One diet tip I heard for humans was to eat a "normal" amount of calories on one day, then very little the next day. Apparently this keeps your metabolism revved up but also decreases your total caloric intake. That might work for cats, too, especially since he kind of did that to himself because of the door, and it worked!
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Mickey, my 27 lbs foster and his journey back to a healthy weight
- Thread starter mschauer
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- #82
Huh. So the idea is that if normally feeding 145 calories a day if I alternated feeding him 145 calories and, say, 120 calories a day that he would lose more weight than if I fed him 133 (the average of 145 and 120) calories a day?
Or is the idea that I would alternate between 145 and a lot less, like 80, for a quite low net calorie intake but that he wouldn't feel deprived because the very low calorie day is followed by a relatively high calorie day? I wouldn't want him feeling very hungry every other day.
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I think the second option. I believe the idea is to reduce total caloric intake without feeling deprived every day. Of course, there are a bazillion different wacky diet ideas out there, but that's one I thought made a little bit of sense, at least :tongue2:. Since he's been eating less (due to cat door circumstances) and didn't seem to mind, it could work for him. . .but who knows?
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- #84
Yeah, it's certainly something to keep in mind.
But I did lower his calorie intake last weekend so I was hoping/expecting to see a larger drop in his weight this week. The thing with the door *might* have resulted in him getting even fewer calories than I intended but I'm not sure. I didn't keep track of how much food I thew out because it had been sitting out too long with him not being able to get at it and I didn't keep track of how much extra I gave him to make up for what I threw out.
That's another possibility to add to my bag of tricks though. If I can't get him losing at the rate I want I might pull it out!
Thanks for the suggestion!
But I did lower his calorie intake last weekend so I was hoping/expecting to see a larger drop in his weight this week. The thing with the door *might* have resulted in him getting even fewer calories than I intended but I'm not sure. I didn't keep track of how much food I thew out because it had been sitting out too long with him not being able to get at it and I didn't keep track of how much extra I gave him to make up for what I threw out.
That's another possibility to add to my bag of tricks though. If I can't get him losing at the rate I want I might pull it out!
Thanks for the suggestion!
I think I'm going to try that with my Billy. :nod: (The varying calorie thing).
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- #86
Great! Let us know how it goes.I think I'm going to try that with my Billy.(The varying calorie thing).
How far are you going to drop his calories? Have you tried Carolina's tip, the krill oil?
I'm getting close to where I'll want to try something unconventional but I'm not there yet.
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The Amazon order is pending the consulting check. :lol3: The MegaRed (500mg Krill oil) will be on the way shortly, I'm hoping. Got the needle and pliers ready to go. :lol3: Carolina feeds her kids the krill oil once a day, all at once. I think I'll try that with Bill too.
Krill oil (according to the Mega Red website) has between 15% - 21% EPA and 9%-14% DHA. http://www.schiffmegared.com/professional/ingredients_pro.asp
The Pure Alaska Omega salmon oil I've been using says it is 10% EPA and 12% DHA. http://www.alaskaproteinrecovery.com/salmonoil
I've been dividing the 1000mg salmon oil supplement between 8 cats at each meal. That's 37.5mg EPA per cat per day, and 45mg DHA per cat per day.
The krill oil, at 500mg for Bill once a day, would be 75mg - 105mg of EPA and 45mg - 70mg of DHA per day.
I'd be kind of interested to try the calorie-change up to see if that alone has an impact, but I don't know if I'm patient enough not to start the krill oil when it arrives. :lol3:
I don't think I can drop Bill's overall calories. He's eating less - by far - than he "should" be for a cat his size. He's not obese, and does have a waist - but he does have a thick fat layer. He's not eating much more than Flowerbelle and Ming Loy (Flowerbelle is a little over 7 pounds, and Ming Loy is a little over 8 pounds). He's 16 pounds - and has been steady at this weight no matter what, or how much he's been fed for two years. In fact, that's how much he got up to free-feeding dry. In the switch from dry to canned back in the fall of 2010, his body must have gone into that diet/starvation mode and just settled in there (for others not familiar with Bill's story, he's been to the vet for blood work and thyroid check-up). But he didn't lose any weight then either. !!!
I did bump his food intake up to 3.6 ounces (of raw) a day from the 3 ounces I'd taken him down to in hopes he'd lose some weight (from the starting amount of 4.5 ounces). He just seems to keep a stable weight no matter how much he does or doesn't eat. :scratch: (The vets are puzzled too LOL). And his level of activity doesn't seem to change. He and Flowerbelle are my most active cats.
