cat question....

[bell]

we just got back from vacation and michelles cat "duane" seems to have put on about 5 lbs in the week we were gone. she needs to know if he has to goto to the vet.
he looks chubby.
he's being his normal shopping bag licking wall climbing self......but can't quite jump up on the couch at easily as last week, once she got him to sit still on the scale it showed, 15-16 lbs, he was maybe 10-11 when we left.
she had a fellow cat owner friend stop by every other day to check on him and such.
duane always has food in his dish and never overate before, her friend simply filled his dish to the pre-determined amount.

he's normally very active, i'm sure he slept 23 hrs per day while we were gone.

michelle needs some thoughts.
thanks

[bell]

here are some comparison pics......

before (about 2 months ago)



and tonite..

[masraum]

put him on a diet

hmm, looking at the picks he doesn't really look that heavy. He may have been less active while you were gone. I'd just watch him over the text couple of weeks and give him a bit less food.

[aways]

are any smaller pets missing?

[bell]

all 18 of my fish are accounted for
2 tiger oscars (10"/11")
1 albino oscar (6")
4 silver dollars
9 tiger barbs
2 plecos (10"/4")

oscars are funny, when they saw me walk in the door tonite they got so excited i thought they were going to jump out of the tank
i'm getting ready to build a 550 gallon tank for my oscars....

oopppsss...back on topic.

the pics of the cat don't really show his girth.....i'll see if i can get some better ones tomorrow.

[VaSteve]

Do NOT put him on a diet by taking away food. Cats need to eat every day or else something builds up in their liver and will kill them. You have to reduce food gradually to put him on a diet. Which isn't easy.

[singpilot]

Are you sure duane isn't a donna?

[Evans, Marv]

Gaining close to 50% in body weight doesn't sound very normal or good to me. If it were my cat, I would take it to the vet. If the weight gain solid of kind of squishy? If it's squishy, the cat could have developed an edema condition where it's not eliminating fluids and they're building up in its body. I had a cat that did that once and it was because of feline leukemia - not trying to scare you. Your cat sounds pretty active, so it doesn't sound like that.

[techweenie]

Cats are pretty bad poker players. You can tell their health pretty readily.

But I agree with Marv that a basic checkup makes sense. There are 'lite' versions of most of the better cat foods, and that's what I use to control the weight of my 21-pounder (he's big boned).

[Sonic dB]

5 pounds gained in a week for a cat could be a serious problem...

Though usually LOSING weight is an indication of a serious problem.. for example, my cat lost 5 pounds over a couple of months (which was a huge weight loss for a cat) and I had her checked out... turned out that she has diabetes. I got her on insulin and now after about 8 months, she has gained a good amount of weight back and more importantly she is much more happy and active.

Weight gain could be a symptom of thyroid problems....

[Sonic dB]

Here is a picture of my male cat, Nutmeg. He just got a clean bill of health from the vet... 13 years old and looks/acts much younger.

He loves music and jumps in my lap to listen to the guitar when I play. Very cool little guy.

[KevinP73]

Originally posted by techweenie
(he's big boned).

Is that Kirstie Alley big boned or Andre The Giant big boned? There is a difference.

[dd74]

Originally posted by singpilot
Are you sure duane isn't a donna?

LMAO!

[competentone]

Originally posted by bell
... seems to have put on about 5 lbs in the week we were gone.

It's got to be water. It would be virtually impossible for a cat to consume enough calories to add 5 lbs of fat or muscle in one week. Definitely time for a visit with the vet.

[widebody911]

[legion]

Gut that cat!

It will reduce weight and improve performance.

[juanbenae]

a buddy's cat ate all of the food in one of those trickle food deals over a weekend away. it ate so much its end trails came out it's ace and they had to pay out the ace to get it fixed. vet said it was because it ate too much. you are lucky as i see it at this point.

[kang]

You say he is acting normally. That’s a good sign. But what about eating and eliminating? Those are some of the best clues to when an animal is sick. Is he eating a normal amount or staying away from food? Is he using the litter box like normal? I’m thinking he might have a blockage in the urethra, which is very common in male cats. He could have 5 lbs of urine in his bladder. Does he sit for a long time in the litter box and not do anything?

[austin552]

Vet time.

[pbs911]

Did you put him on a scale or does he just look fatter? Looks to me like he is a little furrier. It is time for the winter coat.