|
I have a Catte of Unusual Size named Tobias. Tobias is allegedly a garden variety domestic shorthair tabby cat. I say "allegedly" because Tobias is goddamned BIG. He is 3 years old, 23 pounds, and a ginormous 27 inches from nose to (big ol') butt. Get a load of this pear-shaped boy: Another pic of his mammoth butt:  True, he absolutely is giant tub of lard and should lose at least 5 pounds. But he has always been A Behemoth Cat. Consider the following evidence: A-B. Shelter pics as a kitten:   (with my other cat Raphael, full-grown at 3-5 years in this pic -- Tobias's head is nearly the same size as Raphael's) When I adopted him, the shelter told me he was 6-7 months old. The next day, I took him to the vet for a checkup, and the vet said he was around 3-4 months old and big for his age. You don't say?!  C. At 9 months, now bigger than adult Raphael:  D. At 2 years, next to Raphael.  No CGI or special effects were used in the making of this photograph  For scale, Raphael is 11-12 pounds and 16 inches nose to butt. He also stands several inches taller than Raphael, his head is bigger, the base of his tail is much bigger in circumference and more muscular than Raphael's, his paws are bigger, etc. So...I'm wondering if he's part Maine Coon. Even though he doesn't have the long fluffy hair of a Maine Coon, his fur is very thick, dense, and glossy with an undercoat. His fur is much thicker than an average domestic shorthair like Raphael's, and is in fact the softest cat fur I have ever pet.  I don't have good pics of his fur quality at the moment, but maybe this video of him getting his epic belly rubbed will help you see it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDkwtkBR-bQ [BTW, that's not poop on his butt, his fur is just black where his balls used to be] He also has the apparent temperament of a Maine Coon, and I have often referred to him as a Gentle Giant even before I read the Wikipedia article on Maine Coons and saw that there  . He is 100% sweetheart, very playful, excellent bug assassin, super affectionate but not a lap cat...What do you think? Or...OR....hold on, is he actually a wombat??? 
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2016 15:53
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 00:56 |
|
|
No Maine coon in there, just a big obese cat. Seriously, slim him down or he will a. Get diabetes b. Die young
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2016 07:21
|
|
|
mincedgreen posted:No Maine coon in there, just a big obese cat. Seriously, slim him down or he will a. Get diabetes b. Die young Agreed. He has none of the physical traits of a Maine Coon, he's just massively overweight.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2016 13:15
|
|
|
Believe me, I'm trying! Here's how I feed them: Morning (7 am): Each cat gets 1/2 of a 3 oz can of Sheba brand wet cat food = (1 whole can has 54 calories, 1/2 = 27 calories) Evening (5 pm): Each cat gets 1/4 c. of Blue Wilderness Indoor Cat Hairball and Weight Control dry food = (358 calories/cup, 1/4 c. = ~90 calories -- I use a kitchen measuring scoop and level it off) Night (10 pm): Each cat gets 1 3 oz. can of Sheba wet food = 54 calories So each cat is getting 1.5 cans of wet food and 1/4 c. dry food, for a total of 171 calories. I don't feed them treats except once in a while (maybe 3 times a month) and never more than 5 treats that day. I also play with them at least 20-30 minutes a day with having them chase a bird toy around the apartment. According to this calculator, Raphael should be getting 241 calories to maintain his 11.5 lbs and Tobias should be getting 274 calories to reduce him from 23 lbs to 18 lbs. So I am underfeeding them, and yet Raphael is holding steady and Tobias is still gaining weight. I don't know how this is happening. Another factor: Tobias will chow down on whatever food he finds, whether or not he's hungry. Raphael will only eat a little bit of food at a time and walks away from it when he's had enough. Tobias is clearly eating more than his share, but not enough that Raphael is losing weight (on less than 171 calories/day) -- I don't understand this, either. But anyway, I need to find a way to keep Tobias away from Raphael's food, while allowing Raphael to have access to it throughout the day and night. I live in an apartment with an open floor plan, and the only door is on the bathroom. The problem is that there is nowhere in the apartment that Raphael can go but Tobias can't, since he can jump anywhere Raphael can. I also don't want to confine one of the cats to the bathroom all day while I'm at work or all night while I'm asleep because I think that would be kind of cruel. They're a bonded pair and like to play and sleep together. I've tried feeding Raphael only on top of a height (table, kitchen counter, small bookshelf), since Tobias usually is a burrower and not a climber, but he will find the food anyway and eat it all. I've tried using a little ball that dispenses only pieces of kibble at a time and this interactive cat feeder, hoping that since Raphael is much smarter than Tobias, Raphael will be able to figure out how to get to the food while Tobias won't....but it turns out, Raphael isn't interested in them either. One thing I haven't tried is putting Raphael's food in a cat tunnel, which will be too small for Tobias to fit into. Raphael is not really into burrowing or hanging out in small spaces, but maybe he will do it for food. Rabbit Hill fucked around with this message at 17:05 on Nov 10, 2016 |
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2016 16:55
|
|
|
They look like great cats Is anyone else feeding them in a way that you don't know about? Either way, I'll suggest checking out the Butterscotch and pals thread and ask for advice. Butterscotch is slimming down in a great way over there so I figure they know the tricks.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2016 21:29
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 00:56 |
|
|
They are awesome cats.  And I live alone and keep the dry food up on a 6' bookshelf neither of them can reach, so I'm pretty sure there's no way they're getting access to food without my knowledge. Maybe my tubby tabby has a thyroid problem? I've brought him to the vet before and we've discussed his weight gain, but the vet just sort of shrugs and says keep trying. Seriously, though, he is a very large cat regardless of his weight. He's 10" longer than Raphael, who is an average-sized cat in every way, and he's about 3-4" taller at the shoulders. Dude is BIG. But I'll check out the Butterscotch thread -- thanks for the rec!
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2016 21:54
|
|