How do you put a cat on a diet?

[jmcquown[_2_]]

Buffy is a tad plump. We have a lot of play time (fishing wand toy, I
toss golf balls and glitter balls and she chases them). She also runs
around playing all by herself with the golf balls.

She generally gets a half a can of Sheba pate a day. I dole out 1/4 cup
dry kibble (Purina One Indoor), once in the morning and again at bedtime
so she'll have something to snack on during the night. It doesn't seem
like a lot of food. Yet she weighs 13 lbs!

Is she simply predisposed to be a rather rotund little girl? She's
about 7 years old, maybe 8. I don't really know.

I have gradually cut back, 1/3rd of a can of wet food and slightly less
of the dry. I have discovered that she's sort of rationing herself when
it comes to the dry food. Used to be the dry food was completely gone
by morning. Now there are always a few crunchies left when I get up.

Buffy is perfectly healthy (wish I could have said that about Persia;
she cost me a fortune in prescription food and vet bills over the years!).

Any suggestions? Or do I just have a cute, charming, chubby cat? :)

Jill

[Tigger[_2_]]

jmcquown wrote:
> Buffy is a tad plump. We have a lot of play time (fishing wand toy, I
> toss golf balls and glitter balls and she chases them). She also runs
> around playing all by herself with the golf balls.
>
> She generally gets a half a can of Sheba pate a day. I dole out 1/4 cup
> dry kibble (Purina One Indoor), once in the morning and again at bedtime
> so she'll have something to snack on during the night. It doesn't seem
> like a lot of food. Yet she weighs 13 lbs!
>
> Is she simply predisposed to be a rather rotund little girl? She's about
> 7 years old, maybe 8. I don't really know.
>
> I have gradually cut back, 1/3rd of a can of wet food and slightly less of
> the dry. I have discovered that she's sort of rationing herself when it
> comes to the dry food. Used to be the dry food was completely gone by
> morning. Now there are always a few crunchies left when I get up.
>
> Buffy is perfectly healthy (wish I could have said that about Persia; she
> cost me a fortune in prescription food and vet bills over the years!).
>
> Any suggestions? Or do I just have a cute, charming, chubby cat? :)

Seven or eight - that's kitty middle age. Older animals can put on weight
as part of the aging process.

Does she go outside? Perhaps a second family. Or, catching birds or mice.
Or raiding garbage sources.

[jmcquown[_2_]]

On 1/21/2017 12:30 PM, Tigger wrote:
> jmcquown wrote:
>> Buffy is a tad plump. We have a lot of play time (fishing wand toy, I
>> toss golf balls and glitter balls and she chases them). She also runs
>> around playing all by herself with the golf balls.
>>
>> She generally gets a half a can of Sheba pate a day. I dole out 1/4 cup
>> dry kibble (Purina One Indoor), once in the morning and again at bedtime
>> so she'll have something to snack on during the night. It doesn't seem
>> like a lot of food. Yet she weighs 13 lbs!
>>
>> Is she simply predisposed to be a rather rotund little girl? She's about
>> 7 years old, maybe 8. I don't really know.
>>
>> I have gradually cut back, 1/3rd of a can of wet food and slightly
>> less of
>> the dry. I have discovered that she's sort of rationing herself when it
>> comes to the dry food. Used to be the dry food was completely gone by
>> morning. Now there are always a few crunchies left when I get up.
>>
>> Buffy is perfectly healthy (wish I could have said that about Persia; she
>> cost me a fortune in prescription food and vet bills over the years!).
>>
>> Any suggestions? Or do I just have a cute, charming, chubby cat? :)
>
> Seven or eight - that's kitty middle age. Older animals can put on
> weight as part of the aging process.
>
> Does she go outside? Perhaps a second family. Or, catching birds or mice.
> Or raiding garbage sources.
>
No, she is strictly an indoor cat. She was allegedly 6 years old when I
adopted her.

