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#1
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Need serious and personal advice on putting my 2 overweight cats on a diet...
I have two cats and they both need to lose some weight, but I'm not sure how
to go about it. We're currently suffering financial problems so I can't really afford to take them to the vet just for diet advice, at least for a few months. Luna is a 4 year old male and is a Maine Coon/tabby mix. He's the one I'm worried about the most. He's a very large and muscular cat, but in the past few months I have increasingly noticed that he is having problems with his weight. He can't jump as well as he used to, he has no stamina for playing (won't even chase his sister all the way down the hall anymore), and his grooming has suffered (particularly on his back). He is the dominant cat in the household and I have noticed over the years that he is an emotional eater. If he feels less dominant or threatened or depressed, he will go and eat even if he just ate a short time ago. If one of us walks into the kitchen where his food is, he'll go eat. He needs to lose at least 2-3 pounds, maybe more (I need to get him on the scale). Mina is a 3 year old female and is a Siamese/tabby mix. She doesn't need to lose much weight at all (maybe a pound). She is very skittish and not at all dominant. I think that her weight problem is simply from inactivity, since she doesn't eat much. They've both been allowed to have all the dry food they've desired most of their lives, since that's how my husband's family always did it. I only had one outside cat, so I went by his advice. We also both used to work second shift, and they didn't ever really adapt to waking and eating on our schedule, so not having a hungry cat meowing in my ear at 5am worked at the time. Now, I'm willing to endure more inconvenience to get my old playful kitties back. Luna and Mina have been overweight for about a year but I've only been able to convince my husband that we need to do something about it now. One reason I've waited is I'm not sure how to go about it. Now I'm upset that I've waited this long because our first baby is due in 9 weeks and I don't want to spring too much stress on our cats at once. They've just been banned from the bedroom due to both the baby (we're cosleeping and I'm worried about it, long story, decision already made and I'm not backing out of it) and my husband's allergies (which have improved immensely in the couple of weeks they haven't been allowed in) and Luna isn't dealing with it at all well (usually pounds/cries at the door once or twice a night). I've pondered starting out with mixing half regular and half-diet until they're out of the regular food and then substituting diet food into their feeder for a while and see how that works (will Luna just eat more of it?). We've started instituting play periods every night with a laser pointer (we're currently trying to find a AA or AAA battery model since the tiny batteries are expensive) and other toys to help them become more active. Is this a good transition idea or should I go straight for rationed eating? When we do portion control, I've already figured out that they're going to need separate bowls. With treats, catnip, and everything else, Luna will eat his first and then go after Mina's. She's a slower and pickier eater and will always defer to him at the food bowl (not to mention he seriously outweighs her). Will this persist or will she get more of a backbone if she's hungry and he's going after her food every day? How far do I need to go to separate the bowls? Are we going to need to supervise? What diet food should I feed them? I love Eukanuba, but we simply can't afford it at the moment. We've been feeding them a brand from Sam's Club (Exceed I think its called) that had a similar formulation to Eukanuba. I didn't notice any diet food at Sam's so I'll have to go to Wal-Mart or Petco (no local Petsmart). They've never been overly picky so I don't think the change in food will bother either of them. I want something of good quality, but I don't know what to look for and I can't afford the premium brands (although if its rationed, premium food might be more reasonable down the road but not for the first few months). Next, what portions should I feed them? Luna is over 25 lbs (but he is a massive cat by nature), so will he need a little more than Mina (normal sized cat)? Are there any portion guidelines? How often should I feed them - morning and night? When they were kittens, they were fed three times a day, but we're not always home. And what should we do if we're going to be gone? Occasionally we're gone on overnight or weekend trips and we don't really have anyone who can come over and feed them. Are they going to be pounding at the door at 5am wanting food or can we train them to our schedule? Any suggestions would be more than welcome. I'm worried about my cats' health and I want to get them back on track. I'm googling for website advice, but any personal experiences would probably be more helpful. And am I just hormonal or will all these changes (no bedroom, diet, and new baby) going to be too much for them to deal with at one time? - Joanne |
#2
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"jjmoreta" writes:
I have two cats and they both need to lose some weight, but I'm not sure how to go about it. [much snippage] It's really not as difficult as you're making it out to be. Since both your cats need to lose weight, just switch to the diet cat food, and give them a little less each day than you are now. It's not going to kill them if the food dish is not full 24 hours a day. I try to put fresh food down for my cats in the evening rather than in the morning, so that they don't get into the habit of pestering me for breakfast early in the morning. FWIW, my two cats both like the new Purina "indoor cat" formula. -Sandra |
