On 4/11/2016 12:24 PM, Cheryl wrote:
On 2016-04-11 1:04 PM, jmcquown wrote:
On 4/11/2016 6:09 AM, Cheryl wrote:
A vet suggested to me that I put food in those plastic balls with holes
in them so that my rather large cats would get some exercise. I'm not
sure that this was ever effective, since I put treats in them to
increase the cats' motivation, and the cats seemed to expect the treats
in addition to their meals.

Seems sort of counter-productive for a vet to suggest since the cats
were already large and giving them treats even in a ball
toy/dispenser... you know what I mean.

Possibly the original instructions were "food". I don't really remember
exactly, but I had the idea that they'd use it more and get more
exercise if food they really liked was placed in it.

Cinnamon will puzzle it out. But is that treat-ball working for
exercise or is it just a treat dispenser?

Well, now, she certainly moves more when using the treat ball than she
does when strolling over to the bowl on the floor, but whether it's
enough more to count as exercise, I couldn't say! She doesn't get any
other form of exercise than walking to and from her food and water or
the litterbox.

Buffy is plump. I haven't been able to effect a change in her weight,
which is about 13 lbs. I'm sure I'm not over-feeding her, but then this
is only the second cat I've ever been owned by. Persia (RB) required
prescription food almost right off the bat.

Buffy has a stout stubby body with short legs. Maybe she's supposed to
look like a little orange barrel with striped legs.

I think Cinnamon is currently a bit more than that, which makes her too
big, even I have to admit that. When she and Sam were weighed by the vet
a few years ago, I pointed out that at least she weighed less than Sam,
and the vet replied "But she's got a shorter wheelbase!".

I like that term! A shorter wheelbase. Yep, that describes Buffy.

I tended to slip back into the habit of free-feeding them, and of course
when Sam was sick, I was so anxious to get some food into him that I
stopped worrying about diets. I'm trying again to feed Cinnamon only the
recommended amount morning and evening, carefully measured out, well,
plus a few treats. She doesn't much appreciate this approach to
cat-feeding. That cat adores her food, and also sometimes moans that the
food isn't quite good enough although if I hold out and leave it there,
she eats it. Now that she's using the treat ball, maybe I'll put part of
her measured allotment of dry food in it.

I understand completely. Persia had a really sensitive tummy and almost
from the start lots of health problems. Hence the expensive
prescription food.

I really didn't know what to do with Buffy. She was already a little
chubby when I adopted her. She gets a small portion of canned food
every day plus 1/2 a cup of dry, portioned out morning and evening. No
matter how much we play/exercise she is bound to be a chubby little cat.

Jill