Operation Slim Cat, Month 2
August 30, 2011Of course not! It's becoming a blog about medications, health problems, and my overweight cat.
Hiya.
Two months ago (exactly! What do you know! I didn't even plan that) I wrote about our cat Izzy, who is large. Henry calls her "plush," which I think makes her sound … cleaner than she is. More luxurious. It's not easy for a cat to be clean when she can't reach all of her areas to clean them. And let me tell you, she does not want me cleaning her. Oh, I do it anyway, under severe protest. Both of us have been injured, either physically or emotionally, by my frequent attempts at brushing/wiping/rinsing. Our relationship has suffered.
I put her on a diet, as I mentioned. I read a bunch, and I guess you're supposed to not feed your cat unlimited amount of dry food all the time? Huh! Hargh! Oops! I switched her from dry carb-loaded crap to high-quality wet food. Half a can in the morning, half a can in the evening, with a tiny smidge of dry food available as a mid-day snack.
This is a LOT LESS FOOD than I was giving her before. And it's paid off! Wait until you see the dramatic results!
Here was Izzy before:
And here she is now. BEHOLD!
In other words, she looks exactly the same. But IN FACT she is now a svelte NINETEEN pounds instead of the TWENTY she was two months ago, and according to the veterinary health professionals, she is supposed to lose no more than a half pound a month, so we are RIGHT ON SCHEDULE. And I am using many CAPITAL LETTERS to express my ENTHUSIASM.
It might take a while, but someday she'll be able to clean her own butt! Which means that I'll be wiping exactly zero butts in my household! And that's on my Life List!
Izzy is an enthusiastic fan of the wet cat food, but she gobbles it right up and then spends the rest of the day demanding more. She is unappeased by the mid-day kibble snack. She has tasted the wonders of damp lamb-chunks, and she no longer wants any part of dry food. So for most of the day, here is where she can be found, sitting just like this, glaring at me:
Oh, we had to put her food up high, because Charlie will inhale it the minute we turn our backs. And, of course, because the food is wet, we can't hear him munching away. One slurp and it's done. (Until he throws it back up. So charming! Pets are so charming!)
And yes, she sits with her front legs splayed out, like this. I have no idea why. She has always done so. She continues to sit like this while I snap pictures of her, like she's not embarrassed at all.
Cats have no shame. They could use a little shame. Shame might give her the nudge she needs to, I don't know, cover her poop in the litter box. Or not glare at me while I clean her terrible haunches.
I truly hope that once she gets into a more reasonable cat-form, I'll like her a little more. I mean, I don't HATE her, but I'm having a hard time remembering what was so lovable about her. In addition to being kind of filthy and grumpy, she harasses Charlie on a daily basis. And Charlie is a senior citizen. He deserves some peace and quiet in his dotage. Come ON:
How could you bat your Evil Paws of Doom at this face, Izzy? HOW?
Reader Comments (56)
I'm biased. I love a petulant, obese cat. My parents have one. My father feeds him 12 times a day and supplements all that cat food with deli turkey. My cat is quite thin, but has chronic UTI's and coughs up at least four hairballs per week. I'm not sure why I am commenting, other than to commiserate. Cats are wonderful and horrible.
I love that he calls her Plush instead of fat! At our house we call our cat Important instead of fat. As in "I'm too fff..... Important to jump up there for some ear scratches."
Ah, pet ownership. Stupid Egyptians, making us think it's wise to try and domesticate the felines. We have a 5 yo, 6-lb cat that sheds and pees more than our 3yo 60-lb dog.
Artie, on Warehouse 13 said something like "We don't own dogs, dogs own us. We imprison cats."
I love those photos of Izzy. Our cat is quite large too, and very, very furry, and has trouble cleaning herself, and also begs for food/treats ALL THE TIME. She's incredibly sweet and I love her but she's extremely vocal about her damn treats, so I make her work for them. She has already learned to sit on command (this is a 15 year old cat and she learned it fairly quickly - it can be done), and now I'm teaching her to wait before she eats her treat - or rather before she inhales it whole without chewing. That one is taking a bit longer. She could probably lose some weight too but I don't think I could take the anguish we would all go through. Good luck with Izzy!
I recently (on the advice of a blogger, so I felt I was on firm ground) switched both my cats (and dogs) to Nulo, which boast healthy ingredients and other magical properties. . .the reason I thought of it when I read your post is that it's especially recommended for weight loss. . .my own animals are (they weren't over weight) are sleeker and healthier looking in general after almost a year on Nulo. And (this is the best part: It is delivered! For free!
And the picky little buggers didn't give me any grief about changing to it, so it must taste good.
Just my .02 worth.
Look. 'Izzy' isn't a skinny cat name. It's a fat cat name. It's not HER FAULT.
