Category: Cats

We're almost a month into the Nu Campaign to Fight Pet Obesity and both cats have lost some weight. Xena is at her lowest yet, 15.2 pounds, and Velvet is down to a trim 11 pounds.

One thing I'm really noticing is how much energy they seem to have. Xena in particular seems much more playful. My husband reports that she's started bringing her crinkly mylar balls into bed and playing with them while he's sleeping. What she really wants is for him to throw them so she can fetch them and bring them back.

Here's Xena busily engaged with a catnip toy. You can see from the paw sticking into the frame that Dr. Jones was trying to get in on the action as well. We've been letting the studio cats downstairs for "field trips" for a couple of hours each day.

Velvet has always been pretty playful for an old gal (she's about 10 or 11), and she never hesitates to try to get a game going with one of the other cats or with us. Like Xena, she's not particularly concerned about whether or not you're awake when she tries to get your attention.

As I mentioned before, the cats' coats look especially gorgeous and shiny. I just brushed Xena a bit yesterday (she can't quite reach the area above her tail for grooming – let's hope she slims down enough to fix that). Now she's glossy from head to toe.

Disclosure: Nulo has generously provided free
product and other benefits in exchange for my participation in the Nu
Campaign to fight pet obesity. All of the opinions about the product are
mine and not dictated in any way by the company.

My cats have been eating their premium Nulo food since August 15th and they seem to really like it. They're both looking extra sleek and shiny and I swear Xena looks a little leaner even though the scale reports that she's picked up a couple of ounces. Velvet apparently has lost a couple of ounces, so there's that.

I have doubts about the scale. Theoretically, it should be accurate
since I'm weighing myself holding a cat, weighing myself alone, and
subtracting to find the difference. However, I suspect that my
cheapo digital scale from the drug store is not as consistent as one would
like a measuring device to be. However, it's all I have so I'm going to
start weighing the cats daily so see if that makes a difference.

See, doesn't she look a little more trim than she did at the start, or is that just my imagination?

My husband and I have already decided that we're going to continue with the Nulo food even after the program ends – and also start feeding it to the upstairs cats then. We're impressed with the quality of the ingredients. The price, while slightly higher than some of the pet food store brands, is not at all unreasonable. Plus, we like the idea of having our cat food delivered to the house. (Anyone else get a Pets.com flashback just then?)

In an effort to up the exercise portion of the program, I think I'll take a couple of the studio cats' toys downstairs and see if Xena can be convinced to play a bit more. I'd think a string on a stick and a laser would get her stirred up enough to burn some extra calories.

If you're interested in following some of the other bloggers' pets' progress in this program (and would like to get pet nutrition tips and special offers), you can like Nulo on Facebook. They have an introductory 30% off special right now.

Disclosure: Nulo has generously provided free
product and other benefits in exchange for my participation in the Nu
Campaign to fight pet obesity. All of the opinions about the product are
mine and not dictated in any way by the company.

Test Subject #1: Xena
Weight: 15.5 pounds
Physique: Excessively Rounded
Cooperation Level: Fair

Test Subject #2: Velvet
Weight: 11.2 pounds
Physique: Lean and Muscular
Cooperation Level: Along for the ride

Thanks to BlogPaws and pet food company Nulo, I'm starting a 90-day program to get Xena to slim down. She's a young cat – not even four yet – and I hate to see her so overweight. Yes, I love her even though I know she's plotting to do away with me so she can have my husband to herself.

Velvet is participating as well because she and Xena live in the same part of the house and are used to sharing a food bowl. It's not a "diet food," per se, so she'll benefit from the nutrients without necessarily losing any weight.

Before the program started, I sat in on a conference call with the company's CEO and founder, Mike Landa. He started the company in response to hearing more and more clients of his pet sitting company request pet sitters who could administer insulin to their diabetic pets. It made him take a step back and look for the root cause of the increase in pet obesity that he and his colleagues had been observing, which led straight to their diets.

The Nulo site has a lot of interesting information about ingredients that you do and don't want to see in your pets' food. Their Nutrition Philosophy page even links to a bad ingredients list you can print out and take to the store to help you select the best food.

The coolest thing about their site is that you can create profiles for each of your pets and track their weight and exercise levels (the amount of time you spend playing with them in various ways). If you've ever looked at a weight loss site for humans, it's pretty close to the same thing.

We made the food switch a couple of days ago and the main difference I'm seeing so far is that the cats aren't hoovering through all their food quite as quickly. Supposedly this is because it's more nutritionally dense and filling.

I'll be weighing the cats and posting periodic updates for the next couple of months and I'm really hoping it helps Xena get to a healthier size. I'm embarrassed to admit that I had to give her a treat to get her to stand up so I could get the final photo.

Disclosure: Nulo has generously provided free product and other benefits in exchange for my participation in the Nu Campaign to fight pet obesity. All of the opinions about the product are mine and not dictated in any way by the company.

Before:

After:

We grow 'em big around here.

Ever since he arrived, I've been taking regular photos of myself with Dr. Jones using the Photo Booth application on my iMac. He's gained more than five pounds in less than five months, so I figured this was as good a time as any to share the photo progression to date:

So now you've not only gotten a look at how my kitty went from teeny to big, but you've also learned that:

• My makeup doesn't necessarily last all day,
• I get a little puffy from time to time,
• I wear glasses in the morning and evening,
• I have no brand loyalty when it comes to cat litter, and
• My office is a disaster area.

