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Post by smilesbetter on Apr 5, 2014 6:27:57 GMT
So I complain to mum every time I come home that she's got the two cats and dog fat and how it can cause huge health problems etc, but this time I really saw that it's not going in.
So my dog Sasha was something to be proud of, a staffie GSD cross, she was like a thinner staffie but still quite muscular and with a beautiful shape. She was the perfect weight for years and I was really proud of how she looked as a result, now she's barrel shaped and has no waist to speak of, she's not remotely muscular and seems to have trouble moving because of the fat. Not only am I seriously worried about her health but also it's embarrassing. Yet when I said to mum that Sasha is huge, she actually denied the dog was overweight at all at first, and then said she'd lost a little (but won't tell me amount) and that the vet wasn't worried about it.
My beloved cat Smudgie (who greeted me by rolling around on my lap as though I had catnip on there, the whole time with her straight tail vibrating!! Was so awesome!!) is now solid with fat. She's even fatter than Mieze was when we got her, and the vet in Berlin actually said "wow" when he saw Miezes weight. Smudgie is also smaller than Mieze...mum said it wasn't fat but it was her stomach pouch, which is admittedly still there (very nearly touches the ground when standing), but she is obviously solid with fat, she's huge and that's awful. I do genuinely think she is the perfect cat apart from her weight. Mum blames her fat on the operation Smudgie had on her stomach pouch (vet thought it was a hernia and didn't appear to know about stomach pouches) and then directly after having kittens, and a possible neighbour feeding her. Again she says the vet isn't bothered about her weight.
Bramble who has always been quite a slim cat and clearly built to be is now getting quite fat too.
I'm going to phone the vets on Monday and find out the weights of the pets, give them a wee telling off and get them to make a bigger issue of the weight (and give mum more info, not just peddling their Science Plan which she'll ignore) in future visits so that she can't use them as an excuse. I'm also going to contact the neighbours who I suspect put food outside for their also obese cats and beg them not to feed Smudgie and to try stop her getting at their cat food.
It might seem extreme to get annoyed at this, but I think there's very few excuses to have an overweight pet and that it's actually cruel as well. As pet owners we control almost everything they eat, so to let them get obese (which causes a huge amount of common pet health problems) is just ridiculous. I can understand accidentally getting it a bit pudgy (and then you'd immediately take action to get it back to the correct weight) but Sasha and Smudgie are huge!
So, any ideas on how to get it through to her that the pets are obviously obese and now need a strong diet and exercise plan etc? And what's the best way to get them to lose weight? It needs to be so easy to do that someone who is clearly in denial can easily use, and cheap too because they are my pets technically although she pays for them and she'll complain if I ask her to get more expensive food.
I'm considering the possibility of paying for the food myself and ordering online. Would it be possible to create a feeding plan for each pet for mum perhaps? I can check if her scales are okay so that she can weigh the cats at home (no one could pick Sasha up now) herself. If there's some way I could make the pets weight loss a fun challenge too then she might actually be motivated to put more effort into it, like maybe I could give her a reward of some sort if each pet had reached it's weight loss mini goals after a certain amount of time. Any ideas are extremely appreciated. And sorry if you have obese pets yourself (which you've created yourself), but I have very strong opinions on this matter! I would however be delighted to see any obese pet owners working on pet diets, I don't have a problem with people getting their pets fat as such, my issue is mostly with people who don't do anything about it.
Thanks in advance for any advice and sorry if this was a bit of a moan!
