Podgy Puss

My cat, Melly, is not a slim boy, he is on a drug to help with his over-grooming (Ovarid) which does cause him to put on weight and I often tease him about his bubble butt!

However, I do try my hardest to keep his weight at a safe level as there are so many health issues with obesity in cats (same as humans I guess).

Now most cats I know, are very fussy eaters…they can spend months on one brand of food and then suddenly, for no apparent reason, decide that they don’t like that food anymore!  Again, Melly is a major culprit here!  However, there are so many brands on the market, it is not usually difficult to find a replacement.  For Melly, anything fish flavoured, in jelly, is usually acceptable.  Unless he particularly fancies asome tinned tuna, then he will repeatedly trip me up and get in my way until I grab the tin opener and serve him his favourite.

Anway, back to weight control!  The key thing is to read the labels, and follow the feeding guide…try not to give more than this.  If you are feeding a combination of wet and dry food, you need to take this into consideration so as not to over feed.  You also really need to factor in any treats you may give your cat as all these calories add up! Cats prefer to eat little and often so a minimum of 2 meals a day is best.

Melly loves treats, his favourite are Dreamies, I swear they are cat drugs – I have never met a cat that doesn’t love them!  So, to make him work for them, I put the treats in a treat ball which he needs to bat around to make the goodies roll out – not only does it give him so exercise, it also releases endorphins (achieved when hunting), so he loves it!  The balls are relatively cheap and cats tend to pick up the hang of it quickly.  http://www.cpshop.co.uk/p-4987-cat-treat-ball.aspx

Mellys best begging face!

Regular weight checks are also worth doing, just to make sure that puss isn’t getting podgy…Melly and I weigh in together every few weeks – we both hate it but hey, it has to be done!  The past couple of weeks have been somewhat depressing for me after Easter indulgence!

You can find more about obesity in cats here - http://www.cats.org.uk/uploads/documents/cat-care-leaflets-2013/EG04_Feeding_and_obesity.pdf