Is my cat's diet wrong?

by Michelle
(London)

Photograph reproduced under creative commons copyright ariffjrs...it'll be...(Flickr)

My cat is overweight. In fact she has been overweight for about 14 years, from about one day after I found her on the streets of London.

She was starving and abandoned under a car for shelter on a very damp and cold November day. I fed her. She looked fat. She has looked like that ever since.

I know one of the reasons for her weight is that she is inactive. Why is she inactive? Because she is a timid, quiet cat that probably had a tough start in life.

I play with her but she plays in a lazy way, probably because she is too fat to play actively (it's a downward spiral...).

She's still fit though after 14 years....not too bad really. The thing is this - the vet recommended that she go on Hills RD (way too expensive) or LD, which I have given her for years in conjunction with prawns !! and fish.

We have fought over her diet for eons. I am not actually sure that dry food is the right food for her. It's hard to know what's right.

There are arguments that says that dry food is too starchy and it is like giving your cat Kelloggs Frosties every day.

I personally find that when I eat high calorie food it burns off fast in my body and within about 3 hours or so I an hungry again.

This seems to be the pattern for my cat. She returns for more and over eats.

In general the problem of obesity in humans is being mirrored in their cats, which is not surprising.

But a part of the problem could be the food. Maybe the manufacturers are putting stuff in the food that makes it very attractive to cats driving the cat back for more. A Good idea as you've got to buy more. The pet market is huge.

With overweight goes diabetes (potentially) and this has always worried me about my cat. But she seems alright.

There is a higher incidence of diabetes in cats at present.

I think what I will do is try some raw food for her, that high in protein. The problem with that is it is hard to get hold of.

Back in the old days you popped down to the corner shop for some fish but where are the fishmongers these days?

Another problem is that fish is very expensive because fish stocks are falling due to overfishing.

We have it seems a duty to eat less fish to help stop overfishing.

It's really complicated trying to get my little girl slimmer. One last point. She doesn't mind being fat and maybe she should be a little fat as we can't push every cat into the same size. They vary naturally in shape just like us.

The photograph is not of my cat. It's just for illustration purposes.