My cats start running into the kitchen and meowing if you even glance in that direction around 1 pm. They usually have dinner at 6 or 7. They are eternal optimists, though. Like maybe one day we'll forget what time it is and just give them their dinner already!
We switched to raw food for our fatties (dog and one of the cats) and it was like a miracle. The other cat was never fat, but he does have the nicest coat I've ever seen on a cat - it's like sleek velvet. He had kind of grubby, dull fur when we got him, so I think the better diet was the key!
Shouldn't you still be wiping your own butt? I mean, unless you have someone to do that for you... which if you do, congrats! Maybe that's how you achieve real life list success.
I hope there is one butt in your house you will continue to clean after the cat can care for her own otherwise no one may want to stand within several yards of you ;). Seriously though, your cat is very cute...
She'd make a perfect monorail cat.
I happen to love obese cats. They're just funny to look at. Plus, I was a fan of Garfield comics when I was younger...
Still, I worked at a vet's office and an animal shelter, and I definitely see the health benefits of a diet. Stick to your guns and don't give in to her begging, and she will continue to lose weight!
And Charlie is just adorable.
when you put the cat on meds, your circle will be complete.
my cats are, oh, let's just say they're annoying, and when i get a certain look on my face the seven year old says "do we have to take them back to the shelter" and then i feel like a total heel of a mother.
Ooo, cat food discussion! I recently switched mine to Weruva canned and Nature's Variety Instinct dry (grain free!) after reading an article about how horrible and carb loaded most dry foods are. What kind of wet food did you switch to? Have you tried any of the raw foods? I want to but am afraid they'll hate it and I'll end up with a freezer full of rabbit parts.
Once upon a time, when I was a little girl, my dad hated cats. HATED them. We still had them of course, but he grumbled and moaned about them a lot. Now my parents, who are empty-nesters, have one cat who is an inside-only cat that my dad picked out by himslef at the shelter. She eats delicious wet food whenever she wants it and he went out and bought her a special running-water-fountain-thing as her water dish because he worried she was getting dehydrated. He keeps it on the kitchen counter because that's where she likes it best. I guess the moral of this story is that those little buggers will really sink their claws into you if they sense weakness.
Senior Charlie! Anyway, happy almost senior pet healthcare month to Charlie (it's in September)!
I admit, I'm yet another fat cat lover. Everytime I see a news story about a fat cat and how it's going on a diet, I feel compelled to rescue it. Gimme that fat cat! I'll love it, and cuddle it, and feed it all day! Although I might draw the line at wiping a cat's butt. I guess we've been lucky and all our fatties have been unusually flexible.
the before & after shots made me laugh. thank you.
As a non-cat lover, I am enjoying reading about everyone's slavish devotion to their cats. But those Izzy pics are gonna haunt my dreams tonight.
Cats give me the willies.
Thank you, thank you! Thank you for making me laugh so very much:)
Trade you your reader's email asking "is your blog becoming a blog about medications and health problems?" for my reader's email asking "could your topics become a bit more predictable so I know what to expect?"
I was going to throw my hat into the ring with the other pedants and point out the "zero butts/one butt" issue, but* I think they have covered the topic adequately.
* See what I did there?
I have no idea why or how, but I have a completely reasonable cat that maintains a normal svelt-ish weight by self-regulating her feeds from an always full bowl of (expensive, healthy) dry food. For a cat she is incredibly low-maintenance, and I have no idea why I was graced with such a lovely creature.
I got her as a rescue/adoption a year before my twin boys were born. Maybe the gods knew that they were going to be a high-maintenance handful (one w/ autism & the other ADD) so threw me a bone w/ the cat.
Good luck with the diet thing and hoping she becomes less filthy and grumpy as time goes on.
we have been having the opposite problem, she can't be bothered to eat enough to maintain her weight and has been losing like crazy. vet trip found nothing wrong...it's probably that she soooo enjoys eating her wet food (she had to have all her teeth removed because they had the teeth rot, you see. sigh. pets) only leave it in a slightly digested pile on the comforter/carpet/anythinghardtoclean.
(Charlie's catfood consumption and regurgitation reminded me of this lovely fact)
but, I'm so glad that my skinny cat isn't the only one who insists on sitting like a crazy ( proof!)!
anyways, all that to say, Hurrah to Izzy's weight loss journey!? and cleaning her own bottom someday!?!
Thank you for making me laugh so hard that I actually cried. Especially that picture of her glaring at you with the paws out. I die!
It's clear that Charlie wants to come snuggle with me. I'll give him peanut butter on bananas and let him lick my ears. I think we might really have something special.
(We had a fat cat, until she got old and developed hyperthyroid, and now we stress about getting her to eat. And also we have to give her a pill twice a day and subcutaneous fluids. And yet, she continues to sit on our laps and sleep on our chests. Now, if only she'd stop trying to drink out of my water glass.)