There are few things I like to do less than anesthetize an overweight angry cat. Maybe an overweight bulldog, with a heart murmur. That would be bad too.
But I don’t see them nearly as often. At least once a week, I arrive to find an 18 pound cat here for a dental hissing at me from the confines of his carrier, glaring from beneath his folds of chub, just daring me to try and get a pre-anesthetic blood sample.
Fat cats have very little scruff. It’s like trying to hold a squishy watermelon, one with claws and teeth and a vendetta. My techs are much better at cat wrangling than I (a fact I remind them of continually in order to butter them up and get them to do all the dirty work) but sometimes even they get stymied, and then we have to sedate the cat.
Most vet clinics have a small assortment of drugs to choose from, based on the needs and health of the pet. The drug we use most often for very angry pets is a nice one, but it really knocks them out. And overweight animals, just like overweight people, can have a host of metabolic and respiratory issues that make deep sedation and anesthesia a little more dicey than it might be for other animals.
We don’t have much choice in the matter, unfortunately. When a cat cannot be safely handled, it’s better for him and for us to go ahead and sedate him. But I don’t like it. My tech will sit with him and watch him like a hawk during recovery, with me hovering nearby and occasionally sticking a cotton swab in his ear to try and get him to respond a little faster. They recover, albeit slowly. It’s stressful. I don’t like doing it.
Overweight angry cats are often angry for a reason. It’s hard to breathe. Their joints hurt. They have diabetes and asthma and cystitis. People pose them for pictures and think they are cute. And yet it’s a very difficult problem to combat, especially for owners who don’t see it as the big problem it really is.
While there are some similarities between cats and dogs when it comes to medical issues, I find obesity to be one area where there is a big difference between the two. Cats are obligate carnivores. They simply aren’t built to process carbohydrates the way other animals are. Yet we plug them full of carb laden dry foods that are a far cry from the types of food they eat in the wild- and look at the results. It’s tragic.
Did you know that some diabetic cats can be treated- to the point where they no longer need insulin at all- simply by a change in diet? Even those who continue to need insulin often have a vast improvement in their disease management on the right food. It’s amazing to see that kind of change, just from a switch in food.
It does need to be a food change, as opposed to a lifestyle change, when you are dealing with fat cats. Ever try to get one to go for a run with you? That doesn’t go well. But people who have fought with their cats over trying to get them to eat less calories and suffered the consequences of an unhappy cat in the house are often pleasantly surprised to find that the problem as much the quality than it is the quantity. Less carbs. More protein. Less cat.
If there were just one thing I had to pick to wish* that people had more understanding of, it would be this: The best pre-made food for a cat is low carb and canned. If you can’t do both, do at least one. Your cat will thank you, and so will your vet as they gaze at your svelte little kitty in amazement. (CAVEAT: If your vet has recommended a different food, please talk to them before making a change. This is particularly important if your pet has other health issues that may make this type of diet a less optimal choice.)
*Veterinary-related wish, of course. If I had only one wish at all, it would be for more wishes.
Is it safe to assume that the stuff I buy at the vet’s office meets these criteria, or should I actually look at its ingredients?
Most of the stuff you see at a typical vet office won’t meet that criteria, so definitely look! They will say right on the front ”low grain” since a lot of people are looking for that.
I feed my kitty Purina’s ”Urinary Tract Health Formula”, since he’s 9 and I’d really rather not have a $900+ surgery bill (as my parents did with their cat when he got kidney stones or whatever the problem is that male cats can get.) Do you think this is actually worth something, or am I just wasting my money? He’s a bit overweight (not a lot, but a pound or two) and I wouldn’t mind trying a higher-protein food.
Also, with my old cat, we put his food on top of a linen closet (about a 36” jump up.) We’d put him up there twice a day to eat, and if he wanted more, he’d have to climb up to get it. We got him when he was 18 lbs, and it took him a month to be able to get up there by himself. Eventually when our neighbor stole him, he was down to a much more manageable 10 lbs… I don’t know what his old owner had been feeding him, but the weight came off of him fairly easily.
So why have our vets generally expressed a preference for our cat to eat dry rather than canned food? Isn’t dry better for the cat’s teeth or something?
This, plus that link, were phenomenally helpful–thank you! And I honestly can’t imagine that feeding my cats canned can be more expensive than the $50/month vet diet, and is definitely cheaper than the vet bills and emotional trauma incurred by having sick kitties. :-p
I have two dogs and a cat and am very perplexed about the right things to feed them. I feed them dry now and have moved up to a brand with meat as the main ingredient. I want to keep them healthy as they age. What is the best thing to feed them?
Vicki
Vicki, I would look for a food that says “low carb” or “no grain”. Ideally canned as opposed to dry.