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Is my cat.. getting fat?
- Thread starter kat003
- Start Date
Do you have standing or from above photos? It is really hard to say anything with the photo provided.
Here is my girl belly up, looking very rotunda.
And sitting normally, but you can see she's pretty petite.
Just like with people, angles matter.
A standing or side view of laying flat works. But the ideal is looking down from above to see the silhouette.
Here is my girl belly up, looking very rotunda.
And sitting normally, but you can see she's pretty petite.
Just like with people, angles matter.
A standing or side view of laying flat works. But the ideal is looking down from above to see the silhouette.
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- #4
I guess your right. I will try to get some good pictures, she used to be a very fit cat and I have noticed a big difference
Yes, looking down at them from above is the best way to assess. You should be able to see a 'waist' in a normal cat from above. Feel long their sides and press in slightly. if you feel the ribs she is fine, if you have to press pretty hard she is overweight. I haven't felt my cat's ribs for a long time, but they have leukemia and I need to keep a little weight on them in case they stop eating. So you have to weigh how much excess you want a cat to carry. There are many weight control foods out there too, and giving shaved deli turkey as a treat works too.
If you think you are noticing a difference, I would weigh her to make sure there is a difference. I once took my cat to the vet for suspected weight loss and he was to the ounce the same weight. Another time I was right and my cat had lost a half pound. Granted, my cats coloring can create visual illusions regarding his weight because he has natural contouring.
How old is she?
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- #7
She is only a year old.
Hi. You can compare her to this chart too!
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- #9
I weighed her she weighed 7.8 the last time i weighed her now she is a little over 9 pounds. I would say shes in between 3 and 4.
So, not so bad - just something to keep an eye on !! See what you can do to just 'tweak' her food a bit, If it is dry, a few less morsels in the dish over time. If canned food - as long as she is also eating dry, I wouldn't touch for now. What is she eating?
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- #11
I give her 1/2 cup of dry for her to munch on throughout the day, and I feed tiki cat pates and shreds(both after dark), I switch them out. I thought tiki cat was pretty low in calories. It may be the dry food that has too many calories, it 420 per cup.. what do you recommend I feed her? maybe 1/3 or less? I also add a few freeze dried treats here and there.
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I may be remembering this incorrectly, but when I went to switch my 10- month old from kitten food to adult, I thought I noticed that the calorie count for the Tiki after dark differs pretty dramatically between shredded and pate (with the pate being maybe half again as caloric?). Worth checking. For that reason, I decided to do pate for one meal and shredded for the other meal of the day, instead of rotating randomly, so she gets roughly the same amount of calories from wet food per day.
I also have cut my kitty's dry food to 1/8 cup at lunch and at night (and since I'm home, I sometimes replace lunch with wet). And I plan to cut back more as necessary. My kitty is similar, currently 8.2 pounds and seems healthy but probably shouldn't gain too much weight, since she has a slim build and seems to have stopped growing upward.
Of course, I still feel like an experiment of one!
Tbh, if she is actually eating the entire 1/2 cup of dry that you leave out for her, I wouldn't adjust it by much to start off with. Maybe 1/16 of a cup less? The dry food is where I would start to reduce the amount first. See what happens. It really has to be gradual for her body (and mind) to adjust.
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- #14
It takes her all day and night to eat that much, and sometimes she doesn't finish it. Thank you for the advice!!
That half cup of food is feeding her to 12 pounds (at the average estimate of 20 calories per pound). At a year old it probably is time to scale back the food. But like said above, do it very slowly so she adjusts.
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- #16
I will take it down to 1/3 of 1/4 a day. The tiki cat i feed ranges from 100-130 calories. 1/4 is 105 cals and 1/3 is 140. I can't decide which one would be better calorie wise and long term.
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- #17
Any recommendations for something to help with anxiety? Is there some kind of treat or something I can use? My cat has been over eating a lot and when she doesn't get food she will eat random items. I am also looking for something to help with this as she is fed very good 3 times a day, taking that down due to her gaining what I would consider too much weight. I think she has separation anxiety because when I leave she won't stop meowing. Any suggestions would be helpful.
Hi! You could try a couple things - there's Cat Music from quite a few sources (Spotify, Youtube, Relax My Cat, MusicForCats), and also there are cat videos (of squirrels, birds and such).
