Monday, October 29, 2012

Trick or Treat?

This big ol' bowl will be filled with treats for the little brats goblins that ring our doorbell and scare my little sisfur on Halloween...
You'd think that if a whole bowl of treats can go to other people's kids then surely our bowls would be filled with treats too but nope, last week the evil v-e-t said since I gained a lousy 1/2 lb in six months I have to go on a diet...
Diet?  That four letter word isn't allowed in our house!  Neither are empty bowls!
Since we're fed the same but Angel is a grazer and I clean my bowl, she's on a diet by default but she doesn't realize it until 2am which is when she's been waking Mommy up for treats.  I don't know who's grumpier about all this - us or Mommy!  Oh what I wouldn't give for one of those birdies right now!
Does anyone have any suggestions how to put one cat on a dreaded diet while the other isn't?  Our crabby Mommy would appreciate it!

Hope your bowl isn't empty today!
Isabella

31 comments:

Golden Woofs! SUGAR said...

Woof! Woof! Wait a minute ... just 1/2 lb. Not fair. I say both needs to go on a diet. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

Christmas-etc... said...

Oh no... this is a tough one! Put their bowls in different areas of the house? Maybe in theory it will work... now, in practice...that';s another matter!
Be sure to enter my GIVE-A-WAY!
Blessing!
Ann

Summer at sparklecat.com said...

Isabella, I will take that extra half pound off your paws - I am underweight! Binga and Boodie are pigs and they are fed on a schedule and only at certain times - they get a small can of food split between them in the morning and a large can split between them at night. My human feeds me separately (on the cat tree) whenever I want and watches me like a hawk so that Binga does not steal my food. When she is out of town, I get shut upstairs at night in the living room with my food and a litter box and basically everything I could possibly want, while Binga and Boodie sleep downstairs with the pet sitter or my human's boyfriend. I don't know if any of this is helpful or gives you any ideas, but I thought I would toss it out at you just in case.

Duni said...

I've been trying my best to reduce Sammy's food intake - but he gets grumpier and grumpier, so I sneak in a treat or two. I want him to be happy!! Happy cats are healthy cats :)
The other two get fed outside (and it is different food, not diet) so Sammy doesn't notice, thank goodness! Is Isabella on reduced fat food? You might want to mix in a little of the usual food so it smells better. Btw, I think Isabella looks just fine to me!

Memories for Life said...

I find this is the same with humans. When I go on a diet...Jesse gets put on one too...lol :)
My mom had two dogs, one diabetic and one not. She ended up having to feed them like they were both diabetic so the one didn't get jealous of the treats the other got.
Sorry no tips, tell Angel she just gets to be healthy too :)

Karen and Gerard said...

Not really, I had the same problem. Now I just feed both cats separately twice a day. Their food is out 15-20 minutes (measured by the way) and then I hide it in the linen closet if they didn't finish it. No more free grazing here either. The V-E-T said both ere a bit overweight.

Angel Simba said...

Simba is a grazer and Audrey is a gobbler. So Audrey is fed in the kitchen and Simba closed in the powder room. When he has had enough he scratches on the door and gets let out, but the door gets closed. If he asks later to go back in he can. Also, Audrey sleeps in the kitchen with the door closed so Simba can eat during the night. It is a BIG hassle. But if we didn't do it, Audrey would be very fat and Simba would starve.

Lin said...

If you find out, let me know. Grace is older and underweight. Hobbes....well, you can see that Hobbes should be losing weight.

I use diet dry food for Hobbes because he grazes and overeats. They both get wet food as well, but Grace gets it whenever she is hungry. It's hard to figure it out!

Anonymous said...

I think both my kitties need to be on diets but since they are grazers that's hard to do - especially this late in their lives...Of course they don;t get treats - they don't like them!

Catherine said...

I know how hard it is to get one cat to lose weight, it will be tricky to do one kitty without having the other one on one! Good luck!

xo Catherine

Fuzzy Tales said...

No suggestions from us! We're both a pound...or two...overweight now. Derry's a slow eater (hardly any teeth) and Nicki is a "vacuum" when it come to food...Sigh.

Our mom says she hopes *your* mom finds a good solution!

AntiquityTravelers said...

Oh boy Isabella, I agree! I get pretty grumpy on a diet - especially when everyone else around me is getting treats!

Sandee said...

I've never been confronted with this issue so I don't have any ideas either, but being awakened by a hungry cat in the middle of the night is no fun. Cats for the most part eat when they want, not when you want them too. Tough one.

Have a terrific day. :)

brokenteepee said...

