Fat Cat

[Rosie]

My Rosie now resembles a balloon on legs! She only gets two small meals a day BUT she steals the dogs food and I have absolutely no idea how to stop her. I put Holly's (dog) breakfast down before going to work but she doesn't usually eat it until later in the morning so I have to leave it for her.

Rosie seems very healthy and is an outdoor cat but I am always disgusted with people who allow their animals to get fat. Holly dog and little Alfie are ideal weights but Rosie is just a big lump. I also suspect she may go round the neighbours begging.

My Dad's dog used to be very fat and when I took him to the vets and asked the vet whether he should go on a diet, the vet said that at his age (he was 11 then) not to bother. He lived until he was 15 so I am thinking that I should probably just be happy she is a healthy 10 year old.

[yola]

There are some good foods available that help cat's control their weight. However, if she is eating food for dogs which (correct me if I'm wrong here) is higher in carbs due to their being more energetic animals; this won't help.

I really think you need to consider restricting her access to the dogs' food . . . for her own good!

[dandysmom]

I agree that restricting access to the dog food is a good idea, but is it practical? Is there someplace you can feed the dog where she can't get to it? Does she like to play....maybe more games with a feather-on-a-stick thingy, or chasing balls? Getting a plump cat to exercise can be a problem: Leia is not very co-operative with games... And maybe ask the neighbors if you know where she mooches not to feed her?
Good luck!

[Kim]

Our dogs food isn't down long enough for the cats to get a look in!!! Although they will steal the cats food at any opportunity. I agree that letting Rosie have the dogs food isn't a good idea if you can help it. The fishing rod type toys are good at getting cats to play.

However, I really think some cats, like us humans are more prone to weight gain than others. Our cat, Sasha resembled a football on legs, although she doesn't eat more than the others. As she has got older she seems to have lost the weight naturally.

[Elaine]

Being the mum of a rather rotund kitty, I have to say that I never thought of her as over eating and she is a very large lady. I managed to get her to lose half a kilo but have really struggled to get her to lose any more and in the process we have found her half a kilo loss, Bernie has it .
Now i am struggling to maintain both of their weights. I reduced the food intake a little more over the last month and both cats have remained the same weight but are now scrounging for more food all the time .
Think I may need to talk it over with the vet as I feel the Royal Canin light is obviously not satisfying their hunger pangs.

[Amber]

I have had a huge success with my girls weight. In October last year she weighed 6.25kg, which was obese for her size. Now after less than a year, she weighs in at her target weight of 5kg.

I was extremely strict with her diet, I fed her only on Royal Canin Obesity Management. She was fed 50g per day and nothing else at all. She had the occasional bit of fish every couple of weeks as a treat, but other than that, she had nothing else. She made me feel as guilty as anything to start, she would come looking for food and after she had finished eating she would sit there and look at her bowl as if to say "was that it?!" but after a couple of weeks she soon adapted to her new amount of food.

Obesity in cats is on the rise, and unfortunately it's not just the weight problem that you have to think about. Overweight pets are much more likely to develop heart problems later in life. The extra strain on their joints is immense, which will cause arthritis, and obesity is also a major contributing factor to diabetes, which is on the rise also. Overweight pets are also more likely to develop urinary problems.

My advise would be to select a good diet food (most standard 'light' foods are more for management than for weight loss) and try to encourage her to play a little more if you can. It may also be worth putting signs up around the neighbourhood with her picture, asking people not to feed her!

Good luck xxx

[Kay]

Good luck with Rosie' s diet.

[Grete]

It's hard getting their weight down but it is worth it in the end for their health. My late cat Squeak was quite overweight and I didn't think it mattered too much until she became Diabetic and that's not something I wish anyone to have to deal with.

It's worth having a chat to your vet and see what they recommend and also maybe have her checked out to see if there is anything underlying that could be contributing.

You can get collars that have "please do not feed" printed on them, which might be useful when she is on a specific amount of food. The other thing I would suggest is exercise and lots of it. We try to get at least an hour of play with Bubbles a day, getting her to run up and down the stairs and chasing a strip of fleece on a stick (which she loves).

It's hard work I know but good luck

[Rosie]

Thanks everyone some ideas to go with. Regarding her exercise when she is out she is still a good mouser so presume she does run around a bit and we live in quite a hilly area and she has to run up two flights of steps to get into the garden, although my neighbours say they see her sitting watching Alfie play with another cat and seems content just to watch!

[Kay]

Running up two flights of stairs is definitely good exercise. It would probably kill me.