Slightly Overweight Kitty?

[Paris Pluto]

Hi everyone,

On the 12th Feb 2020, I took Jiggy to the vet's for a wellness exam and booster shots. She is two years old and weighed in at 3.98 which I thought was a pretty healthy weight. The vet did his thing and was feeling for her ribs etc and he said that everything seemed to be great except that she was a tiny bit overweight. With all the other questions I had in mind regarding vaccinations etc, I completely forgot to ask how much weight she needs to lose, if any. I have attached some photos of Jiggy (grey hair) and I know it's hard to tell with pictures but would like some opinions. I even called my vet's office today and the reception read the notes and just told me to gradually reduce her food however that doesn't give me an indication of how much weight she needs to lose.

I'll call the vet again on Monday to see if I can reach the vet but in the meantime, what do you think from seeing pictures of Jiggy? Sometimes she looks lean and then sometimes she looks like a huge loaf of bread.

 

[di and bob]

I think it is more of her getting slightly older and developing a pouch under her abdomen, which most cat's get as they get older. Since having my cats diagnosed with Leukemia, I prefer them a little overweight so when the ravages of their horrible disease rears its ugly head they can withstand it a little better by having more weight on them when they stop eating for days at a time.
Your Jiggy could be a little slimmer, but instead of withholding food, I would offer treats that would fill her up without a lot of empty calories, like shaved deli turkey or baked chicken breast. slightly adjusting her food may be good, but not much, a tiny portion at a time. Cats must lose weight slowly, or it plays havoc on their digestive systems and livers. Just ounces (below 8) a month. Get a food puzzle ball to encourage exercise while trying to get a treat. Play with them with a wand. Remember, calories in has to be less than calories out. Reduce treats. Encourage water drinking by placi9ng several bowls of water around the house. my cats absolutely refuse to give up their hard food, so I got a premium brand weight loss hard food. In my case Science diet, there are several out there. I really think if you would get her to exercise a little more she would be fine. Get a kickeroo on Amazon and let her bunny kick it, cats love them. i got two and always keep one in a bag full of catnip to keep it refreshed, along with a bunch of other furry toys. They really get into exercise when it is fun!

 

[verna davies]

She looks fine to me. Just weigh her once a month and monitor her.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Although it is just an average - an adult cat generally should weigh around 4kg with consideration given to their body stature/bone structure. That's where asking your vet what they consider to be Jiggy's ideal weight to be comes into play. And, it wouldn't hurt to ask them about how many calories per day, in general, they think is appropriate for that weight.

Do you have any idea how many calories Jiggy is eating per day? First off, I would attempt to determine that based on how you feed her normally. You can use this number to compare to what the vet suggests as a good caloric amount for Jiggy to see how much you have to reduce her calories by. You can also, just as a comparison, take a look at this article (see link below) which contains a calculation to determine - on average - the number of calories to feed a cat per day, based on its weight. It also includes a conversion chart, so you don't actually have to do the calculation, unless you want to.

How to Calculate Your Cats Daily Calorie Intake

I would be surprised to hear that your vet thinks Jiggy needs to lose very much. That being the case, it might be a simple as reducing her daily intake by 5-10 calories per day to attain a lower weight over the course of a couple of months. You probably should also consider weighing her weekly just so you can track her progress.

 

[white shadow]

.
Hi Paris St. James !

...an adult cat generally should weigh around 4kg with consideration given to their body stature/bone structure

The problem with proposing 'average weight' ("generally should weigh") is that folks will tend to focus on those numbers, whereas the focus really should be..............

Here's the suggestion I made to someone else a few days ago:

I can't be sure from the pics you've posted........see if you can decide from the chart - pay careful attention to the descriptions, so you can learn the specific differences to look for.​

​

Then you might post a couple of new pictures, mimicking the chart, and tell us what you've decided.....or, that you're still unsure.​

Does that help ?
.

 

[kittyluv387]

What is she eating?

 

[Paris Pluto]

EDITED:: Thank you SO much to everyone who responded. All of the 3 cats except the kitten get half a can of Fancy Feast Pate in the morning (5am) and then another half in the arvo (1pm) and another half in the evening (7pm) with unlimited dry food. I've attached a picture of the dry food that they are currently eating. I really want to cut down on the dry food but two of the cats are obsessed with it; funnily enough, it's not Jiggy! She prefers wet food.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Wow! So, for 3 cats, you go through 3 cans of FF pate a day - that is, 1 each? Are these 3 oz cans (what is that, about 85 grams)? If Jiggy is mainly eating just one can of FF pate per day, assuming that is a 3oz. can, that only ranges anywhere from 70 -100 calories, depending on which pate you are talking about. That is not enough to sustain her weight. Someone must be eating someone else's food - aka Jiggy eating most of the canned and the others are eating mostly dry?? I am sorry, I must be missing something.

I don't know a thing about the dry you are feeding, so I cannot help one bit there.

 

[kittyluv387]

She must be sneaking in some dry food when you're not looking! Can't imagine her being a little meaty off of 1 ff can.

 

[Paris Pluto]

Oops sorry i made a typo. I have corrected above but just to clarify. The cans are 85 grams each. Billie and Jiggy get fed half a can 3 times a day and Malibu is 4 times a day until she is 1. I'm a full time carer and never see any of the cats eat from other bowls. Jiggy is an indoor/outdoor cat so perhaps she is indulging at someone else's house?

