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Sadly, over half of our patients are overweight and many of these are clinically obese. As little as an extra 1% of intake over caloric requirements can result in 25% excess bodyweight by middle age. Overweight cats risk developing health issues like diabetes, arthritis, breathing difficulties, bladder problems, liver disease, decreased exercise and heat tolerance, and an overall compromised quality of life. Obesity is caused by overeating and lack of exercise. Indoor cats eat more and exercise less, often through boredom and lack of opportunities to play and hunt. It’s up to their carers to give them an appropriate amount of food, a good quality diet, and mental stimulation. So how can we help our overweight cats to lose weight? ¨ Overweight cats lose weight most reliably on a high protein, low fat diet like Hill’s Metabolic diet ¨ Make sure everyone in the household knows the new feeding regime so that meals are not fed twice and treats are rationed ¨ Weigh the kibble allowance. An extra piece or two every day adds up ¨ Don’t allow free access to kibble ¨ Feed more wet food. A can Hill’s Metabolic is available and palatable ¨ Avoid fatty treats like cheese, liverwurst or pate. Hill’s Metabolic treats help control hunger by keeping you cat feeling full and satisfied between meals ¨ Make sure you overweight cat is not taking your other cats’ food or raiding the neighbours’ dog and cat food bowls! It is vital to increase your cat’s opportunities to exercise. Cat towers, high shelves, window sills and a variety of toys on rotation out of the cupboard are a good start. Tunnels and hideouts made from cardboard boxes are cheap and amusing. You can join in the fun with a fishing rod type toy or a length of ribbon or string, ping pong balls, scrunched up foil, or a laser light. If possible install an outdoor cat enclosure so indoor lounge lizards can have a run and a stretch in the sun, Food puzzle toys are ideal for plump pussy cats. They slow down food consumption, increase movement and mentally stimulate your cat. Please book an appointment with our weight control nurses. They will help your cat achieve safe and effective weight loss. Too rapid weight loss in fat cats may cause liver damage.

Behaviour problems like urinating on the curtains, aggression to other cats or people, and toileting on the bed, are common reasons for euthanasia of cats. Our vets and nurses find it very hard to euthanase these healthy cats when many of these behaviours can be remedied if they are brought to us when they first start and before they become ingrained habits. Many perfectly normal cat behaviours are unacceptable in the domestic situation. Understanding this and providing a more enriched environment or improving resource access is often all that is necessary. For example, inter-cat tensions can be defused if we recognise that cats like to have privacy when eating, drinking and toileting. This means that the bowls and litter boxes for each cat or family of cats in the household should be well separated, preferably in different rooms. Cats that groom each other and sleep touching each other regard each other as family. The odd one out requires separate bowls and litter. Many indoor cats are anxious. Just spotting a strange cat out the window can make them anxious and set off a bout of urinating on the window, curtains or corner of the room. To analyse and prevent these unacceptable feline behaviours from escalating we offer a behaviour consultation service. Any behaviour consultation takes at least five times as much time as a normal disease consultation or health discussion and examination. Our vets spend about an hour preparing material and reading your responses to a special survey we send out before meeting with you and your cat. The meeting takes about an hour and includes a full physical examination and blood tests to rule out medical causes of the behaviour. For example, some cats who urinate outside the litter box have diabetes, kidney disease or a urinary tract infection. After the meeting, the vet spends another 1-3 hours writing a report and recommendations individualised to your cat. Our vet will also call you to see how you are progressing and may recommend drug therapy in some cases. Understandably we require a deposit before such a consultation to cover the time your vet spends preparing to seeing you and your cat.

Because cats in the wild are preyed upon if they show signs of pain or illness cats will disguise pain until they cannot hide it for a minute longer. Changes in behaviour are the most common early signs of pain. Contact us as soon as possible if you notice your cat: hiding or avoiding interaction with you or other pets showing reduced interest in food hesitating to jump or climb stairs showing reduced activity or tiring rapidly during activity having difficulty getting up, standing or walking is not grooming normally has changed urination or defecation habits squinting is hunched up or tucked up instead of curled up to sleep is sensitive to touch, particularly if he or she vocalises when you pet changes temperament eg becomes aggressive or crotchety