Morbidly Obese?

Smokie,
The russian blue my housemates adopted finally got here today. She is finally over the ringworm. I was startled during my first look at her though. She is one of the fattest kitties I have EVER seen. She doesn't walk she waddles.

Obviously I want to put her on a strict diet. (Hard with other kitties that are free fed) But what else can I do? She is REALLY mellow and sedentary. Not very interested in toys and such.



I should also add that she was adopted from the local animal shelter. She is 3yrs old, spayed, and a whopping 15 pds on a very small frame. Her original owner passed away.

Holy Smokes! Poor Kitty- I would get her to the vet quickly, have basic panels drawn on her, checking for thyroid problems or diabetes and then talk to the vet about a safe way to get the weight off her gradually. Taking it off to quickly could kill her.

How sad is this, these cats are athletic, graceful and beautiful as a rule.

When I asked the humane society about it they said her owner just fed her lots and lots of people food and treats. I agree about the vet and REALLY hope it isn't diabetes. I'm afraid my housemates won't keep her if it is. Sadly I have little say in it, though I will surely try.

People have a tendency to feed cat people food and also instead of feeding the cat, they feed the bowl.

The poor thing just looks uncomfortable! I hope all works out well with her!

The poor baby. I thought my foster was big, but he was rather solid and now it is slipping down under him he has shape on the top!! At 8.5kg (think it may be more than 15lb) the vet nurse said he was the equivalent of a person being 25 stone. Please do get a weight plan done with a vet, as losing weight too quickly can make the body go into shock. I would also only play with her in short bouts at first. Although I prefer cats to have a bit of meat than be skin and bones, I really dont like seeing cats that are mega overweight, as Hissy says, they are not meant to be like that.

She may not be playing with toys because she is so large. If she starts to slim down, she may pick up on play.

I fight the battle of obescity with one of my cats. He plays occassionally but not as often as I would like. I have a 2 story house and do things that force him up and down the stairs, and have cat trees that he likes to climb up and down. His favorite beds are on top of things like cat trees, window niches, etc - he has to jump up to get to his favorite things. It's not play, but it adds some movement to his days.

She's a beautiful cat under all those folds!

I have an overweight cat as well. When I decrease her food by just a little bit, she's more active and interested in playing. We also just recently got her a companion hoping that will distract her from the food bowl. They haven't met yet because the new kitty has an URI, but hopefully they'll meet soon. Maybe being in a multi-cat house will help this overweight kitty.

Stephanie

I wouild agree, get her to a vet and first make sure that she is healthy. If she is I would suggest (I guess obviously) limiting her intake of food, but not drastically, over time, and put her on a dietetic hard cat food. IAM's is a brand Ive used before when my Blueberry was getting a little too big. Some breeds, like Ragdolls (which Blueberry is) are big domestics naturally. Even as big my cat is, she will still play with string and feathers, and this is how I give her exercise, and that cat can move fast when she wants to! Try to give your sweet kitty some exercise this way also. Good luck to you.

I personally would go for a wet food to help a cat lose weight rather than a dry food. I also wouldn't feed Iams.

I have an overweight kitty. She's on a weight loss plan with one of the technicians at our vet, it's free except for purchasing the special food we're feeding her. So far, she's lost almost a pound in two month's time.
As for exercise, maybe she would like chasing a beam of light around? That's my chubby cat's favourite form of play. She is also quite lazy and likes lying around a lot, but I think maybe that's just her personality.
My vet told me cat's aren't supposed to lose more than about 200 grams a month, so it might take awhile for your chubby kitty. But if you keep it up, she'll get there.

Oh my gosh, that poor cat! The other cat in the photo looks horrified! Poor girl. That's just dreadful that she got to that stage. Good luck in getting the weight off.

I would talk it over with a vet and come up with a weight reduction plan for this poor kitty. She shouldn't weigh more then about 7/8 lbs if a Russian Blue and smaller frame.

This will take a lot of work and time to do - you can't lose that much weight quickly.

If vet approved and your cat will eat it, you can get her to eat low calorie stuff like green beans and salad. My russian blue neuter would "kill" you for salad - if he ever needed to be put a diet I'd have no problem

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

If vet approved and your cat will eat it, you can get her to eat low calorie stuff like green beans and salad. My russian blue neuter would "kill" you for salad - if he ever needed to be put a diet I'd have no problem

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My dog is like that

Green beans and salad dont have all the nutrition a cat needs.

my cat is like that too...hes almost 20 pounds. Hes always been fat

I have a chubby abyssinian.... oh my...