Mickey, my 27 lbs foster and his journey back to a healthy weight

HeyItsFae said:

I just wanted to thank you for posting this. I recently adopted my Monstro from a local shelter and he's 25 pounds! He obviously needs to be on kitty Jenny Craig but neither the shelter nor my veterinarian were really able to give me specific feeding instructions for my boy. The best that my vet could tell me was "feed him one small can of wet food in the morning and second small can at night" which really doesn't seem to be enough for him. I never would have thought of including raw food in his diet. The weight loss chart that you posted was also especially helpful. and has given me a realistic idea of what healthy weight loss looks like.

So thank you for documenting Mickey's journey! I'm so happy that he's at a healthy weight and has a wonderful life ahead of him!

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I didn't think anyone looked at that chart! A couple of weeks ago something happened to the version of the chart I linked to in that early post; the scripts don't load anymore. I had to create a new one. Here's a link to it:

Mickey's Progress

At 18 lbs Mickey really isn't at a healthy weight yet. His adopters will have to keep him on a weight loss plan until he loses a few more pounds.

I hope you haven't gotten the idea that you have to feed raw food to get a cat to lose weight. In my opinion, weight loss in both cats and humans is about only one thing: calories. With Mickey I just closely monitored his daily caloric intake to be sure it was low enough for him to loss weight but not so low that he acted like he was starving all the time.

Update: week 49

Mickey weighted in at an even 18 lbs today for a 1 week loss of 3 oz and a total loss of 8:14 (lbsz).

I'm starting to get used to this "1 oz loss one week with 3 oz lost the next week" pattern we seem to be in. I think it is probably actually a fairly consistent 2 oz per week loss and that the 1 oz weeks just reflect a combination of normal weight fluctuations plus limitations in the accuracy of the scale. Losing at a rate of 2 oz/week means it's going to take quite a while yet before he gets down to a healthy weight. I expect once he goes to his forever home he might start losing faster because Susan will be home during the summer months and will play with him.

Here's a picture of Susan on one of her visits:


That's Toby (aka "The Pest") draped around her neck. He seems convinced that all humans suffer from "Cold Neck Syndrome" and require his assistance to stay warm.    

Look at him being all cute and sweet for his meowmy! :lovegrin2:

I'm not showing Gary this picture - he's always wanted a neck warmer kitty!

mschauer said:

I didn't think anyone looked at that chart! A couple of weeks ago something happened to the version of the chart I linked to in that early post; the scripts don't load anymore. I had to create a new one. Here's a link to it:

Mickey's Progress

At 18 lbs Mickey really isn't at a healthy weight yet. His adopters will have to keep him on a weight loss plan until he loses a few more pounds.

I hope you haven't gotten the idea that you have to feed raw food to get a cat to lose weight. In my opinion, weight loss in both cats and humans is about only one thing: calories. With Mickey I just closely monitored his daily caloric intake to be sure it was low enough for him to loss weight but not so low that he acted like he was starving all the time.

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Ooo! Thank you so much! I have never had to put a cat on a diet before (my other cat is a little shrimp who could stand to gain a few pounds) so I wasn't really sure how long it would take to get him to a healthy weight. The chart was really helpful with that. I'm going to start a chart for Monstro as well to help me track his progress.

I figured that raw wasn't the only way to go but it's definitely better than my other thought which was either more canned food or a bit of dry food. Raw seems much healthier and lower on the calories than another can of wet food would be. I'm so impressed with Mickey! Hopefully in a few months, my little butterball will have good news to report as well!

LDG said:

Look at him being all cute and sweet for his meowmy!

:

I'm not showing Gary this picture - he's always wanted a neck warmer kitty!

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I've got a neck warmer kitty.  Wanna borrow him for the summer?  It gets awfully hot here in July    (plus he massages your head while he's up there...maybe it would help his headaches!) 

Oops!  Rich just caught me typing this and said "NO WAY, we not loaning Tinky out" ...Sorry

:lol3: I told Gary the way to get a neck-warmer kitty that will travel with him is to "foster" a bottle baby. But we're full up!

HeyItsFae said:

I figured that raw wasn't the only way to go but it's definitely better than my other thought which was either more canned food or a bit of dry food. Raw seems much healthier and lower on the calories than another can of wet food would be. I'm so impressed with Mickey! Hopefully in a few months, my little butterball will have good news to report as well!

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Raw can be quite high in calories. It depends mostly on how much fat there is in it. I strongly urge you to make sure you know the calorie content of whatever food you feed. Otherwise trying to get a cat to lose weight can be an exercise in frustration!

Please let us know how it goes. If you start your own thread we can follow his progress more easily. 

Update - week 50

Mickey weighted in at 17:14 (lbsz) today for a 1 week loss of 2 oz and a total  of 9 lbs!

I was expecting a loss of 1 oz this week in keeping with the pattern of the last few weeks of 1 oz one week followed by 3 oz the next so I'm happy with 2 oz! Of course that probably means that next week it be a 2 oz loss! That's OK, he is doing great!

It looks like he will be going to his forever home in 3 weeks on June 15. Susan will start her summer break from her public school job on June 12. They are very anxious to get him to their home but he needs to be seen by the vet at the shelter before he go be adopted and the 15th is the soonest after the 12th that I can get him seen. The plan is that Susan and Charlie will be pre-approved for adoption so on the 15th I can take him from the shelter to their home. I'm so excited for Mickey!    And so sad for me.   It will be a rough day for him because he really doesn't like change but I know he'll adjust quickly to his new home. 

at the weight loss....

... at the thought of missing the big guy. :heart2:

LDG said:

at the weight loss....

