Another Dusty story and a question about a cat 'diet' ...

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John Rahn - 23 Nov 2005 16:05 GMT

So ... I get home from work one evening ... I'm sitting on the couch
waiting for the coffee to get done, catching up on some national
television news. I feel a 'tap' on my shoulder.

It's Cosmo, and I can feel the couch vibrating from his very deep
purring, and he has that glassy-eyed, "gimme some luv" posture.

So I turn and give him his 'massage' (he loves a massage between his
'shoulders') and pet him and tell him whatta good boy he is. He's
purring like crazy and drooling (which is an indication of how "into
it" he is) ...

Out of the corner of my eye I can see my Dusty - my bodyguard - sitting
on the closed laptop on the coffee table just GLARING at Cosmo. She is
watching me giving Cosmo attention and she is NONE TOO HAPPY ABOUT IT.

She very slowly starts moving towards the Cos. "HEY!" I say to her ...
and she stops ... momentarily ...

I go back to giving Cos some luv and sure enough, I can see Dusty ...
VERY slowly moving again towards Cosmo ...

"HEY!" I said again. "YOU BE NICE."

And with that, she snapped her head around at me and gave me a very
quick, very short, very loud "MA" sound and went back towards Cosmo.

The little witch was telling me "SHUT UP" ...

I was cracking up.

Dusty, in the past couple of months has really been putting on weight
(no ... not pregnant). I started feeding them Iam's 'original formula'
cat food after noticing how much they like that brand. Dusty really
loves the stuff.

She is the only one putting on weight. She eats ... uhhh ... not A LOT
of food at one sitting ... but she eats very frequently. Every time I
go into the kitchen she follows me in there and has ANOTHER snack.

She's very healthy looking and has a beautiful, thick coat (a sign of
winter to come?) this year. But when she walks away from me ... all I
can say is 'Damn ... look at that a.s' (is that wrong?) ... and she
seems very happy and content.

But I wonder if I need to start putting her on a 'diet'? She is just
over six years old now and, like I said, seems otherwise very happy
(especially when she is demonstrating her 'alpha cat' status while
beating up the boys) and healthy. They don't go outside but she does
get a little exercise chasing the boys around the house.

I have ALWAYS had cat food down 24/7/365 so they can eat when they need
to. The boys aren't getting heavier, just the Dusty cat.

Do I need to put her on a diet so she can get her ... uhhh ... 'girlish
figure' back?

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Karen - 23 Nov 2005 16:55 GMT

> So ... I get home from work one evening ... I'm sitting on the couch
> waiting for the coffee to get done, catching up on some national
[quoted text clipped - 52 lines]
> Do I need to put her on a diet so she can get her ... uhhh ... 'girlish
> figure' back?

Let's see a picture :) Then we can tell you.

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Bill Stock - 24 Nov 2005 00:46 GMT

> Let's see a picture :) Then we can tell you.

LOL, very subtle piccie guilt Karen. :)

John,

We used to free feed our crew, but the old girl, Cali started getting too
fat. So she's been on a "diet" for a couple of years, but at least she's not
getting any worse. Smokey is also getting an "a.s", but won't eat anything
else but Whiskas. Even Cleo gained more than a pound in the month between
her first check-up and her post-Spay review. The vet said she should be on
weight maintenance, even though she's still less than nine pounds. Wait 'til
she sees Smokey's girth next month. :)

It sounds like your cats are indoor/outdoor cats or you would have had
corpulent kitties sooner.

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John Rahn - 24 Nov 2005 07:40 GMT

> Let's see a picture :) Then we can tell you.

Yeah, I have been working on a web page, I'll make a section for/about
the kidz this weekend ...

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John Rahn - 24 Nov 2005 07:56 GMT

> Let's see a picture :) Then we can tell you.

Yeah, I have been working on a web page, I'll make a section for/about
the kidz this weekend ...

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jXwXeXrXmXoXnXt@sonic.net - 24 Nov 2005 00:30 GMT

> It's Cosmo, and I can feel the couch vibrating from his very deep
> purring, and he has that glassy-eyed, "gimme some luv" posture.

Awww..

> Out of the corner of my eye I can see my Dusty - my bodyguard - sitting
> on the closed laptop on the coffee table just GLARING at Cosmo. She is
> watching me giving Cosmo attention and she is NONE TOO HAPPY ABOUT IT.

> She very slowly starts moving towards the Cos. "HEY!" I say to her ...
> and she stops ... momentarily ...

> I go back to giving Cos some luv and sure enough, I can see Dusty ...
> VERY slowly moving again towards Cosmo ...

> "HEY!" I said again. "YOU BE NICE."

WOw, does this ever sound familiar! This is how it is when Licky starts
to tease Smudge. (Doesn't matter if I'm petting Smudge or not, he just
likes to harass her.) I say the exact same thing to him, "You be nice." He
always backs off, but I think the only lesson he's taken away from that
is "I can't tease the fluffy grey monstrosity unless the human is away."

In your situation, it sounds like Dusty has decided she owns you, and
her subordinates are not allowed to have access to you. So perhaps she
was on her way to give Cosmo a little lesson on this?

> Dusty, in the past couple of months has really been putting on weight
> (no ... not pregnant). I started feeding them Iam's 'original formula'
> cat food after noticing how much they like that brand. Dusty really
> loves the stuff.

