I'm so glad you said how much a typical office visit costs. I've been thinking about it and I needed to figure out the budget.

I know I need to ration better, if that counts. I'll be watching this thread closely. I know my son's cat is way too big. He's probably around 12-13 pounds and should be more like 10 or 11. We're right there with you. We've talked about food rationing.

But really, I only add food once a day for two cats, about 8 ounces a day for both, 4 ounces for each, per day. I wonder if that's right? Looked it up, and 1/2 a cup a day is on the money. So maybe he needs more exercise. The other cat is about right. I may change it to 1/3 a cup per cat, once a day and let it run out.

Oh dear! A cat on a DIET to lose two lbs. That's almost funny. I hope Paco doesn't feel too deprived. It will be tough to be nagged for snacks during the day, but so much better for kitty. I hope he likes the food.

Our cat has the opposite problem, she's skinny as a rail, about 6 lbs. on a good day. Have had her to the vet 3x with blood work too, and she's healthy. Eats well. She's a long, tall girl, especially when she stretches out. My son says she's "3 feet long and 2 inches wide." Send Paco's 2 lbs. over here when he's done with them, ok??

I think you got a deal for $62: expert advice, physical check-up, nails, food.

Good luck to Paco!

ugh! we have a FAT cat for the first time ever. She thinks she's a dog and she eats sticks, rubber bands, weaving supplies, and lots of dry cat food. If she's going outdoors she eats first. If she comes in from outside she immediately runs to the food dish. And if she gets excited she scratches herself and runs to the food dish. :p With 4 cats we have an "open kitchen" policy and food remains available at all times, so we've started to remove her food dish at certain times.

There has been a very interesting development, however... we started giving them a multi-vitamin cream in December and for the first time in her life she is trying other kinds of foods! I think she's losing weight because she's eating less -- and I think she's eating less because she's finally getting something she needed in her diet! Her fur is very fine and pure white and she used to shed TERRIBLY! After taking vitamins for a few weeks, her fur is much thicker and she's barely shedding at all!!!!!!! Miracle stuff and they all love it! We only give it every couple days and the easiest way for us it to let them lick it off our finger. :O) I'm going to order more now!

Paco would eat his half cup daily allotment in one sitting, lol. I'm dividing it out into two servings, keeping the two ounce measuring cup in the bag.

The first thing that my vet asked was if there were more than one cat eating at the same bowl. YOU may be serving the right amount, but one of your cats may have its own idea about what's a fair share.

Vet costs have been discussed recently in other threads, too. You may want to read those, too. Veterinary costs vary widely from location to location.

Good luck with your cats! We've got to keep 'em healthy!

According to my vet, two pounds of excess weight for a cat is a lot of extra weight proportionally and carries all the health risks an obese human would face. Paco is a lucky guy to have you watching out for him.

I have to watch Harry and Sam carefully during the winter. There's far less all-day hunts and fewer 10-20 mile runs across the prairie when it's so cold. The vet wants me to keep them at around 72 lbs. for Sam and 74 lbs. for Harry. Last month they were 70 and 72 lbs.

I have to keep them separated while they eat. They are both slow eaters, but Sam does eat faster than Harry and would "help" Harry finish his bowl if I wasn't right there.

Sam eats in the kitchen during the winter, and on the back steps in the summer. Harry eats in the mudroom with the gate locked to keep Sam out. That way I know each dog is getting his measured food - Iams large breed lamb and rice formula.

They each get 1 + 1/2 cups in the morning and another 1 + 1/2 cups in the evening. They get a "large" Milk Bone after each meal, and if they've been very active that day they may get to split an extra one.

They both have "waistlines" when viewed from the side and above, and both have the last three ribs showing just a bit. The vet is very pleased.

Once spring comes and they are doing heavy training 4-5 days a week instead of the 1-2 days a week now, we'll add about 1/4 cup to each boy's dinner bowl.

