Quick Update

It's been a busy few weeks, so here's a quick update and then it's back to work:

11/30/08 15.830
12/3/08 15.732
12/6/08 15.718
12/9/08 15.680

It seems that tasty tuna is not as conducive to weigh loss as that nasty healthy stuff. Go figure.

On the up- (and more embarrassing) side, we don't have to help Sam clean her rear anymore! It's amazing what a difference a little over a half pound can make :)

15 Lb Mark!

We had another weigh-in today and Sam finally weighs less than 16 lbs! Break out the bubbly!

She now weighs pounds, to be exact.
Based on her weight from Friday to Friday (Nov 14-21), Sam has lost 2.4% of her body weight in the past week or so, which is a little too much. I suspect that this is because I've been feeding her healthier cat food this week (gasp!), which apparently is not as tasty as her usual 9 Lives Tuna with Egg Bits. The healthy food (mostly chicken and turkey, with no wheat or gluten fillers) certainly smells less rank than the tuna, a sure sign that it is less tasty. We'll keep searching for the right cat food...I really hope to avoid having my house reek of tuna twice a day.

Indeed, this new healthy stuff (or, according to Sam, "pre-masticated gray sludge of indeterminate origin") must be truly gross because Sam has been chowing down on Nora's dog food while we sleep. Don't believe she would stoop so low? I give you Exhibit A:

So, as Sam's devoted support group, we now hide Nora's food while we're gone or sleeping. I won't be surprised if I start find stashes of catnip and tuna behind the couch and under the bed. Like I've said before, it's hard to be a fat cat!

Update: To make the situation even more ridiculous, I caught Nora snatching cat food from Sam's bowl instead of eating her dog food. What a crazy mixed-up household we live in...Overall, our girls are quite pleased with themselves and wish that I would stop interfering with a situation that they've worked out to their liking, thank-you-very-much.

Tipping the Scales

We had another weigh in today (sorry, no pictures) and Sam now weighs 16.24 lbs, which is a 1.29% decrease from when we weighed her a week ago. This is pretty close to 2%, which is encouraging. Hopefully, this is an indication that the slight decrease in food has worked, though we went to the vet for shot updates yesterday and she may have lost a bit of weight due to the stress ;o) Also, she's been snacking on Nora's dry food at night and while we're gone during the day, so maybe we'll be closer to the 2% mark next time since we started picking up the food when we're not around.

No doubt about it, it's hard to be a fat cat! The vets said that other than being overweight, Sam looks really good. If things keep going well, she'll be looking better and better as she begins to look more like the little kitty that I know is hiding under all the fluff.

Weigh In #2

It's almost been a week since we last weighed Sam, so we gave it a try today.

As you can see, she's fairly tolerant of the whole procedure. It certainly helps that cats enjoy sitting in and on new things.

As you can also see, she's only experienced a ~0.15% loss in weight, a far cry from the 2%/week that we are aiming for. So we're going to cut back on the tuna and start feeding her ~5oz per day rather than the full 5.5oz can. I read another woman's story about helping a cat of similar proportions lose weight, and she fed this much to her 20lb Molly. I visited Petsmart yesterday and got about 10 different types of wet food, so we'll be testing them out on Sam to see which she prefers and to do a cost/benefit analysis of the best food for the best price.

Check back soon!

The Results are In...

Not for the election (wait a few hours on that). No, today was Sam's first weigh-in. Our scale finally came in the mail, so I immediately plopped Sam on it to find out where we stand. Her current weight is..................

!!!!!!

Wow! I had been expecting 14 or so, but I had no idea that she was that big. When Jeremy first got her almost 2 and a half years ago, she was 5.9lbs at five months old. Female cats should be between 10 and 11 pounds, so we have quite a ways to go! At a max loss rate of 2% per week, it may be several years before Sam is back to a totally healthy weight.

In the meantime, here's a shot of Sammy on the porch. Aside from her various sleeping spots in the house, this is her favorite place to be.

Forays into the Great Outdoors

After a few bad days, Sam has really enjoyed exploring the Outside this weekend.

I gave up and let Nora join us, and she thought it was the best thing ever to have everybody outside together.

Walking a cat versus walking a dog is like going for a rambling, leisurely stroll when you're used to running sprints. Nora was a good sport, though, and waited patiently while Sam sniffed, rolled in the grass, and attacked her leash.

Jeremy and I are both procrastinating doing work, so we took some videos, too. Even if you don't make it through them both, keep watching the first one to see how happy Nora was to be outside with us.

Trying out the tuna and harness

Though the walks aren't going as well, Sam seems to be very comfortable with her harness and with eating wet food. She licked that bowl clean!

Our scale has shipped (our ship has sailed?) and it should be arriving on Nov 4. Can't wait to get a weight on Sam!

No walk today since there are so many 'scary' trick-or-treaters out. It wouldn't do to have Sam growling at the fairies, knights, witches, and french fries I've seen so far.

Trial and Error

A few things we have learned in the past few days...

Sam learned:
1. Cats don't like rain.
2. Neighbors are to be ferociously growled at.
3. Dump trucks are terrifying (Nora agrees).
4. The front porch is a portal to the Outside, but is also the best place to hide when things get too scary.

I learned:
1. Sam is a scaredy cat.
2. Nora is jealous that the cat gets to go on more walks than she does.

Though Sam was initially enamored with the Outdoors, she's gotten a bit more cautious the past couple days. This will be a sloooow process!

The Beginning of the Diary

Since poor little Samantha got spayed for the second time (!) her weight has grown steadily. She seems happy, but she can't clean herself anymore because she can't reach past her belly. Not only are we tired of doing this for her (ew), but we want her to be healthy and to feel better. And so begins our fat cat diary, the feline version of a Weight Watcher's meeting....


Sam's equipment list for losing weight not so fast:

1. Healthy wet cat food for our mini-carnivore based on nutrition information from this helpful table. We're currently in the process of transferring from dry food (which is apparently bad because it contains too many carbs due to grain fillers) to wet food (which is apparently better because it has moisture, fewer carbs, and more protein and fat). Shouldn't be hard since Sam loves to eat!

2. Scale to chart progress and make sure loss rate is healthy. Cat's aren't supposed to lose weight at a rate greater than 2% of their body weight per week. Losing weight too fast can cause 'fatty liver' due to cat's fast metabolism, so Sammy will be hopping on the scale every 3-4 days to check her progress.

The fat cat (i.e., baby) scale we bough on eBay. Maybe someday it will actually be used for humans.

3. (Embarrassing) harness and leash for forays Outside. We've already been Outside a few times and Sam likes it even better than cat food, if that's possible.

Sam's new Whisker City harness. It barely fits around her--right now she's 20 inches around right behind her front legs.

We'll post updates as we work on this. Hopefully this will help keep us accountable!