Thirty-one Pound Australian Cat

Sumo from Brisbane, Australia is not only a large, big boned cat, he is also very overweight and as a result he weighs 31 pounds or just over 14 kg. The average cat weight is around 10 pounds or it should be.

They say that domestic cats in the West, especially the UK and USA are becoming more and more obese in line with their owners (I regret to say) but it appears something similar may be happening in Australia judging by the size and shape of Sumo.

Sumo is the largest cat that the RSPCA have looked after over the preceding four decades and I can well believe that. I think that his exceptional weight is, as mentioned, in part due to his physical size.  This is a big grey tabby and white cat.

Sumo was brought to RSPCA because his owners were moving home and they couldn't take Sumo with them. I regret to say that I have heard that excuse before and it may be a genuine reason but very often it is a rather glib excuse to abandon a domestic cat which it is clear they were unable to look after properly. I don't wish to be overly critical but anyone who lets their cat reach the weight of 31 pounds is doing something wrong like overfeeding their cat (on the basis that the cat is not a large Maine Coon or wild cat hybrid).

The RSPCA have put him on a strict diet but unfortunately it is a dry food diet which is high in carbohydrates. Dry cat food is exceptionally high in carbohydrates at about 30% carbohydrates when the figure should be 3% carbohydrates in cat food. Many obese cats have become obese free feeding on dry cat food. Fortunately in this instance the amounts he is allowed to eat is tightly regulated but I would certainly take him off a dry food diet as soon as possible.

A cat losing weight should lose it gently over a period of about 6 months. Obese cats are subject to health conditions that wouldn't exist but for the obesity such as heart and kidney disease, diabetes and arthritis.

Note: the photo is by Tanya Boland who works for the RSPCA.

 

Watermelon Cat - Obese Cat

Shocking and intriguing in equal measure. A grossly obese cat that no longer looks like a cat from the angle the photograph has been taken.

Water Melon Cat or Bowling Ball Cat or.....

Please, Mrs & Mr Cat Owner, do something about this. It is very unfair on your cat to feed him to the point where this happens.

Diabetes (type 2) is on the rise in the domestic cat world and one reason is the rise in obesity of cats. Another could be the dangerous, high in carbohydrates dry cat food. Feeding too much and the wrong stuff.

Tough love is tough to do but cats don't hate you if you ask them to wait a bit for their dinner. Or if you give them less and no treats. Fat cats are due to a human weakness - a need to be loved and scared to lose it. Silly. Cats don't think like that.

Note: there is an alternative take on this picture: it is photo-edited and unreal. Sort of looks like that but can't be sure either way.

You Might Not Know That Your Cat Has Arthritis

Cat owners should be open to the possibility that their cat has arthritis. This is particularly so if their cat is elderly and/or overweight. We know that in people arthritis causes a lot of discomfort and it severely affects the lives of people. We also know that domestic cat hide their discomfort and their pain. The masking of the discomfort and pain of arthritis makes it difficult to diagnose.

 He has arthritis of the elbow and is on medication.

Veterinarians will admit that diagnosis of feline arthritis is underreported. Not enough vets are diagnosing arthritis. One reason why feline arthritis may be more prevalent than people think it is, is because the cat companion is becoming ever more overweight. We know that the extra burden of weight on joints can lead to arthritis.

The pet market place is very valuable to manufacturers and they are forever trying to sell more products to pet owners including cat and dog food that looks attractive to people. The cat treats are a modern phenomenon and cat owners who want to please their cat will tend to buy a packet of cat treats. Treats are packaged in a way that makes them look like sweets for people. That is the way I view them anyway.

People like to keep their cat happy and feeding them quality human food and cat treats will make a cat happy but it may also make a cat fat and flatness equates to arthritis and sometimes diabetes.