I am surprised your vet reduced Paco's portions all at once. When Harry had "creeped" to 80 lbs., a couple years ago, the vet had me reduce his food by less than 1/4 cup a day (not meal) for the first week, then by another 1/4 cup the next week. By the third week he was back down to 74 lbs. and has stayed between 71-74 since. While he was adjusting to the slight reduction and craving more food or extra treats I'd give him pieces of carrot. He loves them and they have far less fat than Milk Bones. My vet doesn't suggest Milk Bones; he said they won't "hurt" them, but he doesn't think any dog should be given "treats" unless they are just a couple pieces of dry dog kibble. Harry and I disagree.

Would a Paco eat a piece of carrot, or some other green?

Once your sweet kitty gets used to the new portions; his hunger pains will stop, he'll be slim and trim, and you'll get to enjoy his company much longer. Everybody wins.

Well, don't feel bad. It's very common. But if the vet gave you a free bag of food I have to wonder what brand. Check the first five ingredients - if they have fillers like corn, wheat, corn meal, gluten, etc the cat is just going to eat a lot of carbs.

Cats are carnivores and they require animal proteins. Many brands use plant proteins because they are cheaper, but the cat ends up eating more to get sufficient meat protein, which might be the 5th or 6th ingredient down the list.

You might want to do some research on weight loss and diets for cats. We've done better with products like Evo, which have a higher protein content and less carbohydrate fillers. They eat less, and what they do eat is utilized more efficiently.

Good luck! You and Paco can do this :)

Not a happy story here. We had a visit to the vet on Tuesday with a very sick kitty. We weren't sure how old Ellie was, but having lived with us for about 13 years, she was at least 15. A blood test and x-ray showed something seriously wrong, likely cancer. So it was difficult, but we decided to have her euthanized. The vet was very kind and understanding, and I held Ellie until she drifted away. While I will really miss her, my DH is the real softy when it comes to animals and he loved to have Ellie sit with him every day as he watched TV.

Stacy, I'm sorry about Ellie. I hope you will consider adopting another cat.

I have a lot of cats but none that are what I'd call obese, but some of them are fairly large and solid. Most of them came from the Humane Soc. as unadoptable...due to not being pretty colors or socialization issues. Their food is mostly donated, but Tally is very right about pet food....even some of the vet brands have mostly grain or cereal in them.

I'm so sorry for your loss, Stacey. You did the right thing for Ellie, even though it was hard for you. Hugs.

To the original question, yes I have put a pet on a diet. Don't beat yourself up about not noticing your cat was getting fat, either. It happens really gradually. I had to put Dusty on steroids when he developed asthma and a side effect was he became ravenous (still is). But I was free feeding at the time, and my walking buddies were the first to notice he looked really tight, if that makes sense. My vet really chastised me because he weighed 15 pounds and should weigh between 10 and 11. I honestly didn't see it. He's back down now after I started feeding him quarter cup twice a day, but he inhales his food. Not lying about that.

Over the past few months Bud has really put on the weight. It wasn't noticeable until it got so that he's heavy to lift.

A month ago all 3 cats stopped eating Friskies which is what they all grew up on. I was going nuts buying (and returning) different kinds of cat food. I tried Grain-free but they all snubbed their noses at it.

They're all eating again but not as much as they were. I want Bud to trim down for sure, and Smudge needs to gain a bit. They're eating the McDonald's type food (Whiskas and Cat Chow) but I have some of the good stuff for them that I'm going to transition them to.

((((Stacie and Ellie, and DH))))
FWIW, I didn't last a month when getting another cat after losing Peanut a couple of decades ago. My home isn't a home without a cat.
Ours are all from the Humane Society.

This post was edited by jasdip on Thu, Jan 29, 15 at 16:38

I agree, don't wait if you don't want to Stacy. It won't dishonor your cat's memory to have another. I too couldn't last; I only made it two months. I tell Maggie all the time how much she would've loved to have known Keegan. And if you're not ready, that makes sense too.

I'm sorry for your loss of Ellie, Stacy. A good friend just got another cat this week after the loss of their cat last fall. Take your time, do it when you are ready. It doesn't really matter when that time is.

