Fat Cat

Xiney

Alright guys. I hate to say it about my little darling, but he's a giant fatty

The SPCA in Montreal convinced me that neutering him at the age of 6 months wasn't too early, and I was concerned he'd spray in the apartment, so I went with it. God I wish I'd gone with my gut and we'd waited, poor thing.

Anyway, since he was neutered he's become the world's laziest beast. Gained weight almost immediately after the snip. Stares at us as if we're in coo coo la la land when we try to get him to play. Lets us *drag* him around the floor when we put him in the harness & lead we bought him.

So he went on a diet. Poor thing is 4 years old and has been on a diet for 3 years. The vet prescription food was working ok, but it was ridiculously expensive and the cat was starting to get bored anyway. So we switched to Science Diet Light. He put on weight again, as it's 316 kCal/cup vs 266 kCal/cup. We're now feeding him 1/4 c twice a day rather than three times a day and hopefully that will work.

Has anyone ever managed to get their cat to maintain their weightloss? And how do you get a lazy bastard of a kitty to play a bit? He's such a cuddly little boob, all he likes to do is sleep, eat, lie on your lap and be petted (or zoom and groomed, god he loves that thing!)

Obviously we absolutely adore him no matter what weight he is but I'm concerned about his health - I want him around for a long time yet!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXD8o2DSZ7Y

The Sweeper

Xiney, the age of the cat when neutered doesn't affect its weight.

What does affect its weight is that its metabolism drops after neutering - so a neutered cat does not need as many calories as an intact cat. A cat's metabolism can drop enough that you'd be justified dropping their food intake by a quarter - or even a third (depending what you feed) - after neutering. If you didn't do that, that's where the weight gain has come from.

Other than that, honestly, the cat doesn't have opposable thumbs. He can't open the kibble packet. He can't open the pouch, or the tin. Or the fridge. Or go to the shops. If you want him to lose weight, feed him less food.

I find cats that eat only kibble can be very susceptible to weight gain - I think its the amount of carbohydrate in it. Cats that were once starving and are free-fed kibble are the worst offenders. They'll eat themselves enormous.

I'm not as big a fan of Hills S/D as I once was. Perhaps try Royal Canin Light 40? Also see if you can swap out some of the kibble for something else - good quality wet commercial food, or raw meat. A wider range of food may leave him more satisfied and a more species-appropriate diet with less plant-based carbohydrate may slim him up some.

The ultimate in cat toys appear to be things on the end of a string that's on the end of a whippy fibreglass rod - see Da Bird for starters.

Try not to translate your cat's noises and actions based on how you think he must feel - so don't decide, if he isn't fascinated by dinner, that he's unhappy, dislikes you and feels hard done by. If he was hungry, he'd eat. Plus he isn't going to starve any time soon, so if you put something new out and he avoids it, don't replace it with something he likes immediately. Always introduce new food slowly, but don't give him 100% of what he likes plus 20% of something new. Give him 80% of what he likes plus 20% of something new. Worst case scenario he only eats the 80% - look, diet started already!

Lastly, what does the vet say about chubbs the cat? Have they checked his bloods and his thyroid function to rule out any medical reason for his lethargy and persistant weight gain?

I think you've said before that he's not an outdoor cat, so I'm assuming he's not going and scarfing a tin of tuna, a block of cheese and a saucer of cream every day from one of the neighbours...

carly_86

put him on a diet

hadook

Jeez carly_86, did you even bother reading the first post? :rolleyes:

I have several daBirds and even my blind cat has been known to join in (it not only mimics a bird in flight but it sounds pretty similar too). As well as the daBird I'd recommend the Cat Catcher for getting a lazy cat moving. Does he like catnip? I find that good quality catnip (the YEOOWWW toys are top quality) and valerian toys get them rolling around the floor and any exercise is good exercise right?

We've used laser pointers in the past and they were fairly well received but nothing compares to the daBird and the Cat Catcher.