Jill

[Jack Campin]

jmcquown > wrote:
> Buffy is a tad plump. We have a lot of play time (fishing wand toy, I
> toss golf balls and glitter balls and she chases them). She also runs
> around playing all by herself with the golf balls.
>
> She generally gets a half a can of Sheba pate a day. I dole out 1/4 cup
> dry kibble (Purina One Indoor), once in the morning and again at bedtime
> so she'll have something to snack on during the night. It doesn't seem
> like a lot of food. Yet she weighs 13 lbs!
>
> Is she simply predisposed to be a rather rotund little girl? She's
> about 7 years old, maybe 8. I don't really know.

That was about the age when our Marblecake was at her tubbiest. A few
years on, she's slimmed down again, without us doing anything about it.
She was never really obese. I think it just happens. (I've lost a lot
of weight myself in the last few months, in a similarly unplanned way).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile 07800 739 557 <http://www.campin.me.uk> Twitter: JackCampin

[Joy[_3_]]

On 1/21/2017 9:30 AM, Tigger wrote:
> jmcquown wrote:
>> Buffy is a tad plump. We have a lot of play time (fishing wand toy, I
>> toss golf balls and glitter balls and she chases them). She also runs
>> around playing all by herself with the golf balls.
>>
>> She generally gets a half a can of Sheba pate a day. I dole out 1/4 cup
>> dry kibble (Purina One Indoor), once in the morning and again at bedtime
>> so she'll have something to snack on during the night. It doesn't seem
>> like a lot of food. Yet she weighs 13 lbs!
>>
>> Is she simply predisposed to be a rather rotund little girl? She's about
>> 7 years old, maybe 8. I don't really know.
>>
>> I have gradually cut back, 1/3rd of a can of wet food and slightly
>> less of
>> the dry. I have discovered that she's sort of rationing herself when it
>> comes to the dry food. Used to be the dry food was completely gone by
>> morning. Now there are always a few crunchies left when I get up.
>>
>> Buffy is perfectly healthy (wish I could have said that about Persia; she
>> cost me a fortune in prescription food and vet bills over the years!).
>>
>> Any suggestions? Or do I just have a cute, charming, chubby cat? :)
>
> Seven or eight - that's kitty middle age. Older animals can put on
> weight as part of the aging process.
>
> Does she go outside? Perhaps a second family. Or, catching birds or mice.
> Or raiding garbage sources.
>

If she's strictly an indoor cat, you might try a laser pointer to give
her some exercise. Some cats aren't interested, but some will chase
that red dot up and down a hallway or around in circles.

[jmcquown[_2_]]

On 1/21/2017 2:53 PM, Joy wrote:
> On 1/21/2017 9:30 AM, Tigger wrote:
>> jmcquown wrote:
>>> Buffy is a tad plump. We have a lot of play time (fishing wand toy, I
>>> toss golf balls and glitter balls and she chases them). She also runs
>>> around playing all by herself with the golf balls.
>>>
>>> She generally gets a half a can of Sheba pate a day. I dole out 1/4 cup
>>> dry kibble (Purina One Indoor), once in the morning and again at bedtime
>>> so she'll have something to snack on during the night. It doesn't seem
>>> like a lot of food. Yet she weighs 13 lbs!
>>>
>>> Is she simply predisposed to be a rather rotund little girl? She's
>>> about
>>> 7 years old, maybe 8. I don't really know.
>>>
>>> I have gradually cut back, 1/3rd of a can of wet food and slightly
>>> less of
>>> the dry. I have discovered that she's sort of rationing herself when it
>>> comes to the dry food. Used to be the dry food was completely gone by
>>> morning. Now there are always a few crunchies left when I get up.
>>>
>>> Buffy is perfectly healthy (wish I could have said that about Persia;
>>> she
>>> cost me a fortune in prescription food and vet bills over the years!).
>>>
>>> Any suggestions? Or do I just have a cute, charming, chubby cat? :)
>>
>> Seven or eight - that's kitty middle age. Older animals can put on
>> weight as part of the aging process.
>>
>> Does she go outside? Perhaps a second family. Or, catching birds or mice.
>> Or raiding garbage sources.
>>
>
> If she's strictly an indoor cat, you might try a laser pointer to give
> her some exercise. Some cats aren't interested, but some will chase
> that red dot up and down a hallway or around in circles.

