Kitty Diet Riot

This is Clementine; my favorite tabby in the world.

Clemmy is an adorably rolly-polly kitty.

Clem is also fat.

When I adopted Clem from the NHS in 2009, she was already a year and a half old, but she was underweight at less than 7 lbs.  She had been living on the streets since she was a kitten where food was scarce, so when she suddenly had an unending supply of kitty food (me), she chowed down….again and again and again.  I knew her behavior was normal for a stray, but I thought she would eventually grow out of her overeating. Fast forward four years and Clem is clinically kitty-obese. This weekend she weighed in at an unbelievable 13 lbs.

So, today is the first day of Clementine’s diet. Her long term goal is to get down to 9 lbs, but she’s planning on taking it slow and focusing on one pound at a time.

She’s going paleo:

I’ve been feeding Clem and Kitten dry cat food for as long as I’ve had them even though I knew it’s not the best thing for them, even if it is Science Diet.  They are both making the change to grain-free wet cat food.  Look at all those options!

Eating fewer calories:

I had to figure out a way to free-feed Kitten (she’s great at self-regulation), but still limit Clemmy’s food intake.  I created a special feeding cage on my baker’s rack with an entry that only Kitten can fit through.

And getting more exercise:

Like most kitties, Clementine loves laser pointers. As an indoor cat, this is the only way I can get Clem off of the couch and running around. She was huffing and puffing after just five minutes tonight, but I’m sure her stamina will increase after a few weeks.

Hopefully within the coming months Clem will be a happy, svelte kitty instead of a happy, fat cat.