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Post by scallywag on Apr 5, 2014 6:43:10 GMT
Using shock tactic ? One thing you can say to her is she is KILLING them with LOVE. I am always nagging my OH about too many tit bits and in the end I got a poster from my vets showing him what the equivelent of the tit bit meant in Food terms to a Dog, I only threw it away 2 weeks ago, dam. Good luck on that one, but if shes going to have to measure the portions, make it easier by having a cup/container which holds the amount you want her to feed them, right there in the bag of food ready to grab. X
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Post by caz2golden on Apr 5, 2014 11:08:11 GMT
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Post by scallywag on Apr 5, 2014 11:56:41 GMT
caz2golden yep them's the ones thanks for finding them others may appreciate seeing them x
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Post by alfiemummy on Apr 5, 2014 11:58:56 GMT
If it was me I would definitely pay for the food myself if she is not willing, or at least part of it. And like scallywag says, get a cup that is easy and impossible to do wrong, with just the right amount in it. Or at least some way to measure it out easily. It's hard to get other people to participate in the diet if they can't see the problem, so you definitely need a shock tactic although I'm not sure what you could really do. Alfie was a little overweight a while back as I started using more treats on walks and for training and didn't lower his intake at mealtimes. As I am the sole carer for him most of the time and I pay for all of his things, it was fairly easy to cut him down a bit. My mum would always moan at me that I was being cruel and he wasn't getting enough but Alfie is fine, and as she isn't feeding him she can't do much about it anyway short of giving him a few treats which she doesn't really do much anymore. If she was the one feeding him I think we would have problems as she likes to see a nice full bowl! On occasion if I am not there she will feed him for me and I will either weigh it out myself and leave it in a bag or tell her exactly what to give him. Of course you can't really do this on a long term basis! |
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Post by scallywag on Apr 5, 2014 12:04:24 GMT
When OH wouldn't listen to me, I reduced breakfast and dinner slightly ( un be known to him, you have to be sneaky sometimes LOL ) this was to allow for the extra bonio's he gave him  |
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Post by caz2golden on Apr 5, 2014 14:35:48 GMT
One way to trick the eye is to buy a smaller bowl. It then looks like you are giving more (as bowl is full) though its really less  |
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Post by smilesbetter on Apr 6, 2014 8:36:14 GMT
Thanks for the ideas guys! Smaller bowl for the dog and measuring things are a great idea! Unfortunately I can't measure the food out myself as I live abroad. Phoning the vet tomorrow so will get their weights and their weights when they were the correct weight for their size (if the vet knows that) and can work out a plan.
I had a talk with mum yesterday and apologised for coming home and immediately going "the pets are fat" haha, but explained to her that if they don't lose weight soon, as they are all getting older (Smudgie is about 7, Bramble 6ish and Sasha must be 8 and has gone white in the face), they could get costly health problems that require daily medication or regular vet appointments. Sasha for example has fairly thin legs, and I worry with her carrying her newly bulky body around that she'll get arthritis in her paw to leg joints (wrists?) as it puts a lot of strain there and she is a lot stiffer and slower than she used to be. In the past two years since I moved abroad she has become an old dog, she was always so mad and active, and athletic looking with shiny fur and powerful muscles, but now she's just a fat old dog, and although I know that perhaps she is just getting old, I do feel that if she wasn't so fat she'd be a lot happier. I don't know if maybe she should go on an older dog diet now as perhaps she's getting too much of certain things with her diet, I dunno.
As for the cats, they're still young cat wise but if they are this fat (Bramble isn't too bad but still fat!) for a prolonged period then there's all sorts of health problems they could get, plus Smudgie took at least five attempts to jump up onto my windowsill from my bed today (which is just under the windowsill). Two years ago she could do it from the floor!
