What do you do when your Pussy Cat turns into a Porker?

[Gladys]

What do you do when that lovely, sleek young cat you had sits by her food bowl and looks at you?
You can see the big fluffy ball that she has become still has that Peter Pan quality of all cats; she'll never look anything other than beautiful.
It's not as easy to get around for her, though. She seems to go out less and not for as long. You help her up to where she likes to sit and push the fact that your cat is overwieght to the back of your mind (I do anyway).
I know it's obvious. The cat has to go on a weight reducing diet. Simple.
Not so easy doing it though, is it?
I absolutely have to ask for advice about it and tell you what she eats each day. It doesn't seem much, but see what you think:

In the mornings half of a sachet of Whiskers Traditional Dinner in gravy

In the evenings half of a sachet of Felix in gravy

Daily she has one little tray of Temptations in various flavours.

As far as I'm concerned, the culprit for my cat's weight gain comes from the Temptations, but I can't take them away from her. The wet food in sachets doesn't get eaten. She only has the gravy, then she won't touch the food the gravy covered.

I've tried most of the cat foods on them market and she won't eat them.

She won't eat fresh food, such as meat or fish.

It doesn't seem like she eats a lot, really. She doesn't drink enough water for my liking either.

What can I do?

[angieh]

I would ask is anyone else feeding her .... anyone else in your home or a neighbour??? Has she had a recent check up at the vet? It doesn't sound as if she's eating much, but, like you I would suspect those Temptations - are you able to check the calorie content???

[Gladys]

Thanks for your reply.

I don't think she's being fed by anyone else and she's so well and happy that I haven't felt the need to take her to see a vet.

The calorie content isn't on the box of Temptations, so I put them down to her weight gain too.

[PoshPuss]

Hi Gladys!
I don't know if your vet practice is like mine but we have vet nurses who have 'mini clinics' and can weigh cats and give dietary advice, if you are registered with the practice. It saves on vet consultation fees etc.

Has your cat been to a vet and had injections etc.? If not it will be worth getting her checked out for underlying medical problems such as diabetes or thyroid issues first.

My cat eats little and often and is very fussy about which food, NO gravy but Whiskers in jelly, prefers chicken but will eat small amounts of Go cat bics & ham as a treat. Cats usually control their appetite and tend not to overeat - preferring to vomit up instead

[paulinef2]

my cat got quick overweight due to neighbours feeding him, so difficult when they are outdoor cats. Due to illness he is now indoor and his weight is much easier to manage

[Gladys]

Thanks for your replies.

Oh dear, Posh Puss. I've been over confident with my cat. She's never been to a vet.

I assumed that because she just turned up one day and came to live with me, that she had had her injections.

Because I wanted her to be neutered, I phoned a vet about her. She was probably a couple of years old then. The surgery said that if she hadn't had a litter in the time she'd been with me, she probably wouldn't get pregnant and that it was dangerous to look for the uterus.

The only reason I could consider having my cat neutered was because of a neighbour who gave me a voucher for neutering. The fact is I can't afford the general checks unless the cat's ill. A lack of funds means I can't easily cover pet insurance either. Another thing I'm not proud of.

The fact that she hasn't seen a vet makes me seem such an uncaring cat owner, but if she had anything wrong with her, even if she became different in her behaviour, I'd take to the vet, whatever the cost.

I suppose that's why I joined this forum. I assume that being overweight brings health problems. I need to prevent them for both the cat and myself if I can.

You seem to have your cat's feeding in hand, what with the NO GRAVY rule. I don't know if I can do that, and anything in jelly is a no - no for her, as far as she's concerned.

[PoshPuss]

the NO gravy rule is her wishes, like I say, a fussy madam.

Sorry that finances mean that vet visits are a luxury, is there a PDSA in your area? Your friend seems very sensible to offer you the neuter voucher,I'm surprised the vets thought a spay would be difficult. Posh came to me and I was uncertain of her age, her fertility condition etc, but the vet obliged with a spay to release me from kitten probs and her calling.

I think the advice from the girls with regard to the obesity is to not let neighbours feed your cat, then you can control the diet yourself.