Some Advice Needed

Hi,

As most of you know I have 5 sweet kitties.

My one baby who will be 5 yrs. seems to have problems now jumping onto of counters. She does not meow in pain; it just seems to take her a few tries to get her ready to jump.

She is the only one who is really overweight and I'd like to get her down in weight thinking that would help. She had a lot of issues when I first got her from the SPCA. She was sick with a cold, her ears were dirty, and she had consistent loose stools and I took her to the vets over and over again and we finally found out she need to eat special cat food (Hills I/D Formula Special Diet) and after a few years of that I switched her back to Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula and she seems fine on that.

My husband and I are trying to take their food away at night time and put it out only during the day.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Melissa

Is she declawed?? If she is, she may very well have arthritis in her paws.

Picking the food up at night is a good idea. Also put away any trash cans as they WILL go looking.

Is there a "light" formula of the I/D you're feeding him now? If so that might be another compromise. It's very hard to feed special food to one cat when you've got multiples. I know, I've got 5!!

Good luck!

Don't leave the food out all night, either. Give them a set amount of time like a half hour and then pick up the food. I do this in the morning and at night. All but one of my cats stay in their room while I work. The only fat cat is the one who has food available all day. He can barely get up on the dryer to eat. Time to limit his accessibility, too.

What was the question? You are complaining because she CAN'T get up on the counters? :eek:

Oh, you are asking how to help her lose weight! You REALLY had me there for a moment! :D

I'm not sure about the whole food thing. My Himalayan weighed 6.5 lbs, and my tabby weighs 11lbs. Food was/is always available when wanted. My boyfriend has two cats. He gives them 3/4 of a cup per day between the two of them, with an occasional treat of Fancy Feast. One weighs 16 lbs, the other about 18 lbs. As far as the counter thing goes, mine has done that within the last couple of years. The vet said it happens suddenly. One day they can get on the counter, the next they can't. I just lift her up there for her treats! :D

Getting A Cat To Lose Weight Is Not Easy.
Scrappy 2s Getting A Little Heavy And Its My Fault As She Was This Tiny Thin Stray Who Had Lsot Her Kitten And I Have Spoilt Her Rotten.
And Shes At The Point Where She Ignores Her Cat Food As I Get Something Very Nice Delivered Every Day And She Knows Taht She Will Get Her Share.
I Am Going To Have To Use A Little Tough Love.
And You May Wants As Some Have Said Not To Have Food Out All The Time.
I Find Taht That Encourages Some To Overeat , Some To Under Eat.
Good Luck With Your Dear Companion.
It Must Hurt You As Much As Her To Hear Her In Pain.

I know it seems like I was complaining but really I was not trying to seem like that.....she likes to sit on the bathroom sink especially while I'm in there doing something and it's hard watching her try to jump up...it takes her a few times but she eventually can do it. My kitties aren't allowed on the kitchen counters or table but I usually let them craw up on my dresser and stuff.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Freedom

What was the question? You are complaining because she CAN'T get up on the counters? :eek:

Oh, you are asking how to help her lose weight! You REALLY had me there for a moment! :D

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No she is not declawed. I don't think there is a light formula of the I/D. I'm not feeding her that brand anymore. When Claudia got older she was able to handle eating Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula.

I checked with the vet and she said there is a diet food I can buy them it's $10 for a small bag but I know I can get coupons from the company I just don't want to put everyone else on a diet when the others are okay with the weight. But I will do it if necessary.

I don't feed them any can food but thank you for that idea.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by moosmom

Is she declawed?? If she is, she may very well have arthritis in her paws.

Picking the food up at night is a good idea. Also put away any trash cans as they WILL go looking.

Is there a "light" formula of the I/D you're feeding him now? If so that might be another compromise. It's very hard to feed special food to one cat when you've got multiples. I know, I've got 5!!

Good luck!

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I had to edit my first post to this thread. I meant to write she does not meow in pain. So that's the only good thing but I do feel bad watching her try to jump on top of the bathroom sink and she has to take several tries to get up.

Sometimes she can do it on the first jump and other times it takes her a few tries.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by catmandu

Getting A Cat To Lose Weight Is Not Easy.
Scrappy 2s Getting A Little Heavy And Its My Fault As She Was This Tiny Thin Stray Who Had Lsot Her Kitten And I Have Spoilt Her Rotten.
And Shes At The Point Where She Ignores Her Cat Food As I Get Something Very Nice Delivered Every Day And She Knows Taht She Will Get Her Share.
I Am Going To Have To Use A Little Tough Love.
And You May Wants As Some Have Said Not To Have Food Out All The Time.
I Find Taht That Encourages Some To Overeat , Some To Under Eat.
Good Luck With Your Dear Companion.
It Must Hurt You As Much As Her To Hear Her In Pain.

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Good luck with your weight loss program. I started some kitty-Lympics at home because Spunky was getting pudgy. It's good for me too. He's lost about a pound. So has Sams.

As far as the jumping: Spunky does not jump that well. It takes two or three tries for him and he's not that pudgy. He just doesn't jump. He has folding step stools or furniture is arranged so he can take short leaps. He also gets lots of encouragement when doing short leaps.

Just some ideas for you to consider. You can get the folding step stool designed for humans far cheaper than a pet-stair.

Hmmm...sounds like the diet is a good idea. Too bad they don't make a Weight Watchers program for pets. I hope the diet goes well for your kitty. As for the other four..... Might not be a bad idea to give them all a lower-cal, lower-fat diet just for health reasons. Then you wouldn't have to worry about who is eating whos food.

Just an idea.

That was funny cuz that's exactly what I was thinkin'? You WANT her to jump on the countertop? Oh to have that problem around here. :p As for the weight loss suggestions, there's really nothing I can add. Everyone gave you excellent advice. Good luck.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I would like to set up some type of kitty-lympics but with having a one bedroom apartment I'm not sure if there is enough room for that but she does do well with playing so maybe I'll try to increase that. They love this new toy we bought for them a while back. I think it's called a Birdie.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mrspunkysmom

Good luck with your weight loss program. I started some kitty-Lympics at home because Spunky was getting pudgy. It's good for me too. He's lost about a pound. So has Sams.

As far as the jumping: Spunky does not jump that well. It takes two or three tries for him and he's not that pudgy. He just doesn't jump. He has folding step stools or furniture is arranged so he can take short leaps. He also gets lots of encouragement when doing short leaps.

Just some ideas for you to consider. You can get the folding step stool designed for humans far cheaper than a pet-stair.

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Here is a few pictures of Claudia.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Anikaca77

Thanks for the suggestions.

I would like to set up some type of kitty-lympics but with having a one bedroom apartment I'm not sure if there is enough room for that but she does do well with playing so maybe I'll try to increase that. They love this new toy we bought for them a while back. I think it's called a Birdie.

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I have various Wand toys as well as fur balls that rattle. I throw the rattly things down the hallway and the cats try to 1) knock them down the hall (or race them), or 2) knock them out of the air. Spunks and I change places and we start over. Yes, he's smart enough to change places when I do.

I use the wands with a swinging toys to get them to jump and chase. I use the feather wands with furniture. I have a few shelves that I keep clear so that the cats can use them as cubby holes to chase the feather wands. As soon as I get out a wand, Spunky tries to hide somewhere (where he thinks I can't see) and he attacks the toy. He's even trained me to follow him to the hiding place. In the past I have tied a large bell on a ribbon to the bottom rail of a heavy wood chair. It provides hours of amusement and exercise.

I also have two or three Turbo Toys around somewhere and Sams will play on it during a good movie. How does he know?

Anne