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1. 1 On December 4th, 2008, Rachel2 said:

   OOoh! Oooh! I’m the first to reply!

   I’ve got three furbabies, and they are all incredibly different. I am the biggest sucker for all things cute and furry in Iowa, so I’m right with you there! Khorbie was our first. She’s got to be 9-10 pounds, and the fattest. She’s healthy, happy, and wonderful. A few years ago, the vet really complimented her weight and said that she was at the absolute perfect weight. She shows her fat the most, but it’s absolutely adorable! She’s self-conscious about it at times and it’s sooooooo cute!

   Xena is next in line and she is 7 pounds sopping wet! She’s very petite, and the least active. She enjoys her creature comforts by lounging around on anything comfortable. I love her to death! She is SOOOOO cute and awesome! (Along with Khorbie!) Their fur patterns are very similar, but that is where the similarities end!

   We found Jonesey (I can’t figure out a good spelling for his name!) three years ago or so (really?! THAT long!). He’d been wandering around outside in our neighborhood. We’d gone for a walk because we were being driving absolutely CRAZY by my younger cousin that had come to visit. Jonesey was orange, charismatic and incredibly friendly. Showing off, following us around, and rubbing on us. He was awfully skinny, but intact and decently healthy. We took him in, brought him to the shelter the next day and they let us know that if nobody had claimed him in 7 days, that if we wanted, we could adopt him. He got neutered, shots, etc. And 7 days later, I still couldn’t say no. His warm, loving, and overly-friendly personality got to me, and I just couldn’t bear the idea of him being euthanized because he wouldn’t be adopted. So, in he came! They’d given him a microchip in order to keep track of him in the future. Incidentally at the time, a cat cold or flu was circulating the shelter (upper respiratory infection) was going around at the shelter, and he caught it. Normally they fight it off pretty good, but between that, and the surgical trauma of being neutered and microchipped, he wasn’t able to fight off the germ that rode in on the chip. It got severely infected and he almost died. I knew that this was the case and brought him to the vet once I felt it pertinent. He was pretty sick and was given antibiotics in hopes that the infection would go away. He improved for a short while, but then took a turn for the worse. The vet had to go in and surgically remove the chip, which was infected beyond belief. A drainage tube was inserted, and poor Jonesey had to wear The Cone! He looked so sickly, but silly at the same time. All that cat wanted to do was clean and pull the the damn tube out!! Several days later, after antibiotics, etc, he was due to have the tube taken out, but it was still draining infection, etc, and the doc said to leave it in over the weekend to see what would happen. After that, the tube would have to come out regardless. It was a worrisome weekend. I’d already spent an incredible amount of money, and really wanted this charming little guy to be okay. The weekend passed, I brought him in, and those extra two days of the tube were just what was needed! The tube came out and the wound closed within the day. We still had to wait on the stitches, but it was worth it! Jonesey came around the bend, and since then, he’s been a VERY happy, VERY healthy, VERY robust kitty! He’s very polite, too! Before the infection, he ASKED to come onto the bed with us. Since then, it’s been a downhill battle keeping him OFF the damn bed, but it’s worth it. He’s a wonderful little guy, and makes a wonderful addition to our little kitty family!!

   And today, he’s got to be over 10 pounds. When he was his sickest, he was 8.75 lbs, and he was skin and bones. He’s not fat at all, but very solid. He’s just a natural winner, and a fighter. He’s warm, friendly, and outgoing. He rarely hisses, and we’ve really got to egg him on to do it.

   Xena hisses only when harassed and very, very rarely at me. I’m her protector, and she in turn is my guardian.

   Khorbie’s natural greeting can be a hiss, but she is SOOO friendly and loving most times that I let it go!

   Yes, those are my own little furbabies, and I love ‘em all! Each is very different physically from the others, and it goes to show that no two beings are the same!!

   posted on December 4th, 2008 at 1:39 pm

2. 2 On December 4th, 2008, Rachel2 said:

   …and yeah, I suppose I rave a little about my cats… But I love ‘em!

   posted on December 4th, 2008 at 1:40 pm

3. 3 On December 4th, 2008, Bree said:

   My beagle, Bailey, was told by a vet that he was too fat. He said he should be between 28 and 31 lbs. He was 34. Mind you, he gets 1 cup of food in the morning, 1 at night, with occasional treats. According to his age and weight, he should eat 3 1/4 cups a day. He seldom gets table scraps and gets adequate exercise. The vet advised me to put him on the green bean diet and said that mixing raw green beans with his food makes him fuller. I tried it, and he probably lost just 1 pound from it. So I stopped it and continued to do what I normally did. The next time he went to the vet (same office, different vet), he weighed 34 pounds and was told he was just fine. Needless to say, no more diets for Bailey. If half this stuff doesn’t work for humans, why subject our pets to it constantly?

