Over weight cat with grooming problems

[ani]

As my grandfather got older our lives changed. It was harder for him to walk, see, and hear. Going to the bathroom at night was a struggle alone but adding the cats made it worse. So eventually the cats had to be put in the basement at night.

As of tonight we are allowing them up stairs from now on.

Any tips?

ways to calm them before bed?

 

[vince]

More wet--less dry is a good start to weight loss. They generally get Purina One Indoor Advantage as well when they get dry food, which supposedly helps maintain a healthy weight and controls hairballs. Doesn't seem to help their hairballs significantly and they don't have weight problems, but they like it. They're all indoor cats, so that's why I feed it to them.

 

[vince]

Play with them vigorously before bedtime to tucker 'em out, then feed them. They'll sleep better and longer before they start moving about.

 

[Kflowers]

All food has calories in it. usually they are given by the cup. You can look up specific food and calories per cup on line.

You say you have cut down how much the cat was eating when with your grandfather. Do you know how much he weighed then? Cats must lose weight very slowly, very slowly. You will be counting ounces as good weight loss. Your cat may have lost weight since he came into your care.

Count the calories in the treats too.

You've gotten some really good answers here. Cat's losing weight takes time. If you rush it, you will seriously damage your cat.

 

[Kflowers]

Have you got a picture of Jax standing up? We really can't tell much with him sitting down in the Queen Victoria pose.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Absolutely what V vince said. And the best toy for this, bar none, is a good wand toy, such as "da bird." You're feeding into your cat's natural cycle of "hunt, catch, kill, eat, groom, sleep" that way. The more you work with the nature of the cats, the better your results.

 

[ani]

My cat is around 7 years old, if you already know me and my cats story you’ll know how dedicated i am in making this right.

My younger cat eats both wet and dry.
However my eldest refuses. All he knows is dry food. Past 2 days I’ve been putting wet food but he is refusing to eat.

Please help and Let me know!

 

[nurseangel]

Hi, it's nice to meet you. I don't know the backstory of your cat, but I really like anyone who goes out of there way to do good by their pets. Since some cats have a specific preference to dry food, he should be fine. In fact, I wish I could transition my cats to dry, but my hubby insists on the more expensive wet food. If it was me, and your cat does not have a medical issue that requires him to eat wet food, I would continue feeding him just dry. In fact, MIL's kitties all ate dry food and were happy with it until DH got involved. (Due to a urinary problem with subsequent surgery, one of our cats has to eat special dry food per the vet.)

This is a terrible story, but I once read that a cat would starve itself to death before eating food he didn't like. I hate to think about the research that brought about this conclusion. I remember it was one of the big pet food companies that conducted the experiment.

I wish you and your cats the best. I hope this helps a little; as I mentioned I don't know the backstory and hope I am not giving bad advice. This is just a personal opinion and I am by no means an expert.

 

[suzeanna]

One idea -- you could serve wet food and try crumbling some dry food on top to see if he might more readily recognize the wet food as food.

 

[neely]

When we rescued our present cat we had a heck of a time getting him off the cheap food he was eating at the shelter. After numerous attempts to introduce wet food we relented and got him on a better quality dry food instead. Then gradually with a lot of time and patience we were slowly able to switch him over to wet food. However, he still gets dry food as a snack only.

Here's an excellent Article about how to transition your cat from dry food to a different type of food that might be helpful for you:
Transitioning Your Cat From Kibble To A New Type Of Food – TheCatSite Articles

 

[vince]

Did this thread get merged with another? I could swear I posted the one about play and dinner right before bedtime as a response to someone who had problems with bedtime with her cat.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Did this thread get merged with another? I could swear I posted the one about play and dinner right before bedtime as a response to someone who had problems with bedtime with her cat.

Scroll back to Post #43.

 

[vince]

Scroll back to Post #43.

Yes, I guess I did post it here. CRS. Sometimes, I don't remember who's looking out of the mirror in the morning when I shave!