Feeling bad

[hobo08]

I don't know. He weighs 14 pounds, you said? What is his healthy weight goal? How much exercise is he getting? How long had he been eating the 5.5 ounces a day, between weighings?
Each cat is so different. Tolly

was very slender at 9 pounds. He could have been 11 pounds and still not been too heavy. He was extremely active, right up until about a week before he died. He ate between 3 and 5.5 ounces a day, never more than that.
Jennie, on the other hand, tends to gain weight easily. When she was eating Wellness grain free only, she gained if I fed her more than 3 ounces a day! I rotate her foods now with some higher calories (such as Merrick Before Grain) and super low in calories (such as Weruva) and a few in between. I've managed to find a good regimen for her and she maintains 9.5 pounds.
Queen Eva is a petite cat and rarely even hits 7 pounds. She's not quite two and runs and runs and runs all day long. I try to get at least 180 calories a day into her (going by manufacturer's listings) but I rarely can coax her to eat that much and she stays very slender. Her weight fluctuates week by week by half an ounce or more.
That's why a scale is so useful for reducing or maintaining a cat. Weighing Hobo weekly, you will know if 5.5 ounces of the (is it EarthBorn?) food you are feeding is going to allow him to reduce, stay the same, or gain. If you see no change in a month at 5.5 ounces a day, cut out 1/8 of the 5.5 ounce can a day. Give it a few weeks, and see if he starts to drop. An ounce a week, while it seems slow, is safe. Maybe you could go two ounces lost a week (half a pound a month) but slower is better.
When you find the amount he can eat each day and lose an ounce a week, you keep him on that until he reaches his target weight. Then you can increase it a little, until you find the amount that he maintains that weight at.
Feeding him smaller portions over a period of an hour or so, he will be less likely to notice that he is being cut back. Adding a little water to every serving can also help, it will make him feel fuller.
I know it sounds like a lot of work. But any regimen can become routine in time. And it is so worth it to have a cat at a healthy weight. So much less worry, and fewer vet bills!

Exercise is very important. Overweight cats can be slow to want to move much, but keep at it. The more you play with him the more interested he will get. It can take time to find the things HE wants to play. Jennie was a real challenge to get moving, I don't think anyone ever played with her before I rescued her when she was about 2, and once she was living the good life of an inside cat, she saw no reason to expend any energy.

I thought I'd never find a way to get her active, but I have found some Games she likes, which motivate her to twist and turn and play and run a little every day.
Jennie's favorite Game is to be patted with a fly swatter on my bed. I do this every night when I get home from work. She runs up and down the bed as I pat her all over with the fly swatter. She drops down and does twists and turns and little flips as I continue to pat her. This gets her so wound up she then runs around the apartment for a few minutes, and will even participate in Queen Eva's or Mazy's Games for a minute or two.
Anything I can help with, don't hesitate to ask.

I really appreciate your help!

He has actually been eating 11oz of the Earthborn a day for the past week. Before that he was getting 1 tbs can of Evo Turkey and Chicken twice a day,

He does weigh 14lbs last time I knew and the vet said his ideal weight should be 12lbs.

I will be happy to do the work and figure out how to get the right portions for him.

He is very lazy and does not like to play much. The best exercise he used to do at the old house is run up and down the stairs.

 

[otto]

I would not cut his food in half suddenly. That could be very dangerous.

Evo foods are extremely high in calories. Just cutting those out should be enough for the first week.

If the Earthborn really does only have 100 calories per 5.5 ounce can (I didn't even know it came in the bigger cans, I've only seen the 3 ounce cans) that means, without the Evo Hobo is getting 200 calories a day. In my experience, a 9-10 pound active cat can maintain a healthy weight on 180 calories a day. (However, I no longer trust the information given to the consumer on things like calories and percentages in cat foods. I now go by weekly weigh-ins )

So 200 calories, or 11 ounces of Earthborn, may end up being the right amount for him to maintain, once he's lost those 2 pounds.

