Cat Feeding Toy

[Jenny Wilkie]

Has anyone used and had luck with feeding their cat with one of those toys that dispense food when the cat plays with it? My cat is getting overweight; she's already on diet food, we try to play with her but she's just kind of lazy...I want to make sure she's at a healthy weight (she's going to the vet on Friday for a checkup), so I'm wondering if that toy might help her get some exercise while she eats. The only thing I'm afraid of is having her bat the toy down the stairs and get lost (attracting mice!), and we can't shut the basement door with her litter box down there. Guess I'm just curious if anyone's tried this toy with their cat and had any luck with maintaining a healthier weight?

[tbt]

Hi Jenny, I have a couple of suggestions for you.

I have never tried the feeding toy, but had an overweight shelter cat that is slowly losing weight, via a change in diet. I actually have three cats, but the one shelter cat was the problem child. I very slowly changed their diets over to a grain free food. It is very low in carbs, higher in animal protein, and he has transformed. He has lost about 1/2 his fat, gained some serious muscle, and looks healthier than ever. His belly no longer drags the ground, and he is showing a nice waistline. The other two also lost a few pounds, trimmed down and are at great weights. My former fattie now runs up and down the stairs where he once just waddled, out of breath. I suggest EVO and/or Wellness. I feed both dry and wet from both sources. If you are considering a transition, do it very slowly to give them time to adjust to the higher protein, and to aid in breaking the carb addiction. It took mine 4 weeks. Not only do they eat less, but in the long run, it costs less. I buy it by the case at our local feed store. Overweight cats are so suceptable to the same diseases we can get from being fat: Diabetes, arthritis, heart problems.

Another suggestion:
Like you, I also have the litterboxes and feeding area in my basement. I hated leaving the door ajar, always worried that if it shut, where would they do their business. I found a great way to avoid this. We installed a small doggie door in the wall, adjacent to the stairs leading to the basement. The doggie door opens onto the first stair going down, and it works great. Now I can keep the door closed, and they just come and go to the basement through the doggie door. It only took me about 5 minutes to teach them to use the opening. Cats are naturally curious, and with the help of a few treats, they were hopping back and forth. I did keep the rubber flap tacked up for a week or so until I was certain they were comfortable with using the opening and easily taught them to push the flap.

Hope this helps.

Tracy.

[Jenny Wilkie]

I think I will try the high protein diet, and see how that works. My cat will eat anything seafood flavored, so I hope it won't be an issue switching her over. I don't know that my hubby will go for cutting a hole in the new basement door for a kitty door, but I thought about that before, maybe now's the time to try! It would be nice to be able to shut the door on our messy basement. :)

[Michael William Shea]

I would say about 35 to 40% of cats are obese. The obesity is most likely the cause of diets with too high in carbohydrates content and lack of exercise.
What I do for exercise. The cats love the lazer light and will run all over the place to catch that small red dot. They love toy mice, little crinkly balls, climbing furniture and do not like it so much when I interrupt their nap and carry them to the bottom of the stairs and then they have to climb back up to get into their cats beds. I do that about 5 times a day. They also are leashed trained and will go on long walks.
Cats are very unique in the way they handle protein , carbs and fat. They have a tremendous ability to produce glucose from protein, but have difficulty processing carbs. Cats have no dietary use for carbohydrates. I believe that Wellness contains about 4% carbs, which is great. All foods need to give a PH, that is ideal and is, thus is the best way to prevent lower urinary tract infection. It needs to be high in Taurine, the deficiency is severe on cats if they do not have a food that is high in Taurine. I would consider a canned food that is high in muscle and not so high in organs. I use a organic lamb and rice, that is made with a bit of organs and muscle. I love the Newmans own canned food, considerably decent priced. I love organic products, that are grain free and full of protein. I give canned food because it is higher in water content., and I want there urine to be dilluted and stay clear of bladder or urinary issues. The seafood seems to be high in carbs, I give them white fish but stay clear of other kinds of seafood flavor. My cat used to be overweight, but he lost 4 pounds with exercise and the right diet. My female has stayed at 7 pounds throughout her 5 years of life. Cats can be lazy, that is why I exercise them like crazy.

[Jenny Wilkie]

I can try the canned food again but believe it or not, she's not interested in it. I bought a case of it when we first adopted her, and wound up giving over half the case to the rescue shelter by our house, she ignored it. I'm going to look for the low/no grains food and see if that helps. I also have a laser light, and she's kind of figured out she can't ever catch it, so she gets bored after a few flicks of the light. She's going to the vet on Friday for her shots; I'm going to see if there's any underlying issues that are causing her to be excessively lazy. She was more playful a few months ago, now she lays around all the time.

[K.Novey]

I would love to know how you leash trained your cats, I've read articles but. I can, except the oldest who hates being contained, in their harnesses but once the leash is attached that’s what they want to play with and I have a hard time getting it back.

K

[tbt]

Jenny,
Instead of cutting a hole in the door, consider one of the walls adjacent to the stairwell. My husband had no problem cutting through the drywall, and even made a little step for the cats down onto the first step of the stairway down to the basement. I first saw this setup in a home we were looking to buy a few years ago. I saw their cat disappear through and thought it was going outside or to the garage, but low and behold, he was going through the wall, accessing the stairs, and going to the basement. I remembered that little feature and when we bought our current home, I helped my hubby install a little doggie door within days.

As far as the food switching, go slowly so you will not upset her disgestive system. And the weight should come off very slowly. Cats who lose weight too fast are at risk for liver and kidney problems. My fat cat took about 3 months to show off his new waistline. I'm guessing about a pound a month would be ok, and the slow weight loss is more likely to be easier to maintain.
Tracy.

[Jenny Wilkie]

Unfortunately, the stairwell is in the kitchen, and there's no walls other than the one covered by the oven and fridge, the other side has furniture on it (and the layout of our house prevents any rearranging of furniture)...I'm hoping to convince him to make a door on the bottom of the basement door. I know he'd rather keep the door shut too, so maybe this would be his cue to make the kitty door.
When she goes to the vet on Friday, I hope the vet will help me get a plan for her to lose weight in a healthy way.

[tbt]

One last comment about your vet's consultation for you to consider:

Many vets are sponsored by specific brands of pet food, and there is the great incentive to recommend their own products. Unless your vet is trained in nutrition, more specifically, feline nutrition, be a little wary, gather the information offered, and do your own research. Consult with a feline nutritionist if your cat has no underlying issues. But, if your cat has a uniquely identified medical problem requiring a highly specialized diet, then your vet's recommendation is worthy of consideration. Follow-up with a nutritionist, though. Many feline health problems can be resolved or avoided with a healthy diet. Science Diet is terriblly full of carbs, grains, among other things, and many vets sell and push it. Michael (Dr Shea above) is one of the few who offers alternatives and recognizes a cat's unique nutritional needs. Just keep an open mind when discussing with your vet.

Hope all goes well on Friday! And hope you convince your hubby to install that pet door. I think one of the greatest benefits we have recognized is the electricity saved during the summer on air conditioning. Cool air sinks, and with that door always open or cracked open, all my air conditioning was going to the basement. So, my pet door paid for itself many, many times over by keeping the cool air from flowing down to the basement.

Tracy