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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / February 2006diet/automatic feeder question
Hi - I have two indoor kitties that really need to lose weight. I currently feed them each 1/4 can of Fancy Feast and 3/8 cup of Iams Weight Control, twice a day. According to what I've been able to figure out that isn't actually enough food for 2 cats, but they're both gaining weight. And they're both hungry all the time (which causes alot of tension between them), and they usually have their meager portion of dry food eaten well before mid-day. I don't want to starve my babies, and I don't want to see them get ill because of obesity. I'd like to try to give them a little more food, but spread out over the day. I work all day, so am thinking automatic feeders might help. I've heard mixed reactions, though. And I'm worried because one of my kitties is dominant, and may just hijack both feeders and not let the other kitty have any. Does anyone have advice? Here's a picture of my kitties: http://soi.stanford.edu/~jeneen/images/mv3/kitties/poppy_n_baby.jpg Purrl Grrl, the siamese-ish kitty on the left is at 14.3 pounds, and should be no more than 10. Poppy, the tuxedo, is 13.1 pounds and should also be 10 pounds, I'd guess. Purrl is actually having some trouble getting in and out of her kitty condo because she's too big, and I'm _not_ getting her a plus-size kitty condo! http://soi.stanford.edu/~jeneen/images/mv3/kitties/baby2_sm.jpg is a picture of Purrl on her kitty condo, where you can clearly see the hole is barely big enough for her :( I asked the vet about it, and she said it's hard to do, and didn't have any advice except to feed them less. But I'm worried that I'm actually not feeding them enough. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks - Jeneen >Hi - > [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > >Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Pretty cats. If you figure out the weight issue please let the group know. I've been trying to get Bubba http://www.sonic.net/~claudel/bubba/bubba.html to lose a few without much success either. He won't go outside so he doesn't get much exercise either. I give him a minimum ration of Royal Canin Maine Coon kibble split into 3 meals a day and he's still growing at 23 Lbs... If I cut his food portions below what they are he gets a sulky attitude so I'm resigned to letting him grow. I'd rather have a happy fat kitty than a hungry pist off one. Good Luck Claude > I'd rather have a happy fat kitty than a hungry pist off one. > > Good Luck > > Claude I would agree, as long as I could be certain my Purrl wouldn't die a slow miserable death from kidney failure or diabetes. Then maybe I _would_ get her a plus-size kitty condo :) Handsome fellow, your Bubba! He doesn't look so overweight. Good luck with him... Jeneen >> I'd rather have a happy fat kitty than a hungry pist off one. >> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >die a slow miserable death from kidney failure or diabetes. >Then maybe I _would_ get her a plus-size kitty condo :) It's impossible to predict the future. Some cats/people are better off at a weight that would be excessive for others. It would be interesting to see some sort of study that showed exactly how much a percentage overweight is actually dangerous as far as getting kidney failure or diabetes in cats. It also would be interesting to see what percentage of "normal" weight cats get those problems. I'm sure excess weight is a contributing factor in some cases, but it would seem that there has to be more than just a bit of extra weight involved. Quality of the food, nutritional deficiencies, etc would seem to be factors as well. I'm not a vet, just a cat slave, so I have no direct knowledge. I'd be interested to know what the real deal is though. >Handsome fellow, your Bubba! He doesn't look so overweight. >Good luck with him... Yeah, he's a good looking cat. You don't really see the "I swallowed a baseball" effect in those pics though. :^) 23 Lbs is a bit heavy, probably. Especially considering that he's gained weight since I put him on short rations. Good Luck with yours as well. Claude I have a Maine Coon too and they seem to put weight on more easily than other kitties I have had. I play with him a lot and run him up and down the basement stairs, etc. Seems the more exercise he gets the better off his weight situation is. Perhaps feeding your two kitties half the food in the morning and half the food at night when you get home from work, and some play time would help? If the cats don't have diabetes, more activity may help. Maine Coons continue to grow until 4 years old when they should even out, but if they continue to get heavier, more exercise helps. I have a Maine Coon who is only 3 and very unhappy when I ration his food. I feed him small portions throughout the day because he regurgitates his food, and this is the best method I've found. Active play is the best exercise. If cats sleep too lightly, they may also put on weight. Watch the behaviors and see if they immediately go to sleep after eating. This may be a sign of impending diabetes. >If the cats don't have diabetes, more activity may help. Maine Coons >continue to grow until 4 years old when they should even out, but if >they continue to get heavier, more exercise helps. I have a Maine Coon >who is only 3 and very unhappy when I ration his food. I feed him >small portions throughout the day because he regurgitates his food, and >this is the best method I've found. After I switched Bubba to Royal Canin Maine Coon food he has been doing a lot better as far as not gobbling his food and puking it right back out. The larger kibbles force him to chew and eat more slowly like a good boy. When I got him the shelter sent him home with a bag of something else with small kibbles and he'd inhale them whole sometimes and that