby, but he definitely has a waist. His weight is down to 20-21 lbs.

I've tried easing back on what I feed him just a tiny bit, but he turns into an awful whiner.

I'm thinking of switching to a diet cat food type, such as Purina ONE Healthy Weight.

Good idea? Don't bother, I'm doing fine so far? A different brand work for you?

He's still not a very active cat -- he just doesn't play with toys. (He's CAPABLE of going on a midnight tear through the house, up and down the stairs and back, every three or four nights or so. Usually he slowly waddles up or down those same stairs, though.) I have a string-on-a-stick thing and he likes to grab it but gets bored quickly. I just bought him a catnip toy and he ... ate the string (not really, just ripped it), tossed it around a bit, and got bored. He sometimes plays with a box of kleenex or some crumpled paper. But he ignores most other traditional cat toys like bells-in-balls, and mostly won't play with stuff at all unless I'm around. I can't seem to find something he likes to play, to boost his activity level. Ideas here appreciated too.

post by: stilicho at: 03:19 | 11 comments

My Peanut is a big kitty. She weighs about 17. One vet said she had to lose weight and put her on some prescription diet food that she didn't like [so she ate my other cat's regular food... my other cat ate the diet food which made her throw up the bright orange puke within minutes]. I took Pea to another vet that said yes, Pea is chunky but her weight is not dangerous and going a diet would annoy both me and the cat.

I feed my cats the Nutro indoor formula dry kibble. The "human grade" ingredients and lack of a lot of corn meal and other stuff cats don't naturally eat seems to agree with them. Indoor formula is for the less active cat.

I don't know if Bert needs to go on a diet or not. But if you want to give him more exercise, go get a laser pointer. My cats will want to play with that all day when other toys bore them. The trouble is I get bored faster than they do. But if I want to give Peanut a workout, I just have her chase the laser point back and forth across the room for a few minutes. She'll stop to rest and I can see she's breathing heavy and her heart is pumping fast from all the running.

posted by birdherder 29 March | 03:44

Seconding laser pointers. Also, small RC cars fascinate some kitties, but scare the living daylights out of others. My sister has a couple of cats, one of whom will chase her son's RC car until the battery goes flat, while the other one runs and hides under the couch, until the RC car noise is gone for several minutes.

posted by paulsc 29 March | 03:59

You say he's not an active cat — maybe it's because he's 13 years old. Not that he's necessarily too old to be active, but, just like humans, a cat who's been lazy his whole life is not likely to suddenly get active in old age.

Talk to a vet, doiy, but also think about this — 22 lbs minus 2 lbs means he's lost roughly ten percent of hi body weight. That's doing pretty good!

posted by Brittanie 29 March | 05:37

*his* body weight. arrg, even with that forced preview.

posted by Brittanie 29 March | 05:38

Don't feed Purina or any grocery store crap. Feed a quality cat food that you buy at a pet food store. Royal Canin indoor light (#37) has helped keep my kitties trim.

posted by matildaben 29 March | 09:51

After looking at that chart and seeing that both my girls are an '8', I'm switching them to Hill's Light.

posted by essexjan 29 March | 12:17

Echoing matildaben, grocery store food isn't the best for pets, although Purina One is the best of a bad lot. If you can, switch to a premium cat food from a pet food store. Royal Canin is good as well as Nutro Natural (which is what we feed our cats and dog).

And what Brittanie said - two pounds lost is wonderful!

posted by deborah 29 March | 13:29

I've got one "2" and one "8". That's super tricky. The skinny one loves to play with my giant clear yoga ball (which is 8x her size!) The yoga ball always wants to "right" itself because of the plastic button at the bottom — which is endlessly fascinating to her. She tries to get to it, nudging the ball all over the damn apartment! Hilarious. And no shameless plug for my weird, Rex kitty would be complete without this picture

posted by iamkimiam 29 March | 14:45

Swear I followed up, I wonder if I posted in the wrong thread.

Anyway, thanks for all the above -- I feel better about his weight progress (which is more like one pound and change, to be honest). As for the activity I'll try a laser pointer for one. It's not that I think he should be active like a kitten, it's more that I feel he's bored. He's a bit neurotic and wants attention more than I'm used to with cats.

posted by stilicho 29 March | 18:46

Nothing wrong with posting pictures of your pets, kim. In fact, it's greatly encouraged.

Also - are the large foreheads and small, wide faces typical of Devons? I haven't seen many photos, let alone any of them face to face. They're cute, but odd. Brain's name is dead on - what a resemblance!

PS: Welcome to Metachat!

posted by deborah 29 March | 21:52

I agree to stop the continuous feeder, stilicho. Cat gets bored, heads for a snack.

birdherder's vet made me laugh so much... "going on a diet would annoy both me and the cat". Sounds like a great vet, as opposed to one trying to sell you the cat fitness membership.

I could just picture fats the cat, being told, 'You're going on a diet'. Probably would bend his ears back, head off and take a dump under your bed.

All the pet food recalls in the news lately, I'd be leery buying stuff in the aisles. My Mom's abby, 18 years old, eats Hill's gd feline prescription diet, moist, supplied by her vet and Mom's cooking — anything, loves potatoes, mashed. Abby's usually live only 8 years.

It IS the same company, Hill's, that recalled one of it's dry products.

When I had cats, my vet told me to find the ones containing the least amount of ash.

posted by alicesshoe 30 March | 22:08

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