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

Original poster

I hate my fat cat

48 replies

bagpackbagpack · 07/03/2017 07:35

Ok he isnt fat anymore, which isn't part of the problem. He is a British Short Hair so a big cat.

We re-homed a few years ago, he lived with 6 other cats and although is supposed to be an indoor cat he was used to going outside, and does so for all his toileting needs.

Any way he needed to go on a diet (he weighed 9.5kg when we got him) we wasn't successful with this until we moved house a year ago, suspect neighbours where feeding him, despite me repeatedly telling them not to.

He is now a healthy 7kg, we had no problem with the housemove, he seemed to love our new big back garden, frequently gift us with dead mice and the likes, but since he has lost the weight he is constantly bothering for food and his personality has completely changed.

He Is now slim enough and fit enough to get onto the work surfaces, and he will eat anything left out. I turned my back a second and he ate some buttermilk pancakes I got out to put in toaster!

I just found him in the sink licking the tomato sauce off last nights dinner plates, (that haven the been washed up yet!) he had just been fed too.

He literally begs like a dog if we are eating, so we have to kick him outside, where he meows, scratches and begs to be let back in.

I found him helping himself to my curry the other day (spicy one too.)

I just can't cope with the constant pestering for food, from about 5am he is up meowing loudly, scratching at doors and carpets and I can't walk into the kitchen without him getting into a frenzy knocking his bowls over and jumping up at me to be fed.

I am thinking now about just letting him be fat again, he was happier fat, he acts like he is being starved to death currently.

We feed him the correct amount of food as prescribed by the vet, he has access to fresh water and as he goes outside, anything he can scavage!

What do I do? We are all unhappy! It's been going on form 3-6 month so now, since the new diet started to work..

OP posts:
Mistoffelees · 07/03/2017 08:17

This question came up on a local cats protection page and one of the solutions was to change the location of their food or if it's dry scatter it about so it's more like how they'd eat in the wild.

SoupDragon · 07/03/2017 08:18

Great cat, OP :)

timeforabrewnow · 07/03/2017 08:19

Reading this thread struck a chord with me too, as we have a piggy male cat. I found that the wet cat food (of any sort) is addictive to our greedy cat, and have stopped it all together, as he would pester constantly as you describe.

We feed both cats with dry James Wellbeloved or IAMS - and they both love it.

SoupDragon · 07/03/2017 08:19

Can't you just let him be a bit fatter?

Yes! Let's let them get diabetes! That'll be fun...

StumblyMonkey · 07/03/2017 08:20

I've had lots of cats and I'd say about 30% of them have been like this.

Most often when they were brought up with a lot of other cats or where they had been stray - I think this manifests itself as feeling the need to fill up on food whenever it's available because of their past worries about not being able to get enough.

The same thing often happens in humans; children who were neglected can often have overeating / binge eating issues when they're adults.

Currently one of our cats is like this...we have had her since she was born but her Mum was a stray and obsessed with food and she was the litter runt out of six so either/both of those things might have contributed to her feeling she has to grab what she can.

She's extremely persistent and will even climb up and sit on our shoulders while we're eating to try to get closer and quite often you see a sneaky little paw coming out of nowhere towards your plate.

I dont really have any advice on stopping it other than we keep the kitchen door closed and never leave food out around her at all, not even for a second!

Attached is a totally unnecessary pic of her as a 'butter wouldn't melt' kitten...who knew she'd grown up to be such a little greedy git!

I hate my fat cat
Original poster
bagpackbagpack · 07/03/2017 08:24

Yeyyy! Love that this thread is becoming a cat picture swap!

Supposed to be WFH today, but DC is ill and keeping him off preschool and now I also have pictures of cats to look at..

Better call the boss and tell him I am not logging on!

OP posts:
witwootoodleoo · 07/03/2017 08:27

Yup pre-done raw all the way for me as can't be bothered to make my own and like to know it's properly balance. It looks quite expensive at first because you need less of it than most commercial wet food. The general guide is 2 to 3% of their weight so you'd be looking at between 140g and 210g a day - personally I'd split that in to two or three meals. Nutriment is about £2.45 for 500g depending on where you but it from so between 69p and £1.03 a day.

Nutriment do a good starter box.

There's also Natural Instincts although personally I wouldn't feed the one they sell that contain veg.

If you get on with raw there are cheaper suppliers like this place but you'd need to do some reading as not all of their products are aimed at cats or properly balanced by themselves.

wildpoppiesanddaisies · 07/03/2017 08:37

That cat is awesome Grin

Love the chair he is on, Op!

ememem84 · 07/03/2017 09:02

Our cat was a semi feral so her gulping food down definetly harks back to her days of living outside catching what she could.

