This entry was posted on 2020-10-14 by Pet Heaven Store.

There are many disadvantages to being fat, but for cats some of the biggest problems are developing diabetes, joint disease and urinary tract problems. Diabetes especially is a serious disease that is hard to manage, creates time restraints for pet owners and can be very expensive, and besides anything else, is absolutely awful for your cat! Diabetic cat’s may not always initially appear sick, as many of them keep eating, but very often they feel absolutely horrible.

So how does one go about this task of dealing with a fat cat? The thing not to do, is just ignore it, because each year your cat will probably get fatter and the problem literally just gets bigger!

A good place to start is not to let your kitten get fat in the first place, as it enters adulthood. This is important to mention because most cats get sterilised around 6 months of age. But what many of us may not know is that there is a significant decrease in metabolic rate and energy expenditure after this surgery, and therefore you need to decrease your cat’s food portion or diet appropriately.

Weigh your cat regularly - you live with your pet and may not notice a small amount of weight gain over a few months, but remember 500 grams in a 3.5 kg cat is roughly 14% of its body weight and that’s a lot! Always remember that slow weight loss is the best for your cat’s health. In other words, your cat needs to lose the weight at the same rate that it gained the weight in the first place.

Once you have a fat cat it can be very difficult to get them slim and trim again! Do however remember that some cat’s get fatter in winter and skinnier in summer, when they are more active. Especially in rainy cold weather many cat’s love to just snuggle in their beds and sleep. And because so many cat’s love the taste of their delicious kibbles - they don’t just eat when they are hungry. Clearly they aren’t too concerned about their own weight, so it is your responsibility to manage this for them, as you are their food source.

So we all understand that correct feeding is essential for an ideal body weight, but this is not the only way to make fat cat’s lose weight and stay healthy. Many of us will know that feeling of trying many special weight loss diets from the vet, but with no success. And it’s just so disappointing. The reason for this is that cat’s need a change in diet (which is an excellent starting point) as well as exercise! This is especially true as so many of them don’t catch their own food and no longer prowl the streets looking for mates. Instead they love to just sleep the majority of the day in their comfy spot in the house or garden and wait for their human to feed them twice daily, as well as give them their treats.

Moving onto exercise:

Encourage exercise that fits in with your cat’s natural instincts. This means that you should play with toys and provide games that use short bursts of energy. This copies their predatory nature of pouncing and encourages their hunting skills. Examples of such games would be using a wand with a toy or feather attached to it, and allowing your cat to catch and pounce the ‘moving prey’. Other toys that look like mice or bugs seem to fascinate many cats. And the famous laser pointer is often a winner for many cats, as that fast moving light is just so attractive to chase. But don’t forget that you are actually most often your cat’s best playmate, so always allow some time to play games with your cat such as hide and seek, hiding toys or making the toys move, and going for walks.

How does one encourage exercise when you are at work for most of the day?

It may be worth your while splitting your cat’s food into many smaller meals and placing bowls around the house for your cat to find when you are at work. Things like cat feeder puzzles (also called interactive feeders) encourage them to eat slower and provide some physical and mental stimulation. Provide toys that move on their own, or introduce a new toy as you are leaving. Catnip toys are another easy way to encourage energy expenditure in many cats on their own.

It is also important to create an environment that encourages playtime. A scratching post or cat tree to climb all over and sharpen its claws is essential. Remember that it must be sturdy and tall enough so that your cat can fully stretch and extend its body. Your cat also needs a place to hide, such as an igloo or box. Always rotate toys so that they don’t get bored of the same old thing lying around. Create an elevated space that encourages your cat to climb and allows it to watch the world going by.

But my cat is so fat and lazy that it is not interested in playing?

In these cases you need to use food to encourage more exercise. Place a food bowl in a less accessible location, such as on a raised platform, so that your cat needs to climb to get its next meal. One may want to use many small food bowls around the house. In this way your cat needs to use energy to find its food. This will also encourage it to eat slower. Again puzzle feeders may be a good option for these pets. Cat’s that are fed two meals a day often think that they have to eat as much as possible during meal times. This may be because instinctively cats are supposed to hunt for their food and therefore eat many small meals a day as opposed to two large meals.

Don’t misinterpret affection for wanting food as this can become a learnt behaviour. As humans we see food as a socially important resource, but this is not the same for pets and it is therefore important not to project this perception onto them. This means that your cat may not actually have initially wanted a treat every time it snuggled up to you, but rather wanted your affection. If you however gave it a treat instead and it learned that this was also nice. And then in the future it will keep wanting the reward of food, if it can’t have your attention.

The best way to encourage your cat to exercise is to provide playtime and create a naturally stimulating environment. Remember that your cat thrives on your affection and is often wanting it, rather than food. Find out which toys your cat loves to play with and keep introducing new ones and rotate the old toys to keep them exciting. Helping your cat exercise will encourage a stronger bond between you, keep it healthy and often is more fun that you may have ever imagined!