was tough on his digestion. >Active play is the best exercise. If cats sleep too lightly, they may >also put on weight. Watch the behaviors and see if they immediately go >to sleep after eating. This may be a sign of impending diabetes. I wish I could figure a way to encourage him to be more active. He'll play with a toy for a few minutes, but when he gets bored he'll ignore it. He has absolutely no interest in going outside either, even though he has a safe and quiet yard at his disposal. If he was orange, he'd be Garfield. I'll keep an eye on him. His life seems to be pretty much sleep > eat > socialize with me a bit > wander around the house awhile > watch birds out the window > repeat in semi-random order. As I type this he's chasing a moth around the house. It's amazing how well he can move the bulk around when he chooses to. Claude Good deal! Glad to know he's up and about. Beasley sleeps at my feet while I use the computer most of the time. He also likes to show off for me by chasing invisible mice. The best toys I've found don't cost anything! I put those long twist ties you get in packaging into a safe form, tucking in the ends and making a rough X with them and give them to the cats. They chase and carry them for hours. I gave Beasley a long piece of yarn and tangled him up in it when I first got him, and now he carries it in his mouth, crying and meowing when I leave the room. If I go downstairs (I live in an apartment), he meows loudly enough to be heard throughout the building! He can be a real pest, but I love his affectionate manner. Morgen the Cat Whisperer <a href="http://www.for-the-love-of-cats.com/">For the Love of Cats</a> >Good deal! Glad to know he's up and about. Bubba hasn't been sick. He's just lazy... >Beasley sleeps at my feet while I use the computer most of the time. Yep, that's Bubba too. >He also likes to show off for me by chasing invisible mice. Most of the invisible stuff Bubba chases turns out to be tiny insects. He likes to birdwatch. I have reflective film on the windows so he can look out without the birds seeing him. One time a sparrow got into a dispute with its reflection with Bubba on the inside about a foot away and I've never heard such sounds come out of a living creature as what Bubba was saying. He eventually lost it and bounced himself off the window and showed more embarassment than a cat should ever have to. :^) >The best toys I've found don't cost >anything! I put those long twist ties you get in packaging into a safe [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >now he carries it in his mouth, crying and meowing when I leave the >room. I got him one of these http://tinyurl.com/b5rco at Petco and he'll play with it once a day or so. He's about torn it up and I need to get another one soon. He ignores the little things that he can bat around the floor and I don't really want to give him string to eat... >If I go downstairs (I live in an apartment), he meows loudly >enough to be heard throughout the building! He can be a real pest, but >I love his affectionate manner. Yeah. What a great disposition Maine Coons seem to have. Bubba really likes people. He doesn't seem to care much for other cats. He's not aggressive or anything. He just goes somewhere else when another cat is in the area. Claude >Morgen the Cat Whisperer ><a href="http://www.for-the-love-of-cats.com/">For the Love of Cats</a> >I have a Maine Coon too and they seem to put weight on more easily than >other kitties I have had. I play with him a lot and run him up and >down the basement stairs, etc. Seems the more exercise he gets the >better off his weight situation is. Bubba's idea of exercise is to slowly walk from the couch to the food bowl and back. He'll chase an occasional moth around the house and will play with a stuffed-fish-on-a-rod toy for a few minutes but that's about it. He seems to wear the weight well and isn't grossly obese so I'm not really that worried about him. As long as I can feed him a small enough ration to keep him from bloating without starving him to where he gets an attitude we'll be fine. Even though he's pretty lazy the weight seems to be more muscle than fat. I'd feel better about it if I knew how old he was. He was mostly grown when I got him and the shelter/vet guesstimated he was anywhere from 2<>5 years old. I've heard that MCs are slow maturing so he may be still just a growing boy... >Perhaps feeding your two kitties half the food in the morning and half >the food at night when you get home from work, and some play time would >help? Splitting the daily food ration has worked for us. Until I started leaving food out at night Bubba would wake me at 4<>6 am by licking my eyelids while I was sleeping. :^) Claude I would scrap the idea of both the timed feeder and dry food and feed a diet of high-quality canned food only, two feedings per day. I did this with my cat and he slowly lost 6 pounds. For more information on what I did, check his web site at: http://community-2.webtv.net/getcathelp/tucker/ He is a happy, heathy, more active cat these days! (see his photo gallery) Rene > I would scrap the idea of both the timed feeder and dry food and feed a > diet of high-quality canned food only, two feedings per day. I did this > with my cat and he slowly lost 6 pounds. For more information on what I > did, check his web site at: > http://community-2.webtv.net/getcathelp/tucker/ I've started feeding them more canned food, with the hope of decreasing the dry food slowly. They seem to be happier (they used to eat their canned food and then make a beeline for the crunchies and had them all eaten before noon). I would stop the crunchies all together if I were home during the day. They don't get along when they're hungry, so they have to have something when I'm not there. If I see an improvement, I'll post. Thanks for the advice! Jeneen |
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