Since we're keeping it real, I'll admit that I actually re-shot today's photo before I posted it. I took some pix after I got back from breakfast and immediately regretted that I'd been out in public looking like that. I had residual makeup on from last night's gig, my hair was a giant frizz-ball from loading gear in the rain, and I was wearing an over-sized sweatshirt that made me look enormous. So I straightened my hair, reapplied makeup (even though I'll never get rid of all of the purple glitter eyeliner from last night without a shower or two), and changed into a t-shirt that fits.

Verisimilitude has its limits, is what I'm saying.

Okay, I've completely hijacked this post away from Dr. Jones with my own self-consciousness. Back to him: he's still very talkative, rather needy and a champion eater. I'm looking forward to the day when he's completely grown up and less enthusiastic about things like eating my plants and gnawing on the paperwork I leave on my desk.

So basically he's still an annoying kitten in a big cat's body – but at least he's cute.

Today is the day that Dr. Jones goes to the vet to be neutered. He's about 5 1/2 months old, so it's time. Also, we have found ourselves using the word harbls in reference to him a lot lately, so it really is time.

I'm sure Trillian will miss him while he's gone all day and overnight, but the humans in the household are frankly rather happy to have a break from him. We're very much looking forward to the day when he is grown up enough to take "no" for an answer.

He is awfully cute, though, don't you think?

Dear Ms. Velvet,

Since the unfortunate demise of your colleague, Ms. Velcro, you have been promoted to the position of my primary downstairs cat companion, a.k.a. #2 Downstairs Cat or VP. It was my understanding that you had been eagerly awaiting this opportunity, but there are some associated job duties upon which I feel you need to concentrate more effort.

Your primary duty in this role is to sit on my lap whenever I am seated on a couch for more than, say, 5 minutes. Purring is much appreciated as well, but not mandatory. However, licking is strongly discouraged.

Of late, I have noticed your tendency to leave my lap for extended periods of time in favor of lying on your cardboard scratchy thing. You are welcome to take brief breaks to enjoy any of your toys or play with your colleague, Ms. Xena, but please keep your lap duties in mind and adjust your playtime accordingly when I am around.

Don't forget that there is a pair of eager young interns in our Studio Department. If you are unable or unwilling to fully embrace your position, there remains the possibility of transferring Ms. Trillian and Dr. Jones to your department. At that time, either or both of them may permanently assume most or all of your lap privileges.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Average Jane

Velcro
1992 – 2010

She had a great day on Saturday. I took her to the vet to have her electrolyte balance checked and the vet even commented that she seemed to be doing surprisingly well.

I had no plans outside the house, so she spent most of Saturday sleeping on my lap while I read a book.

On Sunday morning, I could tell that the previous day had been her last rally. When I woke up, I found her wedged beneath our wire CD rack, tangled in the electrical cord of the lamp. I gently freed her and put her in her bed on the floor. The next time I went in the living room, she had gotten herself tangled up under the table again. After I rescued her for the second time, she never had the energy for another attempt.

When my husband came downstairs, I told him to make sure to pet her before he went to bed because he probably wouldn't have another chance. He started to brush me off and say that I'd made that prediction before, but once he'd had a good look at her, he came back in the kitchen and said he knew I was right.

I had a lot of things on my agenda and as I bustled around the house cleaning and baking, I kept stopping by to pet her and see if she was still breathing. By the late morning, it was clear that she was no longer aware of her surroundings.

I didn't see any value for either of us in sitting around staring at her all day, so I went ahead with my volunteer shift with the adoptable cats at Petco. Later in the afternoon I attended a book club meeting and when I called my husband on my way home, he told me she was gone.

Of all the cats we've had, she was the first to go quietly on her own at home, rather than be euthanized at the vet's office. Fortunately we'd had a week or so of warmer weather, so my husband and I were able to dig a hole in the back yard to bury her. I'll plant some bulbs there as soon as I get a chance.

As sad as we are, we realize that we were fortunate to have her for the extra two weeks after her initial medical crisis. She had a rough start in life – found tied into a pillowcase in a Salvation Army donation box – but she had loving homes, first with my mother and then with us after my mother died.

Still, we'll miss her. She was definitely one of the good ones.

This is mostly derived from my Facebook post on the same subject, but in case you were curious and you're not my Facebook friend for some reason (not that you couldn't be if you'd like to ask), here's what's up with my elderly kitteh:

We decided it was time to bring Velcro home last night. She clearly
feels much better and she's bright-eyed if not bushy-tailed. However,
she has some noticeable neurological symptoms – she's shaky and clumsy,
reminiscent of a cat recovering from anesthetic. We're doing our best to discourage her from using the stairs or jumping on the
counter.

Unfortunately we have no definitive answers about her condition. If it
was caused by a stroke or metastasis of the cancer she had a few years
ago, there's nothing we can do about it anyway so I've chosen not to
pursue further diagnosis along those lines.

We're still waiting for some blood test results that might shed further
light and reveal something that is treatable. For now, we're going to
pamper her in the manner to which she is accustomed as long as she's
happy, eating, free of pain and able to get around.

Thanks for all of your well wishes. We're trying to remain optimistic.