It’s official. Since last week’s visit to Yolanda the vet Loki & Luna are now on a diet. Or better said, their food intake is now being strictly monitored so that they end up getting the required amount and nothing extra.
To my chagrin, I knew Yolanda was right when she pointed out the obvious – that Loki was way overweight at 7.1 kilos and that even little Lunita was getting a belly on her. Thing is, I do measure their food every day and they don’t get more than they need of their own stuff, but they hang around like vultures when Azar gets treats and scoff whatever he leaves behind. And yes, I am guilty of leaving out food for Azar. I didn’t think it was that much but when you think about it, a few extra biccys several times a day can really add up. Obviously. Duh.
So now Loki & Luna are being fed three times a day and when Azar is given snacks (really, an all-day activity) either Peter or I grab a piece of string and keep the other two occupied. This has two benefits – L & L don’t eat Azar’s food and they get some exercise chasing the string. And they don’t even seem to mind. I mean, they are hardly going hungry, and after just a few days Loki has stopped begging for food (an annoying habit that he picked up from Azar), plus they seem to know when real mealtimes are now and start hanging around their bowls then.
I’ve always been a bit envious of people who can just dish out the cat biscuits in the morning and that’s that. Though with Sunny and Azar I noticed that the times both Peter and I were away for a few days and a big whack of food was left out, they barely ate anything. If I did that when we were at home they’d binge eat themselves into a cat food coma. Cats, eh?

She’s a heavy weight, but so pretty.
Indy is the skinniest thing on 2 legs, so I am always trying to get her to eat more. She knows exactly where the treats are and I can barely make it to the bathroom in the morning before having to dole them out. Same when I get home from class….treat time! Gotta love them!
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I’m so happy that Azar still has such a healthy appetite. And that he combines this with a desire to be totally pampered and made a fuss over several times a day while he “grazes” is perfectly fine with me. So often cats with failing kidneys lose their appetite and stop drinking, but Azar also made up the “drinking game” so that he stays hydrated whilst getting plenty of snibbles. He’s a smart one, and I hope to indulge him for a very long time to come.
But it does make keeping the other two on a strict diet more difficult.
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Sooty has bicuits down all the time – seems to only eat them occasionally, but gets very agitated if they run out.
Other than that, she gets a small quantity of food morning and evening (well afternoon really). It is noticible that when she comes home from the cattery after we have been away, shen expects much bigger meals!
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Yeah, I think it’s much easier with one cat as they don’t get into “competitive eating” and other weird stuff. When I just had Lua (Sunny’s mother) she never over-ate. It was only after Sunny, and then Azar, came on the scene that all three of them got into wanting to eat each other’s food.
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Oh dear, Loki is getting kind of a can on him. I think he got a lively playmate just in time.
I’ve been using a laser pointer to send Torvald into a frenzy, and I’m truly amazed — I never had a cat go for one of those things before. Handy as I can do it when I’m burned-out-tired and he still gets a workout.
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I think the angle of that photo makes his “can” look larger than it actually is. He mostly has a belly on him, which needs to be reduced. The rest of him is rather long and lanky.
Laser pointer would be tempting if I wasn’t afraid I would accidently laser one of them in the eyeballs. I know both Loki and Luna would go nuts for it.
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Love that photo! They’re definitely interested in whatever he’s got. 🙂
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Despite the fact that he never gets outside to get some exercise, Benjamin hasn’t put in any weight. His bowl is out and he nibbles as needed. but he’s maintained the same weight for a number of years.
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I think mine get into “competitive eating”, though maybe if the food was out all day they wouldn’t get so neurotic about it. But since they are on three different kinds of food and two are already overweight I don’t want to risk trying it. Maybe later once they lose some weight and Luna is off the kitten food.
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It’s funny. In looking at the photo, I just want to run up and grab their haunches… Benjamin gets a bit pissed off but I love the feel of their haunches. weird? Maybe…
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Nah, grabbing o’ teh haunches is a good way to start off a proper snibble!
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