Dan's Papers - May 22, 2009 - I Will Not Enable My Cat. I Will Not Enable My Cat ...

"A cat isn't fussy - just so long as you remember he likes his milk in the shallow, rose-patterned saucer and his fish on the blue plate. From which he will take it, and eat it off the floor." -Arthur Bridges

Anyone who's read this column recently knows my cats are on diets. What we can't achieve for ourselves we attempt to accomplish through our children. With no offspring to call our own the cats function as children for my husband and me, so we are determined to make them as healthy as possible. After two consecutive weeks of annual vet visits and two very kind lectures on the weight gain both cats have seen over the past year, it was time to make some drastic changes.

In order not to shock their systems or give them any sort of stomach issues, we started out gradually. They love their Fancy Feast - it's obviously a very tasty cat food - but they've abused the privilege of having that drug of choice. A higher intelligence must prevail, so we turned to our vet. Armed with some choices of high protein wet foods we purchased a few cans of two brands: Innova Evo and Halo Spots Stew. We were ready with the cans of food so the way was paved - now just to find the will.

At this point I need to jump ahead and tell you something important: Be very careful switching your cats to mostly protein food, it needs to be done very gradually. More on that soon.

I began mixing the Spots Stew in with their Fancy Feast. An amazing thing occurred. These screaming cats, obviously starving since we'd cut back portions, suddenly got very quiet. So quiet you could almost hear them thinking, "Is this some sort of joke?" We left the house to go shopping because I didn't trust myself to not give in to their pleading looks. We returned two hours later to find our girl Roxie, who at 17.4 lbs is only flirting with the obese status, happily licking up the Spots Stew. Robbie on the other hand, pushing 23 lbs and in need of dropping at least 3 lbs, was still staring at his plate as if by sheer will power he could turn it back into Fancy Feast. He looked at me with a gaze that went straight to my heart, threw his head back, opened his mouth and howled! It was all in that meow: the anguish, the feeling of betrayal, the pain and torment. When my husband wasn't looking I snuck him a few kibbles of the Royal Canin Maine Coon dry food he loves. I know. I'm an enabler.

We survived that weekend and pushed through the week. We then slowly started trying out the Evo. It was received with a tad less disgust. They still take hours to eat the wet food and our vet advised taking it away after an hour and giving it back to them later to see if they get the message. I'm leaning towards the Evo - the Spots Stew ends up splattered all over the place with the peas rolling around the floor. They also seem to have less resistance to the Evo

Cats, contrary to some popular belief, don't need to "free feed," will in some cases abuse this form of feeding and end up healthier and happier if they aren't constantly "full." Think about lions in the wild; they hunt, get a big kill, feast on it and then don't eat again for weeks. I have noticed already our cats have more energy - they always liked to play but now they play even more. For indoor cats boredom is an issue, they will eat just for something to do. We had tried countering that with lots of cat toys and bird feeders out side to keep them entertained.

But the botoom line is that the health of your cat is in your hands. Every cat has different needs and knowing their eating habits and what works best for them is important. You should always check with your Vet before making any drastic changes to your cat's diet. Remember plenty of water is a must, especially if you stick with just dry food. While cats tend to be arid creatures, the more water they drink, within reason, the better.

We're hopeful we've made a positive change and as soon as the plaintive howls subside life will be better for us all.