Is Exercise Enough?

"Claude V. Lucas" wrote in message
...
In article 5c5484226c00a@uwe, NanCe via CatKB.com u18214@uwe wrote:
Sammy is my little chubby. She is a rescue like my other cats, but by
looks
and temperment I'd have to say she has 99.99999% Maine Coon in her
ancestry.
She is *huge* over all (here is a picture of her with 7.5 pound Jessie:
http://www.possibleplaces.com/CatNipped/Jessie17/ - here is a closer
picture
of her: http://www.possibleplaces.com/CatNipped/Sammy28/, or:
http://www.possibleplaces.com/CatNipped/Sammy26/, or:
http://www.possibleplaces.com/CatNipped/Squirrel/). She's tall enough to
stand on my kitchen floor put her front paws on my counter top!

She is so cute! Maybe it's just me but she doesn't look that big to me,
maybe because she's lying down(?) although she is only 2 years old and as
you said, could get bigger in the years to come. I know it's really tough
when you have more than one cat to feed. I had the same problem - one of
my
cats was 7 lbs while the other was 14 lbs. So I would pick up the food so
the 14 lb wouldn't eat all day but then I worried about the 7 lb one not
getting enough calories so after awhile I quit picking up the food. It is
14
years later and my 14 lb girl is still 14 lbs but is okay - no diabetes or
heart disease (thank goodness). I think that some cats are always going
to
have weight problems and some are lucky and are slim (just like humans).
When she was only 6 months old, she already had a hanging belly (we didn't
overfeed her) but my 7 lb one was super slim at 6 months.

She loves to play chase with me - we take turns chasing each other all
through the house and up and down stairs (it's so cute that when it's her
turn to chase me she taps me on the back of the legs with her paws as if
to
say, "You're it!". I can't do this as much as she would need to lose
weight
though, I get tired too fast (at 54, I can't outrun a kitten any more)!
;

You know, this may be the thing that helps. My 14 lb one hardly ever
exercised; I tried to get her to but she hated it. You're lucky your's
likes
it. Keep it up; don't let her become lazy as she gets older.


NanCe

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200602/1

Pretty cat.

I think Maine Coons can handle a bit of extra weight
without being obese, although it's not at all a scientific
opinion. Bubba's 23Lbs+ and from some angles looks
like he swallowed a baseball, but he is very solid and
not really flabby or anything. My occasional jokes
aside he can move the bulk around the house at an
amazing speed when he feels like it and has no problem
jumping up on (my) stomach high surfaces. He doesn't get
a lot of exercise other than 5 or 10 minutes of chasing
a stuffed fish on a string once or twice a day. I've
put him on a strict ration of Royal Canin MC Kibble
in the amount recommended on the bag for weight reduction
and he still seems to be growing. He's a rescue kitty too,
so I don't really know how old he is. The shelter said 2-3
years, the vet said 2-5 years...

Anybody know how to measure body fat on a cat?

What *is* the proper body fat for a cat?


Claude

Not other than just by sight. Here is Purina's web site page on the
subject: http://www.placervillevet.com/feline...0condition.htm

According to this, Sammy would fall between 5 and 7 (leaning more towards a
7) - overweight, but not obese (yet!).

Hugs,

CatNipped

In article ,
CatNipped wrote:
"Claude V. Lucas" wrote in message
.. .
In article 5c5484226c00a@uwe, NanCe via CatKB.com u18214@uwe wrote:
Sammy is my little chubby. She is a rescue like my other cats, but by
looks
and temperment I'd have to say she has 99.99999% Maine Coon in her
ancestry.
She is *huge* over all (here is a picture of her with 7.5 pound Jessie:
http://www.possibleplaces.com/CatNipped/Jessie17/ - here is a closer
picture
of her: http://www.possibleplaces.com/CatNipped/Sammy28/, or:
http://www.possibleplaces.com/CatNipped/Sammy26/, or:
http://www.possibleplaces.com/CatNipped/Squirrel/). She's tall enough to
stand on my kitchen floor put her front paws on my counter top!

