feeding my cat..??

"Jim Wild" wrote in message
...
Sure I'm no cat expert but out of a life time of owning cats and free
feeding, I never had one with a weight problem. I'm sure you are right
about problems developing, however I would tend to think that obesity in
cats is rare. Believe me, I've had some heavy cats but they were not
fat. Maybe I just had good luck. My cats have always averaged eating
about 1 box of dry food a week. That seems reasonable. A box every 2
days, now that would be a problem.

To the person who originally posted this question, if your cat cries for
food like you said, try keeping just a small amount of dry food
available to him for nibbling. It sound like your cat may be spoiled in
his feeding habits. You think kids get spoiled? Try listening to a
siamese cry for food. It sounds an air raid siren with fur.


I didn't read all of the other posts, but, you *have* been lucky. I have
two adult cats. One will stop eating when he's full (tho he is slightly
overweight) and the other one will eat all her food and anything her
"brother" leaves untouched! She is quite overweight even tho I feel like
I'm controlling what she's eating..... (Phil, this would be Betsy I'm
talking about! Pre-illness weight was 9.8 and she is now up to 13#!!!!!) I
know the excess weight isn't good for her and we have probably spoiled her
because she went through a serious illness. She was malnurished when we
found her and has always been "hungry!"

Linda

From: (Jim Wild)

I would tend to think that obesity in
cats is rare.

Actually the statistic for obese cats in the U.S. is something like 25%.
Doesn't sound rare to me.

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

From: (Jim Wild)

I would tend to think that obesity in
cats is rare.

Actually the statistic for obese cats in the U.S. is something like 25%.
Doesn't sound rare to me.

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

I'm sure you are right
about problems developing, however I would tend to think that obesity in
cats is rare. Believe me, I've had some heavy cats but they were not
fat.

Jim, they probably did meet the definition for obese. Beauty is in the eye of
the beholder, you know.

If a cat is 20% over it's ideal body weight it is considered obese. If a cat
should weigh 10lbs and is 12 lbs--there you go.

I'm sure you are right
about problems developing, however I would tend to think that obesity in
cats is rare. Believe me, I've had some heavy cats but they were not
fat.

Jim, they probably did meet the definition for obese. Beauty is in the eye of
the beholder, you know.

If a cat is 20% over it's ideal body weight it is considered obese. If a cat
should weigh 10lbs and is 12 lbs--there you go.

"Phil P." wrote in message
...


[snip]

Some cats can regulate themselves - others can't. Also, exceptionally
palatable diets can and do override a cats satiety cues.

This is something that actually annoys me a bit. I'd love to find a premium
cat food that isn't *excessively* tasty so I could leave some out without
worrying about over eating. As it is I have to closely monitor my cats
eating habits as one of my cats is a nibbler and the other scoffs her food -
which was not a problem she seemed to have on the 'standard' dry food she
was being fed in the shelter for the month or more she was there before we
adopted her. And to compound the problem the nibbler is on about 70%
hairball control food whilst the scoffer is mostly on t/d which has a higher
calorific content so she needs less of it... (brushing her teeth is not an
option. Not yet anyway. She's a second hand cat and literally panics if held
or patted the wrong way. And I'm not just talking wriggling or struggling to
get away, it's full on 'jump a mile in the air' panic)

Purplecat

"Phil P." wrote in message
...


[snip]

Some cats can regulate themselves - others can't. Also, exceptionally
palatable diets can and do override a cats satiety cues.

This is something that actually annoys me a bit. I'd love to find a premium
cat food that isn't *excessively* tasty so I could leave some out without
worrying about over eating. As it is I have to closely monitor my cats
eating habits as one of my cats is a nibbler and the other scoffs her food -
which was not a problem she seemed to have on the 'standard' dry food she
was being fed in the shelter for the month or more she was there before we
adopted her. And to compound the problem the nibbler is on about 70%
hairball control food whilst the scoffer is mostly on t/d which has a higher
calorific content so she needs less of it... (brushing her teeth is not an
option. Not yet anyway. She's a second hand cat and literally panics if held
or patted the wrong way. And I'm not just talking wriggling or struggling to
get away, it's full on 'jump a mile in the air' panic)

Purplecat