Could it be that we're going to have another Flabulous Dusty in this
group? :)

My feeling about cats and weight is, if the cat is healthy and active,
then it's OK if they're a little chubby. If they seem to be less mobile,
less active, or uncomfortable, then it might be time to think about
some weight-loss. However, this is somehting that needs to be done
undre a vet's supervision. It's extremely dangerous for a cat to lose
too much weight too quickly - she could develop hepatic lipidosis which
is potentially fatal. Unlike in humans, where our bodies can digest
our own fat for fuel, a cat's liver can become quickly overwhelmed if
forced to use its fat stores. So weight-loss has to be very slow and
careful. Definitely talk to your vet about it.

I know it's hard to put one cat on a diet when everyone else is used
to having access to food all the time. I've never tried to do that,
so I don't have advice on it, unfortunately.

Joyce

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John Rahn - 24 Nov 2005 07:49 GMT

> > It's Cosmo, and I can feel the couch vibrating from his very deep
> > purring, and he has that glassy-eyed, "gimme some luv" posture.
>
> Awww..

Yeah, he's a 'toucher'. If you are eating chicken hell 'tap' you ... if
you are in HIS spot on the couch he will 'tap' you ... if he needs
some luvin' he will 'tap' you ... he's always been very ... uhhh ...
curiously 'tactile(?)' and has used his paws to touch stuff ... he
stands and jiggles the doorknob on the closet where his toys are kept.

>
>
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> her subordinates are not allowed to have access to you. So perhaps she
> was on her way to give Cosmo a little lesson on this?

She surely does own me. I've been through some medical stuff in the
past few years and she has been my 'protector' ... she walks a step or
two ahead of me ... clearing the way for me (I am on crutches) ... she
even chases the boys (cats) away when they are on MY spot on the couch.

It's so funny when she TELLS me its time for bed.

> Could it be that we're going to have another Flabulous Dusty in this
> group? :)

She's always been a little 'chunky', but a more 'solid' type. Her
nickname (even as a kitten) has been 'chunky butt'.

> My feeling about cats and weight is, if the cat is healthy and active,
> then it's OK if they're a little chubby. If they seem to be less mobile,
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> Joyce

I'll keep an eye on her. She sure does seem very content ... and ...
uhhh ... matriarchal(?) ...

John

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Marina - 24 Nov 2005 03:37 GMT

> So ... I get home from work one evening ... I'm sitting on the couch
> waiting for the coffee to get done, catching up on some national
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
>
> I was cracking up.

So would I have been. There's nothing quite so hilarious as a cat
telling off its human.

> Dusty, in the past couple of months has really been putting on weight
> (no ... not pregnant). I started feeding them Iam's 'original formula'
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
> Do I need to put her on a diet so she can get her ... uhhh ... 'girlish
> figure' back?

Wish I had an answer for you, but I've never free-fed my cats. I always
give them wet food, with a handful of dry for an evening snack (except
for Miranda, who doesn't 'do' catfood). One time, I experimented with
feeding them only dry, and Nikki ballooned out to a little blimp. She
loved her kibbles very much - too much.

Signature

Marina, Frank, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Nikki.
marina (dot) kurten (at) iki (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

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John Rahn - 24 Nov 2005 07:55 GMT

> > "HEY!" I said again. "YOU BE NICE."
> >
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> So would I have been. There's nothing quite so hilarious as a cat
> telling off its human.

Yeah she is good at it. Cosmo used to yell at me ... when he'd get
startled and JUMP or do domething silly and I'd laugh at him ... he
would trot into the bedroom ... yelling at me all the way ... I guess
he didn't like being laughed at back then.

> Wish I had an answer for you, but I've never free-fed my cats. I always
> give them wet food, with a handful of dry for an evening snack (except
> for Miranda, who doesn't 'do' catfood). One time, I experimented with
> feeding them only dry, and Nikki ballooned out to a little blimp. She
> loved her kibbles very much - too much.

I cant feed the kids wet food. Invariably someone ALWAYS throws up ...
plus there seems to be a bit more pungent ... 'aroma' when they use the
litter box ... which remnds me ... a long time ago I hadda cat that no
matter what I fed the kid ... HOLY COW ... whatta smell ... HONESTLY it
would wake me from a sound sleep in the middle of the night sometimes
when he was doin his business ... WOW ...

John

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Marina - 25 Nov 2005 04:26 GMT

>>>"HEY!" I said again. "YOU BE NICE."
>>>
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> would trot into the bedroom ... yelling at me all the way ... I guess
> he didn't like being laughed at back then.

Miranda has started complaining to me about the weather, now that winter
is closing in on Finland. She wants out in the enclosure, then in, then
out, then she comes in and complains about the cold and the rain to me,
then she goes out, then she comes in and complains about the high autumn
winds, then she goes out, then she comes in and complains... She doesn't
believe me when I say I can't fix it.

Signature

Marina, Frank and Miranda. In loving memory of Nikki.
marina (dot) kurten (at) iki (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

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Adrian - 25 Nov 2005 10:28 GMT

>>>> "HEY!" I said again. "YOU BE NICE."
>>>>
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
> the high autumn winds, then she goes out, then she comes in and
> complains... She doesn't believe me when I say I can't fix it.

I got complaints from my two this morning, we woke up to 5cm of snow on the
ground.

Signature

Adrian (Owned by Snoopy and Bagheera)
A House is not a home, without a cat.
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

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