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Online pet magazine.
Almost everything you need to know about pet care.
Cats - Weight Watching - Fat Cats
Fat Cats - Being overweight will make your cat more susceptible to life
threatening conditions,
like heart failure or diabetes.
Being a fat cat will also place additional
strain on their joints which can lead to osteoarthritis which will eventually
have to be managed with expensive ongoing course of medication.
Weight gain can happen so slowly that you don't even notice it until you suddenly realise you have a very 'big' cat on your hands! The weight gain reversal process can take many months of continued effort. Cutting out treats, titbits, feeding a less fattening food and reducing the meal portion size. Cumulatively these can be the best ways of weight reduction in cats.
Set a reasonable, achievable, target weight for your fat cat. Be realistic
how long the process will take. Don't expect a rapid reduction over night - it
won't happen. If your cat only looses around 25g a week then it will take 10
weeks, (Just over 2 months), to loose 250g, (That's about 1/2lb in old money),
If you are looking to loose 1kg, (About 2lb), then it will take the best part
of 8 months! This might be too slow for your vet but at least it is easily achievable
for you and your cat. Weight gain prevention has always been better, and easier,
than the cure.
Of course, the best action to take is preventative action in the first place. Have your cat weighed regularly to ensure any gain is not likely to become excessive. Keep treats to a minimum (or provide healthy treats which wont affect its weight).
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