I don't know where esle to post this... I know its not about a human but i'd love any advice you can give. Here's a little backround: Three years ago on my birthday we picked out this tiny little black and white kitten who was only 2lbs and could fit in one hand. We named her "Little Bit" to fit her small frame. Well unbeknownst to us, she was about to get 10x bigger. She grew up a healthy cat with a good appetite and a lazy butt girl who after getting fixed sorta lost her kitten playfulness. instead of chasing her toys she would simply strech out and try to reach them. With no avail we pretty much had to give up. She never was a table scrap cat, she only played outside when the weather was good in the spring and summer. But still her weight ballooned fast from 14lbs around 1 1/2 years to 20lbs this year. So wanting to get to the bottom of this we took her to the vet to see if there was a thyroid problem seeing as she really didn't eat that much. He said (which i don't believe for various reasons) that cats can't get thyriod issues. ridiculous he told us to put her on a strict diet. Yeah smartass try doing taht with three other good sized cats with healthy appitites! So we tried anyway. Instead of splitting two cans between them daily we would split one can between all 4 once a week. also cut down and measure portion sizes for each of the cats into bowls everyday instead ofd refilling them when they were empty. sounds good? not for Bitty (her new improved name). since the vet appointment last year her measuring 19lbs she is now 20lbs. sounds like a little. on you. but on a cat? tons! i read that every 4 lbs overweight on a cat is equivelent to 15 on a human. that means our little girl is OVER 30lbs overweight on a human. doesn't sound too bad? here is some pretty current photos of the fat little furball (weight from 19-20lbs): http://file038a.bebo.com/8/large/2007/10/24/21/19747535a5917944359l.jpg http://file015a.bebo.com/15/large/2006/07/31/05/19747535a1527326432b320566167l.jpg http://file023a.bebo.com/0/large/2006/11/07/02/19747535a2481082691b389740630l.jpg http://file040a.bebo.com/7/large/2007/12/11/20/19747535a6347428517l.jpg for a little scaling notice the small head to big body ratio her belly swings from underneath her when she runs and walks. when she runs it sounds like a full grown person stomping around. my sis thinks she is cute, no doubt, but she needs to lose weight. i am worried for her. she is considered on a cat scale (i found at the vets) to be morbidly obese. i don't want her to get feline diabetes and have to give her shots. i don't want her to get arthritis early. i don't want her to not be able to walk if her weight gain continues. I don't want her to have breathing problems and everything else associated with her exsessive weight. Please help me out here! we didn't do this to her. trust me she seems to eat ok and she does walk around and play (ok brawl) with the other kittys sometimes for exersice. but as much as we want to if she isn't going to move than she can't get exersise. I'd appreciate advice and such. but keep in mind diet and exersice i already know about unless you have some ideas (we keep her food and litter in the basement so she has to walk too). I appreciate it! My cats are my family too!
hehe she eats dry cat food. normal stuff. and maybe once a week she'll lick the gravy off of a quarter can of cat food. speaking of the devil she just came into my room and sat down and my feet and meowed. now she's on my lap if you can imaine that!
If you are not happy with the vet you are seeing or do not really trust or believe what he/she is saying, then find another vet. If it's like the UK I guess there are several in your town, so speak to other cat owners you know, find out what vets they use and if they are happy with them. There are good vets (who understand the animals and their owners and who do what's right for both) and not-so-good vets (who are more interested in selling more expensive treatments). Once you have a vet you can trust, discuss the situation (including things like having other cats which makes diet control more difficult) and see what you can work out between you. Cats do have thyroid problems, but I do not know whether they affect the weight and adsorption of food in the same way as humans. Drugs can control over-active or under-active thyroids but as with humans they have side-effects which need to be considered too. Our previous cat had an over-active thyroid but she was quite old when it was diagnosed and had other issues so we and the vet agreed that the effects of the over-active thyroid were less important that the side-effects of the treatment would be on the other issues. Another point to note is that some human treatments are harmful to animals and vice-versa. For example, even very small doses of human painkillers like asprin and paracetamol are poison to cats. So don't buy some human appetitive suppressants or metabolism control medications and give them to the cat (thinking you'll save money), as you may do her SERIOUS harm.
She's a very adorable cat in spite of her chubbyness. I had an overweight dog. Her problem was being raised in a house with a bunch of daycare kids. She ate everything they dropped on the floor. We eventually had to have her put to sleep not due to her weight but because she kept developing tumors on her rear end that would rupture.
well she recently got this 'growth' on her mouth. so like we took her to the vet and it wasn't a tumor but it was puss like. so they gave her anti-biotics. didn't work(and a pain to give. when a 20lb cat says no, its like no. but luckiy she realized the fight made it worse and gave in). but then they gave her steroids. they said she'd eat more. well all i kno is she looks bigger. but she's like sooo much more affectionate though! she never was a lap cat before. and yeah thats one big lap kitty! and she is friendly to stranger now too. she used to hide by sound of the door. at least it helped her growth. its shrunk now.
No idea Morgan. I know our Golden Retriever would eat until she couldn't move if we let her. So we're very careful with her diet - but that's eaiser to do with only one dog. I think Paul's suggestion is a good one. Consider getting a second opinion. It can't hurt - it can only help.