   posted on December 4th, 2008 at 1:42 pm

4. 4 On December 4th, 2008, Krista said:

   My comment on Meowser’s post is awaiting moderation, but I’ll post here too. I have an adult rescue who came to me as an outdoor-only, weighing 21 lbs. He lost 4 (IMO, due to the stress of changing owners and because I misread the cat food label and underfed). I got a kitten, fed them both kitten food, and his weight jumped back up to 25 lbs (indoor).
   The vet says he’s obese and should be on restricted calorie food (prescription only, of course). He currently eats high-quality dry “weight control” food, which makes his coat dull and skin dry. I hate to restrict even more, due to his dry skin/dull coat, plus he was starved as a kitten.
   I can’t help think that if he was 21 outdoors, he’ll be a little heavier indoors. The kitten food didn’t help, but now they both eat the same kind. The “kitten,” now almost 2, is of normal weight. Advice? Should I ignore the vet?

   posted on December 4th, 2008 at 1:44 pm

5. 5 On December 4th, 2008, Christine said:

   My babies are Belly and Button, both felines. Belly is the blue-eyed, flame-point Siamese mix I got from the shelter at about 4 months old. When I took him out of the cage and flipped him over on his back to cradle him like a baby, he immediately went limp in my arms and started purring. Mutual love at first sight. He has the sleek, slender body of his Siamese ancestors, with the exception of a loose wattle of skin under his belly. I’ve had other male cats develop this after being neutered, so I assume that’s what it’s from. Button is our glutton, he’s a bit of a fat cat. (Yeah, I make up goofy rhymes and songs like that about them.) I’ve never had a more beautiful cat – black, long-haired, with mincing little steps and a full plume of a tail that proudly sticks straight up when he walks. All that fur is deceiving – you expect it to be all there is to him, but he’s quite solid underneath. A real chunk. He’s also the only ‘fraidy-cat I’ve ever had – he hides behind the water heater in abject terror whenever we have a visitor…or a thunderstorm. Button hasn’t been back to the vet since his initial shots/neutering because he’s an indoor cat with no health problems (knock wood), but I imagine I’d probably get the weight lecture if I ever took him. Really, I just wanted to brag on my furbabies.

   posted on December 4th, 2008 at 1:45 pm

6. 6 On December 4th, 2008, SparklieSunShine said:

   I think your vet is being ridiculous. I also think they are assuming you are feeding your dog nothing but crap and I think that is more who these products are leaning towards, but they need to leave healthy dogs along.

   I have a fat dog. He lives with my parents right now and I since it was either there or a shelter while I am in transition I really have no say in what they feed him. Now he is a prime candidate for who these products are actually for. My father insists on giving him not only dry food all day, but two cans of wet food several dog treats AND a spattering of people food. Including say a double cheeseburger when he goes to McDonalds for himself. This dog is obese and you can tell he’s not very healthy. He doesn’t run much and can’t jump up on the couch anymore. I feel bad, but every time I try to say something I get yelled at. Soo….I don’t know I feel like these products are actually for dogs with very bad diets and instead people whose dogs are just naturally more built get crap from their vets about it and that totally sucks.

   posted on December 4th, 2008 at 2:06 pm

7. 7 On December 4th, 2008, tara said:

   I would just like to know if fat cats/dogs are just a natural variation of species like fat humans, why are ther no obese animals in the wild? If it truely is a natural variation in size shouldn’t there be roughly the same percentage of obese wild animals?

   posted on December 4th, 2008 at 2:09 pm

8. 8 On December 4th, 2008, Rebecca said:

   My babygirl Ivy is almost four years old, and she’s a rescue tuxedo cat who’s owned us for nearly two years now. She’s a little overweight – I believe she’s around 14lbs and should be 10 – but she maybe looks bigger because she’s got very little legs. I refuse to put her on a diet. She’s a happy, healthy, inquisitive little soul, and I don’t believe in diets for myself so I sure as hell don’t for her. Plus she was abused as a kitten and very probably starved, so I am not returning her to a fearful state. She’s beautiful just the way she is and as one of my friends says “She’s built for comfort not speed”.

   posted on December 4th, 2008 at 2:10 pm

9. 9 On December 4th, 2008, j said:

   I just posted on my fat cat recently… mindreaders… but not about hysterical vetrinarians.

