Does your cat sit on a mat? Is your cat becoming fat?

[Doran]

Some of you recall that more than a week ago I determined, after discovering yet another injury on our smallest feline, a wound inflicted by a neighborhood bully cat, that our two fuzzy pals needed to become indoor only cats. I made this choice against my will and better judgement and only to avoid further injuries, vet bills, and other possible nastiness like infectious cat diseases. Honestly, I'm not 100% certain that we will hold to our decision for a lifetime. I'm already feeling woozy. I'm am quite certain that our cats hope we've just gone temporarily insane - poor dears are really rather crabby (still) and stir crazy. They've taken to playing with pipe cleaners, if that gives you some idea of their level of desperation.

 

Keeping indoor kitties active is no small task, even though we already have a small tree installed for them. One of our two sports pear-like tendencies, this at the young age of only three. She probably despises her sister who is slender stem to stern. Fat cat is not likely to take up exercise videos, and it's all but impossible to restrict the diet of one while indulging the other's skinniness.

 

At this rate, tubbo kitty will see her belly dragging the ground by her next birthday (which, by the way, is today).

 

Advice, anyone? :)

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

Ping pong balls and children trailing string, running through the house. These are a few of their favorite things.

[Doran]

Ping pong balls and children trailing string, running through the house. These are a few of their favorite things.

 

Haven't thought of ping pong balls. That sounds like fun! Until I step on one in the middle of the night. :glare:

[Spy Car]

You know you've been looking at too many *early readers* when you look at the tile of this thread...and think..it's going to be about "learning to read. :001_rolleyes:

 

Bill (who's deep into cat mat sat hat bat pat fat....)

[newbie]

Mine love batting around wads of paper even though they have a ton of balls they fetch.

 

Lids to individual water bottles are always a hit. They also like to fetch the kids stuffed minis. I just make sure they are no removable parts. Kind of like the old beanie babies. My little one chases those all over the house like a dog.

 

For food, we just changed to all natural Merrick. The cats love it and I dont have to worry about them eating junk.

 

They will adjust.

 

Jet

[newbie]

You know you've been looking at too many *early readers* when you look at the tile of this thread...and think..it's going to be about "learning to read. :001_rolleyes:

 

Bill (who's deep into cat mat sat hat bat pat fat....)

 

 

LOL

 

Jet

[Mom2legomaniacs]

Fishing pole type toys are great fun. Mine plays with pipe cleaners. What's wrong with that?;) He likes it!

 

Make a point to play with them too. Try lo-cal food. Plastic Easter eggs are fun.

[Mom2legomaniacs]

You know you've been looking at too many *early readers* when you look at the tile of this thread...and think..it's going to be about "learning to read. :001_rolleyes:

 

Bill (who's deep into cat mat sat hat bat pat fat....)

 

:lol: I thought the same thing!

[newbie]

Haven't thought of ping pong balls. That sounds like fun! Until I step on one in the middle of the night. :glare:

 

Doran,

 

I tried to rep you, you are hilarious.

 

Jet:lol:

[obiandelismom]

Rabbit fur mice!! I have never known a cat not to go nuts for these things - our cat even fetches them in his mouth!

[klmama]

You can help your overweight kitty exercise and get some entertainment at the same time! See if she will chase a flashlight beam, or try a cat dancer (do they still make them?). It's a long wire with some heavy cardboard wrapped in one end. As you move it around, it attracts the cat's attention and the cat will dance, jump, and even do flips as it tries to catch the cardboard. You could probably make your own, if you have some wire. My cat loved it when she was younger and had more energy.

 

Pipe cleaners are good, as are pencils, pens, and wads of paper. A lot of it may end up under the refrigerator, though, so only give her what you are willing to lose for awhile!

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

just sits on my lap

and loves to nap

and can get quite fat

 

so, I switched her food

and took care of that....

it could work for you

keep us informed on

whatever you do.

 

 

;-P

Couldn't resist.

 

k

[Mom2legomaniacs]

Rabbit fur mice!! I have never known a cat not to go nuts for these things - our cat even fetches them in his mouth!

 

Oh yeah, mine love these. Especially my blind girl. She will "catch" them and walk around with them in her mouth while howling. Then when she finds you, she will present her great offering to her peeps. She's a hoot.

[Lakeside]

Our indoor cats like the laser pointer. Actually, I should say our 7 y.o. crabby cat liked the laser until last fall when we got the kitten. At that time, crabby cat pretty much stopped playing with us altogether. The kitten loves pipe cleaners, refrigerator magnets, marbles, legos, playmobil pieces....lots of fun stuff to step on! ;) We use ds's fishing pole to play with her too. She loves to chase it down the hall and she'll jump pretty high trying to catch it.

[3lilreds in NC]

I have one cat who likes to chase milk rings - you know, the plastic thingies from the top of a gallon of milk? Another one likes to chase our long piece of polar fleece on the end of a stick - I know it's called something, but I can't remember what. They all really like to chase the dot from a laser pointer, and that's really entertaining.

 

And, honestly, I have a couple who are pleasingly plump and we like them that way. :D

[momofkhm]

You know you've been looking at too many *early readers* when you look at the tile of this thread...and think..it's going to be about "learning to read. :001_rolleyes:

 

Bill (who's deep into cat mat sat hat bat pat fat....)

