Concerned for my new kitty's health & happiness

azalea87

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Hey everyone... I adopted a 2 month old tortoishell kitten in December, her name is Azalea and she's now 5 months old. I absolutely adore her. She's hilarious and full of personality. :) Last week, a friend told me that a couple she works with were looking for a new home for their 3 year old cat because they were going tree planting, and that they were going to have to bring him to the SPCA soon if they didn't find a home. I had been thinking of adopting another kitty so that Azalea would have another kitty to play and was thinking of getting a younger cat that would keep Azalea busy and enjoy playing with her, but I agreed to meet him. They told me they needed to have the meeting at my house as they lived with another couple and it wouldn't work, so they told me they would bring him to my place for a meet and greet. When they got here, they had his litterbox, last bit of food, etc and told me they had no choice but to get rid of him that night or take him to the shelter because they weren't allowed to have him where they were living. It made me sad that they felt he was so disposable and felt alright leaving him with somebody they didn't even know... obviously I felt kind of taken advantage of as well, obviously I couldn't let him go to a shelter but it would have been nice to get to know him and make sure it was a good match first. He's a beautifullll tuxedo boy, so big and handsome with bright green eyes. He's such a snuggly sweetheart, I'm in love with him already. I renamed him Jaxx... the name he came with was Squisher. lol. He's such a big, sweet boy.

Here are my concerns though... I really need advice and insight on this from other cat owners. I want to do what's best for Jaxx, I want him to be happy.

1. He's a big boy, a little on the chubby side. Definitely loves his food haha. The couple told me that when they first got him, he was very, very overweight, his stomach was almost touching the ground. They stopped feeding him wet food and he became and outdoor cat and lost a ton of weight. I live in a medium sized bachelor suite with a loft. We'll be living here for at least a year and a half until I'm finished my schooling and can afford to move. It's in an apartment building, so even if I was comfortable letting him outside, I can't. I'm really afraid that living here and not being able to get the same amount of exercise he got before will cause him to regain all that weight. This terrifies me... my 13 year old family cat, who was my BEST friend growing up, had to be put to sleep last year, 2 years after being diagnosed with diabetes, it was discovered that he was suffering from extremely painful arthritis in his spine and he could no longer even go to the bathroom without being given an enema. Saying goodbye to him was one of the hardest things. We loved him sooo much. He was always overweight, literally since being a kitten, and he was an outdoor cat before he was diagnosed with diabetes. I'm terrified of Jaxx gaining all that weight back and getting diabetes or something... I know all too well all the complications kitties can have from being overweight. So, I'm concerned for his health and it makes me wonder if I'm the right home for him. :( I already love him so, so much but am I being selfish to keep him here if it might have such a negative impact on his health? I'm hoping that now that he's being fed really good food, and not the sugary crap they were feeding him before, that he might be okay and might not gain too much weight back. I'm afraid that he's going to gain it all back though. :( I'm going to be taking him to the vet for a check up next week to make sure everything is going okay. What do you think? Any suggestions?

2. Azalea is a kitten, so she's pretty crazy still. Poor Jaxx is almost constantly being hassled by her, tackled, etc. She LOVES it, and that's part of why I was considering getting another kitty. The problem is, Jaxx is not amused... at all. He can't seem to get a break and we live in a bachelor suite, so its not like I can separate them. I've tried putting Azalea up on the loft but she always gets down and starts driving him crazy again. She just doesn't quite understand 'kitty social cues', he'll growl loudly and angrily, ears back, swatting at her, trying to get her to leave him alone but she chases him, keeps batting at him... just being a kitten. I feel so bad for him. He hates it. So, I'm also worried about his happiness. I don't want him to feel stressed out and angry every day. Azalea will eventually grow out of her crazy kitten stage and calm down, but I don't know what to do until then. I'm constantly having to break them apart, and 2 seconds later, Azalea is back at it.

So, I'm feeling kind of stressed out about these 2 things. I'm already so attached to him, I love him and I want him to be with us, but sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the right thing for him by keeping him. :(

Thank you for your time...
 

speakhandsforme

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Hi! Welcome to TCS :wavey: And thank you for taking in Jaxx. :heart3:

1. The thing that does the chubbiness usually isn't the wet food, it's the dry. What exactly are you feeding him? Switching him (and Azalea!) to all wet food will greatly improve their health, both now and long-term. :nod: Another thing that will help him with the chubbiness is playing with toys. Try to get in at least 30 minutes a day with him. And the benefits to his health of keeping him inside will greatly outweigh the negative effects, like the risk of being lost, run over, attacked, whatever. And when he's outside, you can't control what he eats, but if he's always inside you can.

2. Azalea will eventually learn to stop attacking him. The hissing and growling that Jaxx is doing is actually teaching her cat manners, and although he's annoyed by her now, she should grow out of her crazy kitten stage soon. My kitten (Boots) stopped terrorizing my older cat when he was around 6 months. :nod:

Good luck!! :vibes:
 
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azalea87

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It's such a relief to hear you say that. :) I've been feeding them both mostly dry food, I feed them Wellness Core, this is their website: http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/product-details.aspx?pet=cat&pid=23 So far it has the best ingredients I've been able to find. They do have wet food too, so maybe I should switch them to wet food. I was wondering about the wet food thing, and them saying it made him gain weight because our vet told us to feed our diabetic cat wet food to help him lose weight. He's not much a toy kinda kitty, but I was thinking of getting a laser pointer and seeing if that gets him going.

I'm glad to hear that about your kitten too... I feel soo bad for him sometimes!

I'm really, really relieved... thank you! I love him so much already and I want him to stay with me for the rest of his life
 

txcatmom

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Bless you for taking in Jaxx.  I just wanted to chime in to confirm that switching to wet food would be a great thing to do.  It is nearly impossible (barring health problems) for a cat eating the appropriate amount of canned food twice a day to be fat, in my experience.  I love that mine maintain a healthy weight and don't act hungry or food obsessed because they are eating satisfying, meaty canned food.  And I wouldn't worry that you are compromising his health by keeping him indoors.  Indoor cats lead longer, healthier lives.  Good luck.
 
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