   If one more cat “expert” tells me one or two of my cats need to lose weight – I am going to scream. I have four cats of various shapes and sizes.

   One of my cats was considered “overweight” by the vet, because when she tried to feel for his ribs, she couldn’t feel them. Actually, he’s a really long cat with a big frame and he had balled himself up because he didn’t want anyone touching his ribs. He’s always had a very defined waist… if she would’ve bothered to look at him when he’s not cowering from pokes and prods. He’s nowhere near overweight… and yet I was lectured thoroughly on more than on appointment.

   When I adopted our most recent addition, the shelter staff couldn’t bug me enough about putting our new cat on a diet. She is probably morbidly obese by vetrinary standards. I was told how she should be on a high protein diet and shouldn’t be allowed dry food, etc. But frankly, I’ve watched this cat. If she overeats, it’s not by much. She eats only slightly more than my average weight cats.

   The shelter vet didn’t take into account that she is larger boned than the average female cat and when they found her a year ago, she weighed seven pounds. I have a seven pound cat… and he’s perfectly healthy, but he’s also has a frame that is half the size of my new girl cat. She must’ve been completely emaciated. It is possible that her metabolism is simply too damaged from being so starved for who knows how long.

   Or may her body just wants to be fat. Maybe she’s naturally fat. I really don’t care what the reason is, but I’m sick of lectures.

   The next time a vet starts this bs with me, I’m going to just tell them I have seen research that says otherwise (that fat isn’t the most deadly thing EVER!!!!), while I appreciate the concern.

   My fat girl cat is who she is. She’s absurdly cute and sweet. I want her to just be who she is. And, what is most important to me, is that she seems really happy and as healthy as is possible given her allergies and sinus issues.

   posted on December 4th, 2008 at 2:18 pm

10. 10 On December 4th, 2008, Lori said:

    I also have five cats, one of which was hugely fat – 23 pounds – when he (and my now-hubby) moved in. Because my cats were on a twice-a-day regimen (and ate cat food instead of the ground beef that the big one, William, was getting) his feeding scedule changed. He also became much more active in the presense of three kittens who entice him to play constantly. So he’s down to 15 pounds. We didn’t buy any creepy feline diet pills or special foods.

    Might your skinny cat have a hyperactive thyroid? It’s very common in cats and very easy to treat.

    posted on December 4th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

11. 11 On December 4th, 2008, Christine said:

    @Tara: I don’t think domesticated animals can accurately or reasonably be compared to wild animals, period, because domesticated animals have been specifically bred to encourage or discourage certain genetic traits. The difference in size in, for example, Great Danes and Chihuahua’s isn’t naturally occurring. It’s deliberate. However, even in the wild are species that naturally carry more fat than others, as well as natural variations in size within species.

    posted on December 4th, 2008 at 2:43 pm

12. 12 On December 4th, 2008, Rachel said:

    Rachel2:: Haha, I think every pet owner likes to rave about their pets (including me), which is precisely why I made this an open thread!

    Krista: What kind of “high-quality weight-control food” are you feeding your cat? I feed mine the Iam’s organic weight-control formula and their coats are all shiny and lush. And yeah, the vets all like to recommend the prescription-only food, which you can conveniently only buy from their office and at very high rates. My vet recommended it to me for my cat Grayson after he had surgery for kidney stones. With five cats and communal feeding bowls, they all eat the same thing and I just can’t afford to feed them all that pricey food. I worked briefly for P&G and I trust that Iam’s is a quality product and that the company and its employees truly care about animals’ health. Employees can even bring their pets to work with them. That and the fact that it’s more affordable makes it my brand of choice.

    Tara: I think that if you were to put humans in an environment without the conveniences of modern technology and where they had to catch every bit of food they ate and constantly defend themselves against possible attack, humans would all be a lot thinner, too. Ever watch the reality show Survivor? And actually, I have seen larger cats within some local feral colonies — although they’re wild, most feral cats still depend on humans in some capacity for sustenance. And, you wanna compare the mortality rates of animals in the wild to domesticated pets, even those fat ones? Pets win hands-down. It’s kind of ridiculous to believe that humans (and animals) have natural diversity in regards to skin, hair and eye color, heights and personalities, but yet there also doesn’t also exist natural variation in body shapes and sizes and propensity for weight gain.

    J: I agree — I just want my cats to be happy and healthy. Even the vet who recommended I place Teddy on a diet admits that he is very healthy otherwise. In fact, all of my cats are unhealthy and the only one who has had a major health problem has been my average-weight cat Grayson (kidney stone operation referenced above).

    posted on December 4th, 2008 at 2:49 pm

13. 13 On December 4th, 2008, Tiptoe said:

    Rachel, glad to hear Teddy’s lumps were due to the food allergies and now he is okay.

