Ask Me Help Desk - Being fed by Mr or Mrs nobody

I have a gorgeous all black male shorthair, three years old, a real outdoor cat and I would`nt want to change his freedom for anything. Thing is, while he`s out doing what cats do best, apart from the odd field mouse or bird, he must be going somewhere where he is getting more food.

I have spoken to my neighbours on two occasions and all have said they would`nt feed him or even let him in but either someone is lying or he is getting into peoples houses without them knowing he`s stealing food. Now my cat gets fed well at home and is great pals with his twin brother and our dog also, so everything fine there. In fact I now have him on a diet, on the advice of the vet, as he is now just over 6kg, a fatty compared to his brother who does`nt go out for long periods as Dodger {pea head}, does.

If I stop his food altogether, he`ll probably find new digs and I ca`nt keep him in all the time, because its against his outdoor nature. He is now just over 6kg as we speak, despite his diet. If I knew who it was, I would make them pay my vets bills, as he sure is going to need treatment if his weight does`nt stabalise. He`s a great character, lovely animal and it makes me seeth that someone could be doing this, especially as he has a colar with tag and microchip.

Geoff.

You can't make anyone pay the vet bills because you let him roam the neighborhood. After all, not everyone appreciates a cat running free any more than a dog running free.

He's probibly eating food other people left out for their own pets or he's significantly reducing the neighborhood bird and squirrel population via injestion... This problem falls upon you to deal with... because there are a number of consequences that can happen to cats that roam free, and this is the least fatal of most of them.

I do`nt think any one cat can "significantly reduce the neighborhood bird population" Not a small domestic, maybe one of the large cats you have roaming around in the States. I know I cann`ot make anyone pay my vets bills, it was not meant to be taken literally, more in jest.

I was hoping beyond hope for a little advice perhaps, not a string of negative comments.

He may have a disease that is causing him to retain water (so he looks fat) or to put on weight. How much did the vet check him out? You very well could have a dead cat on your hands before long.

He IS neutered, isn't he?

You can't keep him inside because "he is a real outdoor cat" and it would be against "his outdoor nature"? Give me a break! If he were inside all the time, you could control his food and also observe his sleeping and eating habits. He's probably munching through the bird population.

Geoff5 disagrees : People do`nt leave food outside in this country for their cats and dogs or at least rarely and if someone sees a cat with a colar and tag, its common sense you do`nt feed it as its allready getting its grub from the owner !!
Geoff5 : I was hoping beyond hope for a little advice perhaps, not a string of negative comments.

Read the site rules rules pertaining to what is allowed on a dissagree. Your OPINION does not qualify for a disagree, only factual inacuracies, and an FYI People DO in fact leave food outside for their cats and dogs... quite frequently in fact. Most people I know with pets do in fact. Cats AND dogs.

YOU do not decide what you can and can not receive as an answer. This is a free site, everyone are volunteers. You ask a question, you get answers, you may not want to hear some, but this is the real world. We offer advice, not reaffirm your opinions.

There was nothing "negative" about smoothy's post. At least directed towards you. It may have been "negative information," but sometimes the information we have to give is just that way by its nature. That doesn't mean it's improper or that the person is being rude to you or anything. There was nothing wrong with what he said. He was telling you the truth. Whether you wanted to hear it or not is a different matter. We don't approve of leaving negative feedback just cause you don't want to hear the truth.

And WG's right that cats by nature are hunters and he could easily be hunting down other animals out there.

Cats, however, are usually fairly good at controlling their weight IF they don't get spoiled with just having any amount of food around that they want. If he was eating stuff outside, I would think he would eat less stuff when he comes back inside. But... this doesn't work for some cats.

I don't know where you're at. I'm well aware that many places (if not most) in the world are not like the U.S. in wanting to keep their cats indoors. So I'm not really going to try to push that topic on you. (Though I do hope he's neutered!)

So how about instead we think from another direction. Cats sometimes just gain weight and get fat. They don't have to be eating more to do this. They can be eating incorrectly. I'm sure everyone will love another one of my food rants, but...

Dry high-carb food can easily make cats fat. I don't know that that's what you've been feeding, but since the vast majority of people do, statistically speaking, it's a good educational guess that so are you. The high carb is a sugar rush, it overloads the pancreas, it can cause diabetes in the long run, and the sugar rush can end up as just fat. Unlike humans, cats use protein for their energy, and to some extent fat. They can use carbs if that's mostly what they're getting, but they don't utilize it as well, and it can easily just end up as fat.

Most vets don't know much about feline nutrition. Most "diets" consist of foods that are lower in fat. By being lower in fat, they just end up being that much higher in carbs, which can simply make the problem worse.

I had a cat that tended towards being overweight. First I tried to just cut his food back, but he screamed too much. So then I switched him to a low-fat food, and he never lost any weight. It just kept him from gaining more. He didn't lose weight until he became diabetic. (And then lost too much.) It was because of this cat that I started studying feline nutrition.

