I'm SO glad he's feeling better! 
(AND you got to see him! :heart2: ).
(AND you got to see him! :heart2: ).-
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Mickey, my 27 lbs foster and his journey back to a healthy weight
- Thread starter mschauer
- Start Date
Awesome. So glad to hear this.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #523
Just a quick update on Mickey:
He continues to do great in his new home. Charlie and Susan are just crazy about him! It is a rare day when Charlie (whom I work with) doesn't make some comment about how cute he is.
I gave it to C&S to use at their house. They found out that Mickey can actually get through that hole now! He probably could towards the end of his time at my house also but just didn't try. He certainly couldn't get through it when I first started using it so he probably just didn't try later on. At C&S's house it was something new so he tried and was able to get through it.
They have an easy solution though. They just put their other cats food on top of a table. Mickey can't jump that high yet.
He continues to do great in his new home. Charlie and Susan are just crazy about him! It is a rare day when Charlie (whom I work with) doesn't make some comment about how cute he is.
I gave it to C&S to use at their house. They found out that Mickey can actually get through that hole now! He probably could towards the end of his time at my house also but just didn't try. He certainly couldn't get through it when I first started using it so he probably just didn't try later on. At C&S's house it was something new so he tried and was able to get through it.
They have an easy solution though. They just put their other cats food on top of a table. Mickey can't jump that high yet.
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Thanks for the update! My heart just...squeezed....at the picture. Love him!
I have read through this entire post and I want to say congrats on doing such a great job on him and im glad to hear his tumours are okay as well. Thanks for posting such a lovely inspiring story on here. Andd.. the comparison picture would be awesome! lol
I was just going to ask how he's doing now - so thank you for the update!
I'm SO glad to hear he's doing so well!
AND that he's so happy! Of course they love him so much and think he's so cute. :lol3: And yes, I LOVE seeing his pictures! That boy sure has a place in so many of our hearts. :heart2:
Such great news.
Thank you for the pic and update! it is so great to hear good news!
I didn't know his new parents had other cats...did he just march right in and get along well with them? No problems integrating?
Such a sweetie
I swear, I must get myself a big old orange boy next time around
(although Mickey isn't really orange, is he? He's more blonde
)
Such a sweetie
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #531
Charlie and Susan have 2 other cats. Mondoo is an elderly tortie who hates other cats but is too old to do anything about it anymore. She is, sadly, probably close to going over the bridge.
Their other cat is a Ragdoll named,,, Mickey. They still haven't really decided what to do about having 2 Mickeys.
One of their nicknames for the other Mickey is Woozil so I call him that.
Anyway, Woozil has the stereotypical Ragdoll personality, very laid back. They kept Mickey isolated in their bedroom for a week or so. When they started letting him spend time with Woozil he would hiss at him a bit but Woozil just ignored him so that was that. It never went beyond hissing and Charlie says that has stopped. I haven't said much about the integration because I knew from the way Mickey reacted to my 4 that he would have no problem with Woozil.
Yes, Mickey is a beautiful cream tabby.
Their other cat is a Ragdoll named,,, Mickey. They still haven't really decided what to do about having 2 Mickeys.
Anyway, Woozil has the stereotypical Ragdoll personality, very laid back. They kept Mickey isolated in their bedroom for a week or so. When they started letting him spend time with Woozil he would hiss at him a bit but Woozil just ignored him so that was that. It never went beyond hissing and Charlie says that has stopped. I haven't said much about the integration because I knew from the way Mickey reacted to my 4 that he would have no problem with Woozil.
Yes, Mickey is a beautiful cream tabby.
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Yes, yes, you MUST!! Orangies have the best personality, period!I swear, I must get myself a big old orange boy next time around
So great to hear about how Mickey is doing... and how funny about the 2 Mickeys!!!!!!!!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #533
An update on Mickey:
Charlie and Susan started Mickey's weight loss problem last week. Mickey gained an ounce.
Turns out they were feeding him Purina OM, a dry, prescription weight management food recommended by their vet. Despite knowing that he lost 10 lbs with me while eating regular food.
And, they blindly followed the feeding instructions on the bag despite my warning them, repeatedly, of the need to be sure they knew how many calories he was eating.
And, the feeding instructions were to feed 1 cup which comes out to 300 calories.
The first few ingredients in Purina OM:
Corn gluten meal, wheat gluten, soybean meal, poultry by-product meal, oat fiber, soy protein isolate, brewers rice, fish meal
Oh. man.
Mickey is their cat now and I don't want to presume to tell them how to feed him. Luckily they are open to my suggestions though. I gave them an abbreviated lesson on the need to feed a carnivore a predominately meat based diet and on the questionable quality of anything called a "meal". They decided on their own to switch to a combination of wet and dry diet. They'll give him one 3 oz can of one of the low carb Fancy Feast foods and fill in his remaining calories with a dry food. They said that when they started feeding him dry food he started drinking a lot more water. That answers one of my concerns with regards to feeding him any dry food. As long as he drinks plenty of water I can live with him eating a part dry diet.
I've looked around for a dry food to recommend. I found a Merrick that I think looks pretty good. It is a weight control food and is almost as low in calories as the Purina OM (350 calories vs 300) but the ingredients are much better:
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Dried Potato, Peas, Potato Protein, Natural Flavor, Powdered Cellulose, Sweet Potato, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Dried Egg Product, Ground Flaxseed, Dried Whey Protein Concentrate, Chicken Liver, Salmon Oil (source of Omega-3 fatty acids), Organic Alfalfa, Phosphoric Acid, Cranberries, Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate), Minerals (Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Sodium Selenite), Choline Chloride, Taurine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Rosemary Extract, Bacillus Coagulans, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, Dried Enterococcus faecuim fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product
What do you guys think? According to their web site 70% of the protein is from meat sources. Does anyone have an alternative to suggest? They like the idea of a relatively low calorie food so that they can give him more it. So I'm looking for something under 400 calories/cup, preferably well under 400 calories.
