New Digs

Sam (and everyone else) is setting into our new place is Massachusetts. She's about the same weight as when we left NJ (12.37 lbs) since we've been rather busy with other things. My goal is more like 11.5 or 11 pounds since her ribs are still hiding under a layer of blubber, but she's looking good. She just received a new favorite toy, one of the cutest mice I've ever seen:

The Great Escape

I'm back from Beth's wedding, and little Samantha gained about 0.6 lbs during the week that I was gone! When Jeremy and I got back, she had finished all of the dry food that he left for her two days earlier. Clearly, Sam has some psychological issues with obsessive eating, so now we're back on track and helping her to continue to shed the pounds.

On a more exciting note, Sam was just 'rescued' from an illicit adventure in the great Outside. We've been leaving the window open to the porch so she can sit semi-outside and enjoy the view and sunshine. Only a bit ago, I noticed that she was missing and began looking in all of her usual indoor hiding places while calling her, but she didn't show up. I checked the porch after closing the window, but no Sam, so I finally went outside and began calling, hoping that she was close by if she had somehow gotten out. Less than a minute later, I noticed a small black and white cat sitting in the neighbor's driveway, calmly watching me. We have some black and white strays in the area, so I approached slowly, but it was indeed Sam! She seemed a little spooked, but she let me pick her up and bring her inside for a small tuna snack to remind her how much better it is inside. Now she's lounging around as per usual as if nothing interesting happened, but I can only imagine what went on during the hour or so that she was Outside!

Lookin' Good

12.8 LBS!!!!!!!

Sam was only 12.8 pounds when I weighed her today! I only have time for a quick post, but I wanted to update that we're still keeping up the weight loss program (despite Sammy's attempts to snatch dog food every time we turn our backs). Soon she should be down to the 11 or 10 lb mark, which is our goal! Even though we see her every day, we can see the difference that the loss of almost 4 lbs has made. You can feel her shoulder blades and you can almost feel her ribs, which according to the vet's chart of animal body condition is the ideal.

Updates will continue to be sporadic as I try to finish my thesis, look for a job, and get ready for my Beth's wedding, but I'll do my best!

Over 3 Pounds!

Today Sam weighed in at 13.18 lbs! That's over 3 pounds lost since we started this adventure!

You can really tell the difference, too. She has no problem jumping onto the window sills, whereas before she had to struggle and dig her claws into the plaster (yes, I have a lot of fixing up to do now). She has a lot less belly fat now, too. I think she'll always have a dulap on her belly, but now it's much smaller and not in the way of her daily cleanings :) You can almost see her hips when she's standing, though we have a long way to go before she has any sort of 'waist'.

Sammy got a teeny bit extra tuna tonight. Celebrate with us and treat yourself to something good, too!

In a Slump

Well, Sam is in a bit of a slump, weight-wise. She's weighed 13.8-13.9 lbs for the past month! Part of the problem is that I've been out of town and very busy with my thesis (hence, the lack of posts to the diary), but I think this may be a slow point in the process for her, regardless of my schedule.
Either way, she and Nora are doing very well! Keep checking back--I'll update as often as possible :)

Just chugging along

Though everyday life and thesis research seem to be getting in the way of writing more in this fat cat's diary, the weight crusade continues (much to Sam's chagrin). She hasn't actually lost that much since the last post (about 0.2 lbs), so there's not much to report. It was warm enough out today that Sam got to sit out on the porch and watch the birds, which was like kitty-heaven for her. I had to keep an eye on her, though, since the wind kept blowing the outside screen door open and little Sam is not wise in the ways of the great Outside. I'm sure it was a very eventful day for her, but for me in was just click-click-click, type-type-type as I try to get this thesis completed!

A 2 Pound Landmark!

As of today, at a weight of 14.484, Sam is now just a bit over two pounds lighter than she was back when we started this diary and diet in October!!! That means she's lost about 12% of her original body weight at a very healthy rate (not too fast--we don't want fatty build up in the liver). This is quite a landmark, and in honor of it us humans had some cake and Sam got extra pets--but no extra food or treats. Can't have her falling off the wagon now :)
That being said, Samantha still needs to lose 3 or 4 more pounds before she's at a trim, healthy weight. At this rate, she'll probably be dieting for 6 more months (or longer) before we can relax a little and feed her a bit more to maintain a healthy weight.
Cheers to Sam (and her dedicated people)!

15 Lbs Exactly!

Sam weighed exactly 15 pounds on Friday night. Pretty cool, though somewhat discouraging since it means she only lost 0.022 pounds in 5 days. Bah!

Quick Update

Don't let the lack of updates fool you--we're still hanging in there with the diet, though Sam is losing weight as slow as molasses in January.
As of last night, we're at 15.023 lbs! That's a total of 1.5 lbs lost since we started...not too bad, considering that Sam was only 16.5lbs to start off.


We'll try to update more often now that Christmas is over and I'm back at work/school.