People should be aware of the possibility of arthritis in cats. When it is bad you will notice it in a cat. I remember a very old ginger tabby cat who lived outside for a very long time and he came into my mother's house for some warmth. His gait strongly indicated arthritis. It was as if he was walking sideways almost. If a cat is less mobile and has difficulty jumping up and perhaps is irritable, then he or she may have arthritis particularly if he is elderly or overweight.

If the cat does have arthritis who will be in discomfort and a good cat caretaker will not wish their cat to be in discomfort and they will want to do something about it. Perhaps a cat owner  should raise the possibility of arthritis with her veterinarian if she thinks that her cat has it. The vet can then do proper diagnosis such as x-rays.

A vet will advise on treatments, of course and there are home treatments that you can read about on the Internet. As far as I am aware, there's not much you can do though and I'm sure that part of the treatment is painkillers.

The photo is by Rocky Mountain Feline Rescue on Flickr

Kibble Kats

There have been three recent cases of famously obese cats: Meow, SpongeBob and now Garfield. Meow was 39lbs. SpongeBob started off at 33lbs and Garfield is just 40lbs in weight. He's the latest in this line of large cats. He is a big boned cat anyway so that extra size puts him above the other two. Both Garfield and SpongeBob are New York state cats.

Garfield weighing in at 39.75 lbs.

The interesting bit for me is what the shelter people say. They believe that Garfield was fed a diet of kibble constantly. I suppose that means there was always a large bowl of dry cat food on the ground for him to graze from. It must have been very tasty kibble. As you know it is the high level of carbs in kibble that causes weight gain - and potentially other health problems such as urinary tract problems and diabetes. Garfield, though has been checked out and is in good health, except for his weight which could cause bad health.

Another interesting thing to come out of this is that some cats simply can't regulate their intake of food. They eat like humans, for pleasure. That is not a wild cat trait. It is a domestic cat development. And it does point to the fact that dry cat food is designed to be very tasty. Although cats can't taste sugar (sweetness) they perhaps can be addicted (is that too strong a word?) to a taste - the pleasure of eating. Boredom may also play a role in cats becoming obese. The experts say 30% (or is it a third - 33%?) of American domestic cats are obese.

The shelter people who cared for SpongeBob also mentioned the health risks of dry cat food. There seems to be a consensus. Are vets coming around to the idea that kibble does carry health risks if not managed properly? What are vets doing to manage this? They have a role to play too, I believe.

Garfield's caretaker sadly died. That is how he was discovered. Perhaps the elderly "owner" had difficulties engaging Garfield and exercising him etc. Dry cat food is incredibly convenient. That's what makes it so marketable. From the standpoint of profitability it is the perfect product. It stores for a long time without any particular requirements and stays edible in the bowl for a long time too. The ultimate convenience food: cat fast food.

Kibble Kats are modern cats. I don't want to over do this. But these famous Kibble Kats are a nice bit of promotion for wet food manufacturers and raw diet makers. Both products are better than dry cat food. Kibble has a place in cat's diet as part of an overall varied diet of mainly wet food that mimics a cat's prey better but let Garfield and the Kibble Kats be a warning. Full-time kibble is not suitable as a cat diet.

Overweight Cats Should Cut Out Dry Food

The good thing about the current heaviest domestic cat in America (probably) is that we can find out what the experts are doing about getting some weight off him. It is a crash course in weight loss for cats. Obesity is a big problem in America and the root cause of it is an unregulated supply of dry kibble packed with carbohydrates. Or that seems to be the case. SpongeBob (Bob) weighed 33 lbs when he entered Animal Haven. He is healthy apparently so his obesity was not due to health problems. The world's most recent heaviest domestic cat was the late Meow at 39lbs.

All you have to do is listen to the nice lady in the video. She says that they cut out dry cat food and are feeding Bob with a "special protein diet". It contains lean chicken some fish and pumpkin and other vegetables. But no carbohydrates. We know that dry kibble contains a high level of carbohydrates. Is dry cat food a major contributor to cat obesity? It could. It probably is. The pet food manufacturers won't admit it will they? It is a very profitable product. They could easily manufacture healthier alternatives.