    I may be the point of dissension here, but I do think it is important that our pets are healthy and not overweight. However, everything must be relative too. Obviously, smaller dogs who are overweight by up to 5 or more pounds, there will more impact on them than larger sized dogs. Yes, there are some animals that are larger-boned/not fat than others and perfectly healthy, but the majority are just “normal” in terms of body size and structure. And really ,it is easy to see whether an animal is within a healthy range.

    The last few years, the AVMA has made a big push towards emphasizing obesity in pets. It is true that vets’ offices do see more cases than previously. They may be overstating it too much at times, but it is still an issue within the general population. I do think some of the propaganda out there for weight loss in pets is overboard, like slentrol and doggie pedometers.

    I also wonder how much of this is how we perceive it. I wrote a post about it awhile back, in wondering whether those of us with eating issues have a different view on how we see our pets’ physically. For example, do we place a regimented diet on them to keep them trim, or not place any diets on them at all due to our experiences with dieting even if they may be overweight? Or do we make sure they have a “complete and balanced meal? Do we get overly upset at vets for bringing up the weight issue at all simply because we are not too keen on that aspect of our lives?

    Off topic, but what I really vets would do is emphasize less vaccinations (doesn’t mean no vaccinations, just not yearly ones).

    posted on December 4th, 2008 at 2:49 pm

14. 14 On December 4th, 2008, Rachel said:

    Tiptoe: My aunt used to have a beagle named Cricket. I don’t even know if she purchased dog food for her. Cricket was her surrogate child and whenever she and my uncle would go out to eat, they’d bring Cricket home her own hamburger and they’d feed her lots of table scraps. Cricket grew to be the fattest dog I’ve ever seen and she did have lots of health problems in her latter years. So, as with humans, a pet’s weight may play a role in health-related problems and I understand the concern of vets about it. Still, in Cricket’s case, her weight was the direct result of her lifestyle, but, again as with people, that’s not true for all cats. In my case, I told the vet that my cats eat high-quality, weight-control formula food, that Teddy is very active and we play with him often, and that he has no health problems apart from the lumps whatsoever.

    I used to volunteer at a no-kill shelter that housed some 80 cats at any given time and all the orange cats I saw there tended to also be larger, even those who had recently been picked up as strays. I know Teddy’s lineage, and both his mother and his grandfather (who may also be his father, those incestuous cats) also have large frames and builds — and they both were outdoor cats (his mother was feral).

    And off-topically speaking, I also don’t believe some vaccinations for cats are necessary if they are indoors only. Most of my cats have had their “kitten shots,” but I don’t take them back yearly for vaccines. My first cat got very very sick when she was 1; she dropped from 7 pounds down to 4 and then 3. She was sheer skin and bones. I took her to a practicing relative of our old family vet. He made me feel positively awful for not having her vaccinated and suggested that she was sick because of a virus I could have prevented by having her vaccinated. He then vaccinated my sick cat, which only made her sicker. I was young and she was my first cat, so I trusted him. After she went into a 3-day coma, I contacted a shelter volunteer for help and then saw another vet. As it turns out, she was sick not because of any virus or disease, but because she ate thread and it twisted in her intestines. With the help of the shelter volunteer, I nursed her out of the coma. She lived for another two months and died the night before I was to have her put to sleep. The new vet told me that had the original vet treated her for the real problem initially, she might have lived.

    posted on December 4th, 2008 at 3:10 pm

15. 15 On December 4th, 2008, Krista said:

    Rachel:
    I’ve tried Royal Canin, Science Diet, Iams and a bunch of others. The only kind that is weight control, hairball and fish flavored that I can find is Nutro Natural Choice, so that’s what they currently eat. His coat looked beautiful when on “regular” and “kitten” food, but since he’s been eating the “weight control” I can see a difference.
    The vet actually recommended that I buy the kind of food they don’t like, so they won’t eat as much of it…but I can’t bring myself to do it.

    posted on December 4th, 2008 at 3:14 pm

16. 16 On December 4th, 2008, grey said:

    I brought my dog when I went to visit my parents for Thanksgiving this year (I always bring my dog with me). The first thing my uncle said to me was “Scout is getting fat.” I was shocked… a) because Scout’s weight is fine, and b) even my poor dog has to worry about weight comments when we visit my family! Good thing he doesn’t know what the word “fat” means But really… who pays attention to your dog’s weight?

