This is it! We have to diet!

caprice · Feb 15, 2005

Originally Posted by rosiemac

I know perfectly well Candie!!

I hope you do get something nice for valentines! otherwise hell hath no fury as they say!

I got a wonderful dinner when I got home from school (got an A on the test!!) along with beautiful lillies and a sweet card!

I have such a wonderful hubby!

caprice · Feb 15, 2005

Originally Posted by hissy

Candie, I applaud your enthusiasm, but you want slow and gradual weight loss and not a sudden drop in pounds. We, as humans can handle crash diets and increased activity but cats sadly cannot and obese kitties put on a sudden diet can develop feline hepatitic lipidosis and then you have real trouble. I am working with Wink right now on this very issue, feeding her Purina OM at the vet's request. She has been on it 3 weeks, with about a 5 minute exercise program every three days. She has lost one pound. (She was 14 pounds when we started). Just a note of caution..

One of the things I have done that works out well is I bought her a treat ball, and I put her food in that, and she has to play with it in order to get the food out. I also will put her bowl on the top of the cat condo so she has to climb up to eat it, and climb down when finished. Baby steps is good when getting weight off a cat-

Thank you for the wonderful advice! I think I'll change the weigh in to be every other week so we can be more careful and so we can see improvement once its made. I love how much energy he has!! And, he feels lighter and I am able to pick him up a lot easier!

Might I add--loves his cat dancer, I come home and find it under furniture all the time!!

caprice · Feb 15, 2005

Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

Candie, thinking of you! As Mary Anne said just take baby steps.

Sam, you are too sweet. Thank you

pinkdaisy226 · Feb 15, 2005

Originally Posted by caprice

Thank you for the wonderful advice! I think I'll change the weigh in to be every other week so we can be more careful and so we can see improvement once its made. I love how much energy he has!! And, he feels lighter and I am able to pick him up a lot easier!

Might I add--loves his cat dancer, I come home and find it under furniture all the time!!

That sounds great! I'm sure it'll be less pressure on you and him. And I'm glad he likes his cat dancer, can I take credit for that suggestion?

Handsome Mittens... I'm sure he'll slim down soon and we won't be able to tell Mittens and Max apart in no time!

hissy · Feb 15, 2005

Originally Posted by caprice

Thank you for the wonderful advice! I think I'll change the weigh in to be every other week so we can be more careful and so we can see improvement once its made. I love how much energy he has!! And, he feels lighter and I am able to pick him up a lot easier!

Might I add--loves his cat dancer, I come home and find it under furniture all the time!!

Cat Dancer should not be left out for cats to have unless you are home. I have horror stories in my email of kitties left alone with this toy working on it and swallowing string which resulted in vet visits, surgeries and long periods of recovery. Please keep all toys that have any type of string out of reach of your cats just to prevent a tragedy. Supervised use only

caprice · Feb 15, 2005

Originally Posted by pinkdaisy226

That sounds great! I'm sure it'll be less pressure on you and him. And I'm glad he likes his cat dancer, can I take credit for that suggestion?

Handsome Mittens... I'm sure he'll slim down soon and we won't be able to tell Mittens and Max apart in no time!

Yes, you can take credit for that!

caprice · Feb 15, 2005

Originally Posted by hissy

Cat Dancer should not be left out for cats to have unless you are home. I have horror stories in my email of kitties left alone with this toy working on it and swallowing string which resulted in vet visits, surgeries and long periods of recovery. Please keep all toys that have any type of string out of reach of your cats just to prevent a tragedy. Supervised use only

Will do. He's got so much energy, he can climb on the table now and knock it off. Got to hide it in the closet now!

anfernee · Feb 16, 2005

Originally Posted by caprice

I don't think I understand your comment: "...but that cat before he started losing weight was HUGE." I've only posted one picture of Mittens on this thread, and he doesn't look different at all at this point. Can you explain that?

I've posted this awhile back, but when he got him 2 years ago, he was already 20 pounds and the people claimed he was overweight because he was bottlefed as a kitten since his mother was killed in a hurricane. He gained the extra after we moved because he was getting to the dog food as well. That has been corrected.