My mistakes there were a) feeding high carb garbage food to start with, b) following the feeding instructions on the bag, which is always WAY too high, and c) going to a low-fat food which was just higher carb, making the problem worse.

My suggestion would be going to canned food about 170-220 grams per day. (Not all foods have the same calories and it depends on cat size, so that's a starting point. You just have to increase/decrease from there.) If you won't do that, I'd suggest going back to what you were feeding, dumping the diet food, and feeding less. Take what you were feeding him and cut it by about 10-15% only. Wait a while - if that doesn't work, do another similar cut.

The feeding instructions on food are always way too high. If I followed them, both my cats would be big fat pigs. (Take a typical food like Iams, which is somewhere around 450 calories a cup. Most dries say feed about 3/4 - 1 cup for my black cat, which would be about 330-450 calories. He only needs about 220 a day!! See what I mean?)

However, you can't cut food too fast cause they can get sick. And don't even think about not feeding him. If he's really not getting anything outside, you could kill him. You have to cut food gradually. Cats can get liver disease from too fast or too much of a cut in food.

But, if he's a cat with a propensity towards collecting carbs, cutting back on a high-carb food might not get you anywhere.

An average male cat is about 5.5 kg. It shouldn't take much to get him down to that, unless of course he's a smallish cat and shouldn't be that big.

Thanks very much for giving me some good ideas. I`m sorry if I was a little quick of the mark after the response I got from my original question, just I`m very fond of my cat, and yes, he is neutered

Thanks again Morgaine 300.

If he's anything like my neighbors cats he's getting into peoples trash bins and throwing garbage and food all over my front lawn :rolleyes:

Have you considered confining him to your yard?

You can make extensions on your fence that curve inwards towards your property and kitty can't jump over them. That would still let him outside but keep him close so he can't go stealing food.

Thank you smoothie for your advice as well, however, I did`nt appreciate being given a lecture with the life, universe and everything quotations. Not required! After all, I`m just talking about my cat.

I hope this is`nt turning into attack my cat day. Give it a rest shazamataz. Iv`e had some good advice already. Thank you everyone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geoff5

Thank you smoothie for your advice as well, however, I did`nt appreciate being given a lecture with the life, universe and everything quotations. Not required! After all, I`m just talking about my cat.

It wasn't really a lecture. Some people are oblivious to what their cat actually does when its out of sight. Some don't know, some just don't want to hear it. Was just pointing out not all people are cat people, not all people appreciate other peoples pets in their yards. Particularly people that have bird baths , bird feeders etc. Cats see that as "Oooo look a birdy smorgasboard" and millions of years of instinct kick in.
Cats are not truly domesticated like dogs are.

Sometimes I'm blunt... but its not mean. There is a big difference.

No worries smoothie. You`re allright mate. Take no notice of me, you keep quoting Eistein.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geoff5

No worries smoothie. You`re allright mate. Take no notice of me, you keep quoting Eistein.

Just don't tangle with him on the Politics board. He's a rascal over there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

Just don't tangle with him on the Politics board. He's a rascal over there.

I can define stubborn in the right circumstances. Its in my DNA. Irish, Scottish and German second generation American.

Give what a rest? Was just asking a question... geez :rolleyes:

No I'm not a cat person, frankly I don't really like them which is why I was giving you a suggestion of keeping your cat in your yard. If our neighbors cats get into our bin one more time it's bye-bye kitty, hello pound. Wouldn't want that to happen to your cat is all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geoff5

I hope this is`nt turning into attack my cat day. Give it a rest shazamataz. Iv`e had some good advice allready. Thank you everyone.

Shazy didn't attack your cat. Give what a rest? I think your comment is uncalled for here. Saying the cat might be making dinner of the garbage can is just a perfectly logical thing for a cat to do, not an insult. And if you took it as an "attack on" your cat, I can only imagine you know nothing about cats at all. (Just like you think your cat wouldn't hunt little animals. Yes, he will.)

And the thing about the fence was a good idea, so it's not like that post added nothing to the conversation.

Not getting the attitude here.

Ok, my cats are outdoor cats hun, and I get the weight problem too. Our male that ran away last Thanksgiving had that problem after he was neutered. He weighed over 22 lbs on his last rabies shot visit, and we were scolded by the vet. In the end however, we all decided it was the smaller things he ate had added up, not that he was eating too much bagged food. We knew for a fact this cat inperticular liked to eat frogs and crickets and believed it was " too much patroling" that caused the weight gain. That and that he did not "troll" for other females anymore...
In short I am saying if he is healthy and active as most outdoor cats are, then he knows his body better that anyone else. Cats are like children and will not allow themselves to overdo it... by much lol

I've known cats that actually preferred to eat dog food. It may be that he's stealing snacks from the neighborhood dogs.

It may also be that he's just slowed down a bit after being fixed (if it was recent) and is putting on some weight, or his metabolism has slowed. If that's the case, then his weight should even out eventually.

Has he been checked for diabetes, thyroid problems, and anything else that could cause weight gain?