 

I have to say that I thought the same thing!

[shalom22]

When my cat was getting quite plumb from being an indoor only kitty, I changed her food to Purina's Indoor cat formula. She regained her slim figure.

[percytruffle]

Well, we do just about all of the suggestion here with our plump little princess, but alas, the pear has transformed to what one would call a slug or a grub shape. I prefer to tell her she is a little seal pup. I try to be gentle and not hurt her feelings. It's not her fault she has bad genes. What's a woman to do?

 

She was quite slim

Then we went away

To Taiwan

For a month to stay

 

She'd just been "fixed"

And when we returned

She was plump and round

With extra pounds to burn

 

So she's played and chased

And she's climbed and run

But she prefers to sleep

Like a slug in the sun

 

The Sun-Drunk Wench

 

 

I hope you have more luck than we did!

[mumztheword]

You know you've been looking at too many *early readers* when you look at the tile of this thread...and think..it's going to be about "learning to read. :001_rolleyes:

 

Bill (who's deep into cat mat sat hat bat pat fat....)

 

Holy cow, I thought exactly the same thing...

[mcconnellboys]

Not really, LOL. We use diet food but still have a fat cat!

[Frontier Mom]

:lol: I thought the same thing!

 

Me too.

[Paula in PA]

Tennis balls, ping-pong balls, wads of paper, toy mice, dog toys, milk-jug rings, feathers, magnets, toilet paper rolls (empty or full :glare:), laser pointer, doll shoes (much to dd's displeasure ;)), flashlight, tiny pieces of fuzz only they can see, etc. Catnip is always good for inducing playtime, though it can lead to some odd behavior. Like 'halloweening' themselves in a mirror or running into a glass door.

[JudoMom]

Can't help you. We've got Fat Dog. Over the winter the dork gained 5 pounds (he was only 25 pounds to begin with). We thought it was just his winter coat until he & his sister went to the vet to get their shots. Turns out he's been snacking on some high fat mice or something....

 

Like you, we can't easily limit his diet.

 

Maybe you can send Fat Cat here and I can have Fat Dog chase her. Then they'll both burn a few extra calories. Of course, they could make a truce with each other and dine on those high calorie mice.

[Doran]

Half of you think I'm testing your Dr. Seuss skills, and most all the other tips are things we're already implementing.

 

Laser (check)

String (check)

Fur mice (check)

Balls with bells (check)

Bells with balls (just kidding)

 

It's not that she's inactive. It's just that she's shaped like a door stop. And, she loves to lounge. She really is rather cute, though, don't you think (see below)?

 

I guess we'll just have to hire all your early reader KIDS and have them chase tubbo kitty around the house. That oughta do it! :lol:

 

 

Thanks for all the replies!

[Pensguys]

This whole post has been just HILARIOUS!!!!!!!!:lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

(Owner of another Fat Cat)

[newbie]

Doran,

She dont look fat, but my dd will be more than happy to chase kitties around house, instead of doing school.

 

Jet

[StephanieZ]

I happen to be a feline weight management pro. :D Actually, I'm not kidding!

 

Here's a link to our weight management pages (that I wrote) on our veterinary hospital's website. (I'm the practice manager and webmaster.)

 

There's a lot of good tips in there! More than you can probably digest in one sitting, but worth a read!

 

http://www.morgantownamc.com/site/view/83214_WeightManagement.pml

 

We have 3 cats and one of those cats wishes to be a fatty. The cure for Flash, our cat who wishes to be fat, has included:

 

1) longterm prescription weight loss food (we use Hill's r/d, but there are other good ones, the key is to buy it from the vet, as the over-the-counter stuff just isn't calorie restricted enough to take the pounds off usually, the vet stuff is good. The newer high protein weight loss diets such as IVD/Royal Canin's Calorie Control High Protein are really great.

 

2) *measure* the food and feed the pets separately so fatty doesn't eat skinny's food. Check weight every 2 weeks at least to make sure you're on track. Adjust food as needed (you'll continue to reduce the amount fed as the weight comes off to keep up a steady but not too rapid weight loss.) Your vet can calculate the correct amount to feed for you. Be sure to reweigh regularly and keep measuring!!

 

3) Feed a low-cal food as part of the diet, to fill up the tummy and prevent the I'm-so-starving-I'll-rip-open-the-bags-of-pasta thing (Flash ripped open egg-noodle bags, at raw potatoes, etc!!!). We feed Flash about 1/2 to 3/4 c of cooked frozen green beans once a day as part of his diet. If we do this daily, it prevents him from going nutso stealing food from the pantry, etc. Honestly, if they're hungry enough to steal raw potatoes, they'll salivate at green beans. Flash comes running whenever he hears a frozen veggie bag rattle!!

 

There are a lot of other ideas on the website. . . increasing water intake, increasing exercise (toys!!), etc., etc.

 

You *can* do this!!! Taking & keeping the weight off is one of the most important health things you can do for your pet. Do it!!

 

;)

[Paula in PA]

Um, I don't think you would call her fat if you saw 2 of my boys. :blush: We've tried just about everything, but it won't come off. The rest of them are slim, including 2 other males (all have been neutered). All of our cats have been indoor only since we got them.