Little Boy's Diet Thread.

[Norachan]

I've decided that Little Boy really needs to lose some weight.

A bit of history: Little Boy was a kitten dumped in my neighborhood in January 2013. He was about 3 months old when I found him and had a bad URI and herpes. Both of his eyes were crusted over and the vet thought he might be blind, but fortunately was able to save the sight in one eye.

(Nice of someone to throw a blind kitten out in the middle of winter, right?)

He's a very friendly cat and at our last place he used to get fed all kinds of junk by the kids who lived next door. When we first moved up here he weighed almost 8 kilos. I started him on a healthy eating plan and after a year his weight was down to 7.2 kilos.

I haven't really be paying that much attention to how much he eats recently, just feeding the same brands and amounts as before. I have 23 cats altogether. They all get wet food morning and night, an afternoon snack of Sheba dry food and I leave a cheaper brand of dry food and water down for them over night.

I weighed Little Boy on May 21st and he was 8.5 kilos. 

GinLittleBoy4.jpg

• Norachan
• May 30, 2016

I've started this thread so I can keep a record of his weight loss and I'm grateful for any diet tips or advice.

What do you think should be his target weight? I'm aiming for around 7 kilos, does that sound right?

How much should I expect him to lose each week?

Thanks for reading.

 

[lisahe]

Little Boy's a snowshoe mix, isn't he, Norachan? I think I've seen other photos of him in your posts.

I'm not very good at target weights and the like, but did want to say that it seems like snowshoe mixes really love to eat! We have one, too, Edwina, and we have to feed Edwina separately from Ireland, her (svelte lynx mix) littermate sister: Edwina waits at the door to hoover up Ireland's leftovers. Edwina will eat anything, very quickly; Ireland is a slow, picky, and deliberate eater. The two cats have very different body profiles: Edwina's always been rounder and squishier (hence her nickname, Squish) even though she's not overweight, but Ireland has always been long and muscular. The fact that Little Boy was dumped may play into this, too: our cats were both underfed when we adopted them and I think Edwina still suffers a little from food anxiety, even though the cats have been with us for 2.5 years.

What works for us (we only have two cats so this may be impractical for you) is to feed the cats separately in about five small meals a day. They get only low-carb wet foods (canned, homecooked, and commercial raw) -- I think Edwina would also probably weigh about 8.5 kilos if they were still eating any dry food at all!

I might start with trying to cut Little Boy's dry food and keep him away from the other cats' dishes. If that's at all practical! 

Good luck!

 

[Columbine]

I agree that dry food will put weight on faster than anything else, and it does seem to be a little....uh....addictive for some cats.

I know this might be impossible, but is there any way you could separate Little Boy from the others for the afternoon snack? That way, he could have a reduced portion size - maybe in a slow or puzzle feeder - and the others could eat as normal. As I suspect that his finishing all the leftovers is the biggest problem, this change alone could be enough.

Could you also look at leaving less kibble out at night, or maybe putting some of it in places that Little Boy can't easily access, but the other (smaller, slimmer) cats can?

Putting a little time into getting him moving more could help too, and most cats are more than happy to have some playtime

Good luck with him. Remember, relatively small changes can often be all it takes

 

[red top rescue]

The same thing happened to me with Sweetness, the abandoned young female I picked up at a church where she had obviously been dumped by someone who loved her (she is super affectionate, cuddly, and once over her fear was quite amenable to coming into my car and sitting on my lap).  Anyhow, she was gloriously tubular when she arrived, and then she ate so much (obviously had been without food long enough to be hungry but not to lose muscle bass) she looked pregnant for a few days.  She was fine as long as kept her isolated, but once she joined the old cats and timid Alabama in the bedroom (still not getting any exercise to speak of) she suddenly porked up.  What I didnt realize was that she was eating all the leftovers.  The old guys eat but they dont finish their food and I've always just left it down because they nibble and finish eventually.  I hadn't noticed that she was the one finishing everything.  So I have not yet acquired a scale any larger than the 5 lb. scale I use to weigh kittens, but I do think the weight is coming off her shoulders a bit, and I caught it in time so she is fat but not obese.  She can still wash all her important parts.  None of my other cats are fat so that was a surprise!  Yes, a cat CAN get fat on grain-free low carb wet food -- if she eats everyone else's leftovers.  I am managing a herd of 15, so it's a little hard now that she is integrated with everyone, so I've had to actually create designated meal times in designated areas, and I think it's working but I dont have details.  I still need to get a cat sized scale and can't afford one right now.  I will enjoy watching your progress on this thread.  In the Obesity section of Dr. Lisa Pierson's web site www.catinfo.org, she writes:

A safe rate of weight loss is 1 - 2% of their current body weight per week.