...And the really funny thing about him is - no matter how much he does or doesn't eat, he tries to poach food from the other cats, which I don't allow. But when each meal is over, he doesn't beg for food or act hungry. :dk:
So what I think I'll do is feed him 3/4 of an ounce at each meal one day, and 1.5 ounces at each meal the next day. That works out to 3 1/3 ounces average per day, a little less than he's been getting recently, but more than the 3 he was eating. :dk: I'm going to start tomorrow. I'll see how he reacts to 3/4 of an ounce at the meals. But a 100% difference in meals one day vs the next should be enough to "rev up" his metabolism if this is going to work (for him). :dk: I'll keep you posted.
Krill oil (according to the Mega Red website) has between 15% - 21% EPA and 9%-14% DHA. http://www.schiffmegared.com/professional/ingredients_pro.asp
The Pure Alaska Omega salmon oil I've been using says it is 10% EPA and 12% DHA. http://www.alaskaproteinrecovery.com/salmonoil
I've been dividing the 1000mg salmon oil supplement between 8 cats at each meal. That's 37.5mg EPA per cat per day, and 45mg DHA per cat per day.
The krill oil, at 500mg for Bill once a day, would be 75mg - 105mg of EPA and 45mg - 70mg of DHA per day.
I'd be kind of interested to try the calorie-change up to see if that alone has an impact, but I don't know if I'm patient enough not to start the krill oil when it arrives. :lol3:
I don't think I can drop Bill's overall calories. He's eating less - by far - than he "should" be for a cat his size. He's not obese, and does have a waist - but he does have a thick fat layer. He's not eating much more than Flowerbelle and Ming Loy (Flowerbelle is a little over 7 pounds, and Ming Loy is a little over 8 pounds). He's 16 pounds - and has been steady at this weight no matter what, or how much he's been fed for two years. In fact, that's how much he got up to free-feeding dry. In the switch from dry to canned back in the fall of 2010, his body must have gone into that diet/starvation mode and just settled in there (for others not familiar with Bill's story, he's been to the vet for blood work and thyroid check-up). But he didn't lose any weight then either. !!!
I did bump his food intake up to 3.6 ounces (of raw) a day from the 3 ounces I'd taken him down to in hopes he'd lose some weight (from the starting amount of 4.5 ounces). He just seems to keep a stable weight no matter how much he does or doesn't eat. :scratch: (The vets are puzzled too LOL). And his level of activity doesn't seem to change. He and Flowerbelle are my most active cats.
...And the really funny thing about him is - no matter how much he does or doesn't eat, he tries to poach food from the other cats, which I don't allow. But when each meal is over, he doesn't beg for food or act hungry. :dk:
So what I think I'll do is feed him 3/4 of an ounce at each meal one day, and 1.5 ounces at each meal the next day. That works out to 3 1/3 ounces average per day, a little less than he's been getting recently, but more than the 3 he was eating. :dk: I'm going to start tomorrow. I'll see how he reacts to 3/4 of an ounce at the meals. But a 100% difference in meals one day vs the next should be enough to "rev up" his metabolism if this is going to work (for him). :dk: I'll keep you posted.
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Well, I thought about doing that, but mschauer was asking questions... and that post is really about all there is to report. :lol3: I don't have a scale of any kind here (well, other than the kitchen scale), so I won't be doing weekly weigh-ins. All there really is to do is see how he reacts to the small meals, and maybe take him in a month or so to get weighed if we can't see that he's losing weight. :dk: By not altering his total caloric intake much, I doubt fatty liver is much of a concern. :cross:
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- #90
Sounds like a plan! I can't wait to hear how it goes. I know it's going to be tempting but please don't do the krill oil and the alternating calorie thing at the same time. We want to know which one, if either, works!So what I think I'll do is feed him 3/4 of an ounce at each meal one day, and 1.5 ounces at each meal the next day. That works out to 3 1/3 ounces average per day, a little less than he's been getting recently, but more than the 3 he was eating.I'm going to start tomorrow. I'll see how he reacts to 3/4 of an ounce at the meals. But a 100% difference in meals one day vs the next should be enough to "rev up" his metabolism if this is going to work (for him).I'll keep you posted.
I just weighted Mickel and he is at 25:3. That's a total of 5 oz for the still incomplete week and 2 of those oz are post cat-door-fiasco so it looks like I'm be staying with my current plan for a bit longer at least.
He's laying at my feet on his back sleeping. Did I mention he snores?
Oh that is GREAT news! I'm SO glad this is working. 