I weighed him yesterday, and it said he was back to 24 pounds. So...I am at a lost at this point.

I was under the impression that he had actually lost some weight. And i am referring to the first picture you posted. My point was merely i did not understand how you could let him get so big in the first place but as you said, that would have been the previous owners fault.

In my opinion he is in desperate need of weight loss. If your attempts thus far have been unsuccessful, i would take more stringent steps to ensure he loses the flab for his health and enjoyment.

My tips -

*feed the dog inside
*if you have other cats, feed them seperately. one example could be feed your smaller cat inside and the big one outside. obviously dont let the big one near the other bowl. keeping it inside means you can keep an eye on it.
*under no circumstances feed him more than once a day. sounds cruel? it will be to start off for a cat who is used to eating as much as he is however, no matter what anyone else says, that cat will not starve, he is huge.

you have to be cruel to be kind sometimes.

turtlecat · Feb 16, 2005

Anfernee, She's got the vet's advice, and personally, I think she's doing a great job. She however was not there to watch him while her sister was petsitting and he may have gained some back. She is working on it, and he is already more healthy, if not lighter, because he is showing signs of activity. If she were to be more severehe would be likely to develop fatty liver disease. Yes, we understand he is huge, however his size only makes it more difficult to make changes because those changes, if done quickly could result in a dead cat, not a thin cat. Please lets all try to be supportive.

caprice · Feb 17, 2005

Originally Posted by anfernee

I was under the impression that he had actually lost some weight. And i am referring to the first picture you posted. My point was merely i did not understand how you could let him get so big in the first place but as you said, that would have been the previous owners fault.

In my opinion he is in desperate need of weight loss. If your attempts thus far have been unsuccessful, i would take more stringent steps to ensure he loses the flab for his health and enjoyment.

My tips -

*feed the dog inside
*if you have other cats, feed them seperately. one example could be feed your smaller cat inside and the big one outside. obviously dont let the big one near the other bowl. keeping it inside means you can keep an eye on it.
*under no circumstances feed him more than once a day. sounds cruel? it will be to start off for a cat who is used to eating as much as he is however, no matter what anyone else says, that cat will not starve, he is huge.

you have to be cruel to be kind sometimes.

He is losing weight at a right speed. He has lost weight but the reason why he gained that was because I weighted him after he ate, I weighed him on a different floor (which was posted in other posts). I've explained my situation with feeding the pets in earlier posts. I have one cat and one dog. They both eat inside. I feed Mittens one cup a food a day (which is what he is suppose to be having) but I break up that cup into 3 times a day. I do this because he WON'T eat all the food at one time and since he doesn't the dog will eat his food. I do the same with Watson, he gets a certain amount of food and he gets to eat that food 3 times a day also, which he is put in a seperate room to eat this. If he doesn't, I pick it up and he gets the rest later in the day. If I don't monitor it this way, they eat each other's food. And, apparently, I would have to say this way is working.

caprice · Feb 17, 2005

Originally Posted by turtlecat

Anfernee, She's got the vet's advice, and personally, I think she's doing a great job. She however was not there to watch him while her sister was petsitting and he may have gained some back. She is working on it, and he is already more healthy, if not lighter, because he is showing signs of activity. If she were to be more severehe would be likely to develop fatty liver disease. Yes, we understand he is huge, however his size only makes it more difficult to make changes because those changes, if done quickly could result in a dead cat, not a thin cat. Please lets all try to be supportive.

Thank you

rosiemac · Feb 17, 2005

As long as Mittens is losing weight thats the main thing!.

I know humans are different, but they tell us at my fat class that a healthy weight loss is 1-2lb per week.

