- Joined
- Sep 9, 2016
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- 27
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Hi all!
My cat, Autumn, is nearly 12 years old, and weighed a little over 15 pounds at her last weigh-in at the vets office about 5 months ago. Her blood test came back with normal values, no diabetes, no thyroid condition. She has FLUTD and has a bit of arthritis, but otherwise is in good health. I monitor her FLUTD like a hawk.
I'm having trouble properly putting her on a diet because I'm a very neurotic person, and fear that I may end up giving her hepatic lipidosis. The vet gave me some advice last time, but I know I need to schedule a proper weight loss consultation ASAP. I have three cats and the other two eat wet food 2x a day. I was feeding them sheba, but they discontinued the 3oz cans and the only other thing they will touch is Friskies' pates. At least they're eating wet food at all. Autumn will mooch a couple bites off the Friskies, but she won't eat enough of it to sustain herself. She's unfortunately addicted to kibble. Autumn eats purina's proplan urinary tract health, which was recommended by my vet after she turned up her nose at the expensive rx food. I'm a bit wary of it because corn gluten is the first ingredient, but it does wonders for her. She hasn't had a single FLUTD flare-up since I switched her to this food. She won't touch the canned urinary tract health, and when I first offered it on a separate plate next to her dry food she hated it so much she wouldn't touch her dry food that day, even after I took away the wet food, which worried me. I give her a 1/4 cup meal 3 times a day for now and am slowly reducing the middle meal teaspoon by teaspoon until it's all gone.
I know her being fat is my fault, and that's why it's my responsibility to fix it with professional assistance. I got her when I was 13 and I was ignorant about cats' dietary needs,and ended up free-feeding her. She's always been a bit chunky, ever since she was a kitten, but in her senior years she's really blown up. She at one point tore a ligament in her leg because she got super excited about running up and down the stairs one day, and after that her activity level has decreased and she has a slight limp sometimes. Another challenge is that I work night shift, and my roommate isn't the most trustworthy when it comes to feeding Autumn her premeasured 'lunch' when I'm at work.
I know she's not as fat as some of the cats that have been discussed on this forum who successfully lost weight without getting hepatic lipidosis, which gives me hope.
I fear that she's gained a little weight since her last appointment. So what I've done is switched her food, gave her a feeding schedule, bought her more toys, and I give her lots of affection when her food's run out between meals and she's begging me. Absolutely no treats. What I've just started to do is feed the other two cats on the kitchen table and moved all the chairs so she can't sneak extra food. I try to feed her separately but sometimes she doesn't eat all of her food and my youngest cat will try to steal it. It's pretty hard to make it so food is only accessible to an overweight cat. She doesn't like people food at all, so that's never been a problem.
Should I be taking away food that she hasn't eaten after a certain amount of time? I know a lot of people recommend buying a baby scale to monitor weight at home, does anyone have any suggestions as to which ones are best? Since she's eating a couple bites of the friskies, should I try transitioning her to wet food again by buying extra and offering it to her alongside her dry food? I know that wet food is better for cats with FLUTD, is urinary tract health wet food even necessary? Am I worrying too much about HL or is my concern valid? I'm also trying to find toys that will get her to get up and move, she is unresponsive to laser pointers.
I'm sorry for rambling a bit and asking so many questions. I adore my cat and I am disappointed in myself for letting her tip the scale like this, and I want to try and make it so she's healthier and happier and lives a fuller, longer life. I don't believe in the idea that an animal is "too old" to help. I'm planning on taking her to the vet for a weight loss consultation the next time I have few nights off, but I would like to know if there's anything I can do for her in the meantime.
My cat, Autumn, is nearly 12 years old, and weighed a little over 15 pounds at her last weigh-in at the vets office about 5 months ago. Her blood test came back with normal values, no diabetes, no thyroid condition. She has FLUTD and has a bit of arthritis, but otherwise is in good health. I monitor her FLUTD like a hawk.
I'm having trouble properly putting her on a diet because I'm a very neurotic person, and fear that I may end up giving her hepatic lipidosis. The vet gave me some advice last time, but I know I need to schedule a proper weight loss consultation ASAP. I have three cats and the other two eat wet food 2x a day. I was feeding them sheba, but they discontinued the 3oz cans and the only other thing they will touch is Friskies' pates. At least they're eating wet food at all. Autumn will mooch a couple bites off the Friskies, but she won't eat enough of it to sustain herself. She's unfortunately addicted to kibble. Autumn eats purina's proplan urinary tract health, which was recommended by my vet after she turned up her nose at the expensive rx food. I'm a bit wary of it because corn gluten is the first ingredient, but it does wonders for her. She hasn't had a single FLUTD flare-up since I switched her to this food. She won't touch the canned urinary tract health, and when I first offered it on a separate plate next to her dry food she hated it so much she wouldn't touch her dry food that day, even after I took away the wet food, which worried me. I give her a 1/4 cup meal 3 times a day for now and am slowly reducing the middle meal teaspoon by teaspoon until it's all gone.
I know her being fat is my fault, and that's why it's my responsibility to fix it with professional assistance. I got her when I was 13 and I was ignorant about cats' dietary needs,and ended up free-feeding her. She's always been a bit chunky, ever since she was a kitten, but in her senior years she's really blown up. She at one point tore a ligament in her leg because she got super excited about running up and down the stairs one day, and after that her activity level has decreased and she has a slight limp sometimes. Another challenge is that I work night shift, and my roommate isn't the most trustworthy when it comes to feeding Autumn her premeasured 'lunch' when I'm at work.
I know she's not as fat as some of the cats that have been discussed on this forum who successfully lost weight without getting hepatic lipidosis, which gives me hope.
I fear that she's gained a little weight since her last appointment. So what I've done is switched her food, gave her a feeding schedule, bought her more toys, and I give her lots of affection when her food's run out between meals and she's begging me. Absolutely no treats. What I've just started to do is feed the other two cats on the kitchen table and moved all the chairs so she can't sneak extra food. I try to feed her separately but sometimes she doesn't eat all of her food and my youngest cat will try to steal it. It's pretty hard to make it so food is only accessible to an overweight cat. She doesn't like people food at all, so that's never been a problem.
Should I be taking away food that she hasn't eaten after a certain amount of time? I know a lot of people recommend buying a baby scale to monitor weight at home, does anyone have any suggestions as to which ones are best? Since she's eating a couple bites of the friskies, should I try transitioning her to wet food again by buying extra and offering it to her alongside her dry food? I know that wet food is better for cats with FLUTD, is urinary tract health wet food even necessary? Am I worrying too much about HL or is my concern valid? I'm also trying to find toys that will get her to get up and move, she is unresponsive to laser pointers.
I'm sorry for rambling a bit and asking so many questions. I adore my cat and I am disappointed in myself for letting her tip the scale like this, and I want to try and make it so she's healthier and happier and lives a fuller, longer life. I don't believe in the idea that an animal is "too old" to help. I'm planning on taking her to the vet for a weight loss consultation the next time I have few nights off, but I would like to know if there's anything I can do for her in the meantime.