#3
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On Mon, 08 Sep 2003 19:53:18 GMT, Sandra Loosemore
wrote: I have two cats and they both need to lose some weight, but I'm not sure how to go about it. [much snippage] It's really not as difficult as you're making it out to be. Since both your cats need to lose weight, just switch to the diet cat food, and give them a little less each day than you are now. It's not going to kill them if the food dish is not full 24 hours a day. I try to put fresh food down for my cats in the evening rather than in the morning, so that they don't get into the habit of pestering me for breakfast early in the morning. FWIW, my two cats both like the new Purina "indoor cat" formula. -Sandra I agree. If both your cats are over weight and you have been leaving food out fot (Dry and / or canned) stop leaving it out. http://www.ameritech.net/users/lestark/my-babies.htm |
#4
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On Mon, 08 Sep 2003 19:53:18 GMT, Sandra Loosemore
wrote: I have two cats and they both need to lose some weight, but I'm not sure how to go about it. [much snippage] It's really not as difficult as you're making it out to be. Since both your cats need to lose weight, just switch to the diet cat food, and give them a little less each day than you are now. It's not going to kill them if the food dish is not full 24 hours a day. I try to put fresh food down for my cats in the evening rather than in the morning, so that they don't get into the habit of pestering me for breakfast early in the morning. FWIW, my two cats both like the new Purina "indoor cat" formula. -Sandra I agree. If both your cats are over weight and you have been leaving food out fot (Dry and / or canned) stop leaving it out. http://www.ameritech.net/users/lestark/my-babies.htm |
#5
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On Mon, 08 Sep 2003 19:53:18 GMT, Sandra Loosemore
wrote: I have two cats and they both need to lose some weight, but I'm not sure how to go about it. [much snippage] It's really not as difficult as you're making it out to be. Since both your cats need to lose weight, just switch to the diet cat food, and give them a little less each day than you are now. It's not going to kill them if the food dish is not full 24 hours a day. I try to put fresh food down for my cats in the evening rather than in the morning, so that they don't get into the habit of pestering me for breakfast early in the morning. FWIW, my two cats both like the new Purina "indoor cat" formula. -Sandra I agree. If both your cats are over weight and you have been leaving food out fot (Dry and / or canned) stop leaving it out. http://www.ameritech.net/users/lestark/my-babies.htm |
#6
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Best thing you can possibly do is switch them over to canned food with maybe
a tblsp. snack of dry. It will take a while, but they will lighten up. If your husband has allergies, that is a good decision about the bedroom. Luna will adjust. ONce the baby comes, Luna may not *want* to go in there. Remember to fuss over them a lot if you can when the baby comes so they aren't jealous. Karen "jjmoreta" wrote in message ... I have two cats and they both need to lose some weight, but I'm not sure how to go about it. We're currently suffering financial problems so I can't really afford to take them to the vet just for diet advice, at least for a few months. Luna is a 4 year old male and is a Maine Coon/tabby mix. He's the one I'm worried about the most. He's a very large and muscular cat, but in the past few months I have increasingly noticed that he is having problems with his weight. He can't jump as well as he used to, he has no stamina for playing (won't even chase his sister all the way down the hall anymore), and his grooming has suffered (particularly on his back). He is the dominant cat in the household and I have noticed over the years that he is an emotional eater. If he feels less dominant or threatened or depressed, he will go and eat even if he just ate a short time ago. If one of us walks into the kitchen where his food is, he'll go eat. He needs to lose at least 2-3 pounds, maybe more (I need to get him on the scale). Mina is a 3 year old female and is a Siamese/tabby mix. She doesn't need to lose much weight at all (maybe a pound). She is very skittish and not at all dominant. I think that her weight problem is simply from inactivity, since she doesn't eat much. They've both been allowed to have all the dry food they've desired most of their lives, since that's how my husband's family always did it. I only had one outside cat, so I went by his advice. We also both used to work second shift, and they didn't ever really adapt to waking and eating on our schedule, so not having a hungry cat meowing in my ear at 5am worked at the time. Now, I'm willing to endure more inconvenience to get my old playful kitties back. Luna and Mina have been overweight for about a year but I've only been able to convince my husband that we need to do something about it now. One reason I've waited is I'm not sure how to go about it. Now I'm upset that I've waited this long because our first baby is due in 9 weeks and I don't want to spring too much stress on our cats at once. They've just been banned from the bedroom due to both the baby (we're cosleeping and I'm worried about it, long story, decision already made and I'm not backing out of it) and my husband's allergies (which have improved immensely in the couple of weeks they haven't been allowed in) and Luna