msj@drutx.UUCP (JanssenMS) (03/03/86)
My cat is fat. While this does not bother me too much, I am wondering how bad it is for the cat. Kiku, my cat, is a two-year old, spayed female who lives inside. Other than a daily game of fetch (yes, she retrieves almost anything) with me, she gets little exercise -- she sleeps all day. I took her to the vet to have her pendulous stomach checked (just to be sure the cat was overweight and did not have some other problem). The vet had only one suggestion for a diet and said that some cats are just fat just like some people are just fat. So far, cutting back on kiku's food has not helped (she gets a little more than 1/4 cup of dry science diet cat food each day). She is still chubs. I am reposting this article because of the recent discussion about cat diets. When I started feeding this fat feline (although at the time she was a sliver of her current self) science diet, I was told that she would probably lose weight because she would be eating less because the food had less filler material. This has not proven to be the case. Rather, she chows down on whatever quantity is in her dish. Is this really typical of cats that eat foods like science diet and iams? Does anyone know of any useful cat diets or have any information about whether being overweight is bad for a cat in the same way it is bad for people (heart problems, etc.)? Thank you. Maggie Janssen, AT&T Information Systems, Denver, Colorado.
monam@tekecs.UUCP (Mona McLaughlin) (03/13/86)
> My cat is fat. While this does not bother > me too much, I am wondering how bad it is for > the cat. > > because the Science diet had less filler material. This has not proven > to be the case. Rather, she chows down on whatever > quantity is in her dish. Is this really typical of > cats that eat foods like science diet and iams? > > > Maggie Janssen, AT&T Information Systems, Denver, Colorado. My formerly skinny super skinny calico cat also got fat after eating both Iams and Science Diet food. She doesn't seem to eat much less - I think the food TASTES GOOD, but her health seems better and she's more relaxed. Before, she spent all of her energy begging for human food - now she seems content with what she has. By the way, neither of these two brands made any difference in the weight of my other two cats, so I think that diet is as individual in it's affect on animals as it is on humans. Frankly, I prefer my cat fat as compared to scrawny, but I wish I could find a happy medium. Mona McLaughlin, Portland