Fat Cat Goes On A Diet

Fat Cat Goes On A Diet

by Elisa Black-Taylor
(USA)

Meow at Sante Fe Animal Shelter

Meow at Sante Fe Animal Shelter

"Meow" is a 39 pound cat recently turned into an animal shelter in Sante Fe, New Mexico by his 87 year old elderly owner. She could no longer care for him. No one is sure what Meow's owner had been feeding him to cause him to gain so much weight. This is equivalent to a 500+ pound human.

Veterinarians in Sante Fe are working on a diet to help what could be one of the fattest cats in the world. (For the record, an Aussie cat named Himmy weighs 47 pounds. Guiness no longer does heaviest cat competition as they feel it sets a bad example to cat owners).They hope to help Meow slowly lose the weight and now have him on a high protein/low carbohydrate diet. So far, Meow has lost a few pounds. I guess now we have Atkins Diet For Cats. It's called the Catkins diet. Seriously. Google it if you don't believe me!

Their goal is for Meow to lose at least ten pounds so he can be adopted into a loving family.

Cats may become overweight for a variety of reasons. They may be on a junk food cat diet, meaning the commercial cat food is of poor quality. Cats need meat, not carbs and sugar.

Was meow being fed inappropriate foods? If his owner fed him things like cookies and cake, he could easily have become overweight.

I read awhile back that on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being skinny and 10 being fat, 4 is the idea number for a cat. I'm fortunate that all of my cats are self regulating with their food intake. They have food available at all hours, but they know when they're full. If only I could follow their example.

Most of our cats are at a 4-6 on the scale. Misty, who's declawed, is underweight and we have to work hard keeping weight on her. Our new addition Ginger, also declawed, is also too thin.

The concept of a seriously, life threateningly overweight cat is new to me. I was surprised to learn Meow is barely two years old. Do the math. He had to have been doing some serious eating to have gained that much weight in only a few years.

Meow wants to be like other cats. Right now he can't be. Because of his weight problems, he has to have assistance being pulled around. His body can't play for more than a few minutes before he's tired. This weight is bad for every system in his body. Not to mention his mental outlook. Poor kitty probably wonders why he doesn't have the energy to play like other cats.

Let's all wish Meow a good weekly weigh in on his way to becoming an average weight cat. He has many years left once the weight's gone. I'm not sure how long he would live as an obese cat.

Does anyone know the figures on obese animals and death? I know with dogs, the weight goes into consideration along with the age of an animal. It probably works the same with cats.

Michael wrote a page about this cat too: Fat Cat Picture 39lbs.

Source: http://www.kptv.com

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Fat Cat Goes On A Diet

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May 07, 2012
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He died
by: Michael

7th May 2012: Just got the news that he died of lung failure. He started to wheeze and died not that long afterward last Saturday despite the attentions of four veterinarians. He was two years old. He weighed the equivalent of 600 lbs in human terms.


May 02, 2012
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another issue
by: Ruth (Monty's Mom)

Though anyone can overfeed his or her cat, feline obesity is not the real issue here. I believe this cat's caretaker probably had dementia. Cats are great companions for lonely seniors, but if an elderly person becomes confused the cat could suffer as a result.

I believe Meow's caretaker probably did not realize she was overfeeding Meow. She probably did not remember that she fed the cat, the cat meows, she feeds him again, this goes on all day. It seems cruel to say it, but this is probably what happened. A person can have dementia but seem to be doing ok during a conversation or visit. They have learned to adapt and cover for memory loss. My guess is that the condition of this cat might have been the tip off that caused her relatives to realize that she is not really so on top of things, and far from being able to care for a cat actually needs to be cared for by others herself. My guess and my hope is that someone encouraged her to turn in the cat.

So in this case, knowing the age of the caretaker, I wouldn't be too hard on her. I don't think what happened to Meow is her fault. Dementia could affect any one of us as we age, no matter how intelligent, how healthy or physically fit, how sweet or kind, how rich or poor we are-- it doesn't matter. We could someday be in a situation where we are not able to care well for ourselves, much less a pet, but are unaware of our deficits. My great grandma ate only candy for awhile until we realized what was going on. Her cognition improved after family members started going over there and cooking for her. Meow's caretaker could have been in a similar situation, and therefore fed the cat inappropriately also. I indeed hope that not only will Meow be given help, but that suitable attention will be paid to the welfare of his former caretaker. My guess is she needs help.


May 02, 2012
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Fat cat goes on diet.
by: Rudolph.A.Furtado

"MEOW" is the most bizarre cat and definitely resembles "HIMMY" in size as shown in the "1984 Guinness Book Of World Records". Himmy weighed 20.7 Kgs(45 Lbs 10 ounces) and is shown with his owner Mr Thomas. Vyse of Queensland in Australia."MEOW" looks fatter as it is shown in the arms of its care-taker unlike "Himmy" who is photographed lying flat on a meadow next to its owner.Very obese cats will definitely have a short life compared to normal cats."Himmy" died at the age of 10 of respiratory failure.The average cat definitely has an average life-span of 12 to 15 years.Freaks of nature, both in the human as well as animal World most often have their own medical problems.


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