I guess if you don't know where your next meal is coming from you eat everything you have when you can.

This is my big girl.

I hate my fat cat
9GreenBottles · 07/03/2017 16:25

I've been using Hills Metabolic for my fat cat and it seems to be having an effect. Previous diets have seen her breaking into cupboards for something to eat but with this, she only try's to finish the cat food from the others bowls (and she is quite safe with human food apart from butter).

ittybittyluna · 07/03/2017 16:42

I'd suggest raw too. Humphrey was a carb monster when we got him and has since really settled. He will often leave little bits of raw at the bottom of the bowl whereas he used to lick the plate clean with Iams!

He will also continue to snooze while we are in the kitchen instead of bothering us for food. It has been a real positive change for him.

Kiroro · 07/03/2017 18:59

Pre-diet cat pig...

I love cat-pig!

Iris65 · 07/03/2017 19:45

OP your cat - when fat - is sooooo cute! Reminds me of Bagpuss!
I am also following this thread. Our little madam wakes me in the middle of the night (2-3am) if my DP forgets to give her supper at 11ish. She also wakes me by purring and stamping around the bed anywhere between 5 and 6 am. I need my sleep and if we lock her out she pulls up the carpet and scratches the door!

Iris65 · 07/03/2017 19:47

Kitty was abandoned or a street cat before she moved in with us and was terribly thin and neglected so we are gentle and considerate with her.....but we're two years in and she seems worse then ever!

Bellebullerebelle · 07/03/2017 19:56

Our rescue cat is the same. He's an annoying little scavenger that only ever wants to eat. He steals food from the kids hands!! I assume his mother was feral as he constantly bites you if he doesn't get fed. He's really not a very pleasant cat. He's indoors at the minute but I think we need to start letting him out to explore soon. He's probably bored out of his skull!

Trustyourself2 · 07/03/2017 20:49

Why don't you leave biscuits out for him so that he always has some grub to scoff. He's hungry. Just like some humans, there are cats who need more food than others. My old boy used to weigh 10 kg when he was a young one and all of the vets said that he was overweight and told me to put him on a diet, but I refused as I just couldn't see the problem cos he was active, healthy and happy. There was one vet who agreed with me and said that he's a big lad, he'll be fine and will start to slim down over time. He's now nearly 20 and weighs less than 5 kg. Not suggesting you let him overeat, but he seems to need more than he's getting on his diet.

LanaorAna1 · 07/03/2017 20:53

OP, yr Catpig is most beautiful creature on Planet Earth.

LanaorAna1 · 07/03/2017 21:00

A secondary point that might help, given I have years of experience courtesy of greedy tabby and ex-feral Mr C.

Have you tried feeding raw mince every now and then? Enough to give Catpig a snacking coma? Also, a sweet (Dreamie) or two at night comes in handy for letting you sleep longer. I also find that being picked up and cuddled - which annoys Mr C slightly - is enough to put him off mithering me for a bit.

How To Faintly Annoy A Cat is a handy skill to learn.

Finally, like doctors, vets give very low BMI for cats. Being a bit fat is not half as bad for anyone as you think, and medics will quietly be the first to admit this.

Melfish · 07/03/2017 21:08

Catso was a rescue cat and when we first got her all meals were inhaled in a matter of seconds. She seems to have settled 6 months in and leaves some for later. She has an inbuilt radar for ham or bacon in the vicinity and will scuttle down, even half asleep, when I put her food in the feeder for her breakfast. I was sick of getting up at 6AM to feed her so put her dry food in an auto feeder for her breakfast. 1 sachet wet food in the evening, and she is out a fair bit.

Kiroro · 08/03/2017 09:02

Please can we have another cat pig photo? Pleeeeeeassse? I do love a fat cat.

MsJolly · 08/03/2017 09:14

Have you tried higher protein food-fills them up more and lasts longer. Have noticed that our cat needs more if we buy cheap shit low protein food.

JessicaEccles · 08/03/2017 10:17

I have had cats all my life- but actually think my Omar is a dog in disguise. He is always mithering for food, will sit on the bed at 4.30am purring incredibly loudly until I get up and feed him. He is also obsessed with HAM , which I have stopped feeding him so nearly got trampled by him when I went near the fridge this morning.
My vet just said some cats are very food fixated. He is at least 8kgs, and looks very portly.

LanaorAna1 · 08/03/2017 11:08

OP - regret that we can no longer represent or advise your interests until further photographic evidence is supplied.

Kindly note that images of belly, paws, and furry face of Catpig are all acceptable.

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