One woman lost 5 1/2lb last night and she's been coming for a few weeks now but she's lost it and thats all that counts!.

anfernee · Feb 17, 2005

Originally Posted by caprice

He is losing weight at a right speed. He has lost weight but the reason why he gained that was because I weighted him after he ate, I weighed him on a different floor (which was posted in other posts). I've explained my situation with feeding the pets in earlier posts. I have one cat and one dog. They both eat inside. I feed Mittens one cup a food a day (which is what he is suppose to be having) but I break up that cup into 3 times a day. I do this because he WON'T eat all the food at one time and since he doesn't the dog will eat his food. I do the same with Watson, he gets a certain amount of food and he gets to eat that food 3 times a day also, which he is put in a seperate room to eat this. If he doesn't, I pick it up and he gets the rest later in the day. If I don't monitor it this way, they eat each other's food. And, apparently, I would have to say this way is working.

For much of the criticism i have received, it would seem as though you are feeding him the amount i actually suggested. 1 cup of food a day would be the equivalent of a meal yes? And like i said, i wouldnt be feeding him more than one meal a day. This WILL NOT result in a dead cat despite what an alarmist might say. And do i have expert advice? Yes a close friend of mine is a vet and told me the same.

Congrats on doing such a good job so far.....

caprice · Feb 18, 2005

Originally Posted by anfernee

For much of the criticism i have received, it would seem as though you are feeding him the amount i actually suggested. 1 cup of food a day would be the equivalent of a meal yes? And like i said, i wouldnt be feeding him more than one meal a day. This WILL NOT result in a dead cat despite what an alarmist might say. And do i have expert advice? Yes a close friend of mine is a vet and told me the same.

Congrats on doing such a good job so far.....

I've fed him 1 cup of food for the last month and a half. This is from the suggestion of my vet that I received before I even started this thread. We are not trying to criticize you here. The people here are just trying to give their suggestions, just like you are, and in hopes that Mitten's won't lose too much weight in a short amount of time. 1 cup of food a day will not result in a dead cat, but if he loses 10 pounds in a few short weeks, it might just.

Thank you...

rosiemac · Feb 18, 2005

If you have a look back on page one Candie was doing that anyway.

caprice · Feb 21, 2005

Little sucker has so much energy

It's funny watching him play now, he is actually keeping me entertained

dawnofsierra · Feb 21, 2005

Hurray, Mittens!

Way to go, Candie!

whitby · Feb 21, 2005

Originally Posted by caprice

I took sweet Mittens into the vet today because he has been peeing on the floor...more than once in one week is enough for me. Oh boy, he wasn't happy!!

Found out he has cystitus (I think I spelt that right...) and will be on antibotics for 7 days! Thank the lord for vets!

Well, we are starting a new life as of this evening, and I have vowed with my Mittens that he really needs to lose the weight! He weighed in at 24 pounds and 11 ounces. We have to loss this 10 pounds...so here we are...I am gonna post how his progress is going until we get down to 14 pounds. I want to post pics of his progress too. I need support also because when he whines, it gets the best of me. I thought I would share this with all of you since you are my family.

So now...I'll begin tomorrow with a picture and how our day went.

Thanks so much everyone---to a happy and healthier future for Mittens!

Be strong and firm, don't give in to those meows and cries! Just keep saying to yourself it's for his own good. I went thru this with my dog when the vet told me to cut him back him on his food. The vet was able to pinch more than an inch! Well Thor(shepard) noticed the cutbacks, gave me the sad look, ears stuck straight out and I almost cried. He looked so sad I almost broke down. All my cats and dogs know how to push my buttons. But I was strong, didn't break down and just played with him more often. He lost the weight in no time at all! (now, where's my cheesecake???)

caprice · Feb 21, 2005

Originally Posted by Whitby

Be strong and firm, don't give in to those meows and cries! Just keep saying to yourself it's for his own good. I went thru this with my dog when the vet told me to cut him back him on his food. The vet was able to pinch more than an inch! Well Thor(shepard) noticed the cutbacks, gave me the sad look, ears stuck straight out and I almost cried. He looked so sad I almost broke down. All my cats and dogs know how to push my buttons. But I was strong, didn't break down and just played with him more often. He lost the weight in no time at all! (now, where's my cheesecake???)

Actually, that went away about 3 weeks ago

rosiemac · Feb 21, 2005

Go on Mittens!!!!!

He's enjoying his new found energy while entertaining his mum!

This is it! We have to diet!

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