Charlie and Susan started Mickey's weight loss problem last week. Mickey gained an ounce.
Turns out they were feeding him Purina OM, a dry, prescription weight management food recommended by their vet. Despite knowing that he lost 10 lbs with me while eating regular food.
And, they blindly followed the feeding instructions on the bag despite my warning them, repeatedly, of the need to be sure they knew how many calories he was eating.
And, the feeding instructions were to feed 1 cup which comes out to 300 calories.
The first few ingredients in Purina OM:
Corn gluten meal, wheat gluten, soybean meal, poultry by-product meal, oat fiber, soy protein isolate, brewers rice, fish meal
Oh. man.
Mickey is their cat now and I don't want to presume to tell them how to feed him. Luckily they are open to my suggestions though. I gave them an abbreviated lesson on the need to feed a carnivore a predominately meat based diet and on the questionable quality of anything called a "meal". They decided on their own to switch to a combination of wet and dry diet. They'll give him one 3 oz can of one of the low carb Fancy Feast foods and fill in his remaining calories with a dry food. They said that when they started feeding him dry food he started drinking a lot more water. That answers one of my concerns with regards to feeding him any dry food. As long as he drinks plenty of water I can live with him eating a part dry diet.
I've looked around for a dry food to recommend. I found a Merrick that I think looks pretty good. It is a weight control food and is almost as low in calories as the Purina OM (350 calories vs 300) but the ingredients are much better:
Merrick Purrfect Bistro Grain Free Healthy Weight Adult Cat Food
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Dried Potato, Peas, Potato Protein, Natural Flavor, Powdered Cellulose, Sweet Potato, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Dried Egg Product, Ground Flaxseed, Dried Whey Protein Concentrate, Chicken Liver, Salmon Oil (source of Omega-3 fatty acids), Organic Alfalfa, Phosphoric Acid, Cranberries, Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate), Minerals (Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Sodium Selenite), Choline Chloride, Taurine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Rosemary Extract, Bacillus Coagulans, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, Dried Enterococcus faecuim fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product
What do you guys think? According to their web site 70% of the protein is from meat sources. Does anyone have an alternative to suggest? They like the idea of a relatively low calorie food so that they can give him more it. So I'm looking for something under 400 calories/cup, preferably well under 400 calories.
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Wow this really sucks that they switched him to dry food. I understand your predicament and do not want to offend them but something that might be helpful is to send them Dr. Peirson's article on feline obesity since they seem open to getting information http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity Since it is written by a vet they may be more apt to pay attention.
I tried looking at some of the better dry foods and there really aren't many low calorie options and none that I can find under 300 calories a cup. I think sticking to the fancy feast diet you had him on would be the best option, but I guess the merricks is probably better than the vet food
I tried looking at some of the better dry foods and there really aren't many low calorie options and none that I can find under 300 calories a cup. I think sticking to the fancy feast diet you had him on would be the best option, but I guess the merricks is probably better than the vet food
Gosh, after all the hard work you've done getting Mickey's weight down, it's quite disheartening to hear that he's on a crappy dry food. The best dry foods I know of are Wysong's Epigen 90, Ziwipeak and Young Again Zero Carb. The Merrick Purrfect Bistro Grain Free is not bad for a dry food.
I know that Mickey is their cat now, but I thought part of the understanding in taking him was the need for weight control and feeding him a specific number of calories to accomplish that. I remember that you specifically switched his canned food to the one they were going to feed. What happened to that agreement?
I know that Mickey is their cat now, but I thought part of the understanding in taking him was the need for weight control and feeding him a specific number of calories to accomplish that. I remember that you specifically switched his canned food to the one they were going to feed. What happened to that agreement?
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- #536
Thanks! I'll look those up. Are they under 400 calories/cup?
Well it wasn't actually an agreement. I just switched him from raw which I knew they wouldn't feed to Fancy Feast and figured out how much of it they needed to feed. The only real agreement was that they understood that he still needs to lose about another 4 lbs.
Mostly what happened is they took him to their vet and he recommended the Purina. They trust their vet so took his advice. They, Charlie at least, is very receptive to my comments though. Like I said at least they now have him on a part dry, part wet diet. If I can get them to drop the Purina OM for something better quality I'd be satisfied.
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I think that Merrick food is probably astronomically high in carbohydrates. This is very depressing news. I'm so sorry.
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edit -- double post
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How terribly sad. As I recall, he didn't sound food obsessed when he was with you. I know this isn't helpful, but any clue on what the thinking is for a lower calorie dry so he can eat more? Why not just provide a high quality dry in the correct amount?
Ugh. I just don't get why they even want to feed him dry, after all of your love and care....
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- #540
Wanting to feed a lower calorie food so he can eat more comes mostly from Charlie. He equates the larger volume with greater hunger satisfaction. I've talked to him about hunger coming from a lack of nutrition rather than from a lack of bulk. I'm not sure he's convinced though. I think a low calorie food with better ingredients will be an easier sell than a food with even better ingredients but higher calorie so he can't feed as much of it.How terribly sad.
As I recall, he didn't sound food obsessed when he was with you. I know this isn't helpful, but any clue on what the thinking is for a lower calorie dry so he can eat more? Why not just provide a high quality dry in the correct amount?
Ugh. I just don't get why they even want to feed him dry, after all of your love and care....
