Her legs and paws are so thin and tiny....I think that's what makes her body look so "prominent!"

I had a red Burmese who was definitely overweight. I always thought that cats regulated their own food intake but he was SO greedy.

He would eat his food and then polish off my old boy Muskey's food too. It got to the point that I had to feed them separately to make sure that Muskey was getting enough to eat.

Titus was a big, strong cat but he was definitely overweight. The vet warned us on several occasions to cut back on his food as he could end up with diabetes.

I think when they are babies (I'm talking vey young) then I wouldn't limit their food but I think once they get past a certain age and you can see the weight piling on then you need to be careful.

It's the same with children. One minute they seem to be able to eat what they like and not put an ounce on and then suddenly they start gaining weight and getting fat.

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Oscar and Jasper (or one ear and two ears as dh calls them) black rescue mogges

RIP my sweet baby Dexter, Snow Bengal 19/5/14 to 5/3/15 and my lovely dear old friend Muskey, Brown Burmese put to rest aged 15 on 14/11/15.

Debbie

That's what she does, as well. She polishes off her food and moves on to my other cat's dish. Then he looks up at me like, "Ma! do something!" I have to reprimand her and pull her off his dish. She is getting plumper and plumper every day. I even got her an exercise wheel that she hardly ever uses. She was much more active before this fatness overtook her body. And it was all because I didn't listen to my gut instinct.... I followed directions that kittens should never be limited. Well, it's not too late...and this little girl is on a diet as of now. No more dry food and limited wet. Only one or two Temptations a day (2 calories each). She's going to hate me, but she needs this.

Debbie...I just read your signature above....so sorry about your snow Bengal...what happened????

She looks full grown at 10 months. I don't think cutting back is a bad idea. Do it slowly so she doesn't notice so much. They don't have great memories so eventually she will accept the new amount as the norm.

I cut back my two cats food slightly a few weeks ago and they have adjusted to it now. They do hang around me more and watch me eat although they are not going after my food. Blondie will sit on their placemat and wait for the next feeding sometimes. Grace comes to find me like clockwork when the feeding is running behind schedule like they do on the weekends. It will take a while for them to loose a pound. I have them weighed every month when they get their nails trimmed.

I was petting Grace today and her shoulders, back and thighs are solid muscle, hard as a rock. She has loose skin on her front arms and belly. Both of them have round jiggly bellies like babies. Hopefully the cutback I have made will be enough.

It's tough because I want them to be healthy AND happy, and they love their food!

It might be worth investing in a microchip feeder. I was pushed into this as I have a Bengal with a sensitive tummy, but regardless would steal Jagger's dry food and not eat the food that is for his sensitivities! He would also gobble his wet and steal Jagger's which made his diarrhoea problems even worse!

Now he can't get to Jagger's food and to be honest they are paying for themselves as I've been able to cut down on their wet food. The vet suggested this when he thought jagger was a 'large lad'!

When he saw them for their annual check up and boosters he was quite happy with his weight again.

We have the sure feeder and I have been really impressed with them. They would be perfect for making sure Sheena can't steal your other cats food and you can weigh her food out and see exactly how much she is eating and can gradually cut down so she isn't too shocked!

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Cats have a defined waist? I've never seen one on any of my cats. I was thinking the flabby belly might be the primordial pouch, but wasn't sure if kittens have them. Raiden's is really saggy! It doesn't hurt to cut back a little on the food. Can you weigh her? That way you can keep track of her weight periodically and see how she is doing! I weigh Raiden every now and then when he's in the bathroom while I'm weighing myself. I grab him, step on the scale and subtract my weight from the total weight. He was up to 12.8 lbs. last time. His usual weight is 12.4, but he has a lot more fur these days for a winter coat.

Sheena is gorgeous!

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The little monsters 3

Hendrix's primordial pouch appeared when he was 8 or 9 months old, but he is still quite gangly so definitely not overweight.

What I meant by defined waist, is that you should be able to see a waist behind the ribs.

The description I have for a cat body conditioning information, says the ideal body should be "well proportioned; observe waist behind ribs; ribs palpable with slight fat covering; abdominal fat pad minimal".

Not much I can do about hendrix's abdominal fat pad bar giving him a tummy tuck! Jagger is probably more prone to being or looking overweight but his pouch is way smaller lol

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Here is a better picture of my flabby kitten. And Tabitha, what is that feeder you mentioned? Microchip feeder???

I've cut her down to a half a can of 6 oz. Tiki in the morning, and a half a can of 6 oz. Nature's Instinct in the evening with a half pouch of 3 oz. Wervua Cats in the Kitchen (61 cal in a whole pouch). Now, my poor Bombay is on this diet, as well, even though he didn't quite need a diet. I think my cats hate me.

Yes, it's a sure flap microchip feeder. Assuming your cats are microchipped, you set a feeder so that it only opens to one cat as it will recognise say, sheenas microchip, and the other one for your Bombay, so your other cat doesn't have to go on a diet too. You could probably get away with one feeder for your Bombay so sheena can't steal his food, and she only can access what you put down for her. They are perfect for multicast households, where one might need to go on a diet, or like with me, I need to stop Hendrix stealing Jagger's food as it upsets his tummy, but jagger doesnt like the dry food Hendrix has to eat to help his tummy.

I did a thread on it and posted a picture as I wanted to know if anyone else had experience with them before I splashed out - and also if they were Bengal proof as my two had broken an automatic feeder the second I put it down. But they are very sturdy and I've been pretty impressed. The thread is probably under Discussion, but I'll check and bump it up for you.

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

You might find this interesting as well:

http://www.cathospitalofchicago.com/onl ... nt-in-cats

Might be something in there that could help with Sheena's weight loss! You said she isn't so active anymore, could she be bored? You could get her a feed puzzle ball for dry food so she has to work to get it and get her moving a bit more as well.

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

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Oscar and Jasper (or one ear and two ears as dh calls them) black rescue mogges

RIP my sweet baby Dexter, Snow Bengal 19/5/14 to 5/3/15 and my lovely dear old friend Muskey, Brown Burmese put to rest aged 15 on 14/11/15.

Debbie

I think Sheena needs to be more active! She doesn't look overweight to me in the picture. How much does she weigh? Normally, a vet will mention that the cat is slightly overweight. I don't know that I would be able to put Raiden on a diet without consulting the vet for some guidelines. It's dangerous to cut out too much -- and how much is too much? I still don't see a waist on a cat and I looked hard at Raiden. He appears to be indented a little above the back legs, but that's it!