Be sure and pick up anything she might chew on so that she doesn't ingest something she shouldn't. If she continues with this behavior you might chat with your vet about Pica.
Be sure and pick up anything she might chew on so that she doesn't ingest something she shouldn't. If she continues with this behavior you might chat with your vet about Pica.
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- #19
I think I have come up with something, 1/8 cup in the morning, another 1/8 in the evening and wet food in the middle. 1/4 105 cals plus (gonna put maximum calories) 130= around 230 calories a day.
I would but we are financially not in a good place right now. I was mainly seeing if anyone recommended any chews. Or maybe even a pheromone diffuser, i have no idea if it would actually work though.
This retailer might have something for you for chews - I've used some of their other products and like them (not affiliated with them).
Stress & Anxiety Support for Cats
Also, along with the music I mentioned in my post above which can be surprisingly effecting in helping a cat to become more relaxed, here is a list of calming products. My Poppycat didn't respond to pheromone type products at all positively--with Feliway he just sort of hunched into himself 'til I removed him from the area where it was being used (a vet clinic), and he'd leave the room where I tried Comfort Zone at the house.
Only Natural Pet has a calming product called Just Relax Calming spray with essential oil (catnip oil)--see their link I gave you above.
There's this one, be sure and scroll all the way down the page;
www.bachflower.com
Also, there is ThunderWunders calming chews, Richard's Organic Pet Calm drops, Naturevet Hemp, HomeoPet Anxiety Relief, Head to Tail Calming, Relaxivet Quiet Moments Cat treats, GNC Calming formula, and there is Calm-o-mile, Natures Miracle calming spray, Vetri-Science's Composure is another item to look at, Pet Remedy - UK (it has valerian) is yet another, as is Essential Pet Pet-eze, Pet Organics No Stress, Only Natural Pet (brand and website) has other calming products, Pet Naturals also has one I believe, and there are others.
Lambert Vet Supply is a website to look at, and of course chewy, also there's Petwishpros, animaleo, 1-800-petmeds, Petco and PetSmart, and other pet stores.
This post talks about some other products; (sorry for the big bold font I'm on my phone and can't get it to cooperate)
Calming Treats For A Very Picky Cat
Additional, maybe there is something here that might help;
Financial Aid for Pets
No Money For Vet Care? How To Find Help And Save Your Cat's Life
About Waggle | Vet Financial Assistance | Financial Aid For Pets
5 Ways to Pay for Vet Costs
Stress & Anxiety Support for Cats
Also, along with the music I mentioned in my post above which can be surprisingly effecting in helping a cat to become more relaxed, here is a list of calming products. My Poppycat didn't respond to pheromone type products at all positively--with Feliway he just sort of hunched into himself 'til I removed him from the area where it was being used (a vet clinic), and he'd leave the room where I tried Comfort Zone at the house.
Only Natural Pet has a calming product called Just Relax Calming spray with essential oil (catnip oil)--see their link I gave you above.
There's this one, be sure and scroll all the way down the page;
www.bachflower.com
Also, there is ThunderWunders calming chews, Richard's Organic Pet Calm drops, Naturevet Hemp, HomeoPet Anxiety Relief, Head to Tail Calming, Relaxivet Quiet Moments Cat treats, GNC Calming formula, and there is Calm-o-mile, Natures Miracle calming spray, Vetri-Science's Composure is another item to look at, Pet Remedy - UK (it has valerian) is yet another, as is Essential Pet Pet-eze, Pet Organics No Stress, Only Natural Pet (brand and website) has other calming products, Pet Naturals also has one I believe, and there are others.
Lambert Vet Supply is a website to look at, and of course chewy, also there's Petwishpros, animaleo, 1-800-petmeds, Petco and PetSmart, and other pet stores.
This post talks about some other products; (sorry for the big bold font I'm on my phone and can't get it to cooperate)
Calming Treats For A Very Picky Cat
Additional, maybe there is something here that might help;
Financial Aid for Pets
No Money For Vet Care? How To Find Help And Save Your Cat's Life
About Waggle | Vet Financial Assistance | Financial Aid For Pets
5 Ways to Pay for Vet Costs
