Discussions »Health

Chubby monkey

Lynn on Health - Thu, July 17 2008

I have a problem and need some help here. My little Izzy isn't so little anymore. When she first adopted us, she would eat to the point of making herself sick. That's the feral mentality coming out I know. The I need to eat while there's food available since I'm not sure when my next meal will be. I was hoping that she'd come to realize that she'll never go hungery again and stop the gourging behavior. She doesn't eat to sickness anymore but she is turning out to be a chubby monkey. Which in it's self I don't understand. She's always chasing or being chased by one of our other kitties or better yet stalking Titus. (When she chomps down on his tail while he's dreaming is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.) Our kitties are free fed. I buy Felidae but Izzy and Jordan both usually end up eating the cheap junk my Mom feeds her kitties. There are several issues here and as far as I'm concerned a couple of those aren't going to change until I'm able to move into my own place. I guess I'm really just looking for any suggestions that may help. I know it's not healthy for her to be overweight. And I don't want her to start down that path so early in life. Izzy isn't even a year old yet. I guess I'm just going to have to find more things to keep her physically active.

CatHerder on Jul 17 at 04:41 PM

Sounds like my Patches... Unfortunately the best ways to maintain (not get any fatter) and/or reduce would be extra activity along with saying good bye to the free feeding.

Lynn on Jul 17 at 05:30 PM

She's my smiling Buddha kitty. She loves to be held like a baby while getting belly scratches. And as much as I love that little belly it needs to get smaller.

Mama Muttblood^..^ on Jul 17 at 07:36 PM

Do you play with her? I'm talking about playing with an interactive wand or something you can play stalking games with her so she is moving around even more. Cats don't like to play nearly as long as dogs do...usually just about 10 minutes several times per day so she burns some extra calories until you can change her food. You also might try getting her acclimated to a cat harness and taking her for walks.

Amanda on Jul 17 at 08:04 PM

Do the other cats need free choice feed? If you could feed her in a separate place or keep the others feed in a place where she can't get to? If she is close to a year I would stop the kitten food if you are giving her that. I have my 2 cats on a diet and I have to feed them a set amount twice a day. If they eat that too soon tough luck. They do share good though and one is not dominating the feed bowl. I know that free choice in cats is ideally the best for them (to eat small meals) but it is hard when you are up against that mentality as you are.

Lynn on Jul 17 at 08:04 PM

Her favorite toys are string and the laser pointer which we play with quite a bit. I've been wondering if Jordan's harness might fit her now that she's chunked up. I wouldn't have called Jordan fat, he's just a big cat. But Jordan's lost some weight from Izzy pestering him all the time. And we don't regularly feed treats other than catnip.

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