I tried that... she was absolutely not interested in chasing the red
dot. <shrug>

Jill

[dgk]

On Sat, 21 Jan 2017 09:50:00 -0500, jmcquown >
wrote:

>Buffy is a tad plump. We have a lot of play time (fishing wand toy, I
>toss golf balls and glitter balls and she chases them). She also runs
>around playing all by herself with the golf balls.
>
>She generally gets a half a can of Sheba pate a day. I dole out 1/4 cup
>dry kibble (Purina One Indoor), once in the morning and again at bedtime
>so she'll have something to snack on during the night. It doesn't seem
>like a lot of food. Yet she weighs 13 lbs!
>
>Is she simply predisposed to be a rather rotund little girl? She's
>about 7 years old, maybe 8. I don't really know.
>
>I have gradually cut back, 1/3rd of a can of wet food and slightly less
>of the dry. I have discovered that she's sort of rationing herself when
>it comes to the dry food. Used to be the dry food was completely gone
>by morning. Now there are always a few crunchies left when I get up.
>
>Buffy is perfectly healthy (wish I could have said that about Persia;
>she cost me a fortune in prescription food and vet bills over the years!).
>
>Any suggestions? Or do I just have a cute, charming, chubby cat? :)
>
>Jill

Be glad that you only have one cat. With my four, trying to get Marlo
on a diet was almost impossible, because the other three are grazers -
eating a bit, then coming back for more later.

Because of her problem with Baby (the overgrooming), she's been moved
to my mother's house. Mom loves her, I get to see her almost every day
(Marlo and mom) and we can limit what she (Marlo) can eat. She still
eats more than the vet says - she's allowed about 2 oz of wet food
twice a day, but she doesn't get unlimited dry food anymore. And she
has lost a lot of weight. Of course she does get to eat a lot of human
food now, but she's much slimmer.

I think, like humans. some cats just get fat, but in Marlo's case,
that girl does like to eat.

[jmcquown[_2_]]

On 1/25/2017 8:18 AM, dgk wrote:
> On Sat, 21 Jan 2017 09:50:00 -0500, jmcquown >
> wrote:
>
>> Any suggestions? Or do I just have a cute, charming, chubby cat? :)
>>
>> Jill
>
> Be glad that you only have one cat. With my four, trying to get Marlo
> on a diet was almost impossible, because the other three are grazers -
> eating a bit, then coming back for more later.
>
I cannot begin to imagine having more than one cat if they have
different dietary (or medical) needs. My hats off to those who manage
to do it. I've only ever had one cat before Buffy. And neither one of
them would like the company of another cat.

> Because of her problem with Baby (the overgrooming), she's been moved
> to my mother's house. Mom loves her, I get to see her almost every day
> (Marlo and mom) and we can limit what she (Marlo) can eat. She still
> eats more than the vet says - she's allowed about 2 oz of wet food
> twice a day, but she doesn't get unlimited dry food anymore. And she
> has lost a lot of weight. Of course she does get to eat a lot of human
> food now, but she's much slimmer.
>
> I think, like humans. some cats just get fat, but in Marlo's case,
> that girl does like to eat.
>
I'm glad Marlo is happy with your mom and your mom is happy with Marlo! :)

I think you're right. Buffy doesn't eat that much, and I give her as
much exercise as I can.

Jill

[Tigger[_2_]]

Joy wrote:
....
>
> If she's strictly an indoor cat, you might try a laser pointer to give her
> some exercise. Some cats aren't interested, but some will chase that red
> dot up and down a hallway or around in circles.

Doing that on a linoleum floor (or other slickish surface) is VERY
entertaining.