My Cat Got Fat Shamed Today!

[tabbysia]

The vet clinic that I go to has two different vets. When I took one of my cats in for a (post hip surgery) check up a couple of months ago, I asked the vet that usually sees him if his weight (16.6 at the time) was okay. She said that his weight was fine, as long as he maintained it because he had a large frame and long body and was just naturally a big cat. Well, he has maintained his weight of 16 pounds since he was about a year old. He is one year and 10 months now. It only tends to fluctuate by a few ounces. So, I thought his weight was okay. However, I took him in today for his vaccinations, and the other vet saw him--not the one that I usually deal with most of the time. She basically told me that my cat is a fat, lazy slob--well maybe not those exact words, but it sure felt like it! He currently weighs 16.8 pounds. She told me that his ideal weight should be no more than 14 pounds. She kept making a HUGE deal about his weight.

She asked what I was feeding him, and I explained how I free feed two kinds of dry (two cats on different foods, but he eats both), and I give him one, sometimes two 3 ounce cans of food per day--depending on his appetite. She did not have any comment about the dry, except that she figured I was free feeding. She said that to make him lose weight, I need to reduce the amount of canned food that I give him to no more than 3/4 of one can per day. This makes no sense, but she has always been a proponent of dry food over wet. Canned food "ruins their teeth" after all.

She also proceeded to tell me that he has gained a whole pound since his surgery back in April, which is not true. He weighed 16.8 at the time that he broke his hip back in April, and he was 16.7 today. Maybe math is not her thing?

She also told me that cats are the laziest creatures on Earth. Maybe that is not 100% false, but she could keep the cat bashing comments to herself. I'm just saying.

 

[jen]

So she seems a little harsh and I absolutely don't agree that canned food ruins their teeth that is such a load of crap. Never brushing their teeth and never doing dentals ruins their teeth... Just like dry food doesn't clean their teeth appropriately enough to matter. Anyway, it DOES sound like you are overfeeding him. Do you have a scale in your bathroom? Weigh him periodically. I would cut back on the dry and seriously quit listening to the vet about canned vs dry... the dry is packed with calories and more importantly CARBS which turns to sugar which packs on weight which leads to diabetes. NO FUN.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

.
T tabbysia - Bob says, "sends me her address; I goes and sits on her!"

Every veterinarian has different idea about health. My vet believes that a few pounds over is safest, owed to the fact that, in the eventuality of a catastrophic illness, a fifteen pound cat who loses five pounds has the ability to rebound, while a ten pound cat who loses five pounds has a far slimmer chance of recovery.
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[KarenKat]

Trin is a big-boned longish tabby, and he weighs 14.5 lbs. When I feel down the torso, I can easily feel ribs, with what I think could be a layer of fat. When I took him to a new Vet, I asked about his weight since I worried he might be too thin. She said, without examining him, that they “like to see 10-12 lbs” and that he should lose weight. I wish the vets would focus on the cat in question and not some rough average. Every body type is different!

 

[lalagimp]

That's funny. Your other very doesn't sound like her specialty is cats. Cats are not lazy. When they do use their calories, they BURN through them. If you want to relate to an owner about their fat pet, you use math, and then relate it back the parent. Give them a percentage, and then say "how do you think you'd feel if you were thirty pounds over" or so based on x percentage.
We got our boys measured. Tom is supposed to be thirteen pounds lean. He's a fairly large DSH. Stewart is supposed to be twelve. We took it to heart. Tommy came down from 21 lbs, and I thought 13 was a junk number, but I stuck with it, and he got there. Now his metabolism is nuts and he eats A LOT of food.
Stewburger has asthma. He was almost 17 lbs. I took it to heart, and got him down to his number: 11.8 . His asthma is so much less, but his daddy didn't like him so skinny, so I told him we'll give him 1 pound to play with, because of his health. I don't want his symptoms exacerbated.

Maybe your bub does need to lose 2 lbs, but the medical professional's bedside manner is goofy.

 

[mightyboosh]

Bob says, "sends me her address; I goes and sits on her!"

Oliver will meet Bob there.

 

[denice]

Sounds like that vet isn't too fond of cats with her remark about cats being the laziest animal on earth.

Alice will come along with her harsh loud voice to cheer the cats doing the sitting on.

 

[KarenKat]

Next time tell the vet that cats aren't lazy, they are energy efficient.

