Fatty catty

[DulcetMoans]

Just taken my big cat for her boosters and had her weighed. We know she is bigger than she should be but it's always been the upper end of tolerance so not needing action.

Today she was 6.3kg. She's gained 10% of her body weight since last year.

I want to help get it down. She doesn't eat that much here - she has one pouch of meat a day and biscuits. I don't really measure the biscuits but now vets have given us some special diet biscuits so will pay more attention.

She's not one to eat things that aren't cat food - doesn't seem to trust tuna or prawns or ham if you try to give it to her. She just likes cat meat really.

Our other cat is very small but eats everything - but she is very active whereas big cat is lazy. A grey day is a bed day for her.

So, can I do anything else to help he lose weight? Don't want her to be ill!

Does she like playing? These fishing rod type toys are bloody brilliant if she does. Gets them chasing and leaping all about the place. Loads of different attachments as well.

I'd agree with Mantra - see if you can persuade her to be more active = more calories being expended.

You're quite right to be concerned about the perils of too-rapid weight loss for cats who are overweight. Here's some guidance on the general topic.

Wow, 6.3 kg is huge. Did they suggest how much she needs to lose?

My parents have a huge ginger boy who weighs 8.5kg. He is 11 years old now, and can't fit through the catflap any more.

He thinks she is about a 4.5kg cat so a fair bit. She carries it well though, just has a saggy belly. He said you can still feel her spine and ribs in a way you would expect from a cat but she has a belly.

He gave her body a score of 6 out of 9 which I have never experienced before. Has anyone else had this scoring system before?

I will have a look at the toys to get her moving, thanks mantra. She does play so hoping I can make her exercise. Came back from the vets where she has just laid in the living room all afternoon with the patio door open right in front of her!

God I hope they don't start scoring our bodies out of 9 on the NHS! I'd find that traumatizing beyond belief!

She'll like the Flying Frenzy Dulcet.

Yes, mine had just been given a body score of 8 out of 9, according to the leaflet they have me, 8 and 9 are obese, 6 and 7 are overweight and 5 is ideal weight.

Purplecat was weighed at the Vets after an op on Friday as 6.5kg, he needs to be 4! I didn't like to tell them that when he was last weighed at a different Vets about 2 months ago, he was 7kg. As far as I'm concerned, 6.5 kg is good as it means he has lost weigh

I know, imagine if your GP did that and scored your body type! Not great for the self esteem...

Thanks purple, he never actually explained the scale. Just said she was 6 and no leaflet. Hope purplecat is recover after op, not easy to try and lose weight after surgery either.

My cat is also a big cat who should be about 4.5kg but went up to 6.3kg at her heaviest! She also doesn't really like running around...she's s little over at the moment (nothing like 6.3kg though, but it does creep up without you noticing!) vet have always advised to cut down the dry food, so right now she's hardly getting any. She gets the equivalent of a pouch a day and hardly any treats.
I got her one of those balls you fill up with the dry food, they have to kick it about to get the food out, that worked quite well. She doesn't fall for laser pointers etc but her fav toy is a pound shop mouse you fill with catnip, she rolls around on a rug with that now & again. Cutting down the carbs is the best option though, wasn't too hard to get the weight down!