Conference misery::feline_v1

>>    Any suggestions???
  

first, rule out any illness that may be a problem by having the cat
examined by your vet.  Then, with your vet's agreement, you have
several options:

	1) stop feeding the canned food.  Dry kibble is adequate for
	   her nutritional needs.  Feed a quality "lite" food, like
	   IAMS light or Science Diet Light and the cat should be
	   very healthy.  Brace yourself for her pitiful cries for
	   her canned food and don't give in.  Once she has been
	   changed over to lite food, she may be fine.  If not, you
	   may need to ration the dry kibble into feedings twice a
	   day - your vet can help you choose a food and determine
	   the amount to feed.  Advantages to this method : fewer dental
	   problems - less plaque buildup on teeth, and she won't feel
	   as "hungry" eating the lite kibble - you can feed her more
	   for the same amount of calories as regular kibble. 

	2) stop feeding so much canned food and ration the dry kibble
	   food as well.  Your vet can help you decide how much to feed
	   of both.  Advantages: she will lose weight if you strictly
	   control the food.  Disadvantage:  she will make your life
	   pretty miserable for reducing her food so much - lots of
	   crying.

	3) Kitty aerobics - exercise.  Get toys that the cat will
	   chase, or use a brightly colored scarf or whatever - drag
	   it around in front of her until she tries to pounce on it...
	   drag it all over the house - getting her to run some of the
	   FAT OFF HER BOD.  Jumping after dangling things is good too.
	   an active, daily play session with you will keep her alert
	   AND playful....the pounds will begin to melt off her figure.

	4) Get a kitty companion - a kitten will irritate her at first,
	   but after she adjusts, she will have a playmate - one that
	   will bug her to death until she plays.

    

Boy, I can relate to this one. We got Raisin 4 1/2 months ago. She was spayed
2 weeks before I got her, and she weighed 8 3/4 pounds when I brought her home
(at the age of 1 year). I had to take her back to the vet 2 weeks ago for a
plugged infected anal gland, and in 4 months she had gained 3 1/2 pounds, she
weighs in at 12 1/4 now. The vet had a fit!!!! They (she and my other cat
Snickers) are already eating Hills Lite, and even tho she spends a lot of time
as a couch potato, she also runs around the house at 60 miles an hour with
Snickers. Of course, Snickers is a slim trim 8 pounds. So we have cut back
on their food, and we try to sneak Snickers extra food when Raisin isn't
looking, which is pretty hard to do, since a cat can hear food 2 miles away.
And Raisin is a food vacuum cleaner, whereas Snickers is a nibbler. So we
have to watch if Snickers doesn't eat all of his dinner right away, we have 
to put it away so that Raisin doesn't gobble it down for him. SIGH. Raisin has
been told by the vet to lose 2 pounds.

Debbie Snickers and Raisin (aka widebody the 747 cat, aka hippo)

    
    I have the same problem with my female cat, Lady.  I spoke with
    either the lady at the Science Diet store, or my vet, (I can't
    remember which), and one of them told me that canned Science Diet
    Lite food actually has less calories than dry Science Diet Lite.
    So, there's a canned food that you can use if your kitty complains.
    I put Lady on a diet by feeding her about 3 Tablespoons of SDLite
    canned food in the morning.  All day long I leave out SDLite dry
    food.  However, over time, I've learned exactly what amount she
    needs and I've been slowely shrinking that.  Also before bed-time,
    Lady has play-time.  We aquired a bamboo shoot that's about as long
    as a fishing pole.  We tied a long piece of string to it.  We stand 
    at the foot of our bed and use the stick with string to make Lady
    run onto and around our bed.  This invloves lots of jumping and running
    and it seems to tire her out. 
    If you have another cat, then this dieting can be rough on the other
    kitty.  So Spike, Lady's brother, has 2 feeding times.  Although Lady
    was mad for awhile, Spike doesn't always get play time,so it all
    evens out.
    
    Good luck!
    Rachael
    

re: feeding one special foods to keep weight ON the cat while the other
cat(s) diet.

I'm a pro at this one.  The trick is that everyone gets a special something.
Nicky gets me overseeing his two extra feedings a day...no other cats are
allowed to eat the food I feed him at that time and I feed him high calorie
stuff.  Hannah gets some cuddles and tickles/play time right after I feed
Nick.  Sam is sleeping then so he isn't a problem...Tabs gets a vigorous
brushing with the "magic fingers" rubber brush to massage her back.  It keeps
balance in the house that everyone gets a "special".  Sorta like having
kids without having to put them through college.

