How to weigh a cat that won't be held? Or maybe, how to HOLD a cat that won't be picked up and held

barbgee

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Kitty is getting a bit of a pudge belly.  I would like to try to reduce her weight a little.  She is a tripod, and I know any excess weight she carries could be a problem for her 3 legs and joints.

But, she was a semi-feral outdoor cat, and she really does not allow me to pick her up or hold her, so I am trying to figure out how to weigh her in the first place.

Maybe this is a handling question, not a health question?  I wish I was brave, and could just scruff her and get her into her carrier, then weigh it all. Or pick her up, hold her and weigh her and myself on the scale, then subtract after I set her down.   My bathroom scale is only good to half a pound (0.5lb) unfortunately, anyway...

I just really want to get her weight down.  I'm good about measuring her food (by volume) every day.  I suspect I should be feeding her by food weight, and then reducing by a tenth of an oz. or something?  She's a kibble addict, as well.
 

molly92

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If you do have a scale that will work, you can try placing it in front of her food so she will sit on top of it while she eats and you can record her weight then.

What I did was get a kitchen scale that goes up to 15 lbs, and I taped a plastic tub to the top so there was enough room for her to stand and I zero out the scale every time I use it. It's probably not the most accurate device like that, but it gives me a pretty good approximation so I know she's not losing too much weight too quickly. It was cheaper than getting a baby scale, and those are curvy so a cat has to be lying down on them to use them. I managed to train my cat to climb onto this scale by bribing her with a really tasty treat. (The Vital Essentials freeze-dried minnows did the trick!)

It still is important that you are able to get her into a carrier for vet visits. If you haven't taken her to the vet for a check-up since you got her, it would be a good idea to make sure everything's okay. And there will be occasions when she has a health issue and you need to take her in. You can bait her carrier by putting food in the back and closing it behind her, but that will probably only work once. Spraying a towel with Feliway and wrapping it around her to pick her up and put her in is another way to do it. A top loading carrier is typically much easier and less stressful.

For weight loss, the more of her diet that is canned, the better. Also keep an eye on ingredients, even with canned. My cat was being fed a canned food, but it contained potato starch and she still gained weight on it. She was also much less hungry between meals when I switched her to a higher protein food.
 

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Hmm... well it's also kind of a nutrition question as well
Here's a recent thread about how to help an overweight cat to lose weight: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/315331/overweight-cat

What are you feeding? Dry food contributes to obesity in many cats so I suggest trying to feed more canned food and limit the dry to a very small amount. How much food are you  feeding and how many meals a day? A cup of dry food may have well over 300 calories, far too much for most cats to have daily. It's generally recommended to feed 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily. For cats who need a huge weight loss, it's better to be more conservative on calories to prevent fatty liver disease from a drastic reduction in calories. Aim for enough calories for a 1 pound decrease in weight and when that weight is achieved and maintained, reduce the calories a little bit more, repeat until the ideal body weight is reached.

I think it's possible to help a kibble addict to lose weight. Feeding a brand that is low in calories per cup would help. Here's a chart that lists the calorie content of many brands of dry food: http://www.petobesityprevention.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Cat_Dry_Food.pdf
Originally Posted by barbgee  

Or pick her up, hold her and weigh her and myself on the scale, then subtract after I set her down.   My bathroom scale is only good to half a pound (0.5lb) unfortunately, anyway...
That should work. Or maybe you can find a used baby scale or borrow one and use that. Many vets use a baby scale to weigh cats.
 
Kitty is getting a bit of a pudge belly.  I would like to try to reduce her weight a little. 
Is she spayed? Spayed and neutered cats have a jiggly floppy "pouch" hanging from their abdomens. It's normal
  Can you easily feel your cat's ribs or spine or do you have to press down a bit to find them?
 

stephanietx

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If you can get her in a carrier, you could weigh her in the carrier, then let her out and weigh the carrier by itself.  Then do the math to figure the weight.
 
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barbgee

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the most recent "diet" food I was feeding her is Science Diet "Perfect Weight", which is chicken, but I'm transitioning her to Nutro Grain-free Duck and Potato.

She's been over-grooming a lot; I'm pretty sure it's stress reaction to construction going on next door which is really loud, since October.  But, the food change is to rule out chicken or grain sensitivity, and also, I'm not really a fan of "Diet" foods.  I think it would be better to eat less of a food that she enjoys, that has fat and protein, than to give her some kinda "diet" concoction.  Maybe that's a projection of how I feel about Human Diet foods?  Anyway,  She likes the Duck formula, and she should be on it alone, in another week or so.

I am a faithful measurer, although I use the bag guidelines.  The problem is that as she is a tripod, she doesn't get the kind of excercise nor have the activity levels of a 4-legger, so I'm still not sure if she's getting too many calories for her activity level and current weight.  I feed a.m. and p.m., so for example she is getting 1/4 cup twice a day, as the bag recommends that for an 8 lb cat.   I may occasionally "round" the measuring cup a little bit, but she doesn't snarf all her food down in one sitting, so I'm assuming she's getting enough to eat.  ???

When I got her she was pretty thin, but I remember her weight was around 8lbs with all 4 legs, so i figure 8-ish should be good for her with just 3?  (Okay, I realize I'm doing a lot of guessing here, but besides the tummy, you cannot feel her ribs easily, although she still has a bit of a waist...  I'll get her weighed ASAP.)

I'm going out of town for a week, but when I get back I REALLY have to start practicing handling.  I'm also pondering clicker training.  She likes re-hydrated dried chicken cubes as a treat, and I had started doing sessions of "click, treat" for a little while, but got busy and abandoned that...  
 

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How many kcals are in a cup of the dry food? On average, a cat will need about 20 kcals per pound of ideal body weight.
 
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barbgee

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How many kcals are in a cup of the dry food? On average, a cat will need about 20 kcals per pound of ideal body weight.
The Science Diet food:   300 kcal/cup

The Nutro Grain-free Duck:   426 kcal/cup

Oddly the Nutro suggests 1/2 cup for an 8 lb. pound cat, which would be 213 kcals.; closer to what a 10 lb cat would get?
 

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Feeding guidelines on the bag are simply that, guidelines. But, on a whole, often suggest feeding more than is actually need/required for an indoor cat.

If your cat is not very active and doesn't have a high metabolism, 180-200 kcals is likely to be good. But, it's something you'll kind of have to play around with.

This article is a good explanation:
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-much-food-should-i-feed-my-cat
 
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barbgee

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Feeding guidelines on the bag are simply that, guidelines. But, on a whole, often suggest feeding more than is actually need/required for an indoor cat.

If your cat is not very active and doesn't have a high metabolism, 180-200 kcals is likely to be good. But, it's something you'll kind of have to play around with.

This article is a good explanation:
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-much-food-should-i-feed-my-cat
Thanks for this answer.

It's annoying that the bags have different units on them; Kcal/Kg, and cal/cup or whatever. I decided to do the math on Calories/GRAM, and I weigh her food out each day in grams.I started at 50 grams/day, moving down 2 grams every month, so I'm just starting 46 grams a day for her, as she's still just a tad tubbier than I'd like her, still.
 
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