Mickey, my 27 lbs foster and his journey back to a healthy weight

[cmshap]

Those "T" things are POISON, linked to many losses of life. Of course the corporation won't own up to it, but it's factual. I used to buy them because, yeah, my cats were addicted to them. NO MORE.

I was just checking out this thread for the first time. It's a bit long so I haven't read every post yet, but I was looking at the beginning and end portions, to start with, before I read more (my cat Willy has had mild weight issues at various points in his life so I want to make sure I'm doing things right moving forward, so it doesn't get worse as he ages).

This is the first I'm reading about Temptations treats being quite that bad. I've only ever bought one container of them during Willy's 10 years of life. It was a large container, but it took me a long time to get through it as I only fed them in moderation. I could tell he loved them a little too much... some red flags went off in my recovering-addict brain, like "these things CAN'T be good for him."

 

[tarasgirl06]

I was just checking out this thread for the first time. It's a bit long so I haven't read every post yet, but I was looking at the beginning and end portions, to start with, before I read more (my cat Willy has had mild weight issues at various points in his life so I want to make sure I'm doing things right moving forward, so it doesn't get worse as he ages).

This is the first I'm reading about Temptations treats being quite that bad. I've only ever bought one container of them during Willy's 10 years of life. It was a large container, but it took me a long time to get through it as I only fed them in moderation. I could tell he loved them a little too much... some red flags went off in my recovering-addict brain, like "these things CAN'T be good for him."

YUP. They won't own up to it, but the facts don't lie.

 

[wiz.k]

wiz.k @Babypaws

There is a lot of info throughout the whole thread. It is super long but there is a lot of great updates and information.. here are some pictures of Mickey

Wow thanks for showing the photos. gives me hope. Yes I did enlist my vet's help. He said "cut his food portion in half". Not very helpful. But I also had an online appointment with another vet and they said they will give me a more accurate calorie intake info for Leo's weight loss. We have been on a slightly lower calorie diet for a 2 weeks now (70% of old calorie intake), and he's gone down 4oz. This is making me hopeful. I am looking forward to my cat becoming a healthy weight again

 

[heatherwillard0614]

Wow thanks for showing the photos. gives me hope. Yes I did enlist my vet's help. He said "cut his food portion in half". Not very helpful. But I also had an online appointment with another vet and they said they will give me a more accurate calorie intake info for Leo's weight loss. We have been on a slightly lower calorie diet for a 2 weeks now (70% of old calorie intake), and he's gone down 4oz. This is making me hopeful. I am looking forward to my cat becoming a healthy weight again

Also note Mickeys progress was a slow and steady process. Here is a chart of his progress from June 2012 til March 2015

 

[tarasgirl06]

Any professional worth the name knows that to put ANYONE on a diet should be a slow, steady, and gradual process. Crash diets can be deadly. For someone who weighs 26 pounds to start, it's all the more important because every ounce is like many pounds for a human. At a glance, Mickey's progress seems sensible. "Common sense" is very UNcommon in these crazy times, but it's what's needed. As with humans, a slow and steady reduction in food portions/calories along with gradual, increased exercise, will give the best results.

 

[cmshap]

YUP. They won't own up to it, but the facts don't lie.

Do you have links to more information on this? I searched the forum and found a bunch of anecdotal threads about Temptations, but I was wondering if there are more scientific sources out there. Like any statistics?

 

[tarasgirl06]

Do you have links to more information on this? I searched the forum and found a bunch of anecdotal threads about Temptations, but I was wondering if there are more scientific sources out there. Like any statistics?

I don't, personally, though there may be more published on the subject. In these times of criminal INjustice and bad people not even being slapped on the wrist, it's not at all surprising that a huge corporation would ignore the suffering and death its products have "allegedly" been implicated in.

 

[wiz.k]

Also note Mickeys progress was a slow and steady process. Here is a chart of his progress from June 2012 til March 2015

Wow this is amazing!! Great idea to track weight loss for Leo

 

[tarasgirl06]

Lessons Learned

I had an unpleasant surprise Tues. I weighted Mickey and he was 26:9 (lbsz)! That's 1 oz heavier than he was 3 days before. It was really confusing because I weighted him Mon and he was 26:6.5, right on track to be at the expected weight of 26:5 on Wed. The Mon weight in was kind of a quick check and I didn't wait for the scale to settle on a constant weight but I've been using this scale for a long time and I've learned how to read it when the weight is "bouncing" a bit. So I thought the Mon weight might be a bit iffy but I really thought it was probably accurate. But Tues I made sure the 26:9 weight was accurate. So ***?? 26:8 on Sat, 26:6.5 on Mon and 26:9 on Tues??? Then I realized what probably happened. Tues I weighted him right after he had eaten. I'm looking for such small changes in weight that the at least 2 oz of food he ate could look like weight gain. Also, any as yet "unexpelled" matter destined for the litterbox can throw the weight off. So, I decided to wait until the "official" mid-week weight in on Wed before panicking too much.

Today (Wed) I weighted him *before* he ate and he came in at 26:7. Still a disappointment. I was hoping for 26:5 but at least it wasn't 26:9! Also he didn't use the litterbox all day so there is still hope he will be close to his week 2 goal of 26:2 by Saturday.

Lesson 1: Be consistent about when to weight!

Contributing to the problem is that this past weekend I made the mistake of upping his food to 7 1/2 oz. I thought he was acting hungry. I still think that but rather than upping the food quantity I've started dividing his food into 4 meals a day. I have one of those timed feeders so I give him 2 1/2 oz FF as usual in the morning and evening and then before I go to work and before I go to bed I put 1 oz of frozen raw along with an ice pack under the food tray in the timed feeder and set it to open at 1 PM and 1 AM. Hopefully that will keep him from getting too hungry between meals. He still isn't scarfing up all his food in one go but he is eating more of it right away and not leaving much for later.

Lesson 2: Don't rush to change meal sizes!

I cannot believe how content this guy is to stay in his room. Usually my fosters will be OK with staying in the foster room for a few days but then, even with the shyest ones, it becomes a challenge to keep them from breaking down the door trying to escape. Not Mickey. He has voluntarily taken a few steps outside his door but no more. This afternoon I confined my cats to a room then carried Mickey out of his room and to the end of the hall. At first he wanted to hightail it back to his room but I blocked his way. Then he actually walked out into the living room and explored a bit. He only walked around for 3 or 4 minutes then headed back to his room but it is a start. I don't think he is going to be ready to meet my cats for a while!

I also discovered this evening that he loves chasing a feather type toy on the end of a wand. He will actually run after it! That is some great exercise!

Oh yeah, one more thing. This guy is a raw eating maniac! I'm giving him beef now and he scarfs that up just like he did the quail, rabbit and lamb.

Thanking you for this info and wishing Mickey and you the BEST. I'm going to ask daftcat75 if he wants to read this particular post as it may be helpful for him and his beautiful Betty.