Hi there,
Hang with me here a moment. Back story:
Some circumstance has left me living with my parents the past while. They were kind enough to let me stay here while I also went through a few years of school. During this time, there were four animals in the house: a dog and three cats. A few months ago the eldest cat, who we've had since I was 4, passed away from kidney failure. I wound up missing a class I couldn't afford to miss when I realized there was something wrong with her - but I'm grateful for this because I know nobody else would have noticed and she would have suffered until the end of the day, if she had made it that long.
After that incident, I checked the remaining animals gums. The 14 year old dog had been in rough shape for a while, particularly her teeth, but for whatever reason my knowledge is considered hubbub and my opinion worthless. What I saw was a dog with completely white and pale gums, a sullen look to her face and the few remaining teeth in her mouth coated in tartar. I've known for a while she was suffering ignorance and neglect, but I felt bad for her that day. Less than a week after, she was in too much pain to even eat. In response, my parents crushed up advil and fed it to her claiming "she had just broken a tooth." Needless to say, a few days later we had to take her to the emergency vet, where they found pneumonia, cancer and stage 4 periodontal disease.
The excuse they always had for free feeding the animals was that it was too difficult to feed them separately with how many there were. This isn't true, and even when they only had one cat several years ago, their feeding regime was to free feed kibble any time it asked or any time there was none in the bowl. Typically this was not an issue, as all their cats had been outdoor cats who would hunt for themselves and rarely over eat.
While the other animals' deaths were unfortunate, I was happy that now their "excuse" could no longer be used and I could take over the feeding of the remaining two cats. One is a 15 year old DSH who has been an outdoor cat for most of her life. The other is a 5 year old DSH who has been an indoor cat due to city bi-law changes, and has been overweight since she was a kitten. The oldest has been between 7-8 lbs, the youngest was at 18-20 lbs. For a while, I was successful in managing their food. The oldest maintained weight at 7-8 lbs, while the youngest dropped from 18.2 lbs to 16.4 lbs (a bit faster than intended, but still safely). The past month I've had her down to 16.2.
The constant struggle, however, has been with my parents. They are insistent in disrespecting my attempts to lower my cats weight and increase their health. They undermine my attempts at portion control and scheduled feeding. I resorted to nesting the kibble they would buy in my closet, only releasing portions out to the kitchen in a box of wrapped packages. I figured, this way, I would at least know how much kibble they have eaten so I would know how many calories they are at and how much wet food to compensate as a result. However, they began sharing the packages, so I slowly wanned on putting any more out.
There was one solid week block where I was able to control the cats foods entirely. I fed them Tiki Cat and Almo chicken, and both of them had exceptionally more energy. My overweight cat, while usually depressed, wanted to do nothing but play. She lost a couple of ounces. My parents even remarked how they were shedding less, but then scoffed when I mentioned it was because they had not been eating any Costco kibble and their coats were doing better.
Yesterday I went to get more Tiki cat, but the store had an order error. It seems Tiki is having trouble with all stores in the city. As a result, I purchased a bag of freeze dried Feline Natural raw as well as a bag of Nature's Variety raw chicken. I was worried they wouldn't take to it, but I was able to get them to eat some yesterday and the youngest is happy to eat the freeze dried so long as it is still dry. I realize this defeats half the purpose, but she has not yet accepted a different texture other than hard kibble. So long as I was able to convince her to have some of the frozen chicken, I was happy to let her eat the dried raw.
I woke up this morning at 8AM to feed the cats. Beside the bowl was a large bag of Kirkland kibble, and in the bowl was several cups worth of food - some already eaten. I said nothing as I approached and leaned over to it, by which they told me it had "been for Missy (the oldest)." They knew I was angry at them leaving kibble out for the fat cat to potentially get at, so they were making an excuse about how it was for the older cat, who they claim, "only nibbles every once in a while." They don't seem to understand that they nibble because they have been raised to be grazers, that food will always be available to them, and that they should not feed the cats whenever they ask for it. This is also undermining my efforts because so long as they know the kibble is available, they will wait me out on or refuse the other foods.
I am insistent on changing my cats diets from a free-fed dry kibble basis to a healthier mode of eating. One of my cats died from kidney failure soon after no longer being able to go outside, and I blame the lack of moisture. The other has been extremely obese and depressed for most of her life, and I also blame the kibble for this. My parents, however, do not respect this and refuse to read anything on cat nutrition - assuming instead that I am just being overbearing and ridiculous.
How can I help convince them otherwise, without having to just pack up and leave? It is very difficult to "reason" with them, as they already assume I am wrong from the get-go and have no qualms speaking over, down to, and interrupting me. They are extremely defensive and I am rather passive and easy going, so it is a difficult thing to negate.
Suggestions?
