Help my cat lose 2 lbs

My cat was diagnosed with some sort of urinary crystal problem many years ago. Translation: she leaked urine. She was placed on prescription cat food that stopped her from leaking but caused massive weight gain. Visitors made rude comments about my pet; the vet made me feel as though I was at best a neglectful parent, at worst downright abusive. And the food did not stop her most troublesome habit of actively spraying urine on my belongings to express her displeasure.

I stopped in a fancy pants pet food store a few months ago and some woman convinced my the reason my cat was incontinent was because she lacked a proper diet and nutrient stores and therefore was attempting to mark her territory so other perpetually elusive cats would stay away from her Hill’s C/DS diet. My spouse thought the theory was stupid, but I was desperate, so we switched her to expensive wet food a few months ago.

It has had a generally salutatory effect on our feline. She no longer sprays in retaliation, although she has had a few accidents since our recent move to the new house. She is using her litterboxes regularly, likely a combination of open boxes with flushable cat litter that make us more likely to scoop it frequently. And, she has lost about 2 pounds, which for a human would be about 30. Go cat.

Objects are no longer trapped in her gravitational force field. I am officially a Good Parent™.

Tigger’s eating nothing but high quality, diet catfood and the occasional green bean (oh, he loves his green beans!) but since he sleeps 18 hours a day on the big, comfy wool blanket I don’t think weight loss is imminent.

In fact, when he sits there he looks like an emperor penguin. You know how they sandwich the egg between their little roll of belly fat and their feet? Yesterday, the husband used a ping pong ball in place of an egg and it worked. Now that’s disturbing. Tigger just sat there looking mildly puzzled.

but I don’t think Tigger’s making much of an effort. I’m trying to play with him a lot more to get him a good workout at least once a day. Unfortunately, his favorite game involves sitting on a throw rug while I pull it slowly down the hallway. He looks like the queen mum in a parade. All he needs is that little cupped-hand wave of hers.

This requires more thought.

I’m going to count this one as done, since Abby’s maintaining her weight at 12 lbs!

Abby’s down to 12 lbs!

And now that Abby’s owner is doing Phase One of the South Beach Diet, , maybe he’ll lose some weight as well.

A special thank you to MAX Cat Gourmet Classics Lite Turkey & Chicken, without which none of this would have been possible.

Not sure how well this is going….Abby got stuck behind the sofa cushions last night….

For reals this time. I suspect a rounding error may account for the previous “weight loss.”

The good news is, I can feel Abby’s ribs again. Yes, the cat has RIBS, instead of big pillowy cushions of cat fat. So, I think it’s finally working.

I think I should probably buy a scale to weight Blur with.

Well, it’s working, a little, except I think it’s mainly because they’re just not eating much at all…they don’t like the new food.

Trying a different kind of food today to see if that helps…Abby seemed more enthusiastic about it, anyway.

The other day, I noticed she was starting to look like an ottoman—a little round footstool with short legs—and it was time for action.

I’m starting by feeding her half a can of quality wet food every day. This is the plan: it will will be down for 20 minutes each morning and 20 minutes each night. The pet store guy says this will start her losing the 2-3 lbs she needs to drop. She’s up to 15 pounds now. Yowsa.

This may also bring her skittish sister around to acting a little less feral (since she’ll have to interact with me if she wants to eat).