But he has to lose those pounds first, and, in my opinion he should not lose more than 1/4 pound a month.

So, now, he's gone a week without the Evo? Next, cut an ounce out a week. 11 ounces a day this week. 10 ounces a day next week. I would stay with 10 ounces a day for a couple weeks, then bring him in to be weighed. Call your vet and make sure this is okay. Before I got a scale, my vet allowed me to come in at any time to get a weight on a cat. I usually did it first thing in the morning, before they got real busy. Make sure to weigh him on the same scale every time. If there has been no loss after a few weeks on 10 ounces a day. Cut it to 9 ounces for a week, then 8 ounces for a week.

I can't stress enough that this should be done slowly slowly slowly!

Keep us posted.

 

[otto]

Regarding the free baby scale my friend found:

I actually meant www.freecycle.org, not craigslist.

 

[minka]

At 14lbs, Hobo is allowed to lose 4oz per week, or just under 2% of his body weight. (As stated by Dr Pierson, a DVM specializing in cats)
I agree that if he is eating 11oz per week, I would cut down to 10oz then weigh in 3 days and see what happens. If after two weeks, he has not lost any, cut down again. Also keep in mind that the more exercise he gets, the more food he will need. So if he loses two pounds, but then becomes a more active cat, he won't have to eat only 5.5oz a day.
Try out lots of different things: fuzzy mice, jingly balls, string (only supervised), Da Bird, Hex Bug Nano (robotic buzzy toys), pens (yes, like the writing kind ), lazer lights, the possibilities are endless. You just have to find something he likes.

And yes, I recommend baby scale only, because cats are wiggly and you need to track ounces, not pounds.

 

[hobo08]

This type of baby scale?

http://desmoines.craigslist.org/bab/2965882609.html

Or this kind?

http://desmoines.craigslist.org/bab/2950645103.html

Thank you both! I do have a lazer and have gotten him to chase it one time only. He does like string, just hard to keep him interested in it for long.

Will he ever lose the extra skin under his belly? Or will that stay?

 

[otto]

That first one looks a bit time consuming, I mean would you be able to keep Hobo on it long enough to calibrate. Storage would be an issue too.

Digital is going to be much quicker and easier.

That Red Cross one sells for $53.77 new at amazon, so that would be a good savings for you.



I have a Salter scale bought new for $46.58. It's gone up quite a bit in less than a year!

 

[otto]

Will he ever lose the extra skin under his belly? Or will that stay?

The extra skin cats have that hangs down on their abdomens is not fat, it is part of their design. My Queen Eva has that cat flap and she is underweight. I read recently that cats have that to give them more flexibility and range for sprinting and leaping. It makes sense, because skin can only stretch so far. That loose flap gives them extra room for longer strides.

Of course an over weight cat is going to have more pronounced hanging belly than a slim cat. :lol3: With wight loss and lots of activity and exercise he should tone up very nicely.

 

[hobo08]

That first one looks a bit time consuming, I mean would you be able to keep Hobo on it long enough to calibrate. Storage would be an issue too.
Digital is going to be much quicker and easier.
That Red Cross one sells for $53.77 new at amazon, so that would be a good savings for you.
I have a Salter scale bought new for $46.58. It's gone up quite a bit in less than a year!

We used one like the first in the vet clinic I worked at and yes it was to slow to get a quick read. LOL Doc would be waiting on me but the little stinker cats would move and not want to sit still long enough for me to get a good read.

I will email on the red cross.

 

[minka]

I agree, the first one looks like it might be a pain, and the second one might be too hard to get him to stay on.

The kind that was recommended to me (and also the one I own) is this kind: I don't even have to put him on the scale anymore because he knows if he gets on, it means treat time.


As for the skin, I'm not sure. I think part of the reason Grim looks so wide when he lies down vs stands up is extra skin he has since he used to be so huge. It may go away, it may not, but it won't affect his health either way.