For example, if your cat weighs 20 pounds, he can safely lose up to ~6 ounces per week. (20 pounds X16 ounces/pound = 320 ounces.  2% of 320 = ~ 6 ounces.)

1% would be 3 ounces per week - or 3/4 pound/month.

As your cat loses weight, the amount of weight that he should lose each week will decrease.

For example, if your cat is down to 16 pounds, his weight loss should slow to ~2.5 -5 ounces each week which represents 1-2% of 16 pounds.

 

[Norachan]

@LisaHE  As far as I know he's just a moggy. Maybe you are thinking of Sophie? She looks a bit like a snowshoe. She's more of the escape artist, runaway type than an over eater.

Sophie16.jpg

• Norachan
• May 31, 2016

At the moment I'm limiting Little Boy to half a packet of Sheba dry a day. We tried going cold turkey but he was just so grumpy. We've managed to find a wet food that he really likes, so he gets that morning and night, then about a desert spoon full before his dry food in the afternoon. That way he's not starving when he gets the dry food and doesn't scarf it all down and go looking for more.

@Columbine  Nice to see you back on the forums! 

Yes, he's an addict alright. Leaving the dry food out in a place he can't get to is a really good idea. I know he rarely ventures up onto the over-head Kitty Highway. I'll try putting it up there tonight and see if the others work out where it is. Getting him moving more is a good idea too. I thought about getting him a harness so I can take him for walks. I know he would love that.

@Red Top Rescue  Thank you for the information. The only scales I have are bathroom scales, so I weigh myself holding him, then put him down and work out the difference. He is actually struggling to clean his butt at the moment. He can just about reach, but you can see it's tough for him. I bought some cat shampoo today, so I can give him a bath and make him a bit more comfortable. Luckily he's one of those strange cats that like water. He's always trying to come in the shower with me.

Thank you for all the tips. I'll keep you updated on how it goes.

 

[Columbine]

Norachan It's good to be back

 

[lisahe]

 
@LisaHE  As far as I know he's just a moggy. Maybe you are thinking of Sophie? She looks a bit like a snowshoe. She's more of the escape artist, runaway type than an over eater.

Yes, I was thinking of Sophie! Little Boy's paws and the spot on his nose look so much like Edwina's in your original photo on this thread that I thought he must be a snowshoe, too.

It sounds like you've already figured out some good strategies for Little Boy. Finding a canned food that he likes is a great start: that really helped get our cats off dry food. (When we first adopted them, they held out for that and we were probably lucky that it only took us a month or two to get them completely off it.)

And @Red Top Rescue is so right about this:

 
Yes, a cat CAN get fat on grain-free low carb wet food -- if she eats everyone else's leftovers.

If we didn't pick up Ireland's unfinished food, which isn't usually even very much, Edwina would balloon in a week! Both cats have weight fluctuations (the vet was funny when I mentioned this to her: she said "my weight fluctuates, too!") that are pretty normal but she's more prone to gains without losses to offset. That despite her being a pretty active indoor cat: we have a nice hallway for running, plus the cats have two climbing areas, one inside, one in a screened porch.

Do you have any other "before" pictures of Little Boy that you could post?

 

[Norachan]

This is him when we first found him, poor little blind thing.

LittleBoy1.jpg

• Norachan
• May 31, 2016

This was taken just before we moved when he'd reached 8 kilos. Just look at that huge bowl of food! No wonder he was getting chubby.

LittleBoy8.jpg

• Norachan
• May 31, 2016

This was taken after about 6 months of healthy eating, when he'd got down to about 7 kilos.

LittleBoy13.jpg

• Norachan
• May 31, 2016

 

[Kat0121]

You and I have opposite problems. while none of my cat kids are underweight, their picky eating habits means that food sometimes goes uneaten. Little Boy is gorgeous. He looks so regal guarding the mailbox like that. 

Finding a good canned food is definitely a place to start. How active is he? Does he like wand toys or laser pointers?? I know he spends time outside. Does he hunt at all? If you were to take some catnip plushies or something like that and hang them from the trees with some fishing line or something similar, would that encourage him to play more?  I've always seen him as just a bigger cat. 