She is so cute! Maybe it's just me but she doesn't look that big to me,
maybe because she's lying down(?) although she is only 2 years old and as
you said, could get bigger in the years to come. I know it's really tough
when you have more than one cat to feed. I had the same problem - one of
my
cats was 7 lbs while the other was 14 lbs. So I would pick up the food so
the 14 lb wouldn't eat all day but then I worried about the 7 lb one not
getting enough calories so after awhile I quit picking up the food. It is
14
years later and my 14 lb girl is still 14 lbs but is okay - no diabetes or
heart disease (thank goodness). I think that some cats are always going
to
have weight problems and some are lucky and are slim (just like humans).
When she was only 6 months old, she already had a hanging belly (we didn't
overfeed her) but my 7 lb one was super slim at 6 months.

She loves to play chase with me - we take turns chasing each other all
through the house and up and down stairs (it's so cute that when it's her
turn to chase me she taps me on the back of the legs with her paws as if
to
say, "You're it!". I can't do this as much as she would need to lose
weight
though, I get tired too fast (at 54, I can't outrun a kitten any more)!
;

You know, this may be the thing that helps. My 14 lb one hardly ever
exercised; I tried to get her to but she hated it. You're lucky your's
likes
it. Keep it up; don't let her become lazy as she gets older.


NanCe

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200602/1

Pretty cat.

I think Maine Coons can handle a bit of extra weight
without being obese, although it's not at all a scientific
opinion. Bubba's 23Lbs+ and from some angles looks
like he swallowed a baseball, but he is very solid and
not really flabby or anything. My occasional jokes
aside he can move the bulk around the house at an
amazing speed when he feels like it and has no problem
jumping up on (my) stomach high surfaces. He doesn't get
a lot of exercise other than 5 or 10 minutes of chasing
a stuffed fish on a string once or twice a day. I've
put him on a strict ration of Royal Canin MC Kibble
in the amount recommended on the bag for weight reduction
and he still seems to be growing. He's a rescue kitty too,
so I don't really know how old he is. The shelter said 2-3
years, the vet said 2-5 years...

Anybody know how to measure body fat on a cat?

What *is* the proper body fat for a cat?


Claude

Not other than just by sight. Here is Purina's web site page on the
subject: http://www.placervillevet.com/feline...0condition.htm

According to this, Sammy would fall between 5 and 7 (leaning more towards a
7) - overweight, but not obese (yet!).

Hugs,

CatNipped



Ouch.

According to that chart, Bubba's an easy 8 according to the picture.

He just doesn't seem to be *that* fat in person. Just big. He's mostly
solid with a floppy belly hang. He definately has a waist between
his belly and back legs. I still think MCs are more able to tote
around extra that would be too much on a slimmer breed, but again,
that's an uneducated opinion.

Going by the feeding chart at

http://www.feline-nutrition.com/mainecoon.htm

He's *way* too big according to the silhuettes. He's definately
the one on the end. I've been feeding him the recommended
90 gram cup of Royal Canin for the over 20Lb butterball split
into 3 feedings, but he's still growing. He seems to be OK with
that amount of food. Any less and he gets a bad attitude. If I
forget the portion before bedtime he wakes me up at 4:30AM by
licking my eyelids while I'm sleeping. :^)


Claude

he wakes me up at 4:30AM by
licking my eyelids while I'm sleeping. :^)

Ahhhhh, ever cute! (although that's probably not what you're thinking when
that bristly, wet little tongue is scraping your eyelids at 4:30 in the
morning)


Anna

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200602/1

In article 5c56a033450de@uwe, Anna via CatKB.com u18214@uwe wrote:
he wakes me up at 4:30AM by
licking my eyelids while I'm sleeping. :^)

Ahhhhh, ever cute! (although that's probably not what you're thinking when
that bristly, wet little tongue is scraping your eyelids at 4:30 in the
morning)

Wet Sandpaper...

I'm getting better about remembering to leave food out before I go to bed.

:^)


Claude