Cat is overweight and family blames me

[Anonymous]

I’ve been trying to restrict her diet, put her on diet kitty food, tried to encourage more exercise by having plenty of toys and also putting her food and litter box on separate floors so she has to go up and down the stairs several times a day. But her weight barely budges, and I often catch her trying to sneak extra food!

[Anonymous]

New poster. My fat cat will sneak people food too, lick plates in the dishwasher, drink out of a abandoned cups. I think being in the shelter for those months broke her brain a bit. The other cat isn't like that. Having two cats makes this hard because the other one grazes a but but the fat one will take leftover food.

[Anonymous]

We helped our food-obsessed fat kitty lose weight by carefully measuring her food. We tried to factor in her stolen snacks throughout the day. It took one year of slow and steady but she is a normal weight now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New poster. My fat cat will sneak people food too, lick plates in the dishwasher, drink out of an abandoned cups. I think being in the shelter for those months broke her brain a bit. The other cat isn't like that. Having two cats makes this hard because the other one grazes a but but the fat one will take leftover food.

Op- this is my cat!! Also from a shelter

[Anonymous]

^ she will also steal the dogs food, lick the butter knife and dish if I leave them out, and basically eat whatever she can get her nose into.

She’s obsessed with food

[Anonymous]

You need to decrease her food intake, slowly but surely. And increase her meal frequency - maybe 6-8 small meals a day, dispensed by an autofeeder (make sure to get one that is hard to break into). She'll get there!

I'd also suggest getting a laser pointer. My cat is very lazy but loves it and will run laps up and down the hallway chasing it.

[Anonymous]

Yes, that’s what we’ve been doing but she finds workarounds. Sometimes I’ll put the dogs food up high away from her, and I’ll find her crouched precariously, trying to steal some. Same with any adult food, even a morsel or utensil left out.

We have plenty of toys for her including a laser pointer which doesn’t interest her after a few minutes. She does like cat nip though.

I also separate her litter box and food so she has to walk up and down a flight of stairs a few times a day.

[Anonymous]

Wegovy.

[Anonymous]

Ha, I know. Oh oh oh ozempic!

[Anonymous]

This is within your control, OP.

I fostered pregnant dogs for a rescue and raised their litter of puppies, while having my own dog and sometimes one of his friends over. Every one eats at different times and only their ration. The ones who tend to steal food do not get that opportunity because I stand guard while the others are eating and I don't let the food thief operate at all. While my dog doesn't counter-surf, some foster dogs have been veritable Houndinis, so I don't keep food out, plates get put in the dishwasher rapidly and the door is closed. Some food containers are left to cool in the kitchen before going into the fridge, but the lids are secure.

Come on, have a little more personal discipline. While you train yourself to put away your own food and stand guard over your other pet while they're eating, you also need to reduce your food thief's portions to account for potential theft opportunities that you'll miss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is within your control, OP.

I fostered pregnant dogs for a rescue and raised their litter of puppies, while having my own dog and sometimes one of his friends over. Every one eats at different times and only their ration. The ones who tend to steal food do not get that opportunity because I stand guard while the others are eating and I don't let the food thief operate at all. While my dog doesn't counter-surf, some foster dogs have been veritable Houndinis, so I don't keep food out, plates get put in the dishwasher rapidly and the door is closed. Some food containers are left to cool in the kitchen before going into the fridge, but the lids are secure.

Come on, have a little more personal discipline. While you train yourself to put away your own food and stand guard over your other pet while they're eating, you also need to reduce your food thief's portions to account for potential theft opportunities that you'll miss.

Lol, thanks for the scolding, Karen. Lovely that you had time to run a rescue of pregnant puppies, but I have a full time job and children to raise. The cats diet is not at the very top of my list of priorities.

[Anonymous]

^ and fyi you sound flipping nuts and your house must be disgusting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ and fyi you sound flipping nuts and your house must be disgusting

Do you see that you responded the way you did because you feel insecure and cornered? It's not a mature, adult, reply and I hope you don't respond that way to people you know in your life.

And just so you know, people who raise litters in their homes keep them very clean, out of necessity: infants of any species are very vulnerable to disease, so we can't keep dirty houses if we want them to survive.

[Anonymous]

Well if that cat is fat and happy so be it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is within your control, OP.

I fostered pregnant dogs for a rescue and raised their litter of puppies, while having my own dog and sometimes one of his friends over. Every one eats at different times and only their ration. The ones who tend to steal food do not get that opportunity because I stand guard while the others are eating and I don't let the food thief operate at all. While my dog doesn't counter-surf, some foster dogs have been veritable Houndinis, so I don't keep food out, plates get put in the dishwasher rapidly and the door is closed. Some food containers are left to cool in the kitchen before going into the fridge, but the lids are secure.

Come on, have a little more personal discipline. While you train yourself to put away your own food and stand guard over your other pet while they're eating, you also need to reduce your food thief's portions to account for potential theft opportunities that you'll miss.

Lol, thanks for the scolding, Karen. Lovely that you had time to run a rescue of pregnant puppies, but I have a full time job and children to raise. The cats diet is not at the very top of my list of priorities.

And yet you found the time to complain about it on DCUM... but won't take the advice given.
You can also ignore your family and let your cat overeat. That way you won't have your cat as long, and you'll be spared your immense burden.
Or you can have a hissy fit on DCUM while attacking other posters. That seems the most unproductive option, but you do you.