any advice??

**blueEyez6489** · 02-20-2006, 03:16 PM

Hey I have a couple of concerns about my cat, Spice, I was wondering if anyone could help me with!

First of all, I took her to the vet about 5 months ago and was told that she was 3 lbs overweight and needed to go on a diet. I've been feeding her the recommended 2/3 cup a day and yet I still see no improvement. I'm in high school, and I live half of the time with each of my parents, so I'm really convinced that when I'm gone my dad and sister aren't sticking to her diet at all. Everytime I confront them about it they deny it, saying that she looks fine, even though I've caught them a couple of times giving her extra food! So lately I've been feeding her a half cup of food instead and then at night I give her a little bit of turkey breast, but I'm still seeing no results. Lately she's also been constantly begging for food and I don't know why.

Also, ever since she was a baby (she's almost 8 now) she goes down into the basement and cries loudly, we can hear her all the way upstairs, but when we go down to check on her it doesn't seem like anything is wrong. Does anyone know what she's doing?

I was just wondering if anyone had advice because I'm starting to get really worried about her!

**Jessika** · 02-20-2006, 03:26 PM

What I would do in this situation is announce to the whole family that NO ONE except you are to feed the cat. Tell them DO NOT feed her, and you will do it yourself. That way you can monitor EXACTLY how much and what she has been eating and won't have to worry or wonder if your other family members have been sneaking her extra behind your back.

BUT if you do and the diet isn't helping, I would bring her in to the vet for a checkup. It could be a medical problem that diet won't help.

PS: your font color is VERY hard to read

I had to highlight the text, hehe.

**blueEyez6489** · 02-20-2006, 03:30 PM

well i considered telling everyone that only i was to feed her, but then i would definitely run into probelms when i wasn't at the house. i'm usually every other week at each of my parents house.

**Lizzie** · 02-20-2006, 06:34 PM

They may regard you as being fussy and continue to ignore you no matter what you say - especially if they are living with a cat who begs for food all the time. However, they should not be able to ignore a stern warning from your vet. Take her for another visit, she needs it anyway as Jessika suggested, and ask the vet to write down the problems your cat is facing if she does not lose weight. I'm sure your father and sister don't want to have a diabetic cat on their hands, for instance.

People tend to regard fat cats as cute or funny, but they are not, not when you care about them.

Good luck!

**catnapper** · 02-20-2006, 10:36 PM

Do what I had to do -- everyone fed the cats waaayyyy too much, so I got a measuring cup the size that needed to be used and put it in the cat food container. Now anyone who feeds the cats knows exactly how much to give. No more of the "I just gave them a handful" stuff. Now we know EXACTLY what they get.

Or perhaps you might fill little ziplock bags with the premeasured food. Write Monday, Tuesday, etc on the bags. That way when someone gets up monday morning they can feed her. If someone else sees that Monday is gone, they know she already ate.

Is she on weight management food? I found that my guys needed a prescription weight loss food in order ot be successful at loosing weight, The pet store brands just made them HUNGRY, therefor LOUD in beggin for food, and therefor we gave them more food to just quiet them. In the end, they ate MORE than they would have with regular food. Ask about the Prescription food. It might seem expensive but in the scheme of things, its not bad and one bag is all you'll need to make a difference. Once on the prescription diet food, my guys ost a lot of weight and there wasn't the screaming for food the way they did on pet store weight loss food.

As for the meowing, she was just looking for you. Once she sees you she's happy and can go about her business. My Abby does that, but has gotten better as she gets older.

**blueEyez6489** · 02-22-2006, 05:50 PM

i have been doing the whole ziplock bag thing for a couple of months and i still see no results. and i've been feeding her a weight loss food from Iams; i don't know how good that is.

Originally Posted by catnapper

Do what I had to do -- everyone fed the cats waaayyyy too much, so I got a measuring cup the size that needed to be used and put it in the cat food container. Now anyone who feeds the cats knows exactly how much to give. No more of the "I just gave them a handful" stuff. Now we know EXACTLY what they get.

Or perhaps you might fill little ziplock bags with the premeasured food. Write Monday, Tuesday, etc on the bags. That way when someone gets up monday morning they can feed her. If someone else sees that Monday is gone, they know she already ate.

Is she on weight management food? I found that my guys needed a prescription weight loss food in order ot be successful at loosing weight, The pet store brands just made them HUNGRY, therefor LOUD in beggin for food, and therefor we gave them more food to just quiet them. In the end, they ate MORE than they would have with regular food. Ask about the Prescription food. It might seem expensive but in the scheme of things, its not bad and one bag is all you'll need to make a difference. Once on the prescription diet food, my guys ost a lot of weight and there wasn't the screaming for food the way they did on pet store weight loss food.

As for the meowing, she was just looking for you. Once she sees you she's happy and can go about her business. My Abby does that, but has gotten better as she gets older.

**Cataholic** · 02-22-2006, 07:57 PM

I have several crybaby cats, so, I wouldn't worry too much about that one.

However, what about increasing her play time? AND, please remember that this must be a gradual food decrease, as cats are susceptible to fatty liver disease, brought on by a significant reduction in weight. So, I am not so sure I would just decrease the food without some sort of consult/research on how much is an 'okay' amount.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

**Craftlady** · 02-22-2006, 09:01 PM

Since you seem to of taken on the responsibility of care and seeing she gets to the vet etc, anyway your cat can stay with you which ever house your act? You both could go together to moms and then to dad's. Where you are she is therefore, you can monitor the eating etc.

**blueEyez6489** · 02-23-2006, 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by Craftlady

Since you seem to of taken on the responsibility of care and seeing she gets to the vet etc, anyway your cat can stay with you which ever house your act? You both could go together to moms and then to dad's. Where you are she is therefore, you can monitor the eating etc.

yea that would be great except for my mom just moved out not too long ago and is renting her house for now so she's not allowed to have any pets