As to the snoring... I wonder if that's damage to his turbinates from a former URI(s) - or in some way related to his weight? That'll be interesting to know - if he still snores once he's at his target weight!
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And OK. I'll hold off on the krill oil. 
I should add.... even though Billy is probably 4 pounds overweight (potentially up to 5.5), none of the vets seem concerned that he's at any risk for diabetes given the raw diet. Apparently about 50% of cases of diabetes can be controlled with diet, and as the kitties get almost no carbs, none of his vets seem to think it's much of a risk. The main potential problem would be arthritis as he ages.
I should add.... even though Billy is probably 4 pounds overweight (potentially up to 5.5), none of the vets seem concerned that he's at any risk for diabetes given the raw diet. Apparently about 50% of cases of diabetes can be controlled with diet, and as the kitties get almost no carbs, none of his vets seem to think it's much of a risk. The main potential problem would be arthritis as he ages.
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whew! got me scared there for a minute! I saw Laurie's post about holding off the Krill, and went searching for a reason why... I thought it was health related....Sounds like a plan! I can't wait to hear how it goes. I know it's going to be tempting but please don't do the krill oil and the alternating calorie thing at the same time. We want to know which one, if either, works!:lol3:
It is helping Bugsy :nod: He finally started losing weight after I added it to his diet
He is a big boy, but is now down to a healthier 17lbs 11oz (he tipped the scale at almost 21).
Good job with Mickel, his cuteness is proportional to his size :love:
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- #94
Snoring is pretty common with obese cats. I think he may having some trouble breathing while he sleeps also. When he sleeps his breathing is pretty loud and it seems to me that he wakes up frequently. I'm hoping losing weight will help with both.
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- #95
Thanks! He is *such* a sweetie!Good job with Mickel, his cuteness is proportional to his size
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- #96
Week 7 Update
I was hoping he would lose a bit more since his "unofficial" weight-in yesterday but he hasn't. He is at 25:3 (lbsz). That's 5 oz since last week or 1.23%. Better. For the time being I'm keeping him at 145 calories or about 6 1/2 oz of the Weruva/by Nature mixture.
The kitty door is working out great. I still have the electronic latch disabled so it basically is just an ordinary cat flap. I don't know if he will ever be able to use the door with the electronic latch enabled so I hope none of mine figure out that they can get into his room whenever they want to.
He seems a lot happy now that he can come and go from his room when he pleases. He spends all night in there and most of the day unless I'm home. Even when I'm home he'll sometimes go in there to chill.
He decided to try out being a lap cat. Fortunately he apparently didn't find it very comfortable because I can tell you it wasn't comfortable for me!
I was hoping he would lose a bit more since his "unofficial" weight-in yesterday but he hasn't. He is at 25:3 (lbs
z). That's 5 oz since last week or 1.23%. Better. For the time being I'm keeping him at 145 calories or about 6 1/2 oz of the Weruva/by Nature mixture. The kitty door is working out great. I still have the electronic latch disabled so it basically is just an ordinary cat flap. I don't know if he will ever be able to use the door with the electronic latch enabled so I hope none of mine figure out that they can get into his room whenever they want to.
He seems a lot happy now that he can come and go from his room when he pleases. He spends all night in there and most of the day unless I'm home. Even when I'm home he'll sometimes go in there to chill.
He decided to try out being a lap cat. Fortunately he apparently didn't find it very comfortable because I can tell you it wasn't comfortable for me!
:lol3: That is a BIG boy for a lap! But wow - WHAT a sweetie he is! :lovegrin2 
That's just too cute.
It'll be interesting to see what happens if you engage the latch after he's used to coming and going for a couple of weeks - I wonder if he'll give up so easily then?
Hope this calorie count / food combo continues to do the job! :cross:
That's just too cute.It'll be interesting to see what happens if you engage the latch after he's used to coming and going for a couple of weeks - I wonder if he'll give up so easily then?
Hope this calorie count / food combo continues to do the job! :cross:
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- #98
Here's a new picture of Mickey.
I wasn't going to post a new picture until he got down to 25 lbs but I can't wait!
So, here he is at 26:14 (lbsz) on the left and 25:3 on the right:
I tried to get the pictures as close to the same scale as I could. I think they are pretty close.
I think there is a noticeable difference already! He's still awfully big though!
I wasn't going to post a new picture until he got down to 25 lbs but I can't wait!
So, here he is at 26:14 (lbs
z) on the left and 25:3 on the right:
I tried to get the pictures as close to the same scale as I could. I think they are pretty close.
I think there is a noticeable difference already! He's still awfully big though!
