The Cat Quandry

"Ryan", our clinic cat, showing off his smile

Cats are living longer!  When people began keeping cats exclusively indoors something amazing happened.  They weren't getting hit by cars, attacked by dogs or fighting with other cats.  With the simultaneous developments in preventive and wellness care - cats started dying at much older ages and due to old age diseases like kidney failure and cancer instead of trauma.  Routine labwork, advances in nutrition and parasite control have allowed us to keep cats healthy and maintain a proactive approach to their veterinary care.  Sounds good right?  Unfortunately with these changes we started to see another trend emerge within our feline population - OBESITY.  This topic needs to be tackled without finger-pointing or guilt - let's just look at it from the cat's point of view.

This topic has gotten plenty of press and the feline obesity phenomenon has oddly paralleled the American obesity epidemic.  As humans have access to processed food and video games our waistlines have expanded.  As cats become sedentary, indoor creatures and have access to overflowing bowls of high quality kibble they have transformed from lithe, athletic carnivores to round, lumbering type II diabetics.

The "I'm feeding you because I love you" and "don't get up, I'll bring the food to the couch" mentality has negatively impacted our feline friends mentally and physically.  One thing I have discovered is that pet owners typically don't want to feel like they are depriving their pets of ANYTHING.  The feeling that they are with-holding resources, "starving", or in anyway causing their cat's stress is not a way to foster and nurture the human-animal bond.  We try to discuss feline weight issues from the perspective of ADDING, IMPROVING and ENRICHING their lives - not just taking resources away.

1.  ADDING in canned food.  This is an idea that is fast being accepted by feline health experts and just makes sense.  Cats are designed to eat 8-10 small meals per day - typically small rodents or birds.  These meals are about 30 calories each and between each meal they are THINKING, STALKING, HUNTING and then KILLING their prey.  Each attempt is NOT successful.  Our typical house cat may have access to food all day which would facilitate this "grazing" behavior but we have made a few fatal mistakes.  Our pet cats don't have to work at all for these meals.  Nothing!  Just hop off the couch and lumber to the bowl.  A bowl full of high carbohydrate kibble DOES NOT EQUAL a bowl full of mice and 8-10 meals of dry food will usually lead to weight gain.  Canned food is as close to "a mouse in a can" as we can get (without feeding raw which is another subject entirely!).  High protein, low carbohydrate and mostly water - tailor made to a cats metabolism, body physiology and bladder health.  Yay!  Yes it smells and is more expensive but 100% canned food (usually 3-5 ounces every 8-12 hours) is an awesome compromise.  Most owners perceive that their cats LOVE canned food and use it as a treat - what a better way to show our love than give them a treat every day!  Cat Feeding FAQ

2.  IMPROVING our cat's quality of life and mental outlook by providing high quality nutrition, safe exposure to the outdoors and regular veterinary care is POSSIBLE.  We love to help people find a great combination of affordable foods to use on rotation, have amazing ideas for outdoor habitats and will create a wellness program to fit your cat and budget.

3.  ENRICHING your indoor cat's environment should become a passion.  Cats don't just like it - they NEED access to perches.  Vertical space is power to a cat and providing a tree, tower, shelf or similar structure for perching will do amazing things for your cat's well being.  Check out our favorite cat tower or design your own CatVantage Modular Tree.  Hiding food for your cat to find while you are at work, a vigorous game of chase the LASER and providing sights, sounds and structures to STIMULATE your cat all will pay dividends.  I do really believe that cats need access to the outdoors but the question becomes how to do that safely.  The answer is easier than you think but may require a trip to Home Depot.  I absolutely LOVE the idea an outdoor cat habitat and this may be the single most significant thing you could do to improve your cat's quality of life.  Check out our friends at Habitat Haven for loads of inspiration and give access to the outdoors some serious thought.

One of my favorite websites is the home of The Indoor Cat Initiative and it is full of great ideas about helping indoor pets act and feel like their DNA is directing.  I think everyone should check out the feline life stressors and basic needs - they are full of great information from the cat's perspective.

The take home point that every cat, every family and every situation is unique.  The information here is just designed to stimulate discussion, encourage research and educate people about their amazing feline friends!  There is no doubt that treating our cats like cats is a win-win situation!

Dr. Snyder
Questions or comments?  Email us today - check out our website at www.grandviewvet.com.