Bob also needs more exercise. The staff at Animal Haven use catnip to get him moving! I suppose it gets him rolling around excitedly until he falls asleep. They also feed him treats that he has to run for. That is the exercise bit. It has worked so far as Bob has lost 3 lbs to currently weigh 30lbs. The next hurdle is to make sure his new family carries on the good work.

Cat Obesity Effects and Management

Some more notes on cat obesity. The first point to notice is that cat obesity is defined as being greater than 15% over the ideal weight (9-12 lbs for a male and 7-10 lbs for a female cat - but cats vary considerably from breed to breed and from individual to individual). I am surprised because 16% over normal weight is not a lot overweight and yet a cat will be classified as obese.

Cat obesity is the biggest problem regarding the feeding of cats in the USA and Western Europe. Apparently, up to 20% of cats in these regions are obese. My late lady cat Binnie was obese at one time so I have first hand experience of cat obesity.

Nearly all cat obesity problems are because the cat eats too much in relation to the lifestyle that he or she leads. By eating too much I mean that the calorie intake is too high. By lifestyle I am particularly referring to the level of exercise the cat partakes in. As usual it is all about how much goes in and how much is burnt off.

There are a lot of charts on assessing cat weight but we don't really need them because anybody can assess whether there cat is overweight. We simply need to use a common sense method. Essentially use common sense and you can feel your cat's shoulder blades and their spine when they are within a good weight range. You should be able to feel your cat's ribs under a layer of fat when they are of the correct weight.

Obese gray cat. Image by Quinn Kampschroer from Pixabay

Problems

Problems that can be associated with an obese cat:

• breathing difficulties - the recent, well circulated story of Meow the 39 lb cat sadly illustrates this problem.
• FLUTD - feline lower urinary tract disease.
• higher risks of failure during veterinary surgery.
• response to infectious diseases is poorer.
• resistance to insulin - development of diabetes.
• the inability of the heart to work harder when called upon (reduced cardiac reserve).
• the accumulation of fat in the liver cells.

Reducing weight

It can difficult to reduce the weight of your cat. I think we all know that. This because:

• we don't see the effect of a diet quickly
• we lose discipline
• our cat pesters us successfully
• cats have specialist diets being obligate carnivores
• cats are less food orientated than dogs
• cats sometimes have a strong preference for a particular food type.

There are various ways to feed a cat. For weight loss there is no secret that the method is lower calorie intake and/or more exercise. The former is probably easier to achieve than the latter. How many calories does a cat need?

The reduction in food intake should not be more than 30% lower than normal (or 70% of normal). It can be dangerous from a health standpoint to try and force a cat to eat a food that he or she does not like. However, feeding a food that he is less keen on, especially at night when you are asleep so don't have to deal with the emotional problems can be successful in my experience. Weight loss should be managed otherwise it can cause fatty liver disease (hepatic lipidosis) which is linked to sustained loss of appetite. Weight loss should be no more than 1.5% of body weight her week. This is to avoid the possibility of a cat developing fatty liver disease which can happen when a cat becomes anorexic.

Bearing in mind that cat caretakers may, and often do, struggle to diet their cat, it is probably sensible to get your veterinarian involved from both the standpoint of advice on a feeding regime and the type of food that is suitable together with the motivation that this may bring to the task at hand.

Apparently as a cat's calorie intake is reduced the cat's calorie requirements are reduced (the basal metabolic rate falls). This would seem to work against the diet being successful. The answer to this problem is to try and encourage your cat to exercise more.

Cats are very persuasive companions. It is difficult to resist their demands for a meal. We need to bite the bullet and to a certain extent be cruel to be kind.

Night time dieting as mentioned above works for me as my cat accepts the fact that I am asleep and won't pester me for food.

Source: Myself and The Welfare of Cats ISBN 978-1-4020-6143-1