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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

Fat Cats:'(

10 replies

CMP69 · 09/10/2013 22:22

I despair!
We have 2 11 moggies who are 5.7 & 6.3kg. They have been on Hills RD food for 2 years and one is fatter than last year
they get no treats but are too old to be much more active
Any thoughts?

OP posts:

cozietoesie · 09/10/2013 22:29

Are they indoor cats or do they go outside?

cozietoesie · 09/10/2013 22:33

PS - and 11 is not 'old' in my book - more like middle aged these days.

Original poster

CMP69 · 09/10/2013 22:36

They have a cat flap the tom goes out a bit but the she cat (the fatter and smaller) has always been a bit idle
Yes I agree on age, suppose I mean more about changing their habits

OP posts:

Original poster

CMP69 · 09/10/2013 22:36

They have a cat flap the tom goes out a bit but the she cat (the fatter and smaller) has always been a bit idle
Yes I agree on age, suppose I mean more about changing their habits

OP posts:

cozietoesie · 09/10/2013 23:46

Do they have food left down for them to graze at will and how much are they getting a day?

Oh - and do you by any chance have any indulgent neighbours who might be 'supplementing' their diet with choice morsels?

fidgitydaisy · 10/10/2013 00:03

try encouraging play when you are in the house with them. A laser pen or feather on a string flicking around will get them moving. It's often about exercise and not food.

whattherainknows · 10/10/2013 12:05

A nurse at your vets could probably recommend a diet plan for them. It could be the amount you feed too much even if they were active. Can you still feel their ribs? Could be they are just big cats! Someone at the vets should be able to help though. I'd have thought just for the cost of a normal checkup, and you can say you want to keep them on the same/similar food and change the amount. They'll probably try to sell you special diet food, but I doubt it'd be needed. That sort of food is like what you give a cat after surgery, so chicken and rice.

catameringue · 10/10/2013 13:24

With dry food, I sometimes throw it a piece at a time - the cats love this and have to trot around collecting it.

I ageee with laser pen.

Also agree they may be being fed elsewhere. Hungry cats are not fools. Put a note on their collar?

Lonecatwithkitten · 10/10/2013 13:37

My first question is are you weighing the food?
Secondly are you feeding for the weight you want the cat to be?
These are the two most common reasons 'diet foods' as these things are not happening.
If you are doing this the the cats have to 'hunt' for their food. Simplest and cheapest ways are cat pyramid that only dispenses food when the cats pounce on it or making pyramid of toilets rolls and they have to hook the food out.

Original poster

CMP69 · 10/10/2013 16:32

Thanks folks
They have Hills RD 55g per day each, prescribed by the vet. We use a little measuring cup so its fairly accurate. Absolutely no treats and I'm pretty sure the neighbours aren't feeding them
I think its just laziness. Will try some if the foraging ideas
They should be about 5kg and that's what we are feeding to, they are actually quite small cats, not sure when I last felt ribs

OP posts:

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