Ever had a cat that would overeat?

[HorseFeathers]

Quote:
She doesn't look overweight... She looks GORGEOUS! My Siamese Daisy has a bit of paunch, but I've noticed that cats spayed at an early age often have a bit more belly fat than those spayed at the proper time. Could be a coincidence. Just sayin'.

 

[Chicks R Friends NOT Food]

I'll admit that my little queen Smokey yells at us all the time and we bend to her every whim. She always has a full foodbowl (except when the dogs get to it). She does get fat in the winter maybe 10/11 pounds. For my Tiny cat, that's pretty robust. But in the summer she loses it all again running outside, mouse-hunting, and whatever else she does. I think for an abused animal it might be different, she might need a structured feed plan. Try to keep in mind though, that like dogs, cats will learn what you teach them. For example food when she's being nice teaches her to be nice. Food when she attacks your feet shows that she attacking you is a way to fill her belly and encourages her behavior. Sorry for such a long post, but I'm bored.

 

[patandchickens]

Yup, several of the cats I've had over the years would have eaten til they popped (and then reassembled the little bits and come back for more). I haven't been able to feed free-choice for, I think, 18 years now

It is probably in the best interest of the cat for you to go to feeding meals; while even the most foodminded cat will eventually stop eating extra, it may not happen until they've reached blimplike proportions and that is pretty bad for their health. You think she's obnoxious about begging now, try waiting till she's 16 lbs and you have to put her on a diet! Hooo boy, they do not take kindly to that

However I have to warn you that, especially with siamese types, it may take a loooong time before she reconciles herself to scheduled meals.

Still, you'll have all that aggravation ten times over if you let her get really overweight and then have to slim her down, so you're probably best off biting the bullet now.

Good luck, have fun, beautiful cat,

Pat

 

[FrenchHen]

George doesn't overeat, but John Wesley sure does.
Loafcat has a serious case of swaybelly.

I feed them twice a day.

 

[redhen]

I only ever had 1 cat that over ate and became obese..( although i swear he WAS really very big boned!) Anyways, he was like 25 lbs..He was a Ragdoll cat. I free feed all my cats (i have 6) and they dont over eat or anything. I'd wait a bit before you pull the food away. She may need the extra food right now just coming from being so skinny and under fed before.

 

[gritsar]

My late siamese Bekka was free fed and never overate. She wouldn't eat anything but a certain brand of kitten food, even as a adult. I tried many times and she would go for days without eating. She managed to maintain her girlish figure, but I can already feel a huge difference in KiKi when I pick her up. We have to watch her when we feed the pup. She adores the canned food we mix in with his dry and will push him away to eat it.

 

[Judy]

I've never had an obese cat either, always free fed, and all my cats and dogs have been rescues or strays. But I'm afraid I'd put Kiki on a schedule. I'd rather deal with the complaining than an obese cat.

Or you could gamble that she'll stop gaining now that she is up to a decent weight.

I do have a dog who was on the brink of death from starvation and parasites when we found him hiding under a lawn mower in a storm. He's a bit overweight because he eats EVERYTHING, and begs for more, several times a day. Of course he is fed on a schedule. If I free fed him he would turn into a big round ball with feet.

Pretty cat, anyway!

 

[gritsar]

Well, so much for that idea.
I carefully explained to KiKi last night that I was only going to do her highness' bidding twice a day. The bowl will be filled at those times and no others.
I filled it before going to bed last night. I mean I really filled it!
My DH got up earlier than me this morning and as he put it, the poor darling was starving, so he fed her.

I can't train a husband, a puppy, and a cat at the same time folks. I just don't have it in me.

 

[OrpingtonManor]

I have one cat who was emaciated when I got her, and is now a healthy 8 pounds. She will overeat at any chance she gets. I think she is worried about being starving. She actually eats until she throws up. My other cat can free feed and not overeat, but learned to eat more when the food was first put down because he knew the other cat would eat it all if he didn't. Her constant eating caused him to gain weight, too. He is a solid 12 pounds, and I wanted it to stop there.

I also got tired of the haranguing by my otherwise cute little girl. My father has two obese cats (19 and 21 pounds) who never stopped their hunger pleas. I vowed to not let that happen.

So, I bought an automatic feeder. It feeds them the right amount twice a day. Once I stopped being the food source, my sweet kittie stopped torturing me. Now, she harasses the machine. Occasionally it rewards her with a tiny nugget, but not enough to get her fat. She is darling, healthy, and no longer cries to me about the food.

 

[Ducklove334]

she probably does this because she feels that she needs to have food ALL the time, even if she's not hungry, some cats just like the fact that they've got food.

our kitten (5 months) wieghs 5 almost 6 pounds now, so he's slightly overwieght for his age, but he does NOT keep wieght if he only eats dry food, when we got him at 6/7 weeks (lady we got him from couldn't keep her story straight, first he was 5, then 6, then 7 , then 9 weeks

), but we guessed him at around 7 weeks...ANYWAY

he was real thin when we got him, tryed him on dry food, he would barely eat it, so we caved and gave him wet, wolfed it down, and picked up wieght, but we took him back off and even though he'd grudgingly eat the dry food, he started losing wieght again, so he gets a can of wet cat food every night.


I once had a cat we got from the shelter who felt it was my job to make sure he constantly had food, even if he HAD food in his bowl, it had to be full or he's sit there and cry until you filled it.