My Overweight Cat needs help

[CultureJunky]

I've just read this post, and I'm sorry Cocoa is having a tough time and has been diagnose with diabetes.
Excercise wise perhaps you could put 15 minutes a day (twice) aside to play with him (and the others if they join in too) things like ping pong balls, and string toys with feathers are excellent excerciser toys and stimulate natural stalking behaviour in cats.
I think if he had those active sessions it would be good for him and you and bring you closer together. Just persevere if he's not very active.

Sunny is not active at all, but we play with her every day before bed (this is when she actually wants to play and enjoys it) with a ball and also a mouse string toy, she loves the string and will jump up in the air to catch it.

Perhaps this would help with cocoa? and also I think getting a harness and seeing if he'll go out for a walk is a great idea. Jack had a harness and would go out for walks, he really liked it. Though obviously it's not for every cat. SO you'd have to see if he took to it.

Good luck and please keep us posted about him. He sure is a handsome fella.

[Emeraldgreen]

Hi Snowshoe2, I'm so sorry to hear about Cocoa's diabetes and continued weight problem. I hate to say it but my Paddy is also still very overweight and I'm concerned about the possibility of diabetes if I don't get this under control. I'm REALLY interested in how Cocoa does on the wet food as it is something I might try with Paddy too. He LOVES his crumbles just a little too much. And, I've picked up a new food (yesterday) by Eagle Brand Holistic duck and oatmeal and it costs quite a bit so free feeding for everyone is done and scheduled bowls of kibble will be given in the a.m. and p.m. and I'll do my best to make sure Paddy just gets wet food.
My main goal right now is to get him to lose just a few pounds so I can at least get him into his harness so I can take him out for exercise. I was stunned when I went to put on his harness, that fit him in January, and found that it was now too small.
I'm praying that your beautiful Cocoa will lose weight and that his insulin will stabilze. Please keep us updated, we're all routing for him!!

[Freedom]

Just catching up on all this. I am sorry about Cocoa being dignosed with diabetes, it is a lot to cope with and to learn all at once.

Just wondering if you are testing blood glucose at home with a glucometer?

There IS an on line pet diabetes forum, I've seen it mentioned here on Pet Talk as well as on other forums. You may find some good info from folks there? Here is the link, in case you are interested:

http://www.petdiabetes.net/


Here is the chat room on the above site: http://www.petdiabetes.net/chatroom/chatroom.html


From your posts, it sounds like the OM made things worse and by taking Cocoa off that, you may see a rapid improvement. I pray that happens!

I laughed when I read Sonia's post about 'hunting.' I bought one of those balls for my Sparkle when she was overweight. It took her less than half an hour to figure out that she could hold the ball poised with one paw, be LYING DOWN, and just rotate that paw to get the kibble to drop out in front of her! They really CAN be amazingly smart; when you don't WANT them to be!!!

I have a cat on a prescription diet, cats on managed intake, and cats who can eat what they want. I use 3 bedrooms, a bathroom and a hallway at cat feeding times. Doors get closed. After a few days, the cats learned where their feeding station was and made a point of going to it. (Alright, have to admit one pudgy kitty kept insisting on entering with the free feeders then I had to pick him up and carry him to HIS room.)

I feed 3 times per day: when I get up in the morning about 7 AM, at 4 PM and just before I go to bed, usually about 10 PM. The cats on restricted diets have a set amount they can eat in a 24 hour period, and that just put out in small installments.

I hope you can find a method which works for you, Cocoa and the other household members!