    And in response to those 50-calorie packs for dogs (I haven’t seen the 100-calorie) yet… not only did I think it was absolutely ABSURD, but also… how much is 50 calories for a dog? I have no idea how many calories a dog is supposed to eat, or how many calories are in dog food/treats. The 50-calorie pack meant nothing to me–I don’t have a reference point. I’m sure that someday there will be fat, calories, carbs, etc. listed on the packages of pet food, and that there will be people out there who will count their PET’S calories. I will certainly not be one of them.

    posted on December 4th, 2008 at 4:00 pm

17. 17 On December 4th, 2008, Miss Minx said:

    My cats are for the most part, average-sized, though the younger one is a little heavy, since she doesn’t play as much now that she’s 9. (Younger one, indeed.) My husky, if anything, is underweight in the winter due to running around like a mad fool all the time (that dog loves his snow).

    However, I have a friend with an overweight cat, and have heard about the multitude of methods and foods she’s tried to encourage the cat to lose weight. (She has since accepted that her cat is just ‘large,’ and doesn’t worry about it anymore). Anyway, she did notice that the ‘fat cat’ diet foods are made up of WAY more carbohydrates than any cat needs, and the side effects include dry, brittle coat and an actual increase in eating to get more of the protein they need.

    @ Krista – it sounds like Meowser’s Bones and Raw Food feeding method is likely the most effective for any cats, overweight or not. When I looked into it for my cats and dog, I have a hazy memory of BARF being good for hairballs as well, since their skin and coats are so lush that they don’t shed as much, and hence have fewer hairballs.

    posted on December 4th, 2008 at 4:09 pm

18. 18 On December 4th, 2008, Tiptoe said:

    Rachel, I totally understand about Teddy. He is a larger cat but very active and appears to be healthy. It’s a shame the other vet was so intent on his extra poundage.

    It is sad about your cat having vaccine-related problems. I hear about that all the time which is one reason I rarely vaccinate and my dogs are incredibly healthy. I had one vet when I had Baxter as a puppy–9 years ago, who really gave it to me for not wanting to vaccinate not him.

    Oh and I am all for the BARF diet. I really do think there are many advantages to it, but it’s not for everyone either.

    posted on December 4th, 2008 at 4:16 pm

19. 19 On December 4th, 2008, Yorke said:

    My kitty is 1.5 years old. I got him when he was about 8 months old and he weighed 7 lbs. on his first vet visit and 8 a month later. I don’t know how much he weighs now but he seems fat. I guess I won’t worry about it until his annual checkup. He still spends most of his time messing up my house so I reckon he’s active. I can’t feed him anything but the same food they did at the shelter or he throws up all over my house. The vet said to just keep feeding him the same food. I’ll see what he says if it turns out my little friend is fat.

    posted on December 4th, 2008 at 4:31 pm

20. 20 On December 4th, 2008, Rachel said:

    I would feed my cats the BARF diet if I could find a local company like Meowser did. The only meat in our home is that the cats eat and that’s because cats need meat in their diet or they will go insane (dogs, otoh, can eat a vegetarian diet). I prefer not to touch meat or even look at it in its natural form.

    posted on December 4th, 2008 at 4:39 pm

21. 21 On December 4th, 2008, vesta44 said:

    DH had 2 cats when we got married, Scruffy (aka Fat Cat, orange, long-haired) and Boots (aka Slick, orange & white, short-haired). Fat Cat looks like the bigger of the 2, but he weighs 16 lbs while Slick weighs 17. Fat Cat was an outside, farm cat when DH got him, but is strictly an indoor cat now. Slick was a kitten when DH got him from a shelter and his head was ridiculously big for his body (not so anymore…lol). Fat Cat sleeps on DH’s pillow every night, curled around DH’s head, and Slick will spend part of the night sleeping by DH’s legs and the rest of the night in other parts of the house (he wanders the house at night, sleeping in various spots). They both eat the Purina for Sensitive Systems (with yogurt). DH has tried feeding them other types of food and they will pick out any other dry food mixed in with the Purina and not eat the other food at all. Slick won’t eat canned cat food, Fat Cat will sometimes, but both of them like scraps of meat from the table. Fat Cat is so lazy that he lays down on the kitchen floor to eat his cat food and drink water (he will play, but only for a short time, then he ignores you, no matter what you do to entice him to play some more). Slick is more playful, but when he’s had enough, he will walk off too. Slick cracks me up, he knows when DH is due to get home from work and he will sit by the door waiting for him. When he hears DH get out of the truck, he waits and if DH doesn’t come right in, Slick sits there meowing till DH opens the door. He also lays on DH’s computer desk to be petted while DH is playing games on the computer. Slick is the one who likes to be petted the most, Fat Cat could care less, unless my grandson is here, Fat Cat will actually let my grandson pick him up and carry him around the house (my grandson is 12 and has had a way with cats for a long time).

