Becksie is Obese

Becks on the left, with an obvious disregard for need to be slim.

The doctor said that the guys are generally okay healthwise, except that Becksie is strongly encouraged to go on a diet as she is currently an 8 or 9 on the Cat Body Condition Chart (the alternative five point system can be seen here).

Well, the guys used to be fed twice a day when they were little and somewhere along the years, I switched to free feeding. With much guilt, my convenience was one of the reasons why I made the switch - I simply had to put down 3 bowls of dry food at various corners of the room and then I was off to work. I did consider the possibility that the greedier of the lot might put on some weight then, but a friend of mine has been free feeding her cats for more than a decade and none of her cats were fat. Guess I underestimated Becksie's gluttony and the consequences of my complacency.

So now, the kids have gone back to their twice-a-day feeding routine. I have yet to decrease the amount of food nor change the type of food that they get in a day, but at least now I can be sure that Becksie does not devour Shishi's share. I'll gather get more information from the internet and friends before deciding how to go about helping Becks shed some pounds, hmmm, make that ounces.

A few reads regarding fat cats:

Feline Obesity
Little Big Cat - Feline Obesity
ThePetCenter.com - Obesity in Cats and How to Get a Cat to Lose Weight...
Catnutrition.org - Obesity
Catnutrition.org - The 'CatKins' Diet

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

After giving some thoughts on the issue of giving annual vaccinations, I've more or less decided that the kids will not be going for their boosters the next year, or at least the next year. The decision has been made based on the doctor's and fellow cat owner's advice and the kids' current level of exposure to potential illnesses.

Well, they do not go outside, I am always able to wash up properly before I touch the kids after I come back from the animal sanctuary and quite frankly, the kids were at huger risks a few years ago when I used to do a great deal more stray-cat work than I do now. And not forgetting the amount of stress they suffer whenever we make a trip to the vet's.

However, I might just change my mind about it again when the time comes for us to move in with Patch and dad. Patch goes romping on the grass, sniffs other dog's peepee (and getting quite a bit on her nose I'm sure) and attempts to make friends with the neighbourhood cats whenever she is out. The catkids have been indoors since they were three days old so I really worry that their immunity is not strong enough to withstand whatever bugs Patch might just bring back from her daily walks.

We will just see how.