I have 3 cats. Two are beginning to be overweight (Boo and Sam) and one is underweight (Izzy). My vet told me to make sure that Izzy gets at least 1.5 cups of food to eat per day. However, she also mentioned that I should start cutting back on how much Boo and Sam got. My only problem is that Sam and Boo are food sluts. They eat all the time. If I put food down for Izzy, they eat it all. If I take up the food at night, they break into the kitchen cabinets and eat all my crackers, ramen noodles, bread or whatever else they can break the packaging on. I have put baby locks on the cabinets and take the cereal off of the refrigerator at night, so I can control them a little now. Izzy is a different story. I would supervise Izzy eating, but she is very nervous when she eats and she wont eat while I'm watching. She eats the most at night when I am in bed. If anything changes (I lock the other cats in the bathroom, I move the food bowl) she refuses to eat. Anybody got any ideas about how to get her to eat more?

2/23/2006 11:49:37 AM

More like TheTubbyCat(s)

2/23/2006 12:05:03 PM

Quote :

"Anybody got any ideas about how to get her to eat more?"

Wet/canned Food?? I dunno.

[Edited on February 23, 2006 at 12:05 PM. Reason : ]

2/23/2006 12:05:44 PM

how about booting the cats that shouldnt be eating the other ones food when you put it down across the room

lock the cats in the other room when you are feeding the one, christ this isnt hard


as for the fat asses, put your food where they can get it, they are cats not fucking houdini

[Edited on February 23, 2006 at 12:10 PM. Reason : ]

[Edited on February 23, 2006 at 12:12 PM. Reason : ]

2/23/2006 12:10:04 PM

there are child safety protection things on all the cabinets at my place in sumter square... but they aren't cat safety. they open them no problem... i don't understand how, but they do.

one of my cats is a little fatty & the other is normal weight... the vet suggested either paying more for diet food or putting out food & taking up food & locking one cat away at a time for every meal.

thats too much of a hassel... if he wants to be a fatty hes going to be fatty b/c i don't have the time... although he seems to be getting a little better on his own.

2/23/2006 12:14:59 PM

I fucking hate cats

2/23/2006 12:16:12 PM

1.5 cups sounds like way too much, i would think a bit over one should be sufficient for weight gain

2/23/2006 12:20:16 PM

chain a big weight to their legs at night

2/23/2006 12:33:51 PM

Two ideas that I know people have used (both dealing with ways that the tubby kitties can't get to the food).

My neighbor puts food for the free-grazing cat on a high shelf. The other cat with the weight issue can't jump high enough to reach the food. This is probably the case for a lot of the full figured kitties.

If your hungry kitties can jump, my cousins used the idea of putting food in a carrier (or something else) and then making an opening that only the thin kitty can get through. (Don't make the opening out of cardboard though. If a kitty is determined enough (which is sounds like yours would be), he'll chew himself a bigger opening!)

Basically, try to leave the food somewhere that she can get to and the others can't. Use their size against them.

2/23/2006 12:44:37 PM

^ haha gg

2/23/2006 12:48:15 PM

my fatty kitty can soar through the air as if his fat could stretch out & become the flesh wings of a flying squirrel. but hes a young cat. (hes not actually that fat any more, i just like making fun of him)

2/23/2006 12:49:48 PM

i have to free feed my fatty because she gorges when i feed meals and then vomits, so I free feed light (may have to switch to RD) and then give the skinny kitty yummy canned food every night before bed, I shut her in the bathroom

2/23/2006 5:08:02 PM

i would just like to take this time to remind errbody that pets aren't human

i know you know, but i feel like the public service announcement is warranted once in a while

2/23/2006 5:11:33 PM

umm...thanks

2/23/2006 5:18:13 PM

you're welcome

2/23/2006 5:36:48 PM

Let the fat ones run around outside. THeir natural instincts to chase stuff will take over, causing them to lose some weight and have fun.

2/23/2006 6:21:19 PM

The canned food is a good idea. She wont eat dry food when the other cats are locked up (I'm not sure why, but shes very high strung). Maybe the wet food will be enough to entice her to eat. Thanks!

2/23/2006 6:55:55 PM

Having 2 young cats has helped to combat weight problems... they chase each other all the time... which is a problem when one jumps on the banister but the other one can't make it that high and slams into the side of the tv.

especially with all their running up and down stairs, they are definitely getting work outs.

2/23/2006 7:05:44 PM

you can definately supplement with wet and leave out dry for a little while. Its very unlikely you can force an underweight cat to eat 1.5 cups of food, that is a ton of cat food.

2/23/2006 7:27:13 PM

Quote :

"If your hungry kitties can jump, my cousins used the idea of putting food in a carrier (or something else) and then making an opening that only the thin kitty can get through. (Don't make the opening out of cardboard though. If a kitty is determined enough (which is sounds like yours would be), he'll chew himself a bigger opening!)"

Do not do this. I know most cats are smart, but I wouldn't run the risk of allowing my cat to get stuck and possibly panic herself to an injury.

2/23/2006 7:32:27 PM

i exercise my kitties for 15 mins. once or twice every day with the laser pointer. they go nuts!

2/24/2006 3:36:45 PM

My cat was getting fat as hell. When my alarm clock went off in the AM, he would bite my hand if I hit the snooze. Then he would meow 9 billion times while I was brushing my teeth until I stopped and fed him. At this point, he promptly destroyed every sign of food in his dish. Same situation when I got home from work.

One weekend I left town and got one of those cat feeder things that has a big container and keeps the bowl full. When I got back, I expected him to look like Sean May, but he had hardly eaten at all.

Now I just keep the feeder full and he grazes and nibbles during the day. He never whines for food, and he has lost alot of weight.

Cheers

[Edited on February 25, 2006 at 1:55 PM. Reason : ]

2/25/2006 1:55:21 PM

Quote :

"When I got back, I expected him to look like Sean May, but he had hardly eaten at all."

hahaha. its always funny when you can break that out

2/25/2006 2:28:34 PM

TheTabbyFat

2/25/2006 2:31:36 PM