Youtube: Helpful Vancouver Vet?

mwallace056

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what do you guys think about him and his latest video? do you agree with him when he argues that most cats have good ability to self regulate their food, that most cats have good "nutritional intelligence" here the video

I free-fed my cats because they have pretty good ability to self regulate their food especially Gray and Tucker, they've been the same weight since they were 8-9 months old, they're now about 6 years old and they're at a healthy weight and i've always free-fed them but i don't think that a lot of cats have good ability to self regulate based on about 60% of cats are overweight or obese according to petobesityprevention.org and i'm sure most these cats are free-fed
 

Kieka

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My personal theory is that a good amount of cats bored eat. My crew all self regulate their dry food intake and they are all healthy weights. But my cats go outside and are very active too. They grab a bite when they come inside but that is only a few times throughout the day. If they were indoor only I could see them eating more when they are bored.
 

lisahe

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I say a big "hahaha" to the idea of some cats self-regulating! Particularly among certain rescue cats. We have one who is capable of eating until she barfs: we adopted her as a scrawny underfed kitten in a hoarding situation and even five years of daily meals has not cured her of food insecurity. Oddly, her sister would be just fine, probably even better, if free fed, but of course we can't do that unless we completely separated the two of them because the vulture would descend!
 

Azazel

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Pretty sure that cat snapped at him at the begging of the video and that’s why they took him out. That tail wagging is giving him some serious “stay away from me.”
 

Graceful-Lily

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Pretty sure that cat snapped at him at the begging of the video and that’s why they took him out. That tail wagging is giving him some serious “stay away from me.”
:lol: That cat was definitely thinking evil thoughts about this guy the whole time. He was not having it... maybe the pay wasn't reasonable.
 

lisahe

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:lol: That cat was definitely thinking evil thoughts about this guy the whole time. He was not having it... maybe the pay wasn't reasonable.
The cat was probably as irritated as I was that he started off by asking people to subscribe! That was the end for me.

As it happens, our overeater is on my lap, staring at the computer -- probably waiting for a bird video -- and was very interested in the cat on the screen.
 

Graceful-Lily

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Felix clearly hasn't been "self-regulating" his food very well because he is currently 13lb and counting which is the heaviest he has ever been in his entire life. I was crouching down the other day and he jumped onto my lap - I fell over.

He's the kind of cat that eats a little and then goes back to laying down, but then gets back up and says, "Maybe one more bite..." and several bites later and there is no food left.

So mother dearest (me), now has to tell Felix, "No, honey. That's quite enough!" So like any cat that loves food deeply, he turns to the dog's plate.
 

lisahe

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He's the kind of cat that eats a little and then goes back to laying down, but then gets back up and says, "Maybe one more bite..." and several bites later and there is no food left.
This is why we have to feed our cats in five small meals a day! (It's actually less fuss than it sounds like because it limits Edwina's begging, barfing, and blustering.)
 
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mwallace056

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My personal theory is that a good amount of cats bored eat. My crew all self regulate their dry food intake and they are all healthy weights. But my cats go outside and are very active too. They grab a bite when they come inside but that is only a few times throughout the day. If they were indoor only I could see them eating more when they are bored.
So you saying a lot of cats are able to self regulate their dry food as long they're not bored?, my cats are inside most of the time, i'll admit i don't play with them hardly ever, i don't know if they're bored, Mae who shows that she is bored by tipping cups over full of water but she will also do it if she thirsty. and i don't know if i see her bored eat, she did look little round from looking from the top months ago but she lost that so maybe she can self-regulate. Gray and Tucker don't really show that they're bored but they will sleep a lot so maybe that a sign that they're bored? anyways all the play they get is with each other or solo play, Mae who is the youngest loves to chase and play and even torture her mother. Gray and Tucker hardly play much although i will sometimes see Gray or tucker solo play or play with Mae. the only outside time they get is on the weekends where they will hunt. Mae will roam and explore but i don't think she goes too far because if i call for her she usually comes after few minutes or so, Gray and tucker tend to stick close by, knowing all this, would you say my cats are bored? Gray and Tucker is pretty mellow
I say a big "hahaha" to the idea of some cats self-regulating! Particularly among certain rescue cats. We have one who is capable of eating until she barfs: we adopted her as a scrawny underfed kitten in a hoarding situation and even five years of daily meals has not cured her of food insecurity. Oddly, her sister would be just fine, probably even better, if free fed, but of course we can't do that unless we completely separated the two of them because the vulture would descend!
Well he did talked about rescue cats, he said they have higher risk being food obsessed particularly ones that had hard life at the start, the ones that learned food is rare

Personally i think he has offer good tips or advice in his other videos, he has two part videos called "why i can't touch this cat" where he goes into some of the medical reasons and behavioral reasons and another explaining why you shouldn't pick a cat by it scruff, and another one called "How to tell if your cat is sick" where he explains cats hide that they're sick and what signs to look for when they're in pain or is sick. in all these videos i thought he gave good advice or tips.
 

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knowing all this, would you say my cats are bored?
Sleeping is normal for a cat throughout the day. It sounds like your crew play with each other and explore outside some so I don't think I'd put them in the bored eaters category. I have a friend with a very fat cat who is indoors only and that cat has no interaction with other cats. The friend is gone frequently so the cat is usually alone. That cat and others who have low engagement would fit in the bored eaters category. I am sure the mix is like with humans: some bored eat, some just have slow metabolisms and some are more inclined to fuller bodies.
 

darg

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I've never had an overweight cat and always free fed, up until now with my IBD kitty anyway. That said, mine is a pretty small sample size so I draw no conclusions from my personal experiences as a cat owner.
 

vince

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Both my males "scarf and barf" if left to themselves. They'll eat until they burst. The little girl might be okay to free-feed if she were by herself, but the other two will shove her out of the way and eat her food, so I have to sit with her at every meal while she eats. No, I don't think all cats will self-regulate on their own.
 

GalaxyGirl

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I've never had an overweight cat and always free fed, up until now with my IBD kitty anyway. That said, mine is a pretty small sample size so I draw no conclusions from my personal experiences as a cat owner.
The cat in the video ate until he was fat. The vet talks about “helping” cats self regulate. I’m hoping he makes a video on how to do it. The cat’s name is Lancelot he now self regulates.
 
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Azazel

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Over the years I have come to the conclusion that the vet profession actually doesn’t understand cats very well. It could possibly be that it’s because dogs have been the primary house pet of focus and cats have often been treated as small dogs. Just speaking from experience... I don’t think vets have a very good general understanding of cats.
 

GalaxyGirl

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Over the years I have come to the conclusion that the vet profession actually doesn’t understand cats very well. It could possibly be that it’s because dogs have been the primary house pet of focus and cats have often been treated as small dogs. Just speaking from experience... I don’t think vets have a very good general understanding of cats.
Agreed. Even cat specific vets.
 
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