    posted on December 4th, 2008 at 6:13 pm

22. 22 On December 4th, 2008, Stef said:

    Years ago I took one of my cats to an expensive private practice vet. She weighed about 12 pounds and was in her teens. The vet gave me this huge lecture about how fat she was, the whole time staring straight at *my* belly. Then some time later I took her to an animal hospital. This vet said that she was a good weight and that they liked older cats to be on the heavy side because wasting can be a problem in older cats.

    Of my two cats now, one is a really big-boned tall cat who would ordinarily weigh 20 pounds but he has gained weight hand over fist since I got him and now weighs 28 pounds and yes he’s fat. The other cat is 16 pounds. She has been at a stable weight since I got her. I don’t know how Angus is managing to gain weight because they eat *between them* less than one 3-oz can of wet food and 1 cup of dry food per day. I guess Angus must have been starved at various points in his life and so must have a very efficient metabolism just like a person who’s been on multiple diets. If he can see the bottom of the food bowl even if there is still food in it, he gets very anxious. My vet doesn’t seem to think his weight is of particular concern. My attitude is that if he has a shorter life because of his weight, at least he has a happy life. (That’s my attitude about myself, as well.)

    posted on December 4th, 2008 at 7:29 pm

23. 23 On December 4th, 2008, twiligtriver said:

    The family pug was always a bit soft and a couple of pounds over the listed average weight for a pug. We always get the lecture about not leaving the food dish out. We never listen to it because our family doesn’t have the kind of schedule that allows for that level of consistency.

    Right around Halloween, the pug started vomiting and stopped eating and drinking. The vet gave her some pain pills and said it was probably a bad back. A week later the pug was in emergency care fighting for her life with a low platelette count and blood in her urine.

    After a week of care, she finally came home with a huge ton of pills. Her skin was hanging loosely around her bones and her ribs were clearly visible. I suspect that she would not have survived if she had been as thin as the vet wanted her.

    I don’t believe in diets for pets. Weight hysteria is just as bad for pets as it is for people.

    posted on December 4th, 2008 at 7:30 pm

24. 24 On December 4th, 2008, Fangirl said:

    We also have five cats, and one dog.

    A couple of years ago, we went to visit our relatives and found out that our dog hadn’t had a kennel cough shot recently enough to be kept at the kennel for the weekend. So we brought him to the only vet that was open for a last-minute immunization, and the vet lectured my parents for about half an hour about how “obese” our dog was.

    Now, Rocky’s a big dog. At the time, he weighed about 110 pounds, but he’s built like a tank. Our normal vet had told us to watch his weight and we switched him to a lower fat dog food, but he wasn’t “obese.” You could still feel his ribs the way you’re supposed to, there was just a tiny bit of extra padding.

    Needless to say, we haven’t gone back to that vet again – even though they’re closer to our house than Rocky’s normal vet.

    posted on December 4th, 2008 at 8:57 pm

25. 25 On December 4th, 2008, Meowser said:

    Sorry if anyone got stuck in the spam trap at Fat Fu! The problem should be cleared up by now.

    But…100 calorie packs…for DOGS?? That is so wrong.

    posted on December 4th, 2008 at 9:24 pm

26. 26 On December 4th, 2008, lilacsigil said:

    I have a beautiful 16-pound cat, a neutered male named Baggins. One new vet (at a rural practice which deals mostly with farm animals) looked at me, then looked at my cat’s record before getting him out of the carrier and said, “Well, he’s quite heavy…” Then she looked at him. He’s nearly two feet long, very muscular and slender (he’s Tonkinese) and very, very heavy. He is literally twice as big as my other cats, one of whom is his half-sibling – and he is shy, clingy and the bottom of the pecking order.

