If your pet is too fat

I am standing in my living room watching my cat try to chase another cat out of the garden. Emphasizing ‘trying’, because the cat in question just jumped on the trash can and is looking challengingly down. My Monza keeps hissing furiously on the ground. I have the feeling that she hasn't been jumping very well lately anyway.

Oh crap, my cat is too fat. In fact, the first ‘I have an obese cat’ joke has already been made.

My boyfriend and I have been questioning this for a few months, because HOW can it be that a cat suddenly becomes much heavier? I mean: we have two cats, they both get exactly the same food and yet one is significantly expanding. A round of Google teaches me that it also depends a bit on what your cat's energy level is, plus it seems some cats just like people tend to gain quite a bit in winter because they simply prefer not to move too much. I can somewhat relate to that. Additionally, due to sterilization and old age, the energy needs also decrease, while we owners keep giving her exactly the same amount of food. Aha.

If you also have a pet with overweight and are wondering: but how do you put the little creature on a diet? There is an answer for that. And no, it’s not about suddenly giving less food or diet food, that ensures that your cat or dog suddenly gets too few nutrients. Research shows that cats fed four times a day lose weight faster than cats that get kibble twice a day. It also appears that the amount of moisture in the food can contribute to a faster result. Occasionally giving wet food instead of those dry kibbles is therefore quite a good plan.

Where a person with an office job is supposed to find the time to feed a pet four times a day is another question, but hey, otherwise you start with three times during the week and four on the weekend googling. Oh and, a tip from my side: if you are going to google, always type that your cat is too heavy, not that your ‘cat is too fat’, that’s just asking for trouble. Good luck!

P.S. Now that we are in the pussy vibe, these are the coolest cats on Insta.