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Venting anout morbid obesity
- Thread starter shorty14788
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Through public awareness and media. Photographic proof (and medical records/details) of how awful these cases are may be enough to sway the public which would put pressure on local lawmakers. Writing state reps and providing documented cases may work as well. There's also the well known link between animal abuse and violence against humans, pointing that out might get people's attention.
Even here I've to notice more stories about cruelity in the newpaper and on the local news, it's starting to get attention. One example, a few months ago some people moved and left their young dog (newspaper didn't say pitbull or else no one would have cared), a guy started feeding and watering it and was able to get the story and pic of the skinny dog on the front page of the local newspaper. Within a week someone adopted the dog and later the people responsible were tracked down and fined. I can't remember what else happened to them, probably not much more than a slap on the wrist
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some yes ... but lucky for me I am not in a vets office , if it is too much I politely leave the area..
What a tragedy! Some people are so irresponsible.
When the vet told me my almost 15 lb cat was overweight, I immediately started cutting back on her food & switched her to a light food. When that didn't work (over about a 9 month period), she went on prescription food. After 3 years, she's now down to 12.5 lbs and is much more active and healthy looking.
It's soooo hard for me to ignore her "begging" for food when she's sleeping by her food bowl or when she comes to pester me to feed her, but I know it's better for her. Besides that, when she's truly hungry, she'll meow for me to feed her! (Otherwise, she "begs" silently.) She has a portion of food she gets throughout the day and when it's gone, it's gone!
Stephanie
When the vet told me my almost 15 lb cat was overweight, I immediately started cutting back on her food & switched her to a light food. When that didn't work (over about a 9 month period), she went on prescription food. After 3 years, she's now down to 12.5 lbs and is much more active and healthy looking.
It's soooo hard for me to ignore her "begging" for food when she's sleeping by her food bowl or when she comes to pester me to feed her, but I know it's better for her. Besides that, when she's truly hungry, she'll meow for me to feed her! (Otherwise, she "begs" silently.) She has a portion of food she gets throughout the day and when it's gone, it's gone!
Stephanie
Before you all crucify people who take a cat that big into the vets, remember that they may not have been the person who got the cat like that in the first place (I realise in this case it is because of the dog). I remember taking Scully to the vet when we first got him, and the looks we got from people with him being 33lbs.
Also, at least they do care about their animals if they take them in for check ups! The person we got Scully from hadn't taken him to a vet since declawing and neutering him
Another problem is that some people are not over feeding their cats at all and they still gain weight, cats can have medical problems that cause weight gain just as much as people can. Also, some vet recommended 'diet' foods cause more weight gain than loss
rant over... I have spent way too much time at 'kitty diet clinics'
Also, at least they do care about their animals if they take them in for check ups! The person we got Scully from hadn't taken him to a vet since declawing and neutering him
My first vet said that, I now have a much healthier 21lb cat! Dieting can be done in animals that big, and yes you have to be careful and have regular vet supervision, but it is not impossible.
Another problem is that some people are not over feeding their cats at all and they still gain weight, cats can have medical problems that cause weight gain just as much as people can. Also, some vet recommended 'diet' foods cause more weight gain than loss
rant over... I have spent way too much time at 'kitty diet clinics'
That disgusts me. the 2 year olds who weigh more than I do, eat a month's worth of food as a "snack" and can't walk because they're so fat. It should be legal for child support to take their children away for abuse after they walk off the stage.
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Now, I had never seen a cat sooo obese before in my life. If your cat is open mouth breathing because of how obese it is, there is something WRONG! We checked the cat over... It had diabetes but was otherwise healthy. There was no medical reason this cat was so big. She fed the cat nothing but table scraps and left overs. NOW what cat is going to refuse that?
Most people who bring their over weight cats in for vaccines or what have you, are more then willing to put their cat on a diet when they hear about the medical problems it can cause. This woman simply did not care. The cat never went in for vaccine or anything. The first time she took it to a vet was to put it down. She only put it to sleep because she couldn't stand the fact it was urinating and deficating were it was lying. SHE DIDN'T CARE THAT IT COULD HARDLY BREATH. she didn't want it urinating in the house.
