Buttons, our outdoor cat, gained weight

dianamc

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My husband took the dog and Buttons, our outdoor cat for their vet visit last week.  Buttons is a long-haired calico and she will be 14 yrs. old at the end of April.  She had been 9 lbs. last April and she is 10.7 lbs. now.  She had been getting leftover wet food since we got Dandy last fall and has been eating up the case of Hound and Gatos chicken that Dandy didn't like.  I guess that is the answer. 

My husband buys her Friskies.  I've tried to get her better dry food but he's not very cooperative.  The vet always marvels at how clean their teeth are and thinks they eat sticks.  No - it's bones.  Buttons still hunts a lot and the dog is running around with a deer leg or something he's found.  Anyway, H&G apparently puts on the pounds.

For all who think she shouldn't be out.  She's not my cat and I really don't think she would adjust well to being indoors at this time of her life. Just the bath and grooming would be terribly traumatic and she does enjoy her hunting.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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So did the Vet say she is overweight?  I sure wish MY 14 year old would gain weight
 

Yes, Hounds and Gatos is full of calories...it's a very good food.  Too bad my old girl doesn't like it.

I think you're right...if  Buttons has been an outdoor cat for her entire life, I don't think she'd be very happy being brought indoors at this point. 
 
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dianamc

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No, she didn't say she was overweight.  She said she was too old to be outside.  The dog has a heater for his house that we turn on when it gets cold and Buttons sleeps in there with him.

3 years ago after my kitty had to be euthanized, Buttons was very thin.  I really thought that something was seriously wrong.  She had always come in and gotten a bite of Xena's Royal Canin dry food and we gave her the remainder of it.  She gained weight again.  This was in the spring, around March.  Xena was almost 11 then and they were about the same age. I know they keep saying outdoor cats don't live so long but it was my indoor/outdoor kitty whose gone.

The vet thought it was unusual for an outdoor cat to gain weight, but I'll guess she probably doesn't see a lot of 13-year-old outdoor cats. I'm glad she has the extra weight for the winter and it doesn't hurt her. We weren't sure she was eating that much of the H&G.  Now I'm wondering about pushing onto little "porky" Dandy here.  It is funny.  She doesn't like the chicken, but if we are taking a can out to Buttons, she demands some (and eats it too).  Piggy, piggy.
 
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