Biggles .... fatty or not?

[FayRose]

I've introduced my cats and posted some pics and I hope I can now post my concerns about our youngest Biggles.

He is Jenny's son and she is a very tiny cat (people often think she's still a kitten) but he is VERY big. I find it difficult with such a long thick haired cat to decide if he's seriously overweight He weighed in at the vets a walloping 6.5 kilos recently and they were not happy.
He went in for de-matting and a check over and I asked them to give him a short back and sides which they have duly done. He is not easy to groom and is very eager to use his teeth and claws at every opportunity.

I'm now even more concerned because he does not look overweight in the slightest since his No. 2 haircut, just very big and in fact his hips are quite prominent. If I feel him though, his bones are well covered and not at all sharp to the touch.

Both our girls are hunters and they spend a good deal of their time outside, BUT Biggles will only go out when he is forced to and he has only ever hunted .... sloworms
The vets and vet nurses told us to put him on a diet and since then we have been very careful with him, Trouble is he marches around the house yowling pitifully as if he's being starved and I'm beginning to wonder how on earth we're going to deal with this.

Any ideas would be very gratefully received.

[angieh]

It's a shame that Biggles is such a stay-at-home, which, if he is overweight, is sure to be part of the problem. Does he like to play? If you don't already could you make time every day to give him a bit of a workout?

From the photo you posted with your other 2, I must say I did not think he looked overweight, but it is difficult to tell with a fluffy cat. He is very handsome btw.

[Elaine]

I wouldnt consider Biggles to be a "fat" cat, he looks of a simila build/frame as my friends raggie (Caspurr) who is around the same weight.
I also would like to share with you that I do have a "fat" cat, Eva the Diva. Now my previous vet said they wanted to get her weight down from 6.5 to 4.5 Kilos. I kept arguing the point that she was a big framed cat, but they would just laugh at me. My current vet says that 4.5 kilos would be much too light for a cat of her build and that he feels she would be more comfortable at around 6 kilos. Sadly we are still trying to achieve that target weight because she is very lazy.
There is a chart on some of the pet food sites, I think it's Purina, that gives the average weight for a "moggie" to be between 3.5 and 4.5 kilos but moggies come in ALL shapes and sizes and I feel these guides are too general.
Just my personal experience and opinion.

[FayRose]

Thanks Elaine and Angie for your replies, some of what you said is very comforting.
One of the vets at our practice did say that he is just a big cat and would not cope with much weight loss, but others did not agree. Its only since he's had a severe coat trim that I can see his actual shape.
If only he would go out and do more, much as us humans are always being told "get some excercise to lose weight and get fit".

I don't want to starve Biggles to get him to go out and hunt for himself (another suggestion from a vet ) but I also don't want to give in and feed him whenever he yells.
Another option is getting a harness and lead and frog-marching him up the lane, but I think Biggles would collapse with embarrasment and the girls would collapse with laughter.

Thanks for your support and any further ideas much appreciated.

[Elaine]

Originally Posted by FayRose

I don't want to starve Biggles to get him to go out and hunt for himself (another suggestion from a vet ) but I also don't want to give in and feed him whenever he yells.
Another option is getting a harness and lead and frog-marching him up the lane, but I think Biggles would collapse with embarrasment and the girls would collapse with laughter.

Thanks for your support and any further ideas much appreciated.

I dont think much of your vet for even suggesting that, even if he had to lose a little weight, it HAS to be slow and gradual other wise you can do so much damage to their liver.
Have you tried a laser pen to get him a little more active? That can often get my Eva off her fat ass

[FayRose]

No Elaine, I've not tried a laser pen though I shall now as anything is worth a try and better than hearing this awful yowling. They certainly know how to play at our heart strings .... though having said that this poor strapping puss may actually be hungry.

I think I'll stay with the girls in future, they are much more self sufficient and gutsy than these males.

[Mags]

I agree with Elaine that laser pens are very good to get a cat moving ....... I have one for Cassie and it's only when we start playing with it that I realise how much speed she has in her little legs!!

Just out of interest, do you give Biggles any treats?

[Moli]

I would not say Biggles is a fat cat either, he is very much the same size as my white & Ginger Chancer, and the vets say he is mainly muscle....

[FayRose]

Originally Posted by Mags

Just out of interest, do you give Biggles any treats?

No, we've never given any sort of treats to the cats. My cat experience has mainly been with females and they seem to be much more independant than Biggles the male is.

[Elaine]

http://www.petsgetslim.co.uk/site-me...at_weights.pdf

This is a rough guide to weights and i still dispute the moggy one because its pretty much like saying that a mongrel dog should weigh x, when we all know that mongrels can be as small as a jack russell or as big as a german shepherd.