Cat "Contest"-How Cruel!

[tatsxxx11]

I just saw the most upseting story on the news. Apparently, there was a contest to find the world's "fattest" cat The "winner" was the most beautiful brown tabby. He weighed 31 lbs. It was told that the sweet baby was a "stray" taken in by a real cat lover who has gone "overboard" pampering him with human food because he felt so sorry for him. They said he is now on a diet!! But what made me so sad and sickened was the sight of the poor frightened kitty, so overweight and stressed, panting so hard to breathe; his little tongue hanging out. I just wanted to cry! What incredible stress his body and organs are experiencing with all that extra weight. At the kennel where I work, we see a lot of this, and the owner's just won't listen! They think by feeding their dogs or cats whatever they want, whenever they want it, they are showing how much they love them! Grrrrrrrr! One owner asked me, "What, are you a vet???" I said, "No. But I am a nurse!! If you really love your animal and want to keep him with you for a long time, he has to lose weight!" I just wonder....What does the vet say OR NOT SAY to the owners when they go for checkups???

[aly]

Sandra, thats awful!! I witnessed something similar. The humane society rescued a black cat that weighs 38 lbs. He almost died because he was fostered by a woman who "didn't think it was important" to feed him his special food. He is okay now though and has been adopted by a staff member.

He is soooo cute. His two front teeth are so long, they go way out of his mouth and past his chin!!!!!!!

[ July 28, 2001: Message edited by: aly ]

[Angeldazy_08]

my cat was almost 30lbs and now hes diabetic because he was so heavy and gets to shots a day i hope that kitty doesn't have to get shots!!!!!

[Eudora]

That was kind of sickening just thinking about it... wouldn't the vet say anything about it at all?

[Mila's Mommy]

That is awful!!

I feel bad because Mila is at almost 13 lbs.

The vet tells me that she is too heavy but she is on a strict diet and gets a treat very rarely.

She was a street cat too and weighed only 6 lbs when we got her. She looks much better now.

[wolflady]

I agree, I don't think it's a good thing for people to promote weight gains in cats by having contests such as these! It's terrible! Sure, plump cats may be cute, but it's not healthy for them at all. When I rescued my Marius, he was underweight...and tended to gain weight and keep it on. I took him to the vet who put him on a high fiber low cal diet, which worked! Surprisingly, 2 pounds overweight was too much for my cat, so I can't even imagine twice that much! My Marius, now that he has lost his 2 pounds is a happy 15 pounder!

[Ginny]

They should not have contests like that that is awful. Misty weighs 14 pounds & I want to keep here at that weight. I keep an eye on what she eats. I want a healthy cat not a cat that has trouble breathing due to me feeding her to much. If you don't get in the habit of feeding them alot of fatty things they won't beg for it.