Of course, I later brush Hannah, exercise Tabs, and brush and exercise Sam...
the real issue is that I and Marge give each cat a special treat around the
time that Nick eats his special feedings.  

After a few weeks, the fact that one cat eats while the others don't becomes
"normal" and isn't a problem anymore.

    Dry food is far higher in calories than canned so I'd concentrate
    on that first.  I believe in feeding both canned and dry but what
    I do is I limit the amount of dry I make available - when its gone,
    its gone, until later.  I like the idea of getting the lite brands.
    Fortunately my gang likes the "lites".  They still get regular
    canned Perform however and I try to make it possible  for the kittens
    to eat perform kitten dry - but its tough to keep it away from 15 lb 
    BOB who just barges right in.
    
    I also second the idea of going to the vet for a checkup, exercising
    the cat AND getting her a playmate.  I'm a big believer that an
    indoor cat needs a companion especially if you're out at work all day.
    
    BTW - I have had several spayed females, cats and dogs, and have never
    had any of them get fat "as a result" of spaying.  All were done at
    6 months old so maybe that has an effect.
      Nancy

    Thanks for all the info.  I forgot to mention that my cat gets plenty
    of exercise.  She is outside from 6:30 am until 6:00 pm.  We let her
    out all day while we are at work but keep her in at night.  Too many
    wild animals and dogs at night.  We have a lease law in town but people
    seem to forget about it at night and let their dogs loose.  During the
    day they are all tied so I don't mind letting her out.
    
    I'll try some of those Lite foods that were mentioned and I'll also ask
    my vet tomorrow.  We also have a new black lab puppy and she will be
    going tomorrow for shots.  She keeps the cat active at night, so I know
    the exercise part is not the problem.
    
    Thanks again for all your suggestions.  
    Susan
    
    

when feeding only canned food (if you decide to do this) you MUST keep her
teeth cleaned.  You can learn how to do this from the vet.  It must be a
regular part of daily/weekly part of your care of the cat.  If feeding
some dry and some canned, you still may have to clean their teeth, you will
only know if you check them for plaque buildup regularly.  I find that I
don't have to do this if I feed only dry, but that may not be true for other
cats..plaque buildup is a tendency that some cats show no matter what you feed
them.  I also find my cats EAT MORE when I offer a variety of flavors...they
are pretty good if I feed only IAMS kibble all the time.  If I offer them
new flavors, they eat a LOT MORE food.  They are also pigs for any kind of
canned food...that's why I suggested you try not feeding the canned...however,
if yours loves kibble, then feed whatever she will eat, but not eat a lot
of.  8^}

Of course, if your cat is hungry when she goes outside, she will simply go KILL
something and eat it...you cannot control her diet in that case.  You cannot
depend on her getting something to eat each time she goes out so you have to
keep feeding her -- and if she supplements her diet with squirrels and rats,
etc. she will not lose weight.  Be sure to check her FREQUENTLY for 
parasites/worms that she will get from eating wild critters.  

      It seems that most of these "chubbos" are females, but lemme tell
    you...it AIN'T restricted to the girls!! 
    
      A few hundred notes back I put in a story of "Luke-the-Drifter", a
    black male who was semi-dead when he staggered into my yard. Half his
    fur missing, limping, skinny, filthy, sneezing, eyes running....I
    didn't really think he had much of a chance..but we decided to give it
    a try anyhow...
    
      So we made a place in the barn, began to feed and medicate him, and
    lo-and-behold...he recovered a bit, so we had him neutered and declawed
    (I know...but he was literally LETHAL with those front razors and we
    have four other PEACEFUL cats, and didn't want to take any chances.)
    
      Anyhow, poor Luke got well really fast, but he was "patterned" from
    his days of starving to EAT any food that he found...never mind this
    "save some for later" garbage.. 
    
      We now call him names such as "Tank", "Goodyear"(after the Goodyear
    blimp) "Square-cat" and "Garfield-in-black". He is a BIG boy... I don't
    have the heart ot try to starve him down, and don't know if I could,
    because two of my girls are really skinny, and although I know they
    aren't starving, they usually eat only a small amount of dry food that
    we leave out for them in a "Feed-A-Cat"/"Water-A-Cat" feeder/waterer
    setup. If we pulled that away they would not get enough to eat. One of
    them is an "exercizer"....she spends literally HOURS walking around the
    house at a fast pace, and she keeps HER weight in very good shape..
    
      However, "El-Black-Blimpo" is another story...Since he was "dead"
    when we got him, and he is HAPPY as anything now...LUSH coat, no limp,
    no sneezes, and loves "cuddles", I have a hard time trying to diet
    him...although I know it isn't really good for him to be this big.
    