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Post by scallywag on Apr 6, 2014 9:30:26 GMT
Thanks for the ideas guys! Smaller bowl for the dog and measuring things are a great idea! Unfortunately I can't measure the food out myself as I live abroad. ! No but what you can do whilst you are there is find a measure cup that will hold the weight of food you decide your mum should be feeding, all she then has to do is use the cup and scoop out the amount ( that's what I did re my OH, so he can't over feed Beau LOL unless... he decides huh that's not much boy ley me give you a heaped one LOL ) Just a thought smilesbetter x |
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Post by smilesbetter on Apr 6, 2014 11:49:37 GMT
Haha scallywag no I knew what you's meant, I was saying I couldn't leave out pre measured stuff like alfiemummy does, I can do the measuring cup thing |
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Post by alfiemummy on Apr 6, 2014 11:55:26 GMT
I know it's impossible for you to do that smilesbetter, when I do it it's only for one mealtime! You could hardly measure out hundreds of little bags of food  just thought I would say what I have done. I definitely think the accurate scoop is the best option! If you know exactly how much to give it makes it a lot easier. I just feed Alfie by eye as I use a cereal pourer so if someone else is feeding him I always measure it myself as he wouldn't get the right amount if I tried to explain how much to give - I don't know how much he has by weight! |
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Post by vonnie on Apr 6, 2014 19:40:38 GMT
You are right about getting cross about their weight. It is a very important thing! Everyone is right about the measured cups. I measure out the whole days amount in the morning, then I know exactly what they eat during the day. If the cup empties early...tough! Also spread the food over least two meals a day or more, some people only feed once a day which can make dogs and certainly cats feel hungry more. Treats! This is the main problem with obese pets. Owner feel a pet NEEDS a treat. "It's cruel not to", they claim. Absolute balls to that! In the case of dogs give either a kibble or two from their days allowance of the measured food (still a treat, even when it is the same food) or if the owner must give something different, give some carrot. Carrot is very good for them, helps clean teeth a bit too. If your Mum gives dentastix or similar 'teeth cleaning' treat get her to stop it. They are high in calories and are no help at all in cleaning teeth...Vets do not recommend them!!! Sometimes, just cutting the treats down is enough for weight loss. For the cats, give a treat but take away the equivalent amount from the daily allowance of measured food. Exercise more. Look for a hydrotherapy place for the dog or just extend the walk further, explore new areas and routes. For cats rod toys are best or scrunched up paper. If they really aren't bothered then put the food bowl at the top of the stairs and feed little and often, forcing them to move a bit! Shock value may help. Staffies are prone to cruciate injury and sometimes also luxating patella....this risk increases HUGELY when overweight. That will cost you upwards of £1500 or more, depending on your Vet and of course one, sometimes two aneasthetics. Oh, and remind her that an aneasthetic is massively more risky for overweight pets. They can AND DO die. This is not a scare story...this is what happens. You can't leave it to get better either...it only gets worse as time goes on and is painful. Another shock value...owners can be prosecuted and the pets seized and rehomed by the RSPCA if badly overweight with no results. It is viewed as a cruelty case and only needs a few people to complain about her. Hope some of this helps. The posters mentioned will help too. It's amazing how many people think a podgy pet is 'ok' or 'normal'. I've found when advising clients that stopping treats is all they need to do sometimes. A huge labrador used to have a dentastix every day. The owner stopped them and changed to a proper toothbrush and paste to clean and 2 months later the dog had lost a perfect amount. It now has a waist! |
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Post by tonib on Apr 6, 2014 21:43:53 GMT
I hope you can find a way to get the message through to your mum. I can't give any better advice than that given already.
Sometimes those who see the pet daily do not really see the increase in size until it is bad - familiarity is the change is very gradual. Which is why you, not being there as much, really do see it, I'm not suggesting that this should excuse your mum but might help explain her view.
I know that from experience as when both of us worked we didn't notice Penny gaining weight. What we hadn't realised is that she was finishing off the other 2 cats' food as they are all grazers. About 18 months after we got her from the rescue, we began to notice she wasn't jumping up as much (she was 10.5 years old) & got her checked by the vet who thought there she had a touch of arthritis, she weighed in at 5.1Kg, the vet reckoned she should be a maximum of 4Kg & that weight loss would hopefully reduce the arthritis. She'd been 3.5Kg at the rescue.
So diet time on Hill's R/D, whilst the other 2 got fed on the worktop as they are much bigger & can get up that high but she can't. Gradually the weight went down & she achieved 4Kg. Then she was put on the J/D to help the joints but she gained weight again on that, so diet time again. After the weight loss we kept her on the R/D but as a maintenance diet but the weight crept up again. Eventually we changed her to Hills Metabolic when it came out & that stabilised her weight.