    So yes, feed your cats good food and make sure they have space and an interesting environment to exercise, just like humans – a stressed, bored, overfed cat may well be fatter than is appropriate, but this is not the same thing as a happy, energetic fat cat. And for people who think there’s no fat stray cats, there was one who peed on our house and our doors to intimidate my (inside) cats for years, until he eventually got sick and wasted away, whereupon we caught him and took him to the vet where he was diagnosed with FIV and put down.

    posted on December 4th, 2008 at 10:16 pm

27. 27 On December 5th, 2008, Melissa said:

    After I got my cat Ben neutered he instantly, I’m talking overnight bloated a big gut. It went away but it was winter and he just packed on the weight. All my other cats I had just ate whenever they wanted, and were quite small and I never had to monitor food. I was at the time concerned, but Ben seemed healthy and went outside so I really didn’t make an issue.
    So I went to the vets and of course they mentioned his weight. I said well he eats when he’s hungry so I don’t know why he’s so fat, he doesn’t sit there and eat all day. Then they asked if I let him outside, to which I answered, Yes he wouldn’t have it any other way.
    Here’s the response I got- Oh you’re putting your cats life at risk if you let him outside and he’s getting fat so you better buy our diet food and then keep him inside and strictly monitor what he eats and he’ll be good.
    I then said to the vet, so you want me to get my cat to lose weight by making him stay inside the house all day is that correct? (meanwhile they had two resident cats that were way fatter than my cat and they of course couldn’t go outside) Now I’m not against people having indoor cats, each to their own. But I find it strange that their suggestion of my “fat” cat was to keep him inside so he didn’t get hit by a car or into a fight, and then buy their special over price diet food.

    I straight up told the vet, look he fattens up in the winter and sheds it in the summer when he’s out even more, there’s no way I’m preventing my cat from going outside and there’s no way I’m putting him on your diet food.

    2 years later, Ben is still alive, he lost some weight because we would feed him a good amount in the morning, put him outside for the day and feed him a big helping when we got home.
    If I had put him inside he’d have gained even more. He’s a big boned cat who just packs the weight on easier than a slimmer more atheletic cat. I’ve had both types of cat and it’s his make up.
    He’s our big loveable tabby. I would never put him on a diet.

    posted on December 5th, 2008 at 1:53 am

28. 28 On December 5th, 2008, Bronwyn said:

    I absolutely *hate* when vets are over-focused on weight in pets; We have 2 cats and a dog currently. The dog is a standard poodle who’s, gosh, over 10 years old and yes, she’s a bit tubby. The older cat who is 6 is also a bit large for her size (She’s petite, weighs 12 pounds I think?) and then we have a kitten who I think is going to be a HUGE cat, though who knows if he’s going to be fat.

    The vet always mentions the pets’ weights when we take them, but I basically just tune her out and hopefully they don’t lecture my aunt too much when she goes alone (she’s deaf, so it all has to be done through lip reading and writing when it’s just her); Unless I am noticing a big problem with the pets’ quality of life, I tend to just ignore the vet, anyhow. We’re a family that has always embraced large cats.

    My thinking is that if your pet is fairly healthy, active, able to move around.. don’t worry about it. And just as with people, there really needs to be more research done on other ways to tell if your pet is overweight to the point that it’s problematic, not just a stupid size/weight chart. And once they do that, come up with a better idea than diet pet food, too; Diet food for humans tends to be full of crap, so why would pet food be any better, y’know?

    posted on December 5th, 2008 at 2:11 am

29. 29 On December 5th, 2008, Bronwyn said:

    Oh, just adding; One of my old cats that I no longer live with (she lives with my father and sister now) is definitely obese, and honestly I’m at a loss! They too have five cats, all of varying sizes; 1 is my sister’s and she’s quite thin, skin and bones really; There are the 2 cats that were mine as a teenager, also rather old and they are both quite tubby, though I wasn’t really worried till I came home and found she had a double chin!

    http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2042/2207527118_7c384fa339.jpg See! Double chin!

    Anyway, the two “kittens” who are probably around, oh, 2-3 years old now, are fairly normal-sized though they’re on the large size. I think in a brood that big you really do tend to end up with bigger cats (Though obviously there’s variation); And I’m sorry, but I’d rather err on the side of having a fatter cat who’s full and happy than ending up with one cat who’s starving because the food wasn’t there when they got hungry/got the chance to eat.

    posted on December 5th, 2008 at 2:15 am

30. 30 On December 5th, 2008, Bekbek said:

    I completely ignore vets now when they talk about the cats’ weight, unless it’s about a sudden change. We had 1 vet say something, and being a responsible cat overlord, I put them on a diet. Great, they lost some weight, then two of them kept on losing weight after we took them off the diet, then they developed some freaky digestive disease the vets couldn’t diagnose or cure and we lost them last summer. It may have been cancer, it may have been a deadly form of irritable bowel, they didn’t know. It’s probably no relation to the diet, but I have to say anymore, I see any of our cats lose any weight and I’m freaking out. I have a renal failure cat who was always the most “normal weight” and it took a day for her to run through her resources. I like a little fat on my cats, it feels like they’re a bit safer if they get sick.

    posted on December 5th, 2008 at 2:26 am

31. 31 On December 5th, 2008, lilacsigil said:

    Bekbek – I also have a cat with renal insufficiency (not renal failure yet) and it’s been a real battle keeping up her weight. She was always tiny, though muscular, and the weight just fell off her. She’s gained 500g (about a pound and a half?) back now, through careful feeding, but I’m just like you on the freaking out the moment any of them look skinnier!

    posted on December 5th, 2008 at 3:17 am

32. 32 On December 5th, 2008, Charlynn said:

    Warning: This comment may be biased.

