Molly's overweight..help needed.

[rubycube]

Molly was a the vets for her booster last week and the vet advised that she was a little overweight. She has put on 500g since she had her dental about 6-8 months ago and now weighs in at 4.99 KG. Is this heavy??

To be honest Molly was quite a big cat when we got her 2.5years ago. I couldn't hold her for very long because she was HEAVY!! Maybe I have just got used to holding her for longer now but she doesn't seem to be as big as before!

I can sort of feel her ribs but she does not have much of a defined waist and she does have a bit a hanging tummy! Molly is not the most active of cats, she does play when she is in the mood. She is more than happy though to just sit in the sun or sleep on the sofa.

At the moment we feed Molly on Purina dry cat food, twice a day. The vet advised that we should change her dry food to another brand,(vet didn't say which brand though) which they could supply and if Molly didn't like it they would offer a refund. (I could swear that I saw pound signs in the vets eyes!) I would sooner find something myself and have looked into other dry foods but I am not sure exactly what I am looking for, ingredient wise. I want to make sure that Molly wont go hungry either.

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Susan

[catwoman999]

Hi Susan...
I wouldn't say 4.99kg is really that overweight...
It varies from vet to vet what is overweight!
I think between 4kg-5kg is perfectly acceptable...
But others may argue on that point! Some vets say anything over 4kg is overweight.
I have 4 cats:

Buffy 4kg
Amos 5.8kg
Sebastian 5kg
Joshua 5.9kg

Now, Amos and Joshua could do with losing some weight but being indoor cats its hard lol...
But Buffy and Sebastian are fine...

Your vet was probably gonna try your cat on Hills Science diet. There are lots of threads on this site that you can look up, and get advice on the type of food best to deal with weight issues.

Good luck!

[Elaine]

It's difficult to say if your cat is carrying too much weight or not with out actually seeing her but in my own personal experience I agree with Catwoman999, that vets do see anything over 4 kg's as being obese.
As in humans cats come in all shapes and sizes and motabolism varies too.
My Eva is a big girl, she is over weight and we do have a constant battle trying to keep her weight down, previous vets always wanted her to go down to 4.5 kilos which I always felt was not right. Current vet reckons 6 kilos as she is a large cat.
http://www.petsgetslim.co.uk/site-me...at_weights.pdf
My personal view is that an all dry diet is not ideal for cats as they are not naturally drawn to water as dogs are which may affect kidney function.

[Moli]

Most of my boys are 4.6 - 4.8..apart from Chancer is is 5.8, but he is a big stocky cat...I personally feel the vets tend to forget each cat is different, they vary so much is shape and size...

[dinahsmum]

It doesn't sound too huge.
Last time I was at the vets there was a poster seeking feline blood donors who had to be a minimum of 5kg.
Best advice is probably keep an eye, make sure she takes some exercise and don't let her pile more on.

[angieh]

You could also substitute some of her regular dry food with a "light" variety. And encourage her to be a bit more active. I see you say she's a house cat - more daily play will help her and you will find it a pleasure I'm sure.

[Mags]

A laser pen will provide her with lots of exercise, I have one for Cassie when the vet said she was overweight ....... she loves it so much that I have to be careful I don't overdo it with her!

[rubycube]

Originally Posted by Elaine

My personal view is that an all dry diet is not ideal for cats as they are not naturally drawn to water as dogs are which may affect kidney function.

Thanks Elaine, interesting point.

Molly(on top of sofa) that day after she came to us from rescue centre. Looking HUGE!
http://pets.webshots.com/photo/22145...smF?vhost=pets

Molly(lying down). Taken last month.

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Molly used to have both wet and dry food but our vet (rightly or wrongly??) advised us that older cats would be better suited to a dry food diet to help maintain their body weight and keep their teeth healthy. (Not that Molly has many teeth left!). I personally don't have a problem giving Molly wet and dry but sometimes I do wonder if vets are giving out the correct advice.

Mags, I will definately get Molly a laser pen. She goes absolutely mental chasing a piece of string so i'm sure the pen will really get her moving. She also adores catnip and her mouse is thrown all over the place!

Thanks again for your advice, you are all so very helpful.

Susan

[Elaine]

Originally Posted by rubycube

Thanks Elaine, interesting point.



Molly used to have both wet and dry food but our vet (rightly or wrongly??) advised us that older cats would be better suited to a dry food diet to help maintain their body weight and keep their teeth healthy. (Not that Molly has many teeth left!). I personally don't have a problem giving Molly wet and dry but sometimes I do wonder if vets are giving out the correct advice.



Susan

I would agree with you there.
From the pictures, she looks a little chubby and very very cute but I'm not convinced she is seriously over weight, it's difficult to tell. At the end of the day you are her best advocate.
I always think though, that cats in the wild (originally being desert creatures), got/get most of their fluid intake from the animals they fed on and therefore they are not as drawn to water as dogs are. Feeding a dry only diet does make them drink more but they still dont take in enough fluids. It's also a good idea to add a little extra water to their wet food, it doesnt do any harm to try to make sure they get as much fluids as possible.

[Elaine]

http://www.messybeast.com/overweight.htm