... at the thought of missing the big guy. :heart2:

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Oh man..... I don't know how you can do it...... you are my hero.

Are you going to be able to visit him often? :heart3:

mschauer said:

Raw can be quite high in calories. It depends mostly on how much fat there is in it. I strongly urge you to make sure you know the calorie content of whatever food you feed. Otherwise trying to get a cat to lose weight can be an exercise in frustration!

Please let us know how it goes. If you start your own thread we can follow his progress more easily. 

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It can be done successfully in my case it worked very well.

Bugsy was obese - he started raw at 21lbs a bit over 1 yr ago. He is now 13lbs 13oz. He is a BIG cat, his goal was 14lbs. When he reached his goal I increased his intake from three meals of 1.5oz to 3 meals of 1.75 oz. He is still losing weight - not a lot, but 1.5oz a week, roughly.

Lucky started at 12lbs and she is about 9.4lbs.

Hope started at 12, she is now about 10.

I watch their diets, and feed a variety of meats, including dark, light, lean, fatty. They all lost weight and are healthier than they ever been. It might have taken longer, but slowly but surely we got there and I am just thrilled with the results we got here. :nod:

Carolina said:

mschauer said:

Raw can be quite high in calories. It depends mostly on how much fat there is in it. I strongly urge you to make sure you know the calorie content of whatever food you feed. Otherwise trying to get a cat to lose weight can be an exercise in frustration!

Please let us know how it goes. If you start your own thread we can follow his progress more easily. 

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It can be done successfully in my case it worked very well.
 

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Sure. I wasn't suggesting that a cat can't lose weight on a raw diet. Raw is what Mickey has been fed for almost the entire time he has been with me. My response was to the poster saying that she thought raw would be lower in calories. It isn't always. 

Carolina said:

Oh man..... I don't know how you can do it...... you are my hero.

Are you going to be able to visit him often?

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Ah shucks. It ain't nothing really.   

I'll have to be careful about not visiting their home too much more than I do now. They'll get the idea I'm really just visiting Mickey.   But yeah, I'll be able to go by when ever I want to. They don't live very near me but it isn't that far either.

It is going to be hard to stay away from Mickey, I imagine. He is just such a cutie.

Update: week 51

Mickey didn't lose any weight at all last week. He is still at 17:14 (lbsz). 

This is *so* disappointing. I expected as he lost weight that he would become more active. It really seems like the opposite. I think he has gotten lazier! When I play with him it's harder than it used to be to get him to move from one spot. Sigh. I'll keep trying.

Susan and Charlie came to visit him this weekend. They are so excited about getting him home with them. They have bought a baby scale and a kitchen scale and have figured out how to feed him separately from their other 2 cats. I'm really hoping he'll get more exercise with them since Susan will be home with him all day through the summer at least.

In 2 weeks he goes to his forever home!

Update - week 52

Mickey weighted in at 17:11 for a 1 week loss of 3 oz and a total loss of 9:3. 

This is Mickey's 1 year anniversary with me! 

Mickey..... we're going to miss you!

Wow, Medora - you're adopting out 35% less cat! What an amazing journey. :heart2:

I'm so glad he's going to be with friends... :heart2: :rub:

I'm a lurker in this thread and I'm a bit too!

I remember when you first took him in and posted his picture. My reaction was I think I even swore! :lol3: Look at him now, all cuddled up to you! He looks like a normal-sized cat! 10 pounds! That's amazing! That's more than Abby weighs.

Happy one year, Mickey! We're going to miss you around here.

Any chance of one last side-by-side comparison shot before he goes to his forever home? :anon: Those are the most amazing of all. :nod:

AbbysMom said:

Any chance of one last side-by-side comparison shot before he goes to his forever home?

Those are the most amazing of all.

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Yup, I'm going to take a picture next weekend and use it for a side by side. I'll also visit Mickey in his new home on occasion and take pictures to post. I'm not sure how often that will be though. For the first few weeks they aren't even going to try to get him to lose weight. They'll give him some time to get settled in first.

Update: week 53

Mickey weighted in at 17:10 (lbsz) Saturday for a 1 week loss of 1 oz and a total loss of 9:4.

This weeks 1 oz with last weeks 3 oz and a 2 week loss of 4 oz is the best I've come to hope for in recent weeks. 

I took Mickey to his forever home with Susan and Charlie yesterday. I had to take him to the shelter first for his vaccinations and microchip. He was so good for the entire time! He hardly made a sound through it all and he was perfect for the vet. He is just such a wonderful cat. There is no way I could have left him at the shelter. If my friends hadn't adopted him I would have kept him. 

From the shelter I took him to Susan and Charlie's house. We put him in their bedroom which will be "his" room while he gets acclimated to their home. He hid in the closet while I visited with Susan

and Charlie. I was able to coax him out of hiding for a short time but he just went back to hiding when I left the room and was still there when I left for home. 

This morning Charlie told me that by the time they went to bed Mickey had moved from hiding in the closet to hiding under the bed. Then at about 5A he jumped up on the bed to visit with them. After a little bit he jumped back down and went back under the bed.

Susan works for a school district and is free for the whole summer so she'll be home all day. That will help a lot in getting him comfortable in his new home quickly.

I have do doubt our boy is going to love his new home and his new mommy and daddy! 

I meant to take a picture of him for a last side by side comparison but I forgot. I'll have plenty of opportunity to take pictures of him in the future though when I visit Charlie and Susan. I'll try to get one of him when he gets down to 17 lbs. 

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(9:30 AM) I just got another update from Susan. Mickey is out from under the bed and lovin' on Susan! He's rolling around on the floor, purring and stretching and generally being a happy cat!   Yea! And of course Susan is totally in love with him.