    JM

    Also, if your cat is going outside, then she may be eating at many
    different houses.  We had this problem with Monroe several years
    ago.  He was an indoor/outdoor cat back then, and I didn't really
    realize that he was eating at other houses until he had a problem
    with recurring FUS, and was on a diet of C/D only.  He kept blocking,
    and kept blocking, despite the C/D and a urine acidifier.  Well,
    come to find out the neighbors were all feeding him the stuff that
    I had been warned not to feed him.  We made a new tag for his color
    that said "please don't feed - special diet" and talked with all
    the neighbors.  That solved the problem until he became an indoor
    only cat.
    
    Jo

    Also remember, there are fat cats as there are fat human beings.  Some
    cats are a different shape and are born that way.  All animals put on
    extra weight this time of the year so don't be fast to diet your cat,
    the extra weight gain is for a reason.  
    
    Our new kitty, Chuck E Cheese, is a lith, slim little cheese straw of
    a ginger cat.  He'd eat the pattern of the floor if it wasn't printed
    on, as well as about 4 (small) cans of anything that isn't Tuna.  
    Tigger eats a fair amount but has always been solid.  Miss Moppet is
    a round little cat but not fat, she just looks like she's wearing a
    crinoline.  As they can all leg it up a tree fast enough in times of
    trouble I'm not worried about them.  They may be an odd shape but
    they're happy.  Boy, are they happy!
    
    
    

    re: Luke - Bob is somewhat the same way.  When we caught him I thought
    he was about 10 months old because he was 3/4 the size of my adult
    cats at home.  Well, he's now easily TWICE the size of any of the
    other cats (except Isis).  He's a B*I*G cat.  He also LOVES to eat!
    He's better than he used to be about food but Food is still a big
    love with him.  I think that is always going to be an issue with
    x-strays and x-ferals.  
    
    Bob is somewhat pudgy but not really *fat* so I'm not going to fret
    about it too much.  He gets lots of exercise so I think he's in 
    pretty good shape.
      Nancy DC

    When I got Lionel from the Nashua Humane Society, he weighed in at
    about 8-1/2 pounds.  He was about a year old, tall and leggy.  
    I feed him only dry, and he was getting IAMS, but he was HUNGRY
    all the time.  He'd eat twice the recommended amount and he
    gained weight fast.  In 5 months he shot up to 11+ pounds!
    Now he gets mostly Science Light with a quarter cup of IAMS.
    This seems to be perfect for him, though I have been noticing
    he has a little bit of a paunch  ;-).  The vet told me to check
    his weight every once in a while to make sure it doesn't go up
    too much more.  
    
    karen

    Okay,,,,Okay....now I'm curious.  How do you weigh a cat
    accurately.  We tried putting Barkley on the scale....but he
    wouldn't stand their long enough for us to take an accurate
    reading.  what's the trick???
    
    Sandy

    Well, my vet said to weigh me first, then pick up Lionel and
    step back on the scale.  I imagine it would be pretty accurate.
    Haven't done it yet, though, since we were just at the vet's
    a few weeks ago.
    
    karen

    I use a baby scale.  It goes up to 20 pounds which is fine since
    none of my cats are over 20...yet.
    
    Jo

re: weighing cat

two options come to mind:

	1) weigh catless human.  Weigh human holding cat. 
	   Catless-human-weight subtracted from human-with-cat-weight
	   (catted human?) should give you the weight of the cat.

	2) O.D. cat on catnip.  Pick up limp cat and place on scale.
	   read weight.

Option 1 should work most of the time....option 2 works only if your cat
likes catnip alot...and is a "laid back" drugged out cat.  Some cats are
playful when stoned and that would be a problem.  In that case, drop back
to option 1.

				8^}

    
    I worked for a vet for 4 years while going to college. I use to
    weigh myself then hold the cat or dog and weigh us together. 
    
    I also have a very large cat. She last weighed 30lbs when I had
    her in for her checkup. The doctor says she is just a very large
    cat. She stays indoors because she's not afraid of dogs or cars
    or trucks...get the point. She's very friendly and eats 1/2 a can
    of soft food in the morning and the other 1/2 at night. Dry food
    is also there when ever she wants it. She's an Italian cat and would
    eat anything you give her meatballs..spagetti...she loves tomato
    sauce...I tell everyone not to feed her that stuff but I know people
    still give it to her. My last cat lived until she was 18 hopefully
    she will too. I know what your saying not on meatballs...but my
    last cat liked them too.
    
    
    Matt-