Hang with me here a moment. Back story:
Some circumstance has left me living with my parents the past while. They were kind enough to let me stay here while I also went through a few years of school. During this time, there were four animals in the house: a dog and three cats. A few months ago the eldest cat, who we've had since I was 4, passed away from kidney failure. I wound up missing a class I couldn't afford to miss when I realized there was something wrong with her - but I'm grateful for this because I know nobody else would have noticed and she would have suffered until the end of the day, if she had made it that long.
After that incident, I checked the remaining animals gums. The 14 year old dog had been in rough shape for a while, particularly her teeth, but for whatever reason my knowledge is considered hubbub and my opinion worthless. What I saw was a dog with completely white and pale gums, a sullen look to her face and the few remaining teeth in her mouth coated in tartar. I've known for a while she was suffering ignorance and neglect, but I felt bad for her that day. Less than a week after, she was in too much pain to even eat. In response, my parents crushed up advil and fed it to her claiming "she had just broken a tooth." Needless to say, a few days later we had to take her to the emergency vet, where they found pneumonia, cancer and stage 4 periodontal disease.
The excuse they always had for free feeding the animals was that it was too difficult to feed them separately with how many there were. This isn't true, and even when they only had one cat several years ago, their feeding regime was to free feed kibble any time it asked or any time there was none in the bowl. Typically this was not an issue, as all their cats had been outdoor cats who would hunt for themselves and rarely over eat.
While the other animals' deaths were unfortunate, I was happy that now their "excuse" could no longer be used and I could take over the feeding of the remaining two cats. One is a 15 year old DSH who has been an outdoor cat for most of her life. The other is a 5 year old DSH who has been an indoor cat due to city bi-law changes, and has been overweight since she was a kitten. The oldest has been between 7-8 lbs, the youngest was at 18-20 lbs. For a while, I was successful in managing their food. The oldest maintained weight at 7-8 lbs, while the youngest dropped from 18.2 lbs to 16.4 lbs (a bit faster than intended, but still safely). The past month I've had her down to 16.2.
The constant struggle, however, has been with my parents. They are insistent in disrespecting my attempts to lower my cats weight and increase their health. They undermine my attempts at portion control and scheduled feeding. I resorted to nesting the kibble they would buy in my closet, only releasing portions out to the kitchen in a box of wrapped packages. I figured, this way, I would at least know how much kibble they have eaten so I would know how many calories they are at and how much wet food to compensate as a result. However, they began sharing the packages, so I slowly wanned on putting any more out.
There was one solid week block where I was able to control the cats foods entirely. I fed them Tiki Cat and Almo chicken, and both of them had exceptionally more energy. My overweight cat, while usually depressed, wanted to do nothing but play. She lost a couple of ounces. My parents even remarked how they were shedding less, but then scoffed when I mentioned it was because they had not been eating any Costco kibble and their coats were doing better.
Yesterday I went to get more Tiki cat, but the store had an order error. It seems Tiki is having trouble with all stores in the city. As a result, I purchased a bag of freeze dried Feline Natural raw as well as a bag of Nature's Variety raw chicken. I was worried they wouldn't take to it, but I was able to get them to eat some yesterday and the youngest is happy to eat the freeze dried so long as it is still dry. I realize this defeats half the purpose, but she has not yet accepted a different texture other than hard kibble. So long as I was able to convince her to have some of the frozen chicken, I was happy to let her eat the dried raw.
I woke up this morning at 8AM to feed the cats. Beside the bowl was a large bag of Kirkland kibble, and in the bowl was several cups worth of food - some already eaten. I said nothing as I approached and leaned over to it, by which they told me it had "been for Missy (the oldest)." They knew I was angry at them leaving kibble out for the fat cat to potentially get at, so they were making an excuse about how it was for the older cat, who they claim, "only nibbles every once in a while." They don't seem to understand that they nibble because they have been raised to be grazers, that food will always be available to them, and that they should not feed the cats whenever they ask for it. This is also undermining my efforts because so long as they know the kibble is available, they will wait me out on or refuse the other foods.
I am insistent on changing my cats diets from a free-fed dry kibble basis to a healthier mode of eating. One of my cats died from kidney failure soon after no longer being able to go outside, and I blame the lack of moisture. The other has been extremely obese and depressed for most of her life, and I also blame the kibble for this. My parents, however, do not respect this and refuse to read anything on cat nutrition - assuming instead that I am just being overbearing and ridiculous.
How can I help convince them otherwise, without having to just pack up and leave? It is very difficult to "reason" with them, as they already assume I am wrong from the get-go and have no qualms speaking over, down to, and interrupting me. They are extremely defensive and I am rather passive and easy going, so it is a difficult thing to negate.
Suggestions?
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