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Cats/Best weight-loss plan for Abyssinians?

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Expert: - 2/28/2011


Question

Overweight Aby?
I have a year and 10 month old Aby neuter who just entered his first CFA show. He did well enough for an Open, collecting his six Winners Ribbons, and the judges had positive comments about his colour, ticking, eyes, earset, legs, tail, and personality...but almost every single one told me to "get the weight off him." He is "stunning" and "definitely Grandable" but he's a chunky monkey.
Problem is, we have three other cats, one of whom is UNDERweight! We feed high protein, no-grain dry food (Blue Buffalo Wilderness) and grain-free canned food, and he does get a lot of exercise (he's a therapy cat and he loves to go on outings with me), but he hasn't been able to get out much over the winter.
He's also a food stealer...he'll try to intercept my fork on its way from my plate to my mouth, and he sneaks whatever he can and drags it to his lair (his show cage) to hide it. He also loves Cheetos! We don't give them to him...but he does steal them when he can.
Knowing you know Abys, what's the best way to distract him from the other cats' food? I think I know ways to get him to exercise more, but his greedy attitude towards food in general is a problem! If it helps, his father and uncle are big Abys, too; his uncle is a GPr who has also had weight problems. My cat's brother is a champion and weighs about a pound less.

Answer
Coco,

<Sigh>, yes this is a problem with neuters.  Ont he other hand, at 10 months, there may well be some "baby fat", but, given his father and uncle, you are best to get on this now!!! We tend to indulge them and they tend to eat everything we give them.  So, the only solution is to feed them less. Having said that, when you first cut down their food, cats metabolism slows down (just like people) and there is no apparent weight loss immediately.  However, after some weeks or months on the restricted diet, they do actually begin to lose the weight.

With our show Abyssinians, they are on a strict two meals a day regimen.  We leave no food out for them to "graze" on.  What they get to eat at meal times is all they get!  With some who attack their food and inhale it down, we often have to feed them in a cage or crate where they stay until everyone else is finished. You may also have to resort to confining him while you finish eating.

We also have cut down the amount of dry food they get.  We mix good wet food with some dry.

Good luck and I hope he becomes a Grand.  

Best regards... Norm.  
    Questioner's Rating
    Rating(1-10)Knowledgeability = 10Clarity of Response = 10Politeness = 10
    CommentThank you...I had a feeling that was the answer, but it's nice to have it backed up by an expert :-)


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Norman Auspitz

Expertise

I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.

Experience

I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.


Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.

Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook

Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.

Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.

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