The vet says he's fat!!

[Pick-a-Lily]

After my own experience this very morning, I agree that vets are obsessed with weight. I took TC this morning for his booster jabs and to have his nose looked at - I think he may have skin cancer on his nose. He has had a scab on it for about 4 weeks which is not healing.
The vet was more interested in telling me that at 6.1kgs he's overweight and needs to go on a diet! Ridiculous. He is a big, active, muscular Tom cat. He spends a lot of time outdoors catching and eating birds and mice - when I told her that, she said 'Oh, save yourself some money and stop feeding him altogether then'. Silly cow.
Anyway, she gave him an antibiotic jab to see if his nose heals, and I have to take him back in two weeks for another look - no doubt she'll be wanting to weigh him and see how the diet's going....

 

[janie]

tink - just googled. NFC males 12 - 20 lbs.

http://catmess.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/cat-breeds-norwegian-forest-cat.html#nor_weight

funny you should mention calici virus - louis was very ill with that exactly 6 weeks before all this started. on googling i discovered it is linked to pancreatitis so i suppose it could have been that but obviously i'll never know. just seemed a bit coincidental to me even though he made a full recovery inbetween. also, for interests sake, there isn't a link between a fatty diet and pancreatitis in cats like there is in dogs and humans.

when i was staying with some friends in arizona last year, one of their cats was so thin he looked like a very old cat - you know the way they go all skinny and boney looking when they're realllly old - but he's only 3. the vet says there's nothing wrong with him and he eats fine. the other one is normal sized. mind you, skinny was bitten by a snake a few months ago and only cos my friend saw it happen, did he survive - after much veterinary care and mucho $$$

 

[Flying Pigs]

The vet spent years telling me that Buttons was overweight then when she got old she didn't weigh enough . She had the senior citizens cat food from Hills for her last couple of years - something to help with the kidneys in it. She didn't like anything else except proper cat food which she hunted for herself right up to the end. Her preferred 'gifting' spot was under the washing line.She preferred garden water and I 've noticed now the kittens are out they like the fresh water. They are like gannets and want to eat anything they can lay their paws on.

 

[minim]

A few years ago then husband was fitting a kitchen a few doors up and one of our cats came through their cat flap. When H said hello to him the customer said, " Oh that's his name is it? he's always visiting"!!!!!

A cat used to visit 27 from time to time. He'd just walk in as if he owned the place and flop. She saw him in a neighbour's window & assumed the cat belonged to them. Then she saw him looking out of someone else's window.
She set up a FB page for him and it seemed as half the street claimed ownership and they all had their own names for him of course.

 

[Disenchanted]

My mother's cat regularly returned home smelling of smoked salmon - and smirking!

 

[minim]

My mother's cat regularly returned home smelling of smoked salmon - and smirking!

Lol, "smirking", love it.

 

[Tinkerbelle]

KWC I've tried the "find the ribs" test on him. You can just about feel his ribs. He's pretty much solid and firm with a soft slightly chubby belly. Mind you I've got to get through his four inch long coat to get to a rib so it takes a week.

No wonder the cat was smirking with the smoked salmon. Alf has to resort to stale bread!

I might do an ask about though and see if anyone is feeding him.

 

[kitten_with_claws]

KWC I've tried the "find the ribs" test on him. You can just about feel his ribs. He's pretty much solid and firm with a soft slightly chubby belly. Mind you I've got to get through his four inch long coat to get to a rib so it takes a week.

You'd know if he was fat though wouldn't you Tink? Vets always say everything is too fat, mostly because they are to be honest (or they think they might end up being if they carry on as they & are & they want the owners to take stock of what they're feeding them, especially if they mention treats etc.) but some of 'em (vets that is & usually younger ones!) seem to always want to do everything by the book & go by charts & recommended weights etc., rather than assessing their actual body condition?

The ideal of course is a lean, mean, hunting machine, skin stretched over tight firm muscle but most pets don't get anywhere near that & house cats almost never, as they simply don't exercise enough to achieve it, think local tom who might cover (& regularly patrol) a fairly huge area & will frequently forego the odd meal in order to do this on a daily basis.
This is a real problem in something like quarantine or long term boarding, where it is considerably more difficult to hand over a fit looking cat after 6 months than it is a dog, which you can play or do a bit of training with etc. to exercise it!

Many people are not good at tailoring food intake to exercise output & of course most food manufacturers greatly exaggerate their 'recommended daily amounts', resulting in overweight pets. We have two young spayed females near here, both of which are getting scarily near to being grossly overweight, already with saggy belly pouches & rolls of squidgy fat, yet they're out all day, so what do they do with that time.....not a lot I guess, or at least not enough to warrant the amount of food their otherwise loving owners are shovelling down them! lol

You could always stick him in the bath, see what's under all that fluff, that frequently produces a 'Blimey, is that all there is???' moment! (Cat might not be too appreciative though! lol)

 

[janie]

kitten - that is so true about what's actually under the fur (tink's cat might take a year to dry though) i know lou's lost weight anyway but he has numerous shaved areas (semi longhair) and it was quite a surprise how small the body was under all that fur (it's at the suedey stage growing back and feels loveley)

 

[Tinkerbelle]

I don't think the vet knows much about the breed and I suppose her comment that Harvey's weight was fine when the specialist says he was underweight backs up her general attitude to howuch a cat weighs.

