Always hungery fat cat

[Wilki31]

Our cat (Katie) is about 10, we got her as a rescue cat 6 years ago. She has steadily gained wieght over time and the vet said we need to try and get it down a bit (she currently weighs just under a stone). She has a Felix senior pouch in the morning, and one for tea plus a handful of Go Cat biscuits at night. We substitute a pouch for a raw chicken breast or fish a few times a week.

Over the last few weeks she has become more and more greedy, demanding more food which we don't give her, but now she jumps on to worktops to hoover up anything she can find and was found licking the wok the other evening and ate 2 frozen chicken breasts just after breakfast not long ago!

She is generally a healthy cat (she has no underlying health problems) but we are not sure now if there is a problem or whether she's just plain greedy, she is spayed. Any thoughts anyone?

[kado]

I too ask has she been wormed? I have the opposit problem. I have a big cat guinness aound 9kgs 20lbs who doesnt eat much. He has underlining heath problems though and was on a special diet but went completley off it so he is now on tiger food and a handfull of go-cat . I do give my cats go cat but i think its very calorific. Not quiet sure abuot the greedy stuff. We have maisey who will if your not careful pinch off your plate or even try to eat the chicken that's just been cooked. Cats imo do get greedy at times its like there reverting back too be a kitten again. Could you put her out of the room when there's food about. I am sure someone will come along later to give a better answer

[Wilki31]

Hi Kado,

Thanks for your 10 pence worth, much appreciated. Yes, she is regularly wormed. I let the vet do it, I'd lose my fingers if I tried! It did cross my mind about the Go Cat biscuits being a potential weakness in her diet. Would something like Iams biscuits be a better alternative?

[kado]

Not quiet sure on that either tried it on mine they just turn the nose up and walk away. My brother used to feed his 3 cats on go-cat as well until the vet told him to cut them out as much has he can. Mine each get about 150-200gms of food per day each, so around 2 pouches. Is it just a recent thing or has she had this before. My guiness tends to loose weight in the summer but within 6 months he puts it all back on. Mine dont have cat treats they dont realy like them bu i do give them fresh cooked meat some like ham the others turkey.

[Wilki31]

I think it's been a gradual thing. She was very timid when we first got her and it's only in the last year or so that she has had the confidence to go up to visitors to our house rather than running off and hiding under a bed!

We've noticed it more recently because she has started jumping on work surfaces and investigating saucepans, lunchboxes, the chopping board (which she knocked on the floor during last night and gave us all a heart attack!). It might be simply a case of her being more confident in her old age and developing a naughty streak. I'll stick to the two pouches a day, phase out the Go Cat and see what low cal alternatives are available. I could give her a bit more low cal food which might reduce her worktop visits!

[kado]

I have 7 cats and 4 3 wk old kittens. I am always cleaning the work surfaces all the time. I tend to feed them up there which i know every one wont agree about. If fed them all on the florr i wouldnt know which one had eaten. If they dont want something on the side they just look at it and knock it down. We did try too feed them on the floor but they realy hated it and kado just stare's at you and walks off and sulks

[Elaine]

With respect to her jumping on the work surfaces why not try an act of god to deter her, I did this with Eva and it worked a treat.
Collect some empty soda cans, put a few small stones or pennies inside, place them on the work surface in a precarious fashoin so that when she jumps up, they fall over, giving her a little fright but not associating the noise and clatter with you but more as a direct response to the jumping on the work tops. Took two small scares for Eva to get the message and she has NEVER jumped up on the work tops since.

As for the food why not try some of the light varieties such as Royal Canin Light, there are several different brand names that do light foods. Dry food is more calorific than wet so may be an idea to weigh out her food rather than just filling her dish. Any food reduction should be very very gradual in order to reduce the risk of fatty liver disease/hepatic lipidosis which is a serious condition and more often than not a fatal one.

[dandysmom]

I think you may have a point there about her getting more confident, also she's apparently getting away with it! Clever idea about the scare treatment Elaine mentioned; worth a try. Also, trying some of the lower calorie wet foods might help if she'll eat them. I personally only give my Leia only a little bit of dry, to avoid the dangers of cystitis; she had one bout of it and I never want to go thru that again! Do let us know how it's going.

Edited: is she active? More play might help her take off a bit of weight.

[pcspik]

As for the food why not try some of the light varieties such as Royal Canin Light, there are several different brand names that do light foods. Dry food is more calorific than wet so may be an idea to weigh out her food rather than just filling her dish. Any food reduction should be very very gradual in order to reduce the risk of fatty liver disease/hepatic lipidosis which is a serious condition and more often than not a fatal one.

Elaine is right. I feed my Tigger Hills Light which is also a good subsitute.

If you do feed a mixture of wet (meat) and dry I would also take that into consideration. Hills (and also Royal Canin) do both dry and wet versions of their light versions.

If you still find that she is still overweight after feeding her a "light" version for a while, you can get prescription diets for overweight cats (either Hills r/d or Royal Canin Obesity) but I would not change her to one of those without consulting your vet first.

[Wilki31]

Thanks guys soemthing to look at on the food front. I like the soda can idea, just hope don't have a heart attack if she disturbs them at 3 in the morning!!