My feline is signed up to Cat Watchers
Cats: slack woman|See this week’s Herald column here.
Trust me, cat obesity is no laughing matter.
When our little darling was declared obese a few months back, we decided that our cat Cheddar needed to make a few lifestyle changes. It was time for Cat Watchers.
But making lifestyle changes and convincing your cat that this is a good idea are two different things.
It turns out that our Cheddar didn’t fancy the low-fat dry-pellet cat food. She wanted the burgers-and-fries equivalent dry-pellet cat food.
So, I suffered filthy looks, sit-down protests and whining in the middle of the night. At one point I thought she might run away. Pity she didn’t.
After a couple of hard months and two weigh-ins at Cat Watchers, she is half way to her target.
And this typist is half-way to cat-induced insanity.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:31 am
I know a rhyno,
we like to take tea.
I have to sugars;
the rhyno has three.
June 13th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
We’ve started starving our old dog recently. He’s like a puppy again at feeding time.
We’ve been starving our cats since day one, although apparently not enough, so I have to kill the pack rats (a.k.a bushy tailed woodrat) myself.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Did you switch Cheddar’s food gradually? Sometimes you can fool them that way, sometimes not.
Out cat gets pudgy over the winter and slims down in summer, but this year she won’t go outside because of the insane blue jays. I fear for her womanly hips.
June 14th, 2008 at 5:57 am
First, you name the cat “Cheddar,” then she gets fat? I’m glad you didn’t go with “Roast Beef.”
Second, are you sure it’s the food and that she’s not supplementing her diet with birds, rodents and the like.
Third, you reward her with catnip? Great, then she gets the kittie-munchies. I hope you’re happy.
June 14th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Not suggesting it, but our cat broke her leg. She lost about four pounds after that. I think because we had to keep her in a cage and she just got what we fed her in the cage. Now shes wanders around outside again and supplements what we feed her with whatever she finds near our creek.
June 14th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Chris, a poet who doesn’t know it. Sweet
Dick, starvation, now why didn’t I think of that
Barbara, tried the gradual strategy before - she separated the good from the bad and still hated us. I snorted at the vision of your cat’s child bearing hips
WP, I know. I brought it all on myself. Thanks for letting me know. At least I know who to blame
Chance, leg-breaking. Hmmm. You have no idea the domino effect this has caused in my small cat-hating little mind
June 16th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
The lizards are sticking pretty much to their diet of crickets these days. The bearded dragon likes a little more variety, mostly greens, the occasional apple, depending on the variety, he’s a bit fussy. I should try such a diet — they all seem to maintain such lovely figures
I can’t seem to stay away from my Friday night chips and beer!
June 21st, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Mossimo is also a fan of what I call kitty cat weed. He’s not overweight anymore, thank god. The other cat I had, Angel, was a huge bastard at 21 lbs. At one point he lost about 5-6 lbs. but then put it right back on. He was an emotional eater, just like me. He lives with a family in Orange Co. now and my guess is that he is still fat and sassy, as my former MIL would say.