She now has JWB senior & a little moist (around 25g depending on the variety - we divide up the small tins) twice a day. All the food is weighed & treats are carefully controlled. She now has arthritis (aged 15 on 26th) and permanently on Metacam & some arthritis powders (which is why she has the moist). She has what we call her skirt swinging from side to side in front of her back legs as she runs but she definitely has a waist & the skirt no longer almost hits the ground.
One of the most useful things in keeping her weight down was regular accurate weight checks. We tried doing it ourselves - holding her whilst on the scales & then taking away our weight with out her but that was really accurate enough. If your can get them to stand still on scales themselves then fine but we found this didn't work so Penny was regularly weighed at the vets - we could arrange a weight check at no cost.
I hope you succeed in persuading your mum to co-operate.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2014 11:13:05 GMT
I had much the same problem back in the 1990's  My job changed and became more hours and my jack russell Buster was on his own so much and I felt unbearably guilty at him being home alone  Then my dad came up with the solution: Buster would go to live with my parents just three miles away as dad was retired, mam didn't work, they had a big garden AND my childhood dog Lady was there too. The house felt SO quiet without Buster but he was happy with 24/7 company and a garden and daily strolls at the nature reserve and country park. BUT....within a year he went from solid muscle and peak fitness to a tub of lard  My parents were giving him too many treats so his weight just ballooned After 18 months he suddenly, in the course of a few weeks, went down to virtually skin and bone and became lethargic. Various tests were done and he was found to be diabetic. Luckily he responded quickly to daily insulin injections and a special diet from the vets (expensive!!!) and soon became the happy wee man he'd always been. Six months after that he developed cataracts and went blind but he adapted and we put a bell on Lady's collar so that helped him on walks Two years after being diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, in September 1997, Buster suddenly collapsed and slipped into a diabetic coma and despite our vets doing what they could it was obvious after 48hrs he wasn't responding so as soon as I had that phone call I went straight to the surgery and Buster slipped away to Rainbow Bridge in my arms My parents were on holiday at the time and I'd been staying at their house to look after Buster and their cat Jasper (Lady had passed away at 17yo the previous year) so they were pretty shocked when they got home a few days later but I made sure they knew Buster had been murdered because he'd been allowed to get so fat He was only 7 & half years old!!! I've got a customer comes into our shop every day and she buys her dog a bar of chocolate every time  I've told her it's poisonous but she says that's just an old wives' tale Her dog is a gorgeous white staffie, as broad as she is high, can barely breathe properly and NEVER gets walked This stupid woman came into the shop on Saturday and was complaining about how cruel the Grand National was....I soon put her straight: not walking your dog and letting them get fat and feeding them food that is clearly bad for it is the real cruelty!!!! She looked rather shocked and just scuttled out of the shop  |
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Post by vonnie on Apr 9, 2014 17:01:34 GMT
Hmmm, Gillycat, tell that stupid woman to visit her Vets when a chocolate toxic case goes in (regular occurance). At my Vets most survive after being made to throw up, some stay on an IV drip and meds for a day or two. One has died from it. Upsetting for us nurses looking after it but heartbreaking for the owner (they hadn't given it...the dog had managed to reach it when they were out). It may not kill her dog outright as it is so fat it is big enough to cope. However if the dogs immune system is off one day BOOM! That could be it.
That and the poor thing will die much earlier from its weight.
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just thought I would say what I have done.
My job changed and became more hours and my jack russell Buster was on his own so much and I felt unbearably guilty at him being home alone 
Then my dad came up with the solution: Buster would go to live with my parents just three miles away as dad was retired, mam didn't work, they had a big garden AND my childhood dog Lady was there too. The house felt SO quiet without Buster but he was happy with 24/7 company and a garden and daily strolls at the nature reserve and country park. BUT....within a year he went from solid muscle and peak fitness to a tub of lard 
My parents were giving him too many treats so his weight just ballooned 
I've told her it's poisonous but she says that's just an old wives' tale 