Apr 23 2008
Fat Cats and Other Thoughts
Today’s post is actually sponsored by my cat, Miss Tommy. We inherited her from a relative when he passed away. She was eight-years-old and set in her ways. She was also several pounds overweight. When we brought her to the vet for her annual exam last year, we found she had gained another half a pound. My vet made a big deal about talking to me about options to help her shed a pound or two. I didn’t take it to heart. I figured it would be mean to put the old girl (now almost ten) on a diet at this stage of the game. I’ve recently changed my mind.
My mind was changed by Alice. Alice is a cat who was surrendered to the RISPCA. She is so obese that she has trouble moving. Who would do that to a cat? That was my first thought…then I realized the answer – me. Now, Miss Tommy gets around just fine. But I started to think about how I feel with extra pounds on me, and realized allowing her to continue with her weight gain is not really a kindness to her. In addition, I could be taking years off her life. We’ve since been working on making some changes to her diet. We’ll see how it’s working when we go back to the vet in July.
Now, I know I’m talking cats here, but the same thing applies to our dogs. We’ve all seen those chubby dogs waddling around the neighborhood. Many of us even own one of those chubby pets ourselves. So I thought it was valid to bring it up here. Just a little something to keep in mind the next time you reach into the box of Milkbones – a few treats are fine, but when you are overfeeding your dog, you may actually be killing him with your kindness. If you’re concerned about your pet’s weight, it may be time to start making some changes.
