Diet club for Cats (and dogs?)

juliebunny

I wondered if anyone would be interested in joining with me to diet their cats (or other pets)? One of mine had a blood test today which shows she is early stages diabetic....my vet has been telling me to diet her for years but it's really hard when you have several cats who are very food orientated and wake you at 6.30am pawing your hair to tell you it's breakfast time (even on a weekend...). Giving them more food keeps them quiet and happy but now I realise the error of my ways...:(

I thought it might be nice to have a 'support' group with monthly weigh ins, discussions about types of food, how to get our pets to exercise more etc, and offer support on any related conditions?

I'm going to be doing my first weigh in at the weekend...also have to get a wee sample from my cat, which should be fun!!

Cats in the Diet Club!

Lindens: Sammy - current 9.3kg - target 5kg

Julie: Misty - current 4.8kg - target 4.3kg (for now)
Lucy - current TBC - target 4.3kg
Parsley - current TBC - target - 4.3kg
Chloes- 5.35 - targkget - 4.5kg

Rising from the Ashes - Mia - Current = 5.5kg -Target = 4.5kg

Voucherman - cats name tbc - current TBC - target - tbc...

Butterfly Kisses - Toffee - current 6kg - target 5kg

Cally 6008: Leo - current 7.1kg- target - 6.9kg
Elsa- current 5.5kg - target - 5.2kg

MsMonkeyMoo - Carter - current TBC - target TBC

Carrton - Leo - 6.4kgs - his target weight is 5kgs.

Happy weighing everyone!

rising_from_the_ashes

I'll join you Julie ...... currently investigating foods but my situation is complicated in that I have one cat who is around 1kg overweight and the other is around 1kg underweight.

The skinny one is very nervous and a picks at food (and is very fussy) so I have to leave food down all day to try to encourage him to eat.

Pudgy cat is ...... a bucket! (think the Labrador of felines!). She eats literally anything ..... have no idea how I'd weigh her either (she's a tortie & a bit .... errrrr feisty shall we say).

Will buy some scales when I get paid next week and am willing to give it a bash!

juliebunny

Thanks and great to have the support! I have a skinny kitten too so can sympathise with you - she was a sickly feral runt of a kitten (tortie as it happens but luckily adores cuddles) so I've been trying to fatten her up....as soon as the others hear the biccie tin out, they all leg it to the kitchen and beg to be fed too!! I think I've cracked it with the Whiskas Oh So Fishy range now, she just adores it and it's the only thing she will eat a whole bowl of properly...

I've got weight watchers scales from Argos.

lindens

My cat would like to join please! She is cat number 2 in a 3 cat household. Cat 1 is 12 yrs and has renal food, he is now a grazer so we have to leave his food down all the time. Cat 2 is 5 year old naughty tortie - last year weighed 7.5kg:eek: and was put on OM food from the vets. Cat 3 is a naughty "kitten" now 2 years old who likes to steal the OM food and therefore is normal weight, leaving cat 2 to eat the kitten food which is supermarket food (these are all dry foods BTW).
Cat 2 looking fatter so back to the vet last week - 9.3KG!!!!:eek::eek:

So we now separate the naughty kitten when feeding and stand over her so she doesn't steal. Going back to the vet in 3 months. BTW my vet doesnt charge for these weighing appts so if you're having trouble weighing your cat try your vet.

rising_from_the_ashes

Ohhhhh sounds like the torties have a tendency to be buckets then!

My vets do weigh in's too but Mia is a nightmare to take as she's ....... putting it politely .... "unwell" at both ends:eek: before we've even got out the street - she doesn't travel well! (understatement!) - and that's after we've had several "discussions" about her getting into the carrier. She also hates other cats (so if there's any in the vets it's errrr noisy;) and when it actually comes time for the poor vet to examine her.....

Archie is also partial to Mia's Light food which is very frustrating when I'm trying to get weight onto him .... typical cats eh!;)

Only just heard of this so not tried it yet but there's such a thing as a "kitty cafe" - see under "treatment" towards the bottom of the page: http://www.cathospitalofchicago.com/online-cat-health-library/weight-management-in-cats/ - where you put food for the thin cat in a large cardboard box with a hole cut in that only the thin cat can get into . Not sure if Archie would go in (Mia's the "box fiend" in this house!) but may be worth a try!

VoucherMan

Sounds like a good idea as the vet tells me that one of mine could do with losing a bit of weight, but how do you weigh them without regular trips to the vet?

Bathroom scalles scales aren't accurate enough. Kitchen scales only go up to 5kg.

Might be able to get some postal scales which go up to 10kg, but would then need to find some sort of tray which would balance the cat for long enough to get a reading.

lindens

i have weighed mine before, by weighing myself then picking up kitty and weighing both of us and deducting the difference. not sure how accurate it is though

juliebunny

I do the same as Lindens, on the digital scales. I do each weigh in 3 times (including my initial weight, which of course we don't have to confess!), just to be sure....It's a bit annoying with a wiggling cat waiting for the scales to re-set, but it's gotta be done!

Does anyone want me to add a role call to my first post? Cat's name, current weight, target weight? I'll add my own in over the weekend, and anyone elses who is brave enough to join up/send me their details.....

lindens

here's my roll call - Sammy - current 9.3kg - target 5kg

rising_from_the_ashes

It may be a week or so before I can get some scales (nearest shops are around 20 miles away ..... although I am going to a small town tomorrow so will see if I can get some there:)).

Just checked Mia's booster record - done in the middle of Feb so it should be a fairly accurate starting point - and the weight in that is 5.48kg.

So ...... let's say:

Mia
Current = 5.5kg
Target = 4.5kg

paddypaws101

Juliebunny....if your cat is 'early stage diabetic' then you would do well to go to https://www.diabeticcatcare.com. You can read the information straight away, and apply to join the forum which can take a day or so to be authorised. They are a bunch of really knowledgeable and friendly people who can help you manage the diabetes properly. You should buy a glucose meter immediately and learn to home test your cat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Freestyle-freedom-lite-system-glucose-monitor-meter-new-package-FULL-kit-/380428799298?pt=UK_Health_Beauty_Mobility_Disability_Medical_ET&hash=item589352cd42#ht_3171wt_996
Anyone interested in feline weight loss should look at the dietary info on that site and others such as
http://feline-nutrition.org/
http://www.catinfo.org/
http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm
Rising....4kg as a target weight? Is your cat really that tiny overall?
remember to judge the overall body shape and size of the cat, not just look at the weight
http://www.feednfarm.com/catbodyscoring.html
None of mine weigh 4kg!
Best way to weigh a cat is with a set of baby scales
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BABY-SCALE-ELECTRONIC-SCALE-/261010015372?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item3cc568c48c#ht_500wt_1158