My boyfriends cat is seriously overweight...HELP!!

Hi all,

Basically my boyfriend brought his cat to stay when he moved in, which at first I didnt mind. But to be honest I am now not only concerned about the poor animal , I am getting hacked off with it aswell. I know that sounds awfull, but Im 7 months pregnant and this cat dosnt want to move from under the bloody bed plus its hugely fat and I dont know how to get her toloose weight.
He has said hell put her on a diet but he never does, instead he gives her cat treats all the time. I AM NOT EXAGGERATING, THIS CAT IS HUGE!
To be precise it is roughly the weight of a fully grown one year old child.
Shes so fat she cant groom herself properly and as a result her bum is dirty, so she leaves a mess, I am now worrying cause I dont want germs near my baby. I have a cat of my own and hes only 18 months old, so hes still at the very playfull stage and this other cat hates my cat, she constantly hisses at him for no reason. It annoys me.
She will not come down stairs to eat or gotothe toilet and so my oyfriend has made a habit for her to stay upstairs, feeding and eating and staying upstairs the whole time.
What should I do?
I do worry about the poor thing. It gets out of breath when its eating for gods sakes!
Any ideas????

There are a number of members who have faced this issue, and there is a recent thread by Grogs that talks specifically about what he has done with his cat. http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=198859

You may also want to scan through the Cat Nutrician forum for threads on the topic. There is a lot advice already on this forum that you might benefit from.

My tactic has always been to give them more exercise, but I've not had a cat as humongous as what you describe.

With a cat that big you can make them really sick if you just put them on a diet

The things that work?

- no human food or treats
- measuring food to ensure they get just enough
- lots of playtime/exercise

Weigh her constantly to make sure she is not losing too much too quickly ( a vet can tell you the right amount for her weight)

Wet food is also better than dry in this regard because it is not as caloricly dense. I second doing some research here on nutrition and weight loss for kitties.

Also- if you haven't already - try to get your BF to look at it as if the cat WAS a child. Would he want his kid to be obese and all the health problems that brings?

First off, start with a trip to the vet to rule out any medical problems. Talk with the vet about the concerns you have with the kitty's weight and work with him to develop a plan to help the kitty lose weight. With kitty weight loss, slow and steady weight loss is what you want as well as limiting carbs and increasing exercise. However, consult your vet first.

thanks all. I will try to do the best for the cat.Its hard when he keeps feeding it junk though.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

There are a number of members who have faced this issue, and there is a recent thread by Grogs that talks specifically about what he has done with his cat. http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=198859

Click to expand...

Hey, thanks for the shout-out.

I agree that starting with the vet is probably a good idea. She could have something like hypothyroidism that makes her really heavy. If that's the case, you could treat the condition and that would go a long way towards controlling the weight. The vet might also prescribe some weight loss food. People on the forum seem to have had mixed results with that - some cats responded well and others not so much. The biggest downside about the prescription food is that it tends to be really expensive. I think a can of the Hill's R/D runs about $1.67 a can here which is more than just about anything I can buy in a pet store (though Wellness Core is pretty darn close ).

My experience has been that the single most important thing you can do to get your cat to lose weight is to control the portion size. Measure out her food 2-3 times per day and don't give her anything else. The cat food bag or can will give you guidelines for how much to feed each day. I always find that the portions they list are very generous for a sedentary cat. The cans I feed my cats recommend 1.5-2 5.5 cans per day for a 9-12 pound cat. My cats wouldn't eat that much even if I let them eat all they wanted every day. You should start somewhere around the bottom number and adjust from there depending on how she responds.

As for her bottom, that's pretty dangerous. Tiny couldn't clean her bottom for over 8 years, but I was fortunate that she had buddies who would help her out. Potentially, she could get an infection from the poo and urine hanging around her backside. You should try to clean her off at least once a day. I've had to do it with my cats when they have diarrhea and I find that they didn't mind a nice warm washcloth too much. You can also ask the vet about doing a sanitary shave of her backside. That gets the fur out of the way and helps keep it drier and cleaner back there.

Good luck to you and I hope you can help that kitty out.