Mine are all at good weights so I can't offer any help. Doesn't seem like 1/2 a pound is all that much unless Isabella has been gaining steadily. She doesn't look chubby and the camera adds 10lbs :)

Anonymous said...

YES! We have that going on permanently in our house. I built a box lovingly called, "No Food Fat Cat" so that Lucy, our skinny grazer can have access to her food all the time, and Langley, who is much bigger can't get at it! What we did was get a large plastic storage box and cut a Lucy sized hole in one of the short sides. We lined the edges with plastic tubing to soften the edges and there you have it- perfect! This only works of course if one cat is much bigger than the other- ie Langley is 16LBs and Lucy is 9Lbs.

Kathleen said...

Meowy-ickies! Diets are no fun! Don't tell Missy about them...
Pal and Forrest

Rose Clearfield said...

Nancy's idea for putting one cat on a diet is brilliant. We had that problem for many years with multiple cats. Diets are no fun but neither are crabby mommies. :( Best of luck!

Marg said...

I have a time around here too with everyone getting different things to eat, different medications so it is a job passing out the food. Sounds like one needs to eat in a separate place. Good luck. Take care.

Katnip Lounge said...

Our Mommy says good luck with that one! May Ling and Salem are *ahem* PORKERS and the rest of us are just right. She plays with them extra but since we free feed it's pretty hopeless...

Stacy Hurt said...

I would imagine that after a couple days Angel will figure out she needs to eat more at night to get her thru to the morning. Short of separating them and installing the 'kitty feeder dish' that looks pretty cool btw; I can't thihk of a thing.

xoxo
That Woman

(who has only been able to reduce alla kitties on the same 'diet plan' but who must give Ms. Stella extra wet food at night (before bed) in the bathroom. Once she's finished, I let her back out in the house.

ByNanasHands said...

Wowzers....you too Isabella? The you know who cut off MY treat-time too! I think they all got together and dreamed it up to punish us all....including our Mommy's! My Mom has been making some dehydrated chicken treats for me....she just takes away some of my dinner to equal it out! I'm still on a diet but at least I get treat-time at 9:00 p.m.! I hope you lose the weight fast...and I wouldn't worry about Angel...she's on her own! Woof! SisseeLou

Splendid Little Stars said...

What Nancy did is very clever!

Our cats have their bowls constantly filled. My daughter feeds both her cats at the same time twice a day.

If we are giving tuna, one bowl goes on top of the washing machine (for Oliver) and one bowl on the floor. I have no idea why Earnest doesn't jump up onto the machine. Oliver eats just a little and Earnest cleans his bowl lickety-split. He'd certainly be all for having more if it were provided.

Good luck. That waking up in the middle of the night stuff sounds terrible!

Ann said...

not fair that you have to go on a diet for a lousy 1/2 pound. Wish I had some suggestions for your mom, but I've got nothing

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

BOL - if you find the answer, let us know. Mom is trying to do that here with us. TD needs to lose weight, Phantom needs to gain weight. Lightning and Ciara just want to eat. Quite the dilemma.

Hope those little ghosts and goblins don't scare Angel.

Woos - Phantom, Thunder, Ciara, and Lightning

Reeni said...

I've been on many a diet too Isabella! They're no fun at all. I get very unhappy and kind of mean when I can't eat what I want. My Mom said she'd rather have a fat, happy cat as long as I'm healthy. Love, Moon xoxo

The Island Cats said...

Isabella, our mom has tried putting me on a diet but not Ernie and Zoey and it hasn't been easy. I'll go over and eat the food that Ernie leaves. So we don't have any advice for your mom. Let us know if she comes up with any ideas.

Wally

blueyes said...

I've got no clue on this either. The beagle is overweight and is on diet food and so is the pointer - not by choice.

michico*Adan*Lego-小芥*阿丹*樂高 said...

I love your pumpkin bowl!!!
Wish you have a wonderful Halloween:>

storybeader said...

that's a big problem, if the two of you are able to reach the same tables, rooms, etc... {:-D

The Army of Four said...

Diet??!!?? You look perfect to me!
Sorry we don't have any suggestions for your mom. Is there any where Angel goes that you don't? Maybe she could leave a small bowl of food there.
Speaking of bowls, I thought one of you might curl up and use that Halloween bowl as a napping place!
Play bows,
Zim

Anonymous said...

Mom and Dad did that with 3 cats, one on diet, two not. BUT Mom and Dad were retired...made a huge difference 'cuz they monitored the food lots. One not on a diet was a really slow eater, drove the dieter crazy! MOL But the dieter lost those 6 lbs...he was 18 and dropped to 12...looked great and he was about 14 years old when they did that. Not easy for sure. Some people feed them in separate rooms so the one not on diet can take all the time they want...just a thought