Large Siberian Cat
by Laura
(Grand Rapids, MI)

I have a 19.4 lb Siberian. The vet gave me a major chewing out that I was miss treating my cat by over feeding him.
We give him 1/4 cup of quality food twice a day. He eats it instantly and always wants more. No table scraps.
He is active and as curious as all get out. We love our cat. He's just a big, big boy. His brother from the liter is 18 pounds.
Laura
Hi Laura.... thanks for sharing. He is large, and yes, I agree with your vet in some ways that he is overweight and a good percentage of the 19.4 lbs is fat!
But I also understand the difficulties in keeping weight off cats.
It seems that you feed him dry food. Am I right? The high carbohydrate content of dry cat food can encourage overeating as cats get a sugar rush and become mildly hypoglycemic.
You might try wet cat food and some tough discipline. I know that is easy to say and that it sounds harsh as well, but cats can get into a habit of eating too much and we generate the habits.
We are in control ultimately. They ask for diner and we supply it. They ask for more and we give it. Maybe we should respond all the time. I don't respond every time. Perhaps some form of distraction might divert his attention from food!
All that said I really do understand the problems as I fall into them myself. Cats can be very persistent and persuasive. I have learned that from cats.
Michael