    There’s something special about cute orange cats named Teddy. See proof here: http://www.disorderedtimes.com/images/teddysmall.jpg

    

    We brought our Teddy for his annual exam in October and the vet was concerned that he weighed in at 12 pounds. He was concerned because this was a whole pound more than what he weighed a year ago. My reaction was, more or less, “So?” The vet’s reply was the spiel about the recent spike of diabetes in animals and how taking preventative measures now would save a lot of money in the future. Sigh.

    I don’t think one whole pound is anything to worry about. We switched his food this summer because he was having digestive troubles on the old stuff, so maybe he likes the new stuff better and is eating a little more. I’m not bothered by that; he still eats reasonably and likes to be active. He is hardly overweight for his size and I don’t think he’s in any danger. But what do I know?

    posted on December 5th, 2008 at 3:36 am

33. 33 On December 5th, 2008, keshmeshi said:

    My cat is insatiable. I swear, if I gave her as much food as she thinks she needs, her stomach would explode. I’ve mostly remained firm and kept her on a diet that’s slightly larger than what the experts recommend. She looks great and has lots of energy. She’ll still try to eat my food at every opportunity and I’ve caught her licking the dirty dishes in the sink more than once. *Sigh*

    posted on December 5th, 2008 at 4:23 am

34. 34 On December 5th, 2008, Tiptoe said:

    Rachel, there are several companies who do raw food in OH. Place for Paws and Three Cheers Raw come to mind off the top of my head.

    posted on December 5th, 2008 at 7:54 am

35. 35 On December 5th, 2008, meerkat said:

    I only have one cat of my own now and he’s young and fairly skinny. But my family has had cats of a wide variety of sizes. Some of them tended to be chubbier than others. Bhakti was slender her whole life, whereas Sita and Mearli got decidedly plump. Sita developed knee problems so she wasn’t active, but Mearli was plenty active. They are all on Catster: http://www.catster.com/cats/453691 I think the vet may have said something about our cat being too fat to my parents at some point about some cat but we didn’t get much grief.

    As for wild animals, I expect they have as much diversity of size but less opportunity to express it due to lack of good food and a high probability of dying young.

    posted on December 5th, 2008 at 9:09 am

36. 36 On December 5th, 2008, Sara A. said:

    My parents have two cats courtesy of me one Ebony and Peanut, both of which have various health issues. Peanut is a very small cat with very bad food allergies and dental issues so she’s gotten blisters on the roof of her mouth and reacts by not eating. Then Mom notices that Peanut isn’t eating and takes her to the vet if the trend continues for more than three days. Peanut gets treated and all is fine until it happens again, from a different random cause.

    Ebony is the pukingest cat ever, and we recently discovered that if we gave her a quarter of an antacid after one meal a day, then she doesn’t puke as much and has a better attitude. She’s kind of feisty anyway but is much happier if her stomach isn’t filled with too much acid. The problems some cats get!

    Most of the problems with both cats is maintaining a normal weight and making sure they eat.

    posted on December 5th, 2008 at 7:05 pm

37. 37 On December 6th, 2008, erin said:

    My cat, Andy, loves the treats Greenies, and I’m a sucker for giving treats to my animals, so Greenies he gets. The packaging says something about each treat having only x number of calories, and I have always found that really weird. As someone said above, I have no idea how many calories he should be eating, so knowing that each treat has x number has no reference point to me!

    I have decided that if I were to get a weight lecture from a vet, I would no longer go to that vet. I won’t stand for it from a doctor, and I won’t stand for it for my animals either. I know if my pets are healthy or not (our spaniel lived to a ripe old age of 18 so I think we were doing something right!) and I trust my intuition better than being told that my cat or dog should lose a pound or two.

    posted on December 6th, 2008 at 7:13 pm

38. 38 On January 21st, 2009, Baityfeet said:

    Nothing seems to be easier than seeing someone whom you can help but not helping.
    I suggest we start giving it a try. Give love to the ones that need it.
    God will appreciate it.

    posted on January 21st, 2009 at 7:47 pm

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