isn't dealing with it at all well (usually pounds/cries at the door once or twice a night). I've pondered starting out with mixing half regular and half-diet until they're out of the regular food and then substituting diet food into their feeder for a while and see how that works (will Luna just eat more of it?). We've started instituting play periods every night with a laser pointer (we're currently trying to find a AA or AAA battery model since the tiny batteries are expensive) and other toys to help them become more active. Is this a good transition idea or should I go straight for rationed eating? When we do portion control, I've already figured out that they're going to need separate bowls. With treats, catnip, and everything else, Luna will eat his first and then go after Mina's. She's a slower and pickier eater and will always defer to him at the food bowl (not to mention he seriously outweighs her). Will this persist or will she get more of a backbone if she's hungry and he's going after her food every day? How far do I need to go to separate the bowls? Are we going to need to supervise? What diet food should I feed them? I love Eukanuba, but we simply can't afford it at the moment. We've been feeding them a brand from Sam's Club (Exceed I think its called) that had a similar formulation to Eukanuba. I didn't notice any diet food at Sam's so I'll have to go to Wal-Mart or Petco (no local Petsmart). They've never been overly picky so I don't think the change in food will bother either of them. I want something of good quality, but I don't know what to look for and I can't afford the premium brands (although if its rationed, premium food might be more reasonable down the road but not for the first few months). Next, what portions should I feed them? Luna is over 25 lbs (but he is a massive cat by nature), so will he need a little more than Mina (normal sized cat)? Are there any portion guidelines? How often should I feed them - morning and night? When they were kittens, they were fed three times a day, but we're not always home. And what should we do if we're going to be gone? Occasionally we're gone on overnight or weekend trips and we don't really have anyone who can come over and feed them. Are they going to be pounding at the door at 5am wanting food or can we train them to our schedule? Any suggestions would be more than welcome. I'm worried about my cats' health and I want to get them back on track. I'm googling for website advice, but any personal experiences would probably be more helpful. And am I just hormonal or will all these changes (no bedroom, diet, and new baby) going to be too much for them to deal with at one time? - Joanne |
#7
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Karen Chuplis wrote:
Best thing you can possibly do is switch them over to canned food with maybe a tblsp. snack of dry. It will take a while, but they will lighten up. If your husband has allergies, that is a good decision about the bedroom. Luna will adjust. ONce the baby comes, Luna may not *want* to go in there. Remember to fuss over them a lot if you can when the baby comes so they aren't jealous. Karen Is canned food a lot better and/or less expensive in the long run? They got wet food as kittens, but when we've fed them with it in the past couple of years (we keep some on hand in case we run out of dry cat food) and they're not terribly thrilled with it. They sniff at the canned stuff for a while before they'll touch it and if its the Whiskas morsels/gravy stuff, they'll eat the gravy first and not always eat the rest. Or is that a good thing if I want to put them on a diet? What should I use for adult portions? I'll keep this idea in mind. As for the baby, I'm not worried about them being jealous, just depressed. Mina is more my husband's cat so I'll have to make sure he pays extra attention to her, but I belong to Luna. Thank goodness he loves laying at my feet most of the time. His feelings are hurt easily and I haven't been a very patient mommy during sections of this pregnancy - usually hormonal grumpiness. He demands love on his own time and terms which doesn't always apply now and probably won't in the future. If he doesn't get the attention he needs, he'll sulk through the time that I have available (I may watch 4 hours of TV in a row some nights but if he's mad he'll ignore me). At least he can jump on my chest and tummy again (a favorite activity since at least 8 weeks old) - I was too tender early on for 25+ lbs of furry love and he didn't take it well. He gets kicked pretty often but doesn't seem to notice. At the very least, he'll love that I'll be home for at least 3-4 months. 8) I'm just praying he gets used to the bedroom door being closed soon. It's closed 24 hours a day and Luna doesn't have a problem until usually around 2-3am. My husband will get up and spray him with water if yelling "No" at the door loudly doesn't work, but what makes me mad some nights (I'm having a hard enough time sleeping right now that Luna isn't helping) is that Luna will scratch at the door and then run down the hall before hubby has a chance to get to the door. He's a smart cat! *sigh* I love Mina with all my heart, but she doesn't have half the brains that Luna does (she still doesn't realize the water bottle is us, Luna does). I can't understand how she's a better hunter sometimes... - Joanne |
#8
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Karen Chuplis wrote:
Best thing you can possibly do is switch them over to canned food with maybe a tblsp. snack of dry. It will take a while, but they will lighten up. If your husband has allergies, that is a good decision about the bedroom. Luna will adjust. ONce the baby comes, Luna may not *want* to go in there. Remember to fuss over them a lot if you can when the baby comes so they aren't jealous. Karen Is canned food a lot better and/or less expensive in the long run? They got wet food as kittens, but when we've fed them with it in the past couple of years (we keep some on hand in case we run out of dry cat food) and they're not terribly thrilled with it. They sniff at the canned stuff for a while before they'll touch it and if its the Whiskas morsels/gravy stuff, they'll eat the gravy first and not always eat the rest. Or is that a good thing if I want to put them on a diet? What should I use for adult portions? I'll keep this idea in mind. As for the baby, I'm not worried about them being jealous, just depressed. Mina is more my husband's cat so I'll have to make sure he pays extra attention to her, but I belong to Luna. Thank goodness he loves laying at my feet most of the time. His feelings are hurt easily and I haven't been a very patient mommy during sections of this pregnancy - usually hormonal grumpiness. He demands love on his own time and terms which doesn't always apply now and probably won't in the future. If he doesn't get the attention he needs, he'll sulk through the time that I have available (I may watch 4 hours of TV in a row some nights but if he's mad he'll ignore me). At least he can jump on my chest and tummy again (a favorite activity since at least 8 weeks old) - I was too tender early on for 25+ lbs of furry love and he didn't take it well. He gets kicked pretty often but doesn't seem to notice. At the very least, he'll love that I'll be home for at least 3-4 months. 8) I'm just praying he gets used to the bedroom door being closed soon. It's closed 24 hours a day and Luna doesn't have a problem until usually around 2-3am. My husband will get up and spray him with water if yelling "No" at the door loudly doesn't work, but what makes me mad some nights (I'm having a hard enough time sleeping right now that Luna isn't helping) is that Luna will scratch at the door and then run down the hall before hubby has a chance to get to the door. He's a smart cat! *sigh* I love Mina with all my heart, but she doesn't have half the brains that Luna does (she still doesn't realize the water bottle is us, Luna does). I can't understand how she's a better hunter sometimes... - Joanne |
#9
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Karen Chuplis wrote:
Best thing you can possibly do is switch them over to canned food with maybe a tblsp. snack of dry. It will take a while, but they will lighten up. If your husband has allergies, that is a good decision about the bedroom. Luna will adjust. ONce the baby comes, Luna may not *want* to go in there. Remember to fuss over them a lot if you can when the baby comes so they aren't jealous. Karen Is canned food a lot better and/or less expensive in the long run? They got wet food as kittens, but when we've fed them with it in the past couple of years (we keep some on hand in case we run out of dry cat food) and they're not terribly thrilled with it. They sniff at the canned stuff for a while before they'll touch it and if its the Whiskas morsels/gravy stuff, they'll eat the gravy first and not always eat the rest. Or is that a good thing if I want to put them on a diet? What should I use for adult portions? I'll keep this idea in mind. As for the baby, I'm not worried about them being jealous, just depressed. Mina is more my husband's cat so I'll have to make sure he pays extra attention to her, but I belong to Luna. Thank goodness he loves laying at my feet most of the time. His feelings are hurt easily and I haven't been a very patient mommy during sections of this pregnancy - usually hormonal grumpiness. He demands love on his own time and terms which doesn't always apply now and probably won't in the future. If he doesn't get the attention he needs, he'll sulk through the time that I have available (I may watch 4 hours of TV in a row some nights but if he's mad he'll ignore me). At least he can jump on my chest and tummy again (a favorite activity since at least 8 weeks old) - I was too tender early on for 25+ lbs of furry love and he didn't take it well. He gets kicked pretty often but doesn't seem to notice. At the very least, he'll love that I'll be home for at least 3-4 months. 8) I'm just praying he gets used to the bedroom door being closed soon. It's closed 24 hours a day and Luna doesn't have a problem until usually around 2-3am. My husband will get up and spray him with water if yelling "No" at the door loudly doesn't work, but what makes me mad some nights (I'm having a hard enough time sleeping right now that Luna isn't helping) is that Luna will scratch at the door and then run down the hall before hubby has a chance to get to the door. He's a smart cat! *sigh* I love Mina with all my heart, but she doesn't have half the brains that Luna does (she still doesn't realize the water bottle is us, Luna does). I can't understand how she's a better hunter sometimes... - Joanne |
#10
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"jjmoreta" writes:
I have two cats and they both need to lose some weight, but I'm not sure how to go about it. [much snippage] It's really not as difficult as you're making it out to be. Since both your cats need to lose weight, just switch to the diet cat food, and give them a little less each day than you are now. It's not going to kill them if the food dish is not full 24 hours a day. I try to put fresh food down for my cats in the evening rather than in the morning, so that they don't get into the habit of pestering me for breakfast early in the morning. FWIW, my two cats both like the new Purina "indoor cat" formula. -Sandra |
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