 

[kittyluv387]

So if she gets 1/2 a can 3x a day and one can is about 99 calories that means she's getting almost 150 calories a day on just cans alone. Based off if what my cats eat I would say she should be getting 180 calories or so. She's a small girl it seems. She very may well have adopted another household who spoils her with additional food lol.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Jiggy is an indoor/outdoor cat so perhaps she is indulging at someone else's house?

You might want to check around with your neighbors.

 

[Father of furbabies]

This is an article about overweight cats and what to look for: Obesity in Cats

 

[MissClouseau]

I suggest weighing Jiggy the same day every week on the same scale in the morning, before breakfast. If I got it right, Jiggy gets 1,5 cans of wet food + some dry food, right?

You can try a collar or collar tag that says "Don't feed me" in case your neighbors are giving treats and you have too many of them to speak. That might help. And maybe change Jiggy's one can of wet food of the day to a lower calorie one?

 

[Paris Pluto]

I suggest weighing Jiggy the same day every week on the same scale in the morning, before breakfast. If I got it right, Jiggy gets 1,5 cans of wet food + some dry food, right?

You can try a collar or collar tag that says "Don't feed me" in case your neighbors are giving treats and you have too many of them to speak. That might help. And maybe change Jiggy's one can of wet food of the day to a lower calorie one?

Thanks for the tip! I'll start weighing her more frequently and look into changing up her food

 

[Paris Pluto]

kittyluv387 and FeebysOwner , I've lived at the same house for 25 years and I pretty much just wave to one of my next door neighbours. Have you had to speak to neighbours before about your cats?

Also, is the amount I'm feeding her too little causing her to find other food sources? I'm happy to weigh her once a week and adjust her food as needed however let's say she's eating at other people's house, do I just literally knock on all doors surrounding my house and politely ask them if a grey cat comes around and if she does, please don't feed it?"

 

[FeebysOwner]

Also, is the amount I'm feeding her too little causing her to find other food sources? I'm happy to weigh her once a week and adjust her food as needed however let's say she's eating at other people's house, do I just literally knock on all doors surrounding my house and politely ask them if a grey cat comes around and if she does, please don't feed it?"

Maybe start with the neighbor you wave to and ask her if she has cats of her own, and if she ever sees your cat. That starts a conversation - see where it goes from there, as she may know other neighbors and offer what she is aware of. Maybe you even want to secretly 'stalk' Jiggy a few times when she is out just to see where she goes?

Until you find out more about if someone would be feeding her, and determine a way to see how much dry food she actually eats, I wouldn't be so quick to reduce her calories by much, if any at all. At least not until you talk to the vet and see what they say about where they think her weight should be. Are you absolutely positive she is not eating any of the others' dry food? For what you say she is eating in your home, I find it hard to believe that she could possibly be overweight by any significant amount.

If I am doing pound to kilograms conversions correctly () - 1.5 cans of FF at roughly 150 calories (for most FF pate flavors that is on the high side) would sustain a cat who weighs around 3.3kg - that is based on a '20 calories per .5kg (~ 1lb) of weight' guideline. This is less than your cat's weight, but the dry food she eats could be making the difference. Plus, some cats will use less calories per kg, and others more. Generally speaking, the more active a cat is the higher calorie count per kg. Hope I didn't screw that up!!!!

Edit: Btw, I have a neighbor who is trying to befriend a stray cat by leaving food out for her, but half the time the one I see eating the food is another cat who is an outdoor only cat (I think) - not sure the neighbor even knows who is eating what!!!

 

[kittyluv387]

Well you can try. But in the end you really don't have full control of a cat that goes outside.

 

[Paris Pluto]

Maybe start with the neighbor you wave to and ask her if she has cats of her own, and if she ever sees your cat. That starts a conversation - see where it goes from there, as she may know other neighbors and offer what she is aware of. Maybe you even want to secretly 'stalk' Jiggy a few times when she is out just to see where she goes?

Until you find out more about if someone would be feeding her, and determine a way to see how much dry food she actually eats, I wouldn't be so quick to reduce her calories by much, if any at all. At least not until you talk to the vet and see what they say about where they think her weight should be. Are you absolutely positive she is not eating any of the others' dry food? For what you say she is eating in your home, I find it hard to believe that she could possibly be overweight by any significant amount.

If I am doing pound to kilograms conversions correctly () - 1.5 cans of FF at roughly 150 calories (for most FF pate flavors that is on the high side) would sustain a cat who weighs around 3.3kg - that is based on a '20 calories per .5kg (~ 1lb) of weight' guideline. This is less than your cat's weight, but the dry food she eats could be making the difference. Plus, some cats will use less calories per kg, and others more. Generally speaking, the more active a cat is the higher calorie count per kg. Hope I didn't screw that up!!!!

Edit: Btw, I have a neighbor who is trying to befriend a stray cat by leaving food out for her, but half the time the one I see eating the food is another cat who is an outdoor only cat (I think) - not sure the neighbor even knows who is eating what!!!

Thank you so much for all your tips and advice. She is definitely not eating any of the other cats dry food at home. I will monitor her closely but like you said, it will be difficult to ascertain if someone is feeding her.

I'll start by speaking to my neighbour and go from there. I wish I could keep them indoors only but I live with my grandparents who I care for and the only rule they have with the animals in their house is that they go outside to use the toilet and enjoy the outdoors.

I kinda now feel like a sh*tty cat dad now. If she actually is going to other houses to eat food, am I/was I not feeding her enough?

 

[Paris Pluto]

Well you can try. But in the end you really don't have full control of a cat that goes outside.

You're absolutely right.. will be hard to narrow it down.