Rivers Goes to Fat Camp: Episode 1

One expects a Havana brown to be a muscular, athletic cat, but when Rivers arrived in rescue, he looked like this:

A weight-reduction diet was obviously in order, but helping him adapt to a new environment was a higher priority. Havana browns tend to be closely bonded with their guardians, and Rivers seemed obviously distressed at being discarded by his: for several weeks he was so wary, I could barely touch him. In order not to add stress to an already stressful situation, I decided that the only change I would make in his feeding plan at the outset was to shift his diet, over the course of several weeks, from a low-quality kibble to a combination of grain-free kibble and canned food. I also observed his feeding habits, and especially the fact that, whereas his bonded companion Bogy took a nibble of food and walked away, as so many cats do, Rivers quickly gobbled up his own meal, then helped himself to whatever Bogy hadn’t immediately eaten.

Eventually, starting about two weeks after “the boys’” arrival, I started picking up Bogy’s bowl whenever he walked away from it, then putting it down again when he seemed ready to resume his meal. It was difficult to watch Rivers’ obvious disappointment at these new arrangements, so I made a point of distracting him, first with toys, then--as he grew more amenable to handling--with pats and cuddles. Having made only these adjustments, I didn’t know whether to expect any weight loss when I took the boys to the veterinarian after three months, but I was gratified to learn that Rivers, although still “a big boy,” had lost half a pound. Specifically, he had weighed 15 ¼ pounds when he arrived in rescue and now weighed 14 ¾ pounds. According to the veterinarian, he should weigh somewhere between 12 and 13 pounds.

Now that I have adopted Rivers, I plan to work with him on reaching his target weight, and to share the experience with readers of The Scratching Post. Obesity has become a significant problem among pet cats, and if you happen to be working with your own cat on a weight-loss regimen, I invite you to write to the blog to share your experiences. Let me also direct your attention to the useful articles posted under the heading “Nutrition” on the PPCR resources page, at http://www.purebredsplus.org/links/links.html. Cat guardians open to raw feeding might also be interested in the content related to feline obesity on Lisa Pierson’s website at http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity.

Next Episode: Counting Calories.