Old and over weight?

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Tarax

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So ive had my cat for about 12-14 years and she has quite the belly ! Ill try and get a pic up if i can. My moms new bf seems to think she has cancer and often tells us shes in pain and dieing? What a jerk thing to say ! :p
We had taken her to a vet like 2 years ago and they said shes just over weight and they never really told us or offered a way to help her.
Can older cats lose weight? or any cat in general?
:? Personally, i love her to death fat or skinny <3
 
The BF can go jump into a cold, deep lake. At the cats age, cancer is probably NOT an issue.
Look at it this way-- yes, the cat is probably just very fat. Yes, she can be put on a diet,

BUT

Do you want to do that to the cat? A 19 year old family cat just died a few weeks ago--she was having a very hard time keeping the weight on--- A cat with fat (energy) reserves stands a bit better chance of survivng minor illnesses at the older ages Sure, you can get the weight off the cat, but how will the process affect her emotionally? IS she capable of taking in the nutrition she needs without having the additional calories?

many things to consider, other than the BF 'expert' opinion.
 
What food is she eating? A high quality food can lead to better weight and health. Most of your grocery store brands are like feeding our cats mcdonalds for every meal. Although I have seen a few higher quality brands making it to grocery store shelves lately. Unfortunately I don't know any really good sites on cat food. There are some great ones for dogs and we just feed taste of the wild to our cat cause that's what we were feeding the dogs until recently. It's one of the most cost effective grain free foods. California Natural used to be a great diet type food for most cats with it's simple ingredients list and low fat. My cats were very healthy on it but the company was recently bought out so I can no longer speak to it's quality. I would suggest asking http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/ for how to help her loose weight without risking her health at her age.
 
On the opposite side of the coin from Frosted Rabbits, an older very overweight cat needs to be put on a diet. Obese animals are more prone to joint injury and diabetes, just like humans.

However, DO NOT make any drastic changes, if you are not already feeding a high quality senior diet formulated for weight management, then start transitioning to one first.

Then, if the cat has an all-you-can-eat food bowl, slowly reduce the amount you are putting in it until you are at the quantity recommended on the side of the bag, which will be a range, like 2/3-1/2cups a day or something.

When you hit the high end of the range, if you are happy with your cat's weight, stop there. If not, reduce slowly to the lower end. You want your cat to carry a little extra flesh, because older cats can lose weight suddenly due to illness, so they need a reserve, don't try to get her to look like a svelte young kitten, just not the kind of cat that makes people giggle and make comments about Garfield's pans of lasagna...:)
 
My cat is 15 and fluxuates her her weight, she goes from bones to normal... never really fat though... just depends on how she feels.
 
I wouldn't make any kind of a drastic change in diet on an older animal without a vet consult. Our kitty is 11, and on a diet himself. We didn't even realize his weight was getting up that high, as it came on slowly. One of our routine vet visits with him alerted us to the issue, and together with the vet we worked out a plan of action to get him losing weight safely. (After we ruled out health problems causing the extra gain.) He loved his royal canin a little too much, apparently.. He was 25 pounds, and recently was down to 21 and still losing steadily. Our problem was that we were free feeding him and although he only ate a few kibbles during the day he really loaded up at night.

You mention that he hasn't been to the vet in two years. I realize that it's an added expense most don't need, but regular veterinary care for a cat over ten is very important. We took Vinnie in for his yearly teeth cleaning in february, and had the usual blood panel done since he's getting older. It turns out that he's in the beginning stages of renal failure, and had we not had this work done we'd not have known until some obvious symptoms showed up. And by then it could've been way too late. We've got him on a renal diet, and he goes back in in about a week to have another panel done to check his kidney function to see if this is working or if we need to get more aggressive with treatment. I want as many years with him as I can get, so preventative care is all important to me. And thankfully along the way, with all my animals, I've developed a very close relationship with my vet. My bill is usually under fifty bucks, and with some of the stuff I need I don't even have to go in.

Sorry for the long-winded post. I tend to ramble. :oops: But it really is important to keep an eye on aging kitties. All sorts of health problems can pop up from obesity.
 
Artios":3ovq09wt said:
My bill is usually under fifty bucks, and with some of the stuff I need I don't even have to go in.
Dang, I want your vet.

Our cat recently had a weepy eye. They checked his temperature, palpated his tummy/glands routinely, checked his occular pressure with a nifty little hand-held gaget and told me he is old (we knew that) blind from extensive cateracts (knew that too) and that his eye is weeping due to complications from the above (which I wont go into), not glaucoma or an illness that needs medication...thanks very much, he is fine, sure is a nice kitty, that will be $89.56!!! :evil:

I would like to develop a better relationship with my vet, but I can't afford to!!
 
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