Help - my cat is gaining way too much weight

[flamingyouth]

I have four cats and the three others are fine, weight-wise. They all eat California Natural dry food and I can't really change their food because of allergy issues with two of the others. Plus they all like it.

Cubby is getting so obese that he can't really clean himself (I posted a thread about that here a few weeks ago). The last time I took him in for his check up, the vet told me to watch him because "he's got the potential to be a really, really fat cat."

Boy, she wasn't kidding. I'm concerned about health problems down the road because I had morbidly obese cat several years ago with a myriad health issues and for his sake, I don't want a repeat of that.

He's quite active for an indoor guy (read: he runs around here like a maniac). I've tried isolating him while I feed the others, but my oldest cat won't eat while Cubby is crying (sigh). And Cubby will often chase the oldest away from the food. I have several territorial issues going on here.

What's weird is that I don't see him actually eating *that* much considering how fat he's getting. He's only three.

[mike_c]

1. I have a similar issue with my Maxwell....

Max is a food hound, plain and simple. At the same time, Marble has renal disease and is seriously underweight, so I need to take every opportunity to convince her to eat. My other cats self-regulate just fine, but much of the food I keep available to entice Marble ends up in Maxwell. I don't know what to do.

[flamingyouth]

2. That's *exactly* my problem

I've got Hepburn (my oldest) with chronic renal failure, but he's doing well and maintaining his weight pretty well at this point. I just don't want to withhold any food at all from him.

My last cat I lost (back in summer 2004) was down to just over five pounds (she was almost 18) and that was a struggle trying to get her to eat too. I had her on cans, though, so that kept her happy. I could put her down in the basement in her own room with a can of Fancy Feast and she was a happy camper.

I'm sorry you're going through the same thing. I suspect we're far from alone here. :(

[IndyOp]

3. If restricting Cubby isn't working --

How about restricting the other cats to feed them canned food? The canned food will entice especially your thin cat to eat a full meal. You can leave out just enough food for Cubby to eat in a day, knowing that he will guard it.

You might try Feliway (a calming spray) and/or Rescue Remedy (calming drops) on Cubby (and your other cats, too). If Cubby is eating because he is bored and/or because of the 'territorial' behaviors multiple-cat households experience, then these might help him be more calm and not need to eat as much.

You might also try leash-training him and taking him on walks once or twice a day - a little exploration and exercise might help a lot.

Did the vet do a full diagnostic blood panel? He is certain to be the picture of health - but there is a chance that something is going on that might cause him to eat a whole lot.

Finally - have you got cat trees and cat cubbies? In a multiple-cat household these can help reduce tensions.

If none of my ideas click, wait a few minutes and someone else will post! :hi:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. You know the rule, don't you?

If you talk about your cat you have to post a picture of him.

[flamingyouth]

5. Here he is in all his glory (he was much thinner here):

[Grateful for Hope]

7. What a wonderful pic

of an equally wonderful subject!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. What a beauty!

Unfortunately, white tends to make one look larger. :)

Is he too fat to jump up on the counter? If so, maybe you could put the other cats' food on the counter where he can't get at it, and just leave smaller amounts on the floor for him.

[demnan]

6. Hey Daddy, chill

As a fatty myself and the mother of Charley, I just think you need to relax. Some of us are fat, live with it and love us.

Also just fill the dry food once a day might help.

[Fenris]

9. No, Cubby is dangerously fat.

He should not weigh what he does at 3.

[flamingyouth]

10. I'm the Mommy, actually

And he's beyond the roly-poly rotund stage. Since I posted this I reviewed his weight gains in his vet records from his previous owner and just weighed him now. He's almost doubled in size in the past 14 months.

I actually think it's time to get some blood workup on him.

[kestrel91316]

11. This happens sometimes, and aside from being sure the cat isn't

getting "supplemented" by well-meaning grandmas with tidbits, there isn't much to be done.You could house the cat alone and put him on diet food, measured amounts, but I do not recommend this. It's impractical and causes the cat too much stress. A difficult situation with no easy answer...........

I have a theory that these morbidly obese cats have some underlying endocrine issue (maybe involving leptin) that makes them unable to regulate their food intake, or slows their metabolism abnormally. This is a poorly understood problem.

We DO know that they are NOT hypothyroid. Unlike dogs and people, cats (other than the extremely rare litter with congenital hypothyroidism) do not develop naturally occurring low thyroid. Even after treatment for hyperthyroidism it's extremely rare.

[Patiod]

12. Is he getting stuck in the cat door?

My friend has 6 normal cats and one fat one, Sammy, who was stuck in the cat door recently. How embarrassing! They had to cut the door out from around Sammy, and re-install a slightly wider door.

No one, including our vet, has figured out how Sammy got so fat when everyone else is a good weight, and everyone eats about the same amount of the same food, and runs around the yard all the time.

good luck!

[flamingyouth]

13. Close!

He's very, very close to getting stuck in the cat door (between the basement and the main floor).

Hopefully we won't have to do any carpentry while Cubby is actually in the door - that sounds awful. :( Poor Sammy.

Sounds like Sammy and Cubby have that trait in common, though. I've been watching him eat and he really doesn't eat much more than the other cats, he runs around like a maniac, and he doesn't get any table treats (though he does do clean up when I spill something when I'm cooking - since I'm basically vegetarian, he's getting things like carrots and lettuce, though, so that should affect him that much).

Thanks. :D