The Obesity Epidemic… Of Our Pets

So I took our two beastie boys to the vet last week. Yes, I wrote about it last post, but it was mostly to reflect on the vet tech who thought Leonardo Da Vinci was incarnated as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

This is also probably because I’m in a bit of denial about our major cat issue. We have a cat who officially, no exaggeration, weighs in at 22 pounds. Now, Raffy’s a very large cat- I’ve posted photos below. And, the vet says he really only needs to lose 4 pounds. Of course, 4 pounds on a cat is kind of a lot of Tender Vittles.

Leo’s a big cat too, weighing in at a much slimmer 16 pounds. He needs to lose 2 pounds. Cake, right?

Otherwise, they’re fine. Great teeth, fur, digestion, temperament…

The vet laid out a diet plan. 1/4 cup of dry food twice daily, 1/2 small can of wet food once daily. We’re supposed to put the food down, let them eat, then take up the bowls. To date, we’ve filled their bowls with, say, a cup or so of dry food and left the bowls down all day and all night. So they don’t bug us in the middle of the night to eat.

So, we’re putting down considerably less food at a time, but definitely leaving the bowls down overnight. It’s hard enough to get good sleep with the two kids. I also have them on an exercise plan. We play laser light every night, after the kids go down. Why cats are so fanatically attracted to the laser light is a mystery, but they really are.

If they went out, they’d get alot more exercise.. But they’d also likely have been flattened by the heavy traffic on our street. So, indoor cats they are, lazy, happy, and well-fed.