(OH and so EVERYONE knows... if you want to put your cat on a diet, do NOT use Iams weight control. It is NOT a light food. Because it does not meet AAFCO standards for a "light" food they can not label it as one. Regular science diet cat food has less calories then it does. )
Most people who bring their over weight cats in for vaccines or what have you, are more then willing to put their cat on a diet when they hear about the medical problems it can cause. This woman simply did not care. The cat never went in for vaccine or anything. The first time she took it to a vet was to put it down. She only put it to sleep because she couldn't stand the fact it was urinating and deficating were it was lying. SHE DIDN'T CARE THAT IT COULD HARDLY BREATH. she didn't want it urinating in the house.
(OH and so EVERYONE knows... if you want to put your cat on a diet, do NOT use Iams weight control. It is NOT a light food. Because it does not meet AAFCO standards for a "light" food they can not label it as one. Regular science diet cat food has less calories then it does. )
There was a case over here recently where the RSPCA removed a dog from the owners because it was severely overweight. Apparently officers had visited the owners and recommended they take the dog to the vet but when they returned the owners had not done so so they removed the dog. I dont' recall whether a prosecution followed but that's animal cruelty in my book. Fair enough if owners are taking the animal to the vet and trying to do something about the weight, but to do nothing is just plain cruel. I hate to see overweight pets. They can only eat what the owners give them (usually) so there's no excuse. Somehow it seems even worse in cats as they're such dignified and graceful animals.
It has been on the news here that social workers want to put obese children on the at risk register as well as those at risk of abuse of other kinds.... food for thought.
It makes me angry when people allow their pets to get so obese that they face health problems. Three of my cats are 'big cats' but I keep an eye on their weight and try very hard to limit snacks and treats. But sometimes neighbours give them food which defeats all the hard work I put in, I know they are only trying to be kind and my cats can be little pigs sometimes but it's not always a kind thing to do to feed a neighbours cat.
koukou
This is such an awful story but thanks for sharing it. There have been too many news reports around the world about 30+ lb cats lately and sadly, it becomes more of a joke than the sad story that it actually is. These owners should really be ashamed of themselves and the abuse that they're inflicting on their pets. It's one thing to inadvertantly free feed (as most cat owners do) and then have an overweight kitty, but it's another to purposely indulge your pets in compulsive eating behaviour or letting them eat whatever they want.
One of my cats is quite big (big as in he has a 3 1/2-4 ft vertical reach) and grew to 18 lbs when we got the 2nd one as a result of compulsive eating and competition, but has since lost 3 lbs to be a healthy 15 lbs. It was just a matter of scheduled feeding and decreased portions over the course of a year, and that did the trick. We've very thankful that he lost that weight as he's much more agile now and can wrestle better with our other boy.
One of my cats is quite big (big as in he has a 3 1/2-4 ft vertical reach) and grew to 18 lbs when we got the 2nd one as a result of compulsive eating and competition, but has since lost 3 lbs to be a healthy 15 lbs. It was just a matter of scheduled feeding and decreased portions over the course of a year, and that did the trick. We've very thankful that he lost that weight as he's much more agile now and can wrestle better with our other boy.
I heard of a neutered cat named Himmy from Queensland Australia who was reported to have weighed almost 47 pounds http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/ima...es/shocker.gif. He died the same way from respiratory failure http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/ima...es/bawling.gif
This is animal abuse just as it should be child abuse when this occurrs. We should all fight to make consequences for this form of abuse. Why is it that beating and starving an animal is considered abuse but not obesity?! Something should be done to discourage this form of abuse. Maybe we report it to the Human Society &/or Animal Protection!! Maybe we form a petition and submit it. Maybe we focus this anger into something useful and allow this cats suffering to not be in vain?