 

[red top rescue]

@Norachan, weighing Sweetness using the bathroom scale & me will not work to see her weight loss because it just isn't sensitive enough to pick up OUNCES.  My guess is that she weighs about 10 lbs. and needs to weigh 8 lbs. (I will know what she needs to weigh once she is tubular again!)  She should lose about 3 ounces a week right now, and there is just no way my bathroom scale is going to show if we are making any progress, so I need one that shows ounces (or grams) if I want the satisfaction of seeing the loss and knowing what I'm doing is working.  I'll keep my eyes out for a baby scale at thrift stores.  You never know what you might find.  I just got a like-new 6 qt Hamilton Beach Crock Pot for $5.95 at a local thrift store -- retails new for about $40.

 

[Norachan]

@Kat0121  I've never had this problem before either. Most of the cats I come across are too skinny and have to be fattened up. He is pretty active, he chases the other cats around outside quite a bit. Wand toys don't do so well with this many cats in the house. A usual play time is;

1st minute: Play with the cat.

2nd minute. 10 other cats show up.

3rd minute. One cat manages to grab the toy off me and gallops away with the others in hot pursuit.

Throwing things for them to chase works better. For a chubby cat he can actually run quite fast in short bursts.

@Red Top Rescue  I had a look at kitchen scales today but the only ones I could find only weigh up to 15lbs. Can you get them bigger than that? I have to confess I've never actually baked anything in my life.

Maybe I could measure him around his middle and see if he starts to lose any of his girth? I'm quite worried about what his measurements might be, he's practically spherical.

I teach a class of kindergarten students every Friday, wonder if any of the mums would let me borrow their baby scales.

 

[Columbine]

Regular measurements could definitely be a useful gauge,so long as you're careful to always hit the same spot. That's the most common way to keep track of a horse's weight loss, as, for obvious reasons, equine sized scales aren't exactly readily accessible :lol3:

I love your description of interactive playtime in your house

 

[Columbine]

This is him when we first found him, poor little blind thing.

LittleBoy1.jpg

• Norachan
• May 31, 2016

This was taken just before we moved when he'd reached 8 kilos. Just look at that huge bowl of food! No wonder he was getting chubby.

LittleBoy8.jpg

• Norachan
• May 31, 2016

This was taken after about 6 months of healthy eating, when he'd got down to about 7 kilos.

LittleBoy13.jpg

• Norachan
• May 31, 2016

Aww :love: :heart3: :heart2: :heart3: He was the most ADORABLE little kitten :lovegrin2 That pic of him at 7 kilos looks like a good weight to shoot for, so I think your instinct was spot on. :nod: Better get that harness out and take him hiking (or even running ) with you

 

[Norachan]

Still at the same weight 8.4 kilos today. At least it hasn't gone up again.

I've been trying to measure him but he thinks it's a game and keeps trying to bite the tape measure and pull it out of my hands. I bet people don't have these problems measuring their ponies!

He had a great week though. Only half a packet of dry food as a treat every day, wet for every other meal. He also had a bath and then a long grooming session in the sun to help him dry off. He loved all the attention and smells lovely now.

The summer cicada have hatched so he's been getting plenty of exercise trying to bat those out of the sky.

 

[Columbine]

Just keep doing what you're doing and the weight loss will come. He may have lost a little already, but the bathroom scale just isn't sensitive enough to detect it. In human terms, he doesn't have much to lose at all, so bathroom scales most likely won't show a change in the early stages. You're shooting for gradual loss, after all

 

[Kat0121]

He probably has lost a bit if he's been more active. That gorgeous boy will be ready for the catwalk in no time. 

Feel free to give him some hugs and kisses for me. 

 

[Norachan]

He's down to 8.3 kilos.

I finally managed to measure him. Just behind his front legs: 52 cm Around his widest part: 58 cm. Just in front of his back legs: 54 cm. So he's fairly spherical. One of the neighbors saw him the other day and asked if he was going to have kittens.

Now that I've got his measurements I'm going to look for a harness so we can go on longer walks. I've been trotting up and down the lane just next to the house with him, but I think he'd be happier to go a bit further.

 

[Columbine]

:hobbes:

Yeah! Go Little Boy! Keep up the good work

 

[Kat0121]

@Norachan   How is the gorgeous Little Boy doing these days? 

 

[Columbine]

@Norachan
  How is the gorgeous Little Boy doing these days? 

LOVE that gif Kat I needed a laugh today too