I do think to some degree she doesn't believe me when I say he doesn't eat that much and doesn't have treats. I think she looks at my own chubby state and thinks I could do with trimming up a bit lol.

I don't think he's lean and mean but I don't think he's as overweight as she says he is. She wants him to drop around a quarter of his body weight!

He will let me shower him but I don't do it often as he takes forever to dry and he doesn't really like it. There's a chunky boy under all that fluff though but he's in proportion. Big solid head, huge feet, strong shoulders but he is chubby bless him.

You'll be sick of photos of him but this was him on the bed a while back. That's not a fat cat to my mind.

 

[janie]

he doesn't look overweight to me and we'll never be sick of pictures. lol

 

[Frazzled]

I've had my cat flap set one way only for a few years now, got fed up with next doors cats coming in and clearing the bowls :bandit: - they were doubling my cat food bill! Mine can always get out and have learned to stay in at night when the weather is bad.

I love to have the doors open all day when the weather is fine. It became such a problem I had to have screen doors made. The two bandits have left the area now but I still use the doors in the summer to be on the safe side.

It also has the advantage of not having the local wildlife running or flying round the place!

I think our cats probably get up to allsorts if the truth were known, especially at night when houses are dark!

 

[Tinkerbelle]

My two are currently beating each others brains out!! All in good fun but god almighty they are a pair of hoolies. Still at least Alf is getting a bit of exercise ... lol

 

[janie]

the weird lot next door to me do the opposite - have it set on in only. when i first got louis, they gave me chapter and verse on how i must keep him in at night. i ignored them as i decided from the word go, he was going to do exactly what he wanted to do while living with me. it soon became apparent that most of the fights were with one of their 3 cats so i questioned it one day. they replied that the lock is in but not out so when the cats come in for the last time, they can't get out again (whatever time that might be) ????? the y then moaned that more than once, they'd been woken up by a skirmish downstairs because louis had gone in and couldn't get out. well duhhhh......

 

[Tinkerbelle]

Mine come and go as they please but they are chipped and the cat flap is one that only opens for them.

Harvey is very definitely top cat in the neighbourhood. He's the biggest cat and he's a fighter. He's got a slit in his ear fr fighting. But the other cats seem to back off these days. Alf gets into fights occasionally but he is rarely far from home. And I have seen Harvey pile in if another cat is arguing with Alf.

They are very much a pair. They often come back in one after the other.

My next door neighbour has really elderly old lady of a cat but the boys leave her alone. She's very sweet and very frail.

 

[Frazzled]

How funny Janie, serves em right!

Been woken up myself in the past by one or two skirmishes, even though they could have got out, mine to quick for them lol!

 

[Frazzled]

I looked into a cat flap that works on the chip, great idea, unfortunately it wouldn't have fitted the existing hole.

Locking the cat flap one way was considerably cheaper than a new door!

 

[janie]

Mine come and go as they please but they are chipped and the cat flap is one that only opens for them.

Harvey is very definitely top cat in the neighbourhood. He's the biggest cat and he's a fighter. He's got a slit in his ear fr fighting. But the other cats seem to back off these days. Alf gets into fights occasionally but he is rarely far from home. And I have seen Harvey pile in if another cat is arguing with Alf.

They are very much a pair. They often come back in one after the other.

My next door neighbour has really elderly old lady of a cat but the boys leave her alone. She's very sweet and very frail.

i was thinking about a microchip flap just before louis became ill. another black and white cat appeared in the neighbourhood who really has louis' number. despite being such a fighter (both ears are split) he was frightened of this cat who was bold as brass and would come in and play with louis' toys while i was sitting here. BUT if we made eye contact he'd shoot out like a rocket. i decided i couldn't have louis scared in his own home so looked into it. would have to find someone to fit it which always makes things difficult. now the flap has been locked for so long i'm hoping it's broken the habit. i also haven't seen the cat for a while. no-one seems to know who it belongs to but it's not a stray because it changed collars

 

[Tinkerbelle]

I bought one as soon as the boys started going outside. But after a couple of years I had to buy a bigger one! Sold the old one to help fund the new one.

I'm not aware of ever having had any rogue cat visits. It seems to do what it says.

 

[Tinkerbelle]

Well I ended up having to delay his check up but I took him yesterday and lo and behold he is not fat! We saw a new vet who is familiar with NFC and Maine Coons and she thought he was of average weight given his background, size and the tendency for NFCs to put down a layer of fat in the winter. Result!! I shan't have to argue the toss or starve the bugger.

The vet fell in love with him on the spot but Alf did not reciprocate lol.