Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Plan B for Timmy

I plead guilty and I ask for no mercy.

My negligence has resulted in Timmy gaining weight over the last two weeks. With the semester having started and having to leave the house early, I failed to monitor breakfast at the patio and Timmy had been doing his merry-go-round Musical Bowls stint again, resulting in him eating up left-overs or simply snatching another cat's food by staring the cat down.

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It doesn't look so bad from this angle....


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But yes, he has definitely gained weight, I know.


So this calls for intervention and....Plan B.


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This is Plan B.


Of course it's not starvation, folks. He gets to eat, but he has to eat inside the cage.


He still gets his Hara Hachi Bu portion (the minus 20% diet).


Sorry, Timmy ol' Boy....it's for your own good.


And not only that, Plan B also means he has to eat mostly Primal (which will definitely burn a hole in my pocket). Primal, or rather, raw food, is known to help obese pets lose weight, so I was told and I have read about it, too.


Today, I soaked the Primal in water before mixing it in wetfood and everyone was okay with it. I think it's better this way as they get more water and it should be more filling too.


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You see...the boy is greedy. He hasn't even licked his bowl clean. That's what he does every day - even before he finishes his own food, he goes after another cat's food. And from one cat, he goes to the next cat. Daffodil and Rosie will give way to him (I don't know why). Maybe he tells a sob story, ie. "You don't know how hard it was previously when I was dumped, I had nothing to eat, I had to rummage the dustbins (tardises) for scraps..." Yes, that's what they call the "Stray Syndrome".


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Let me out!! Let me out!!


I'm hungry!!!


You're not "hungry", Timmy. You're just greedy.


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Oh my goodness, he is looking at the other bowls and licking his lips.


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Tabs joins the Patio Cats at meal times, but she doesn't eat a second helping.


You see my point? Tabs is not greedy. Timmy is.


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Now Vincent eats as much as Timmy, but look at him...


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Vincent is solidly muscle.


It's the metabolic rate, isn't it?


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Ginger is fine too. Well..."quite" fine.


But you see the problem the free roaming cats...if they don't get enough at the patio, they might go get food somewhere else. And I cannot control that. That's the problem...


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Tabs is good.


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This is our Model Exemplar par Excellence.


All muscle, not an ounce of fat.


When I feel terribly guilty over my heavyweight cats, I look at Pole and console myself that perhaps it isn't totally my fault!


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Indy is also all muscle though this photo does not do justice to him.


The loose skin you see is just loose skin. It isn't fat.


Pole and Indy are extremely strong.


And Indy eats as much as Cow & Bunny. Metabolic rate, right? Or is it because Indy does his climbing stints?


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I think Bunny is not fat. He's just "stout", but my vet disagreed. He said I was in denial.


LOL!!


But my inside brood is on the Hara Hachi Bu diet already.


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He looks fat here, though!


Bunny's human is my son. And whenever my son comes back from his flights, Bunny knows he gets special privileges.


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Cow is obese, that I'll admit.


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Tiger too.


But none of them are as portly as Timmy!


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Don't you even DARE comment about me....


Actually Cleo, I was going to say that you're okay too...


*Shivers!*

15 comments:

Pooi Ling said...

Dr. Chan, perhaps you could try Nutrigen Chitosan to help Timmy lose weight? I've just started on my dog.

chankahyein said...

Okay, is it for pets?

Pooi Ling said...

Yah...for pets.

chankahyein said...

Will check with vet first - thanks! Order from Amazon?

Pooi Ling said...

No...Nutrigen supplement is available at local petstores, but I am not sure whether Chitosan is easy to get or not. I got mine at Ohana.

chankahyein said...

I googled and it doesn't say it's for weight loss. Is it?

Pooi Ling said...

It's for weight loss. This is the one...

http://www.petsrus.my/webshaper/store/viewProd.asp?pkProductItem=223

chankahyein said...

Thank you!

Chen said...

Timmy! Timmy! Timmy! You can do it Timmy boy!

*Timmy Fan Club member cheering him on*

Chen said...

I was trying to remember how "big" Timmy looked before he started enjoying all the good food. There is a picture of him in this post with a side view: http://myanimalcare.org/2012/12/24/looks-like-daffodil-is-highly-sought-after/ He definitely was smaller looking then.

chankahyein said...

Egad!! Plan B must be enforced and maintained until the mission is accomplished. Otherwise, Plan C?

jasmine ong said...

Aww ... I just love the beautiful photo of Bunny with Jia-Wen, they obviously share a very special bond.

As for Timmy boy, some stricter rules will need to be enforced for his own good. Another **Timmy Fan club member cheering him on** Yes Timmy, you can definitely do it!!

Amelia said...

i fear Dusty is turning into Timmy as well.. my fellow rescuer mentioned that ginger cats are quite emo and tend to eat when they happy or stressed..
Dusty keeps eating all the time.. if i dont feed sure complain a lot and my leg will be "attacked" :(

chankahyein said...

Oh dear, don't let Dusty turn into Timmy, please. Control, control...discipline him. Have to be strict.

Chen said...

Hello Amelia!

Then you have to show Dusty that there are other pleasures in life besides eating. Find out what other things he likes. Does he:
1. Like to be massaged or petted in a certain way or spot?
2. Does he like getting brushed? Let him discover the wonders of getting a good brushing (this can be achieved if you use a hair brush with round tipped bristles and make sure the bristles are not too short). Flea combs can be enjoyable too if you know how to brush it the right way.
3. Like to play? What are his fav toys?
4. Does he likes cuddling? (My cats hate cuddling!)

So whenever he wants food, and you know he has already eaten, give him one of the above (or something else he likes) instead. Hopefully he will learn that there is more in life than gorging himself with food.