Managing one fat cat and one skinny minny?

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Karen AKA Kajikit - 21 Mar 2005 01:17 GMT

Until now we've let Scout and Silver freefeed... whenever I see the
foodbowls empty I fill them with kitten kibble again. Plus they get an
extra meal of meat of some kind during the day, and when we have
yoghurt or pudding they demand the right to lick the lid and the
cup... the problem is that Scout hardly eats anything, and Silver is a
greedy hog who eats everything in sight! She definitely takes after
her meowmie, because I don't have a lot of selfcontrol when it comes
to food... I also don't have a lot of selfcontrol when it comes to
spoiling them - they just have to look at me with that sweet little
pleading look on their faces and I give them what they wanted...

The problem is that I know this isn't healthy for them... if Silver
was less greedy we could get away with it, but she's turning into a
barrel! When she jumps down off the windowsill, the floor shakes, and
she feels like an elephant when she jumps onto your tummy in the
middle of the night! We have to do something to help her... so the
first rule is no more treats of personfood. Scout's just going to have
to miss out too.

What do other people do to manage different dietary needs in their
cats? How do you make sure each cat is getting enough kibble, and one
of them isn't getting too much? For that matter, how much kibble IS
'enough' for a pair of tenmonth old kittens...
~Karen aka Kajikit
Crafts, cats, and chocolate - the three essentials of life
http://www.kajikitscorner.com
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Bill Stock - 21 Mar 2005 01:33 GMT

> Until now we've let Scout and Silver freefeed... whenever I see the
> foodbowls empty I fill them with kitten kibble again. Plus they get an
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> http://www.kajikitscorner.com
> *remove 'nospam' to reply

We had/have a similar problem. Cali, our older cat tends to be portly,
although she does not eat that much. Smokey, our younger cat, was fairly
thin when we got her. In the beginning, Smokey did not like Cali's kibble
and vice versa, so all was well. But when we put Cali on a diet, she decided
that Smokey's kibble was not so bad after all. We have to pick up Smokey's
bowl when she's down eating, but she normally hoovers the whole bowl in
under a minute anyway. The problem now is that Smokey is starting to eat
Cali's light kibble, but only if it's in Cali's bowl. Spiteful kitty.

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Margaret Fine - 21 Mar 2005 03:05 GMT

One thought is to call your vet and ask if it is too early to switch to
an adult kibble. They tend to have less calories. Since you would
usually switch over at 12 months anyway (at least that is when we were
told to switch Oliver). Another thought is to have more directed
exercise. Even an extra 15 minutes of chasing the mousie could help
slim Silver down

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Margaret Fine
mefine@mindspring.com

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CATherine - 21 Mar 2005 05:02 GMT

>What do other people do to manage different dietary needs in their
>cats? How do you make sure each cat is getting enough kibble, and one
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>http://www.kajikitscorner.com
>*remove 'nospam' to reply

The cats can be fed in different rooms. Scout can be sequestered in a
room with her dish for an hour to help her eat as much as she can and
then the dish put away until noon and then another feeding plus a
night feeding. Silver can be fed a cup of kibble morning and evening.
But the bag should have a chart for how much. Or you can add some
canned kitten food to Scout's food while she is sequestered.

--
CATherine

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Enfilade - 21 Mar 2005 22:31 GMT

Smokey, Nox and Kumani are all ideal weight; Tyche is a fatty fat-fat.

We used to feed a mix of t/d (for tartar control) and w/d (diet food).
Of course Tyche takes a liking to the t/d, because it's big and has
more calories in it than even regular food. Once Kumani's weight got
up to normal, we've simply put everyone on w/d. It'll help the others
maintain and stop Tyche from becoming obese--we hope.

We don't dare have the bowls empty at any time of day...Smokey's
screaming can be heard halfway down the hall with the door shut, and
he's been recorded to keep it up for over FIVE HOURS at a stretch.

--Fil

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Margaret Fine - 22 Mar 2005 02:40 GMT

> Smokey, Nox and Kumani are all ideal weight; Tyche is a fatty fat-fat.
>
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>
> --Fil

I read your story about Smokey being feral and malnourished when you
found him. Oliver was also starving when we found him and to this day
he will run through the house screaming if his bowl is empty. He
doesn't even necessarily want food at that moment but he does seem to
check periodically to see if the food is still there. It is like his
security blanket.

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Margaret Fine
mefine@mindspring.com

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Kreisleriana - 22 Mar 2005 05:35 GMT

>> Smokey, Nox and Kumani are all ideal weight; Tyche is a fatty fat-fat.
>>
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>check periodically to see if the food is still there. It is like his
>security blanket.

Stinky was a gobbler-and-bolter when he first came home with me. He
would eat all his food, and then start in on Mimi's-- fortunately she
wasn't the type to put up with that, and he wasn't the type to push
it. She eventually figured out how to eat her fill before he was
finished, and she quickly would get back upstairs first to claim the
best spot on the bed. ;) The running score in the house for ages was
always something like Mimi 49027 - Stinky 11.

Stinky also used to try to steal everything that wasn't nailed down,
drag it under something, and wolf it down. He hasn't done these
things for every year, but he always complains as soon as he can see
the bottom of his bowl. ;)

Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com

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