1/20/2010 21.52 lbs.
3/4//2010 20.14 lbs.
3/26/2010 19.38 lbs.
Joey’s diet – latest update:
Joey’s diet is going well. He has lost almost 7 lbs. since October. His activity level has really picked up in the last few weeks – we think it is because he is more able to be mobile (I think he had some level of joint discomfort at the higher weights) – he trots up and down the stairs with ease now, and does so regularly to see what is going on in different areas of the house.
He is teaching me about a phenomenon that I had only read about up until now: dry food addiction in cats.
Joey was eating mostly dry food prior to coming to live with us. My plan for weight loss for him involved switching him over to a high protein canned food. There is much discussion surrounding dry food vs. wet food for cats in veterinary circles currently. I used to have a fairly strong preference, health-wise, toward dry food over wet food in most cases, for young and middle aged cats without other issues, at least. I found it better for the teeth, and thought it also better for weight control as less “palatable” for most cats (ie most cats more likely to “overeat” on wet food).
Now, there are more and more arguments being made for wet food, and I can’t help but go along with many of them (grudgingly at first, because 1. Change is hard and 2. Dry food is so much more convenient!).
It seems that many cats are in a state of chronic dehydration. They evolved as desert animals, with strong mechanisms for conserving water, like the ability to produce super concentrated urine. But now, as pampered house pets, they don’t need to conserve water so efficiently, and the condition of semi-dehydration may be creating some health problems of its own in the long term – accelerating the development of kidney disease? Perhaps. Contributing to bladder stones and other urinary tract conditions? Almost certainly, more so in genetically pre-disposed individuals…
Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they have to eat meat in order to be healthy. Dogs can do well on vegetarian diets, cats cannot. They cannot make certain amino acids on their own, and must get these from meat sources. Dry food diets contain lots of carbohydrates by nature – almost certainly “too many” carbs for cats’ natural metabolism. Over ingestion of carbs contributes to the development of such debilitating conditions as obesity and diabetes, which can be devastating and life threatening in our feline friends.
So, I was motivated to switch my newly arrived, overweight cat over to canned food only. Being somewhat of an eager eater, I felt certain he would go nuts for any canned food I offered him, and was concerned I would have to put up with voracious eating and constant begging.
Imagine my surprise when he completely refused to eat my prescription, high protein, “ideal” food that I lovingly (ok, overconfidently…) ordered 3 cases of prior to his coming home. Because cats can suffer dire consequences from too severe caloric restriction and/or too rapid weight loss, I was very paranoid about making sure he took in a certain amount of calories each day. I would offer the canned food, then hold out as long as I could stand before giving him a small handful of kibbles to tide him over. I perused the pet food aisles, selecting flavors that I thought might tempt him when it became clear he was not interested in my prescription food. I developed new found empathy for clients in certain difficult situations of wanting to do what is best for their pets while faced with said pet refusing said recommended treatment…
Slowly, over a period of weeks, he came around to the canned food. Other than for his small amounts of dry food, he was never “excited” about his meals, nor did he do any “begging” in between his meals. For the last 3-4 months, it has been smooth sailing. He has eating ¾ can of wet food (finally got him onto the prescription by slow mixing, etc.) twice daily, and losing weight at a steady, controlled rate. Recently, as I said above, his activity levels have increased, and it seemed his weight loss was speeding up. Because the canned food is a bit of a hassle, and more expensive overall than the same dry food (I think – haven’t calculated exactly), I decided to offer him a small amount of kibble mid-day to supplement his calories, give him a “treat,” and help his teeth a bit. It has been 3-4 days of this process, and he has become a monster! He now cries for food in the middle of the day, picks at his wet food while crying as if he hadn’t been fed while sitting right next to his food bowl, etc.
Yikes!
I didn’t anticipate this… Quite honestly, I’m not sure where we will go next. Will I give in, take the easy route, and go back to dry food? Will I bite the bullet and go back to canned only, going up to 2 cans/day until further notice???
Tune in for the next installment of Joey’s diet saga…
