DeeDee and Tino sleep off their workout Photo: Laura Gilbert
Wherein I try to get my pets to a healthy cat weight.
After finally accepting the fact that Tino and DeeDee must lose weight, I made an appointment with the obeasts' vet for advice on a game plan.
It had been a little over a year since the two had officially been weighed and I knew both had added on some chub. It wasn't until they got on the scale that it became obvious just how much had been added to their heft. DeeDee weighed in at over 19 pounds -- a pound or two up from last year. Tino, meanwhile, was over 18 pounds -- less than DeeDee, but considering he was 14 pounds just last year, that meant he'd put on about 30% of his body weight. Ruh-roh!
In medical terms: "That's insane," according to my vet.
Game Plan
I was asked, how much was I feeding them? Brace yourself. They split a can of wet food at night, and then have a "couple of scoops" of dry stuff throughout the day. My vet asked me how big a scoop was, then winced when I held up a one-cup measure. I was then informed that DeeDee and Tino should only be getting the canned food plus a 1/4 cup of dry food each. Oops!
I mentioned that Tino had been drinking more water than usual, so the vet tested his blood sugar, as weight gain and water drinking can be a sign of diabetes. Sure enough, his sugar was off the charts, meaning not only does Tino need to be on a diet, but he needs insulin injections and urine monitoring. Fun.
With this diagnosis, she recommended that the cats be switched to only wet food (a suggestion many of you made in the comments last week).
Health Stats
Diabetes is far from the only risk for fat cats. Veterinary researchers at Cornell University found that obese cats are also more likely to suffer from lameness due to arthritis or muscle injuries and non-allergic skin conditions. Read: Two things I'll have to be on the lookout for.
Even scarier? The report also found that fat cats are "twice as likely to die in middle age, which for cats is 6 to 12 years." Tino and DeeDee just turned 10, so they really have to pull it together! Diet starts today.
Week 2
DeeDee: 19.2 pounds
Tino: 18.4 pounds
DeeDee: 19.2 pounds
Tino: 18.4 pounds
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I recommend you ease them into the diet a little at a time, rather than chopping their rations in half all at once. Otherwise, I fear, they may eat you while you sleep.
The good news? Compared to dogs, kitties are pretty easy to get regulated on insulin when they have diabetes. Our kitty Oliver was diagnosed with it around 2002 and got regulated quickly and was perfectly fine for years. He died, but not from diabetes. Good luck!
I am curious to see how well this works out, I have 3 kitties (all nuetered males) 2 are a normal weight, my other one is a huge cat any way (double pawed, 14 inch neck and about 16 or 17 inches tall) but his belly is starting to hang a little so when he runs it swayes back and forth. He currently weighs 26 or 27 pounds, and I think about 20 would be ideal, he does not look fat now he just looks like a very large cat. He is 5 years old and I want him to live a long, healthy and happy life. They are all indoor cats and Tyson (big one) never seems to be at the food bowl, I see the other two there all the time, he doesn't even eat the wet food when I give it at night and the other ones eat his, he plays just like a kitten so I don't know why he packed on a few pounds and his brothers did not. I know this is something that happens to indoor cats (males especially) once you have them spayed/neutered but he needs to lose a few pounds.
I have a cat named Mocha who has been diagnosed with diabetes around 2 years ago. He is 9 years old now and I give him Lantus Injections as needed which could be once to twice a day with Glucose checks here at home since he ranges from hi to lo quickly! He hates the prick in the ear but I just get my husband to help and we put him in the bathroom. I also feed him wet food only...they say low carbohydrate foods are better , some are more expensive for sure! Any questions about Diabetes don't hesitate to contact me.!