My cat, Rocket, had lost 3 lbs. between yearly visits to the vet and she was concerned so she wanted to see him in 3 months to see if it was continuing to start looking for a cause. Well, I had been changing foods on him and I guess he just wasn't eating as much. I put him on Nutro Natural Choice Grain Free Duck and Potato and he gained 2 of those pounds back in the 3 months. He also gets just a bit of canned Nutro minced chicken. Rocket is 13 and doing very well. A little 3.2 oz. can will easily last 2 days or more. I just give him a little maybe twice a day or so. He always has dry food, but never clears his little bowl in one day.

Now Fred, the schnauzer is a different story. He had bladder crystals almost two years ago and had to have surgery. After that the vet put him on U/D food and he actually gained weight. When I looked into the calorie count, his old food had been 300 calories a serving and that same serving size in the U/D was 400 calories!!! I felt bad about giving him less volume, so I started adding green beans to the smaller amount of the U/D. They are a great very low calorie filler and he loves them. He lost the extra weight pretty quickly. All the animals are at a good weight now. I try very, very hard not to give them people food. They usually are ok with that, although sometimes they just sit and look at me with those big brown eyes. :)

I've read how good canned pumpkin is for pets. I bought a can and froze it in dollops. I put a teeny amount in their canned food, Smudge will gobble it up but the other 2 won't eat the food if they smell it at all. I try to put it in a fishy food. :-)

Cats are notorious for starving themselves if they don't like the food. I doubt that dogs would do that.

Thank you for all the expressions of sympathy on our loss of Ellie. We are grateful that when her brother Herschel died several years ago, it was a peaceful passing at home. The house does feel so quiet now that Ellie is gone and we will have to consider whether we want to adopt again.

Some years ago,I enjoyed having a dog....the one who had acupuncture, lol. When she started gaining a bit of weight in her senior years, I added a tablespoon of no salt mixed vegetables to her meals to replace some of the dry food. She also got pieces of carrots and apple slices for treats.

I would love to give my cats veggies. I knew a lady whose cat would practically dance in front of the microwave when she was nuking brussels sprouts.

Of course they sell you bag of food as they make money selling their expensive foods and did you check the ingredients in it like corn, meat by products?

It is hard to have them lose and hard to break your habit whoever feeds all the time.

I am afraid I did that with my dog Jambo and was always told dad and I he needs to lose weight but he liked to lay around and not go out except for walks daily.

I am afraid I fed him too much, he only got one meal per day too and treats on the walk and my dad over fed him those treats. I would cook my supper and then sit down he would start whining, I want some of your supper, smells good and it was hard but I would eat and then give him tiny scrap and then rest put in for his supper the next day.

The vet wanted us to buy special foods too for him and I checked the ingredients and said no way, just feed your pet less is all and no treats at all during the day and also play with your cat, get it moving lots and soon those two pounds will go.

kathy

Their bowl looked so empty when all it had was a half a cup for the two of them last evening! But this morning, some was still there. We'll see what it looks like when I get home. If they make it all week with some left every time, I'm going down to 1/3 a cup.

Good luck weaning Paco to a good limit!

He's already doing better. Robert was always the one who just can't resist Paco's histrionics, who will plead starvation to Robert ten minutes after I've fed him.

Now that Robert has been relieved from any cat feeding responsibilities, Paco will be getting what I've doled out all along, 2 oz. of food twice per day. I'm guessing that Robert was dishing out two more scoops! Tsk tsk...it's a matter of training the human.

Paco has always been active and willing to participate and even initiate games that keep him running and jumping. It won't take him any time to shed excess weight, even with a few treats now and then.

Thanks for the support, everybody!

Edited to add cute video.

Here is a link that might be useful: It's a Cat Thing

This post was edited by rhizo_1 on Fri, Jan 30, 15 at 8:35

Stacey...that's so sad....sorry for your loss.

Peeka was only about 5lbs when we got him last year, he's at his ideal weight of 11 now. I just took him in for an ear infection last month. $75 including ear drops and they swabbed both ears clean with mineral oil.

He was getting fat until we switched his dry food to Iams ....indoor, hairball, 1-6 year mix. He also eats salmon & crab in a cup by Meow Mix. It looks like dark meat, no processing. He will eat peas....all you'll give him.

I also feed him Fortiflora. It's a probiotic. He ate a grass hopper, had the runs and the vet said this would get him back on track. He likes it so much I keep buying it for him. :0)