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Is your cat fat? Christie has some help for you both
By Gina Spadafori
January 22, 2008
Over on the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFGate.com Web site, the second part of Christie’s pet weight-loss series is now posted, focusing on cats this time:
Why are so many cats fat? There are a number of factors contributing to a rise in feline obesity. One is that more and more cats are being kept indoors for their own safety or that of wildlife, and they aren’t getting as much exercise as outdoor cats. They’re also bored, and the widespread practice of leaving food out at all times means they end up eating from boredom as well as hunger.
Additionally, many owners overfeed their cats, either because their cats beg for food, or because they don’t have a clear idea of just how little food cats really need. As few as six extra pieces of kibble in a single meal can make a cat gain unwanted weight.
There’s another, almost entirely avoidable cause for the growing number of overweight cats. Most cat owners are assured by veterinarians, animal shelters and pet writers that “spaying and neutering won’t make your cat fat,” even though it’s well-established in the veterinary literature that spaying and neutering lower the metabolic rate and caloric requirements of cats.
So why aren’t cat owners being advised to watch out for post-altering weight gain in their pets, and educated in how to intervene if they see it? Because the goal of near-universal spaying/neutering is seen as so important that many animal advocates are willing to silence or even deny any negative information about the procedures.
But this attitude, while understandable, doesn’t serve us.
Read more on what does.
***
And speaking of cats … what are the odds of this happening: A Florida cat hides in her owner’s suitcase, and ends up in Texas, where someone else accidentally picks up the bag. The truth is stranger than fiction, and thanks to Pat for the tip.
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It doesn’t help that the recommended feeding amounts on bags of cat food usually assume an intact cat…
Comment by Megan — January 22, 2008 @ 12:51 pm
My diabetic cat gets me in trouble when I see my vet—she is 14 lbs. and should be about 12 lbs.
He says I am feeding her too much. Hard to take her begging me all the time for food.
Sometimes I ignore the vet’s advice. Sometimes I ignore the cat’s pleas for food. Either way, it is a lose, lose situation (either lose with the vet or lose with my time spent walking away from the cat.
Just a note about food safety. Almost bought my
husband a three bean salad at a Kroeger store deli counter and FDA just sent me a warning about possible botulism in it. Good I selected asomething else instead!
Comment by Colorado Transplant — January 22, 2008 @ 2:13 pm
My diabetic cat is 14 lbs. instead of 12, as recommended by the vet.
Off topic, I didn’t buy the three bean salad for my husband, just the noodle salad, at the Kroeger deli today. Boy, were we lucky. FDA just issued a warning that the 3-bean salad might be contaminated.
I better ignore my cat some more, so I will not see her eyes saying, “I could use some more of that good food, I am hungry!”
Comment by Colorado Transplant — January 22, 2008 @ 2:21 pm
Sorry about duplicate entries but the Word Press said I had a duplicate entry—and then by my miscalculation, I really did duplicate the entry—for which I apologize.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — January 22, 2008 @ 2:24 pm
Great quote this:
“Because the goal of near-universal spaying/neutering is seen as so important that many animal advocates are willing to silence or even deny any negative information about the procedures.
But this attitude, while understandable, doesn’t serve us.”
It’s that exact same, patronizing, condescending, and holier-than-thou attitude that plagues so much of the pet care world.
It’s what turns shelters against the public, rescue against breeders, BARF feeders against the rest of us who don’t mind cooked food, etc.
Absolutism at its worst. The twisted notion that if something is good, it must be perfect and above scrutiny, or be made to be such by silencing any sort of criticism. Added to the notion that if something is good, nothing else can be, thus everything different is evil.
When best practices become religion, and thus beyond scrutiny based on facts, reason, or any objective standard, then it becomes a holy war. And the way I see it, most of the debates I like to comment on are actually holy wars, not so much free market competition of ideas.
I think this blog serves us libertarian pet owners well, acknowledging that these issues do exist, consensus has not been reached, and problems still exist. Objective data does inform subjective decisions, and pet owners should be respected enough to make decisions with more information, not less. It’s a rare pet owner who would say “no, I’m not neutering my cat, since he might get fat,” but many pet owners would benefit from being told “your neutered cat’s diet will be different, here’s what you should know.”
Comment by Christopher — January 22, 2008 @ 3:18 pm
I have to say that this article is among the best I’ve ever read on feline obesity in tha lay press. It especially shines in its approach to the solutions. Brava!
Comment by Dr. Patty Khuly — January 23, 2008 @ 9:56 am
Dr. Patty, you’ve made my day… thank you!
Comment by Christie Keith — January 23, 2008 @ 10:23 am
Most dry cat foods have carbohydrates (rice, wheat, corn) as cheap fillers. You have to read labels carefully to get grain free or low carbo. There are some companies that are coming out with grain free products (Wellness for ex.)
Comment by perkysmom — January 24, 2008 @ 11:47 am