 

[goingpostal]

Most vets don't even bother to tell owners their cat is fat because people take it so badly. The majority of cats are massively overweight and lazy as a result. Does sound like he gets far too much food offered to me, I'd stop free feeding the dry and limit it, should be easy enough to get him a bit leaner.

I can't imagine keeping a 10# cat five pounds heavy as a recommendation though, that's a huge amount of weight on a small animal and likely to lead to health issues and joint pain. My vets chart says 2 extra pounds on a cat is enough to lead to issues and fat cats are 4x as likely to develop diabetes. I keep my cats lean and everyone that comes over wants to know why they are small lmao.

 

[Etarre]

That's a really interesting point about extra weight being helpful in some situations, 1CatOverTheLine . Our Gwen was pretty overweight at one point, and the vet had that talk with us about putting her on a diet. We did, but the following year, during her checkup, they thought she had lost too much weight, and it turned out that she had a thyroid issue. I guess we might have thought of her weight loss as a problem/symptom earlier if she hadn't been so big to start with.

Juniper weighs 6ish pounds, and is tiny but very long-bodied. You can definitely feel her hipbones and her spine, and it really worries me. We had her looked at by the vet, who pronounced her skinny but healthy, but I'd love it if she gained a pound. She's still young enough that she gets all the food she wants, but her diet is limited because of her allergy to chicken, so I think that limits her desire to be greedy. I'd hate to think what would happen if she did get sick and went a few days without eating much, though....

 

[mikameek]

As someone whose dealing with the opposite problem (a cat who is having a hard time putting weight on) I would MUCH rather have a cat with a few pounds to lose. I'd take a heavy cat over a skinny cat ANY DAY. At least at that point you know that your cat is healthy enough to be using the calories that it's taking in.

Truthfully, I think its based off of vet recommendation and your personal choice. You know your cat best and see them every day. If the vet says they're too heavy and you've noticed issues too, then it might be time to think about weight loss. But if you think your cat is at a healthy weight based off their body size and everything else, that's your choice to make. As long as your vet isn't concerned for your cats future, I think weight recommendations are just that. Recommendations.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Most vets don't even bother to tell owners their cat is fat because people take it so badly. The majority of cats are massively overweight and lazy as a result. Does sound like he gets far too much food offered to me, I'd stop free feeding the dry and limit it, should be easy enough to get him a bit leaner.

I can't imagine keeping a 10# cat five pounds heavy as a recommendation though, that's a huge amount of weight on a small animal and likely to lead to health issues and joint pain. My vets chart says 2 extra pounds on a cat is enough to lead to issues and fat cats are 4x as likely to develop diabetes. I keep my cats lean and everyone that comes over wants to know why they are small lmao.

I pretty much agree. Why purposely make a cat fat? This, to me, just sets up the eventuality of an ill health scenario that some are so worried about (in talking about extreme weight loss in fat cats who get sick versus thinner cats who get sick).
How Much Does Your Cat Weigh?

Maybe if the cat's weight being brought up is bothering you, T tabbysia , it is something to consider as a possible problem? I think you've had, like, three threads about this recently. He is only just under 2 years old now as it is, and some vets might just be thinking about the direction any further weight gain can go as the cat ages, if the trend continues. Just trying to look forward to a long happy life! Each cat can have its own target weight to aim for, I'm sure, as lalagimp has considered in having (her?) cats measured, etc.

 

[kitty chew]

She sounds like she's not a fan of cats. I've met quite a few vets with no people skills. She sounds like one of them. Half of the ones I've met don't even seem interested in my cats. It's just about making money to them. Ask to see your usual vet next time.

 

[mightyboosh]

You got a problem with cats Mrs vet?

 

[tabbysia]

She sounds like she's not a fan of cats. I've met quite a few vets with no people skills. She sounds like one of them. Half of the ones I've met don't even seem interested in my cats. It's just about making money to them. Ask to see your usual vet next time.

I think she just prefers dogs. She has several pictures in one of her exam rooms of her family posing with her dogs, as well as a dog calendar, a dog clock, a framed poem about dogs, dog treats, etc.

 

[Royalty]

You got a problem with cats Mrs vet?

View attachment 243518

Hahaha love it

 

[Royalty]

I think she just prefers dogs. She has several pictures in one of her exam rooms of her family posing with her dogs, as well as a dog calendar, a dog clock, a framed poem about dogs, dog treats, etc.

Oh dear. A non starter then.