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The fat cat and the absentee pet parent
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No work and all play, make for a fat, lazy cat
When referring to a human, being a “fat cat” is desirable, but it’s not such a good thing when you’re talking about an actual cat. Feline obesity can lead to serious diseases such as diabetes mellitus, arthritis, liver disease, heart failure, and renal disease. As with people, the best treatment for obesity is prevention. Reducing or eliminating dry food from your cat’s diet, eliminating “free feeding” (leaving food out for your cat to eat at will), and not feeding treats are the best ways to keep your friend from becoming obese in the first place. If your cat is already overweight, however, you may need to put her on a diet. Caution is a must, though -- crash dieting is an extremely bad idea for all the reasons that make it so for people, but with the added risk of an often fatal disease called feline hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease), which occurs when overweight or even ideally weighted cats become anorexic or otherwise lose weight too quickly. Actively monitoring your cat’s weight is a must for the responsible cat owner, as rapid weight loss can turn fatal rapidly, while unhealthy weight gain can sneak up on you if you’re not paying attention. Consult with your veterinarian before changing your cat’s diet, and always make changes slowly in order to prevent adverse reactions to new food, such as loose stools, gas, breakouts around the mouth, or excessive itching.
But what to do when you work all day and there’s no one else to feed your cat? For many people free feeding seems like the best option for making sure their cat gets fed. After all, who wants to turn down a spontaneous invitation for a fabulous night out or dinner with the boss because he or she has to go home and feed the cat? And heaven forbid that anything should happen to you and no one realize in time. As noted above rapid weight loss in and of itself can be deadly for felines. So how does one strike the proper balance?
An easy solution is to feed your cat wet food twice a day (once in the morning before you leave for work and once in the evening when you get home) or as otherwise directed by your veterinarian. For your peace of mind, you can buy an automatic feeder of the type that dispenses kibble-style dry food. Place several cups of food in the upper part and set the feeder to dispense a high-quality, high protein food such as Innova EVO or Wellness Core one hour after you plan on getting home from work. If you arrive home on time you can cancel the automatic feeding. If you’re late, no problem – your cat still gets fed. Yes these foods are expensive, but since you’re just using it as an emergency back-up, it will last awhile. Be sure to change it at least once a week, however, as even dry foods can spoil and they can definitely stale. There are also automatic feeders that keep wet food chilled to the proper temperature until ready to serve and uncover it at feeding time, but for emergency backup the dry feeder is perfect, as kibble spoils much more slowly and automatic feeders can hold five or ten pounds at a time. Such feeders are not necessarily cheap (the most popular dry feeder on Amazon.com, the Petmate Le Bistro, runs about $65), but it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind, and inexpensive ones can be found if you’re willing to do some research and shop around.
Being a responsible cat owner doesn’t have to impinge on your lifestyle, or put your cat at risk from either obesity or malnutrition. A small investment in time and money can give you the flexibility and insurance you want, and your cat a longer, healthier life.
